Getting a vehicle off the chain before a storm.
The decision gets made days before the evacuation order, not after it. Here is why, and what it actually costs you to be early.
The window is earlier than people think
Monroe County runs a phased evacuation, and the phases are tied to how long before tropical storm winds arrive rather than to the storm’s category.
Roughly 48 hours out, a mandatory evacuation begins for non-residents, visitors, RVs, travel trailers, liveaboards and military personnel. Around 36 hours out it extends to mobile home residents, special needs residents, and hospital and nursing home patients. Around 30 hours out, permanent residents are evacuated by zone.
The whole system is built to hit a 24-hour clearance time for the resident population. In a Category 3 or higher, evacuation to the mainland is mandatory and the county opens no in-county shelters at all.
Now put a car hauler into that picture. One road, no alternative, every vehicle on the chain heading the same direction at once, and gas stations running dry or closing because their staff have left too. A transport truck in that traffic is another vehicle in the queue, and loading one at the kerb while your neighbours are trying to get out is not a thing that works.
By the time an evacuation is ordered, the window for moving a vehicle by truck has already closed.
Which means the call happens while it is still a forecast. When there is a cone, and the Keys are in it, and nobody yet knows whether it turns.
Who this is actually for
Most people drive themselves out. This is for the vehicles that cannot go with them.
The second vehicle
Two cars, two adults, and only one of them is driving north. The other one is what we move.
Something irreplaceable
A classic, a restoration, a build you have put years into. Four to seven feet above sea level is not where you want it during a surge.
Anything that will not start
A project car or a non-runner cannot evacuate itself. It needs a winch and a truck, and both need booking early.
It also covers people leaving by air, seasonal residents who are not down here when the storm forms, and anyone whose vehicle is stored rather than driven.
Where it goes
Out of the storm’s path. We hold vehicles in Fort Lauderdale, or we deliver to wherever you would rather have it — a relative’s driveway in Orlando, a storage facility further north, your own place on the mainland. Tell us where and we will price it.
Getting it back afterwards is a separate conversation and depends entirely on what the road looks like. Re-entry to the Keys is controlled after a storm, and US-1 has to be cleared and declared passable before anything moves.
The honest part
In 2024 we moved vehicles off the chain ahead of a storm. It did not hit. We got some flooding and that was it, and every one of those customers paid to move a car that would have been fine sitting where it was.
That is the deal, and we would rather say it plainly than let you find out. You are not buying a prediction. You are buying the option to not be the person watching the forecast at 2am wondering whether the water comes up this time.
Some years that is money spent for nothing. The year it is not, it is the best money you spent all season. We cannot tell you which year you are in, and neither can anyone else.
What we need from you
Year, make and model, and whether it runs. Where it is now. Where you want it to go, or whether you want us to hold it. And a phone number that will still work after you have evacuated, because yours may not have service and ours may not either.
When something is forming, do not use the form. Call or text (754) 714-2439 and we will tell you honestly whether we can still get to you.
Common questions
How far ahead should I call?
As soon as the Keys are in a cone and you are thinking about it. Waiting for certainty means waiting until the road is full. We run until we cannot, and the point where we cannot arrives faster than people expect.
Will you still come once an evacuation is ordered?
We run as long as it is safe and the road is moving. It gets frantic as a storm nears, and there is a point where we stop — both for our driver and because a transport truck in evacuation traffic helps nobody. We will tell you straight if we cannot make it.
Can you store the vehicle until it is safe to come back?
We hold vehicles in Fort Lauderdale, or deliver anywhere you would rather have it. Tell us which when you book.
What if the storm misses?
Then you paid to move a car that did not need moving. It has happened to our customers before. That is what the option costs.
Does insurance cover a vehicle in transit during a storm?
Transit coverage and your own policy are separate things, and storm damage is its own category. Talk to your insurer rather than assuming — and do it before hurricane season, not during it.
Who hauls what, and where
In-N-Out Keys, LLC (USDOT 4120018), doing business as Florida Keys Auto Transport, is a veteran-owned Florida motor carrier holding Florida intrastate operating authority. We carry vehicles on our own truck within the state of Florida only.
Any move that begins or ends outside Florida is carried by a separate licensed and insured motor carrier we work with. In-N-Out Keys does not perform the interstate portion of those moves. We tell you which carrier is handling that leg before you book, and we stay your point of contact throughout.
