Prepping for Long Distance Move

[travelover]

You can hire packers at either end. I'd rent a UHaul truck and have packers load the boxes. Then I'd use a tow dolly to take the car with me. Hire unpackers at the other end to unload everything.

 

[Morgan22]

The hardest part of my move was going through everything and making countless trips to Goodwill and the dump. I went from a 2 bedroom house with a full basement, garage, and outbuilding to a 2 bedroom condo. I feel 50 pounds lighter!

I have concluded that if we ever move again, I am just giving away all our furniture or throwing it out. Cheaper to buy new than move the old stuff.

Husband and I did a cross country move 2 years ago. I did get quotes on-line. We found it was just cheaper to repurchase needed items rather than move them. So we decided to do everything ourselves. (It didn't help that we heard so many negative things about hiring cross country movers, along the lines of MRG's experience).

The hardest part was downsizing, it took us a year to clean out our house (along with attached in-law apt). We only kept what would fit in the back of the truck. (We have a Leer truck cap). For everything else, we sold probably half on ebay and craigslist, and gave away the other half.

My advice would be sell/give away the furniture and rent a van to move the boxes/duffel bags. If you are really attached to your furniture you could rent a Penske box truck and do most of it yourself.

We did this years ago when one of my sister's was moving from VA to MA.
Myself and other sister helped her move. Sis hired 2 guys on both sides of the move to help move the heavy stuff on and off the truck. We packed/moved all the boxes/fragile items. For the drive we had 2 of us in the truck the other in the car. It wasn't that bad. And no stress that anything would disappear or get broken.

 

[BarbWire]

Solo, adventurous van-driving female here .....

I have looked into this recently myself: TX to UT, about 1200 miles. A few pieces of very good furniture, lots of boxes, some carefully packed fragile items/art, and some loose items. Think 2BR apartment. In both options below, you will need to hire help at each end to load and unload.

The problem is that this is a "small" move in the eyes of the mainstream, honest moving industry. So after looking at options, I concluded:

(1) PODS. Not, in fact, "cheap". You are 100% responsible for the loading -- and therefore stacking and securing to minimize damage -- while they transport the container. They take no responsibility for damage inside the POD. So for this I would hire very good movers to load the POD and secure everything. And buy lots of rope and pads. Even having done that in the past, I had shifting and damage, because the POD isn't always level. The advantage to a POD is that you can take your sweet time to get from A to B. CAVEAT: make sure where you are moving from/to allows a POD in their parking lot for at least 72 hours . Otherwise you will have to hire a local UHaul truck and labor to get your stuff to/from the residence to the POD depot, to load or unload the POD there.

(2) UHaul or other truck. In the end this was more attractive to me with two caveats: first, pay for a few extra truck days. A 1200 mile move was quoted to me with 5 days and 1350 miles.... so load day one, drive 1200 miles days 2-4, unload and return truck day 5. Driving 1200 miles in three days is fine in my own vehicle but not so sure about in a 15' box truck, solo. But for $40/day more I could add days and reduce my stress and weather/planning uncertainty. I would have added three more days.

Second, look into hiring a truck driver. Yep, it's a thing. Your fee covers the driver's time/hotel, h/her airfare home, and gas. I was quoted $1200 (including gas) for a driver who would take three days to drive TX to UT. The only downside of this is that you have to get from A to B in the same time frame, to meet the driver -- driving your own vehicle with whatever you want in it. Google something like "Rent a truck driver." A well reviewed firm works out of CT.

Good luck. A "small" move can be harder than a large move!

 

[Ronstar]

We sold our 1350 sf Arizona snowbird townhome in 2019. DW and I drove my truck from our Illinois home to Arizona to vacate the condo a few weeks before the sale.

We took about 10 truckloads of belongings to Goodwill. Took several loads of small furniture to a consignment store. Consignment store moved the big furniture from our place to their store. We threw a lot of stuff out to city garbage pickup.

It took about a week to clear the place out. After big stuff was gone, we packed remaining things in my truck bed and backseat and drove back to illinois.

 

[Big_Hitter]

(2) UHaul or other truck. In the end this was more attractive to me with two caveats: first, pay for a few extra truck days. A 1200 mile move was quoted to me with 5 days and 1350 miles.... so load day one, drive 1200 miles days 2-4, unload and return truck day 5. Driving 1200 miles in three days is fine in my own vehicle but not so sure about in a 15' box truck, solo. But for $40/day more I could add days and reduce my stress and weather/planning uncertainty. I would have added three more days.

when FIL died DW and I rented a big penske truck in ATX and drove it to Boise. Took a few days. Those things don't go that fast.

 

[Van-Guard23]

Being a former Active Duty military couple (we're both retired now), my wife and I moved 13 times in 20+ years, both internationally and within the US. The military contracted movers (lowest bidders who have earned a notorious reputation for not doing a particularly good job) to pack and move our stuff but we've learned a few things along the way:
- If you can, pack and bring along valuables you treasure most. Also bring with you important documents/files you can't risk being lost or damaged by movers
- If traveling overseas, make sure your passports are kept where the movers wouldn't accidentally pack them...this has happened to military families before...thankfully not to us
- If you have space in your house, reserve a room to place items you do not want movers to pack and move. Lock this room up! We found this useful. Movers have been known to pack everything...even a trash bin full of trash!

- If you have original boxes for items like TVs etc. pack them in its original packaging but leave it unsealed so the movers can verify it
- If you have fragile items like an Italian vase and have the original packaging for it, considering packing it yourself but leave unsealed for movers to verify
- As others have suggested, document and take pictures of all your valuables and double check the inventory list to ensure all are captured
- It can take time from pick-up to delivery. In the military, we have household goods (takes quite a bit of time for delivery) and unaccompanied baggage (basic things you'll need to establish your household at your next location that arrives at your destination much quicker). I don't know if this is an option for you, but worth considering...at the very least, pack and move your own "unaccompanied baggage" so you can set up your household quicker
- For more information on military moves that maybe you can glean some useful insights, follow this link: https://move.mil/moving-guide


VG23

 

[statsman]

We moved from California to Texas almost two years ago. Because we had three cats to take with us, most of our items went with the shipper, including three china sets. We carefully packed all three sets and didn't lose a piece in the move. We may be an exception rather than the rule. We did donate, gave away, or trash quite a bit of furniture, so that lightened the load a bit.

Besides the three cats, we overloaded our SUV with items we didn't want to lose in the move. Important papers, coin collections, jewelry, my laptop, and our external hard drives & thumb drives. Since we didn't have room for our two PCs, I purchased anti-static cases to store the internal hard drives I removed from the PCs and took those with us.

 

[SunnyOne]

Barbwire, your post has been invaluable to me. That "hire a driver" outfit has excellent reviews everywhere I've checked. I am planning to call them tomorrow.

One more question if I may? Was your U-Haul rental a one way rental? Was that a lot more expensive than round trip?

Peace & Thanks

 

[BarbWire]

Barbwire, your post has been invaluable to me. That "hire a driver" outfit has excellent reviews everywhere I've checked. I am planning to call them tomorrow.

One more question if I may? Was your U-Haul rental a one way rental? Was that a lot more expensive than round trip?

Peace & Thanks

Glad it was helpful. Long distance small moves are soooo hard, especially for one person. (For reference, my storage 10x15 storage unit is about 2/3 filled, loosely packed).

In full transparency, my TX-->UT move has been delayed a few months (Covid-19!) but in the spring I will rent a truck and, separately, hire a driver: I control the loading, unloading, and have a key to the truck padlock. My goods are always (within reason) in my control.

To answer your question: Unlike rental cars, truck rentals (UHaul, Penske, Budget) are quoted as "local" or "one-way". You will have a "one-way" rental. The rent-a-driver company may/can advise about which company to pick. Also look at AAA discounts for Penske , or other association discounts (Costco? AARP?).

Consider well as distance from truck pick-up location to your house/storage unit, and from final apartment back to drop-off (and note opening hours/days for pick up/drop off). Note that you will have to drive those yourself: rent-a-drivers typically meet you when your truck is full, and hand the keys back to you when they arrive at the destination address, before unloading.

For loading/unloading: sure, there are are guys listed on the Uhaul (or whatever) site but I would look at locally based full-service moving firms that advertise that they also load/unload moving trucks and PODS. You are more likely to get moving/loading professionals who know what they are doing rather than a couple of strong dudes who pile up stuff in a truck on weekends.

If your truck / rent-a-driver wants to get from A to B faster than you want to drive, consider flying from A to B to meet them, get unloaded/settled (rent a car for a couple of days), and then fly back to A to get your car and have a stress-free drive to your new home in B.

In March, that is probably what I will do: load in ATX, hand the keys to the driver, fly to SLC to meet him/her three days later, unload .... fly back to ATX to get my SUV and say goodbye to friends. I will then take a two week slow springtime trip through NM and UT to my new home, knowing my goods are safe there.

 

[SunnyOne]

Again, may I say reading your comments is very helpful since you have already considered the logistics of this type of move!

We have many parallels, lol.

Currently, my belongings are in a 10 x 19 storage unit. About 2/3rd of them are in boxes. The remaining items are just sitting in there loosely. i was planning to sort and organize, hoping to move them all in mid-November, before the shorter, darker days set in.
Considering that I am still working full time and will only have the weekends to work on this project, I had considered waiting until March to finish it all - I will be fully retired by then and the worst of the winter weather in the mid Atlantic will be past us.
To complicate things, since our office is full time telework now, I had gone ahead and rented a snowbird rental on the beach....so that is another factor for me - I won't be in the VA area from 12/1 until 3/1.
I know, details, details, right? LOL.

Originally, I had planned to move my items into another storage unit in FLA, while looking for a place to live - but now, by waiting until March, by then I will have a long term place, so I could move them right into my new home - thus avoiding the expense of a second, local move in FLA - also I compared the pricing of storage units in FLA vs. VA and VA is higher, so that would be extra expense...keeping the VA storage unit in VA longer...but the extra stress of having to move more quickly...ugh, always a tradeoff.

In your research, have you encountered any companies who cannot commit to specific dates due to the COVID situation? ( I am referring more to the local staff who will load and unload on either end?)

Is your comment about long distance small moves being so hard due to the fact that options for hiring movers is more limited?

I get the solo part, but am seeing so many middle aged retirees concerned about injuring themselves in the process - I figure (fingers crossed) that it may be money well spent.

I need to also consider the logistics of my car...on the return trip. Thanks for mentioning that.

Thanks so much again, I am in your debt, truly!

 

[BarbWire]

No worries -- glad to help. I have gotten so much from this forum over the years that I am glad to repay in any way I can.

Small moves are hard because they are not lucrative for the major van-lines, which specialize in corporate funded, big-household moves and quote by the weight of the move. If they take on a small move, your stuff is added to another household's stuff going the same place -- a bit more income for the driver so s/he doesn't have a partial load. However, I did note a couple of months ago that Mayflower and United (with strangely identical looking website) are now courting the "full service" small move. Are they catching on to the "we have money but are downsizing" trend? I didn't get quotes.

In the Great American Dream, there is a notion that college kids move themselves in a UHaul, but Real Successful Grown-Ups have so much stuff they hire Mayflower, etc.

Solo: it is a logistical thing. For example, I would not hesitate to drive a UHaul truck cross country ... with another driver/navigator/crisis-solver, but would think twice about doing it alone. Blow a tire in the back-of-beyond of New Mexico without cell service? Not something I want to do solo (yet oddly that is a risk I take all the time in my van, the condition of which I know well).

"Injury" isn't an issue for me: I simply hire strong young backs. Money well spent. In fact, three days ago I moved from my ATX storage unit to an apartment for six months (Covid/flu season hunker down, and a time to sort out the stuff I stored four years ago! Would I really move it to UT)? For $450 three incredibly strong and nice young men from a local legit, FULLY INSURED moving company moved my goods from storage to a third floor apartment -- in 2.5 hours! In six months they will either move me back into ATX storage, or load a UHaul truck for me to head to UT. Money well spent. And now I know to budget about $500 for each time I load/unload my goods.

Like my unplanned 6-month unplanned, unwanted Oct-March hiatus in ATX, your snowbird rental may be a blessing: you will have time to think about what you really want to move. I am mortified at some of the things I stored four years ago (though the marginal cost of storage was small), and will pare back "stuff" even more in the next six months, with the goal of cutting the number of boxes in half, to fit in a 15' truck.

Finally, when comparing cost of different scenarios (move 1x vs 2x vs 3x, storage in A or B) remember to think about wear-and-tear on YOU. Not all costs can be captured in $$$.

 

[meierlde]

Note that there is a difference between an interstate and intrastate move In addition there are a number of apartment movers that work in both spaces expecting smaller shipments. In 2005 I moved 250 mi in tx (intrastate and used a houston apartment moving company (Actually moving from house to house) They used a pickup and a trailer and loaded it up (I did not move boxes but used my pickup at the time to move them a lot of loads there) For loads of the size suggested (apartment movers may be a better route.

 

[gretah]

If you drive your car or rent a truck, unpack everything into your hotel room each night. Thieves will just cut into the sides of a U Haul. A car is even easier to break into.

My new neighbors moved here from several states away. The movers made them pay $1,500 on arrival more than the contract price or they wouldn't unload the truck. There was nothing special about the unload - no steep hill, stairs beyond a few front steps, etc.

Good luck!

+1: expect theft
I've moved several times over the years. Only once did I experience NO theft by movers or people hired to pack the POD boxes.

 

[Sunset]

If you drive your car or rent a truck, unpack everything into your hotel room each night. Thieves will just cut into the sides of a U Haul. A car is even easier to break into.

My new neighbors moved here from several states away. The movers made them pay $1,500 on arrival more than the contract price or they wouldn't unload the truck. There was nothing special about the unload - no steep hill, stairs beyond a few front steps, etc.

Good luck!

+1: expect theft
I've moved several times over the years. Only once did I experience NO theft by movers or people hired to pack the POD boxes.

Why would thieves not simply cut the lock of a U haul

 

[Buckeye]

I recently did a similar move. I had about 50 boxes, a bunch of miscellaneous stuff that didn't easily fit into boxes, and several small pieces of furniture. I packed the boxes myself throughout the lockdown months.

I did a few car trips on my own over the months, and the car was stuffed to the gills. After getting 3 estimates from moving companies, a local guy with a College Hunks franchise impressed me, both with his work ethic and really surprisingly low estimate. They did a great job, 2 guys and a truck. Since it is a franchise, if you consider them I would check local references.

The hardest part of my move was going through everything and making countless trips to Goodwill and the dump. I went from a 2 bedroom house with a full basement, garage, and outbuilding to a 2 bedroom condo. I feel 50 pounds lighter!

I think you dropped a zero - 500 pounds lighter!

 

[meierlde]

If you drive your car or rent a truck, unpack everything into your hotel room each night. Thieves will just cut into the sides of a U Haul. A car is even easier to break into.

My new neighbors moved here from several states away. The movers made them pay $1,500 on arrival more than the contract price or they wouldn't unload the truck. There was nothing special about the unload - no steep hill, stairs beyond a few front steps, etc.

Good luck!

+1: expect theft
I've moved several times over the years. Only once did I experience NO theft by movers or people hired to pack the POD boxes.

In 1986 my folks drove two trucks from Mi to Tx (at two different time) and stayed in Joplin Mo and Stevenville Tx for example. No problem.

You can't do that with a full truck say a 24 footer. (It might take 2 days to pack)

One way to handle that is to arrange to stay in small towns not big cities as much as possible. I have read of it happening in Houston, but in general go to smaller towns. I know in the hill country town I live in a breaking makes the front page of the local paper. (plus if it happens the local police will be more active about it than taking the report only as would happen in a big city. )

 

[SunnyOne]

Many of the boxes in my storage unit were packed 10 years ago <OMG> who knows what lurks there? lol

I have priced out the cost of storage if I move the stuff to central FLA before winter: $150/month - not climate controlled

$350/month if I leave it here in VA until spring - in a climate controlled unit.

As far as thievery while parked at hotel lots, I guess I have been lucky so far. My rear windows are darkened, so its hard to see whether I have anything in my little SUV.
My strategy thus far in these types of situations is to choose a hotel off the interstate, good neighborhood, generally 3-4 star with business travelers. I realize there are no guarantees, but this seems to have worked ok so far.

 

[RetMD21]

My mother moved cross country assisted living studio unit to our house. We had a local company box the random items and some furniture. It was all put on 2 pallets and shipped via freight. It was too small a load for a regular mover and we had contacts that got us a good packer/shipper.

 

[48Fire]

We have used Uship.com several times. If you are careful, and read reviews, you'll be fine. A small move like yours is perfect for them, since they will pick up other loads on the way. I would estimate your cost at around $1,200. And they will take anything even your pets

 

[BarbWire]

My mother moved cross country assisted living studio unit to our house. We had a local company box the random items and some furniture. It was all put on 2 pallets and shipped via freight. It was too small a load for a regular mover and we had contacts that got us a good packer/shipper.

We have used Uship.com several times. If you are careful, and read reviews, you'll be fine. A small move like yours is perfect for them, since they will pick up other loads on the way. I would estimate your cost at around $1,200. And they will take anything even your pets

Hmm. These are interesting options which I hadn't thought about. Thank you!

 

[48Fire]

Hmm. These are interesting options which I hadn't thought about. Thank you!

You're welcome We have found the Uship process very enjoyable actually. You post your content, move windows, pickup location and destination, and then movers bid on your move.

Our favorite mover has a full-time job for North American in Chicago. But, a few times a year, he drives to Tampa to visit his daughter. He takes a 24 foot truck, and picks up items on his way, to basically pay for his trip

 

[BarbWire]

You're welcome We have found the Uship process very enjoyable actually. You post your content, move windows, pickup location and destination, and then movers bid on your move.

Our favorite mover has a full-time job for North American in Chicago. But, a few times a year, he drives to Tampa to visit his daughter. He takes a 24 foot truck, and picks up items on his way, to basically pay for his trip

That's interesting: full time movers moonlighting. The only experience I've had with Uship was getting bids five years ago to take my mother's cedar blanket chest from TX to UT, and the folks who bid were going to put it in the backs of their pickup trucks or SUVs. In the end I shipped another way.

 

[Global Wizzo]

Just adding to this. If you see “PBO” on the inventory, the mover has no liability for damage for what is in the box. If it breaks open, same thing.

Make sure you have insurance that covers anything you packed.

 

[Andromeda]

I've moved dozens of times, as a kid (almost every other year) and as an adult (including cross-country and cross-Atlantic moves). The most entertaining was watching the Parisian moving company pile our stuff in a tiny, portable elevator and hoist from the street up to the fourth floor of our apartment and in through the windows ...

I can count on my fingers the number of items that have been broken or that disappeared in a move.

If you want to move fragile items yourself and can afford the time and cost of driving them, go ahead. But if you're not experienced at packing, keep in mind that movers could do a better job of packing your fragile materials than you can.

Two tips I learned from our the company that moved us to France.

1) They had a small red box for us to put essential, small bits and bobs like chargers, remotes, etc. It went on the truck/boat last and came off first, so it was easy to find in the apartment.

2) They encouraged us to pack a couple of "first day/night" boxes and label them very noticeably. (We also learned to add brightly coloured tape to these boxes to make them stand out more.) These first day/night boxes hold the things you need to get through the first day and night: e.g. coffeemaker, filters and a thermos; sheet set and blanket; a couple of towels; one set of cutlery and one plate and cup per person, the cat's litter box and cat food dishes etc. The list varies on the person and also depends on your circumstances. If you've packed clothes etc separately because you're moving by car, then you don't need a change of clothes.

 

[Canoeboy]

Have had 2 big moves in past 20 years. First in 2005 From PA to MN was paid for by employer. One car filled up with all the stuff a moving company would not touch (ammo, chemicals, etc) went on a car transport. The remainder filled the largest moving van on earth to the top with a large picnic table strapped on the back outside. We let them pack China and other fragile items for insurance purposes. Total cost was about 30k at the time.

Moved 2 years ago from MN to VA in a more cost way as I was paying. Filled 2 “Ratpack” containers (similar to Pods). One was filled with boxes of stuff that we should have parted with but could not part with at the time (it’s still in storage). The other container was filled with boy toys (Row boat, kayaks, boat trailer, 4-wheeler, ATV) and tools. Ratpack is nice in that it is ground level and can be used for longer term storage (monthly fee).

For the remainder of the house (furniture, kitchen, clothing, etc) We used Upack-Wehaul from Estes. They bring a 22’ truck with a ramp. You fill and unload it, they drive. We did not experience any breakage. Total cost of the last move was about 6-7k.

I would use RatPack and Estes again - very cost effective way to do long distance move.

If I had to do it all over, I would sell, donate, And/or toss more stuff and move less.