A Guide to Cargo Size and Vehicle Selection

When you entrust Am-Tran with your medical deliveries, you might wonder exactly how your items will make their journey. We've designed our fleet to accommodate a wide range of medical cargo sizes, ensuring each item is transported efficiently and safely. Let's break down our vehicle classes and what types of medical deliveries typically fall into each category.

Small Cargo: Compact Cars and Small Vans

When you're sending smaller items, they'll likely be transported in one of our fuel-efficient compact cars or small vans. These vehicles are perfect for quick, multi-stop routes and can easily navigate urban areas and residential streets.

Typical small cargo deliveries:

• Prescription medications
• Lab samples
• Small medical devices (e.g., blood glucose monitors, portable ECG machines)
• Dental supplies
• Eyewear and contact lenses

Example: Delivering medications to at-home patients

One common application of small cargo vehicles in our service is the delivery of medications from pharmacies to patients' homes. For instance, consider a local pharmacy that offers same-day delivery services for prescriptions. When a patient calls in a refill, the pharmacy prepares the medication and contacts our courier service.

We dispatch a driver with a compact car or small van to pick up the package from the pharmacy. These vehicles are ideal for this task because:

1. They're fuel-efficient, keeping delivery costs low for frequent, short-distance trips.
2. They can easily navigate through residential areas and park in tight spaces, ensuring quick and convenient deliveries.
3. Their size is sufficient for carrying multiple small, lightweight packages of medications.
4. They provide adequate security for transporting sensitive items like prescription drugs.

Our driver collects the medication from the pharmacy, ensuring it's stored securely in a temperature-controlled compartment if required. They then deliver it directly to the patient's doorstep, often within a few hours of the initial request. 

By using small vehicles for these deliveries, we can offer an efficient, cost-effective service that meets the needs of both the pharmacy and its customers.

Medium Cargo: Large Vans

For medium-sized deliveries, we'll use our fleet of large vans. These vehicles offer more space while still maintaining good maneuverability for city deliveries. They're equipped with adjustable shelving to secure a variety of medical supplies safely.

Typical medium cargo deliveries:

• Infusion pumps and IV stands
• Bulk medication orders for pharmacies
• Medical imaging films and equipment
• Wheelchairs and walkers
• Oxygen concentrators
• Multiple-patient prescription routes

Example: Delivering infusion supplies to outpatient settings

A prime example of how we utilize medium cargo vehicles in our courier service is the transportation of infusion shipments. These deliveries typically involve larger quantities of medical supplies and equipment compared to standard medication deliveries, making them ideal for our large van fleet.

Consider a scenario where a home healthcare company needs to deliver infusion therapy supplies to multiple patients across the city. A typical shipment might include:

1. Infusion pumps
2. IV stands
3. Medication bags
4. Sterile tubing sets
5. Dressing change kits
6. Various other medical supplies

We deploy a large van for this task because:

1. It offers ample space to accommodate multiple bulky items like infusion pumps and IV stands.
2. The cargo area can be easily organized to keep different patients' supplies separate and secure.
3. It provides enough room for temperature-controlled containers when needed for certain medications.
4. The larger size allows for efficient routing, with multiple deliveries possible in a single trip.
5. Despite its capacity, it's still maneuverable enough for residential areas and can access most driveways.

Our process begins when the home healthcare company submits an order. We dispatch a driver with a large van to their supply center. The driver carefully loads the van, ensuring all items are properly secured and organized by delivery address. They then follow an optimized route to deliver the supplies to each patient's home.

This service is crucial for patients receiving ongoing treatments like chemotherapy, antibiotic therapy, or nutrition support at home. By using large vans, we can ensure that all necessary supplies reach the patients in one delivery, reducing the need for multiple trips and minimizing the risk of treatment interruptions.

Our medium cargo vehicles thus play a vital role in supporting home healthcare services, offering a balance between capacity and maneuverability that's perfect for these medium-sized, multi-item shipments.

Large Cargo: Bobtails

You might be surprised to learn that Am-Tran has two bobtails in its fleet! We have two sizes—16 ft and 24 ft—and they’re used for heavy loads that are typically palletized. The bobtail’s spacious cargo area makes it a great option for transporting large shipments and equipment. When they aren’t filled to the brim, they’re easy to move around in and make getting freight in and out a breeze. 

Learn more about our freight capabilities (and all-star driver Jorge!)

Typical large cargo deliveries:

• MRI or CT scan machines
• Complete room furnishings for new hospital wings
• Large-scale medical supply restocking for major hospitals
• Mobile medical units

For the largest medical transport needs, we have two bobtails available. These are typically used for major equipment installations or large-scale supply movements. 

Example: Moving materials between medical centers

Our bobtails really come in clutch for customers who don't always need large cargo transport but occasionally face situations where substantial capacity is crucial. A perfect example is our partnership with a major healthcare system's pharmacy operations.

This healthcare provider faced an unexpected need for large-scale, time-sensitive courier transport from their main pharmacy hub to multiple medical centers. While this wasn't their everyday requirement, the situation demanded quick action and significant cargo capacity. This is where our bobtail service shone:

1. Dedicated bobtail services with a lift gate
2. Flexible operations running from early morning to late evening
3. Ability to transport multiple large carts and totes in a single trip
4. Capability to handle loads weighing up to 1,000 lbs

We swiftly deployed our 24-foot bobtail for this task because:

1. Its spacious cargo area can easily accommodate large carts and numerous totes that would otherwise require multiple trips with smaller vehicles.
2. The lift gate allows for safe and efficient loading and unloading of heavy items, saving time and reducing risk.
3. Its capacity allows for consolidation of multiple medical centers' supplies in a single trip, dramatically cutting down on delivery time.
4. Despite its large size, our skilled drivers can navigate it effectively in urban areas, maintaining efficiency even in challenging environments.

Our process begins when the customer alerts us to their large cargo needs. We quickly dispatch our bobtail to their pharmacy hub, where our driver carefully loads and secures all items. The driver then follows an optimized route to deliver the essential pharmacy items to each medical center.

This service proved crucial for maintaining uninterrupted patient care across the healthcare system. By using our large cargo bobtail, we ensured that all necessary pharmacy supplies reached the medical centers in one efficient delivery. Transporting this volume of cargo any other way would have taken significantly longer, potentially causing delays in patient care.

Our bobtail services thus play a vital role in supporting major healthcare operations, offering the capacity and reliability needed for these occasional yet critical large-scale, time-sensitive medical logistics tasks. Even for customers who don't regularly need large cargo transport, knowing that Am-Tran can quickly step up with bobtail services provides invaluable peace of mind and operational flexibility.

How We Match Your Delivery to the Right Vehicle

When you place an order with Am-Tran, our logistics team considers several factors to match your delivery to the appropriate vehicle:

1. Size and weight of the items
2. Quantity of items
3. Special handling requirements (e.g., temperature control, fragility)
4. Delivery location accessibility
5. Urgency of the delivery

By carefully considering these factors, we ensure that your medical deliveries – whether it's a single prescription or a full-sized MRI machine – are transported in the most efficient and secure manner possible.

Conclusion

At Am-Tran, we believe in transparency. By understanding how we match your medical cargo to our diverse fleet of vehicles, you can have peace of mind knowing that your deliveries are in capable hands. From the smallest lab sample to the largest piece of medical equipment, we have the right vehicle and expertise to ensure your items reach their destination safely and on time.

Have questions about how we'll handle your specific medical delivery needs? Contact us today, and our team will be happy to provide you with a detailed logistics plan tailored to your unique requirements.