I'm sure you won't miss the Dallas summers, they're great in most of New York. Sounds like your expense and experience is about as good as it gets.
As to shippers like the one you used, it is a little unusual to see them with open carriers. As an OTR driver believe me that the driver and his company and their insurance carrier don't want the lowlilfes to see what droolmobile may be on board. I stopped in Reno one morning, went over to talk to a driver unloading a GT500KR convertible, even hollered from a distance so as not to surprise him, just wanted a little look. He wasn't AT ALL pleased to see me, with no one or nothing within 100 yards, checked his back pocket as I came up within 25-yards.
Plus, rain, sand, grit get driven hard into the load when uncovered. It would have been obvious to you, I believe. Dealers of second hand cars, some new deliveries off trains, and the ubiquitous-been-totalled-now-repaired-and-title-washed cars are on open carriers.
And the Northeast is full of places I'd never want to try to drive into. I had to back a 53' dry van seven blocks thru the neighborhood around Yankee Stadium one time. Luckily it was at 0500 and I was outbound across the G. Washington bridge before 0700.
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