Making the move to your med school

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chalklette

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I am at a lost for moving companies for a reasonable price. It is more expensive that I expected and I hate it. If anyone has a company to refer please do so. I expected like 1400 but people are saying like 2500-3000.
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chalklette said:
I am at a lost for moving companies for a reasonable price. It is more expensive that I expected and I hate it. If anyone has a company to refer please do so. I expected like 1400 but people are saying like 2500-3000. :eek: Please help by telling me what some of you did.

P.S I'm not talking one little peed out mattress and a nightstand. :laugh:

I have a house full of furniture so for those of you in my situation please help.
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why don't you rent a UHAUL and hire packer/unpackers? That way, all you are left doing is packing your boxes and driving the truck. You can get a tow dolly for your car. This option will probably cost about $1000 to $1200 and the UHAUL trucks are pretty easy to operate (automatic, etc).
 
I just recently had to make the move from California to Ohio for Med School.

The total in the end for my full home was ~$2,400 for a rental truck 15' for 2900 miles of moving (1week). Also, I rented a trailer to tow my car $300. Plus approximately 1,300 for lodging, food, gas and misc expenses.

Not to bad at ~4K. I feel as though I got a good deal for the entire move. Budget rental trucks is what I went for. Ended up being a cheaper move and the trucks were newer than the UHaul ones.

It really depends on how you want to do the move and how much the local rental places are quoting you. Good luck, I know my move was an 'adventure.' :smuggrin: :laugh: :eek: :luck:
 
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We used City to City to move from CA to IL and I think it was only like 2k. Of course we just had an apartment though but that price did include storage for 3 months before we got here.
 
Hey I've been worrying about my move also as well. I'll be moving from New Jersey to Nashville in less than a month! How did you guys pay for the move since its not covered in financial aid, and how did you go about choosing your place of residence.
 
I expected like 1400 but people are saying like 2500-3000.
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I was expecting 2500-3000 and I locked in a move from New Mexico to Pennsylvania for ~$1200. I thought this was a great deal and the company is legit. My wife and I have a lot of stuff too!

drumming :D

Federated Moving

**If they keep my stuff and try to charge me $15k to get it back (like I saw some companies doing on Dateline awhile back)... I will let you know. ;) **
 
Hey chalklette--I had to move about 3000 miles with a houseful of furniture. I used a reputable moving company, who even guaranteed the arrival date within a 4 day window. They missed it by an entire week, and I still had to pay full price. I nearly had to start class without furniture/clothes/anything. Why? Because some Boeing family decided to take an extra roomful of stuff, and because their contract with Boeing was far more lucrative, my furniture got bumped off the truck, and sat around for two weeks waiting for another van.

So whoever recommended getting a U-Haul and paying some guys to load it for you, and then unload it on the other end, is probably giving you the best advice. At least you'll be sure when your stuff will arrive, even though it may seem like more trouble for you personally.
 
Not sure if this will help the OP or not, but I'll throw it out there for everyone anyway.

Check out www.upack.com. The way this company works is they're a freight company. They will drop a standard freight trailer off at your place, you load your stuff in and install this wall thing. Then they take it back to their place, load in a bunch of other stuff, and drive it whereever it needs to go. Once its there and all the other stuff is unloaded, you arrange with them to bring the trailer to your new place and you unload it.

The good thing is you only pay for the amount of trailer space you use (by the foot), so if you can stack your stuff really high, you save money. You can save even more if you take your stuff to their depot and load it there (say, with a short U-haul rental), then pick it up at their depot at the other end, so they don't have to bring the trailer to you. The down side is you have to do the loading/unloading yourself, unless you hire people.

This is the way I did it 2 years ago, but I didn't have a whole lot of stuff. It turned out being pretty darn affordable.
 
There is an outfit by the name "Two Men and a Truck" that I have used them locally for moving offices. I know there are some 130 franchises across the nation, but I do not know if they haul across state lines. They charge an hourly rate for small jobs. Could be an answer for some of you.
 
zinjanthropus said:
why don't you rent a UHAUL and hire packer/unpackers? That way, all you are left doing is packing your boxes and driving the truck. You can get a tow dolly for your car. This option will probably cost about $1000 to $1200 and the UHAUL trucks are pretty easy to operate (automatic, etc).
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Nooooo! Not UHAUL! Any moving truck company but UHAUL! Try Ryder or one of those other ones. They may be more expensive, but after 2 absolutely HORRIBLE experiences with UHAUL, I will never go use them again.

The first time we moved, we paid for a mid-sized truck that was supposed to have air conditioning. Guess what? For our 8 hour drive on the hottest day of the year...air conditioner was broken. In addition to that, the tail lights were broken. The icing on the cake was the fact that the gas guage was broken, so although ACCORDING TO THE STUPID GAS GUAGE we had a little over a quarter tank of gas....we ran out! We had to walk several miles to the next town (on the hottest day of the year, mind you), to get a tank and fill it up.

Needless to say, we complained. They didn't seem to care too much. Out of the four or five hundred dollars we spent, they gave us a twenty dollar coupon to use on our next UHAUL rental.

The second time we move, (despite my protestations) my husband decides "Hey, what the heck. Let's just use UHAUL since we have a coupon."
This time, we want to rent a larger truck since we have more stuff. We book it several weeks in advance. We are told that we will recieve a phone call the night before our moving day. No phone call. My husband calls the morning of the move to ask when we can get our truck, and is put on hold for FORTY FIVE MINUTES! When he finally gets to talk to someone, they are quite nasty to him on the phone and tell him that we can't pick up our truck until 3 oclock. Keep in mind that we rented the truck for that day...and we aren't even allowed to pick it up until late afternoon. Even though we couldn't pick up the truck until late in the day...they still expected it back at 8 oclock the next morning! When my husband picked up the truck, they neglected to include the furniture pads that we had paid for. They also neglected to tell him that it was a diesel manual transmission! It was like driving a freaking BIG RIG!! Its top speed was about 45 mph, and since the move involved about 45 minutes of highway driving (and the minimum speed is 55), it was pretty harrowing.

We managed to get our stuff moved in to the house by midnight, and the next morning when we tried to start the truck, it wouldn't start! The gas was full. The battery didn't appear to be dead. So we called the UHAUL 1-800 number, and we were told that a mechanic would be on his way. My husband tried to call the local UHAUL center to let them know that we would not be able to return the vehicle, but naturally he got put on hold for about twenty minutes before he got frustrated and hung up. In the meantime, someone from the UHAUL office called and left a message on his cell phone that the truck was overdue, and that they were putting out a "stolen vehicle report". About ten oclock, the mechanic finally showed up and after messing with it, managed to get it started. He told us that the engine on this truck was totally fried and that we should drive it without stopping it back to the UHAUL rental center.

We get to the UHAUL rental place finally around eleven oclock. Instead of being apologetic about all we had gone through, the manager starts to berate us for not filling up the tank before returning it. We told him that we couldn't turn off the engine, because we were told by the mechanic that if we did, it would not start again. His response? "Oh, give me a break! You could have filled it up with the engine running! As long as you weren't smoking or anything!" Can you believe it?

Well, we did wind up getting a discount, not because they actually cared about our complaints, but because the new girl working at the counter made a mistake while ringing us up, and didn't know how to correct it so she got frustrated and let us leave paying a lot less than our original quote. But nothing can really make up for the frustration we endured at the evil hands of UHAUL.

The end.
 
Weil-Felix said:
Nooooo! Not UHAUL! Any moving truck company but UHAUL! Try Ryder or one of those other ones. They may be more expensive, but after 2 absolutely HORRIBLE experiences with UHAUL, I will never go use them again.

The first time we moved, we paid for a mid-sized truck that was supposed to have air conditioning. Guess what? For our 8 hour drive on the hottest day of the year...air conditioner was broken. In addition to that, the tail lights were broken. The icing on the cake was the fact that the gas guage was broken, so although ACCORDING TO THE STUPID GAS GUAGE we had a little over a quarter tank of gas....we ran out! We had to walk several miles to the next town (on the hottest day of the year, mind you), to get a tank and fill it up.

Needless to say, we complained. They didn't seem to care too much. Out of the four or five hundred dollars we spent, they gave us a twenty dollar coupon to use on our next UHAUL rental.

The second time we move, (despite my protestations) my husband decides "Hey, what the heck. Let's just use UHAUL since we have a coupon."
This time, we want to rent a larger truck since we have more stuff. We book it several weeks in advance. We are told that we will recieve a phone call the night before our moving day. No phone call. My husband calls the morning of the move to ask when we can get our truck, and is put on hold for FORTY FIVE MINUTES! When he finally gets to talk to someone, they are quite nasty to him on the phone and tell him that we can't pick up our truck until 3 oclock. Keep in mind that we rented the truck for that day...and we aren't even allowed to pick it up until late afternoon. Even though we couldn't pick up the truck until late in the day...they still expected it back at 8 oclock the next morning! When my husband picked up the truck, they neglected to include the furniture pads that we had paid for. They also neglected to tell him that it was a diesel manual transmission! It was like driving a freaking BIG RIG!! Its top speed was about 45 mph, and since the move involved about 45 minutes of highway driving (and the minimum speed is 55), it was pretty harrowing.

We managed to get our stuff moved in to the house by midnight, and the next morning when we tried to start the truck, it wouldn't start! The gas was full. The battery didn't appear to be dead. So we called the UHAUL 1-800 number, and we were told that a mechanic would be on his way. My husband tried to call the local UHAUL center to let them know that we would not be able to return the vehicle, but naturally he got put on hold for about twenty minutes before he got frustrated and hung up. In the meantime, someone from the UHAUL office called and left a message on his cell phone that the truck was overdue, and that they were putting out a "stolen vehicle report". About ten oclock, the mechanic finally showed up and after messing with it, managed to get it started. He told us that the engine on this truck was totally fried and that we should drive it without stopping it back to the UHAUL rental center.

We get to the UHAUL rental place finally around eleven oclock. Instead of being apologetic about all we had gone through, the manager starts to berate us for not filling up the tank before returning it. We told him that we couldn't turn off the engine, because we were told by the mechanic that if we did, it would not start again. His response? "Oh, give me a break! You could have filled it up with the engine running! As long as you weren't smoking or anything!" Can you believe it?

Well, we did wind up getting a discount, not because they actually cared about our complaints, but because the new girl working at the counter made a mistake while ringing us up, and didn't know how to correct it so she got frustrated and let us leave paying a lot less than our original quote. But nothing can really make up for the frustration we endured at the evil hands of UHAUL.

The end.
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Word! UHaul is the Spawn of Satan. Take your chances if you dare. Muhahahhaahhahahahahahaaa....... :smuggrin:
 
If you search around on the internet, you'll find that U-Haul is probably the consensus worst truck rental company out there. I would agree. We rented a truck for a 400-mile move and every time I tried to call the place, the phone would ring constantly and no one would answer. I'm talking five minutes of letting the phone ring, during normal business hours, and no answering machine, voice mail, hod music...this happened on at least a few different days. Then when I went to pick up the truck, guess what--no truck. Oh, there were trucks, but the guy said they were only in good enough shape for local moves. So I waited several hours until they had a truck. Let me just say I'd hate to see the shape those "local only" trucks were in, because this thing did not drive like it wanted to be on the highway. Whenever I stepped on the gas it sounded like a lawnmower being amplified through two hundred megaphones, and that's about what it sounded like when crusing at 65 mph. And a half tank of gas was like $60.

I don't see myself ever going U-Haul again. I rented Budget for a local move and that "local only" truck was like a finely tuned sports car compared to the U-Haul.
 
I can't comment on the whole U-Haul vs. other rental agencies argument. However, if I were to do it over again, I would definitely NOT go with a moving company--not even a supposedly reputable one--unless my employer was paying for the move.
 
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It sounds like there just isn't really any good/easy way to move... :cool:
 
You can just take one look at U-Haul's trucks and see theyre crap.

If you want to drive it yourself, use Penske. All of their equipment is brand new.

If you dont want to drive it, use ABF at www.abf.com

Theyre pretty close to the cost of moving it yourself
 
My recommendation.

Budget's trucks are no less than 3 years old and all are in pretty good condition with excellent maintenance records.

Moved 2900miles without a problem at 70mph on I-80 through Donner Pass and the Rockies through Snow with a Car in Tow. The 15' truck pulled like a champ, and never had any cooling or engine issues.

:thumbup:
 
We moved from Alberquerque to Kirksville with a 24' Ryder truck pulling a 4X4 pickup. No problems.

But the two in-town moves we had since then (both U-haul), U-haul shafted us- first , we had to drive 90 miles to pick up a truck. Second, we didn't get the truck we reserved and had to go with a small truck. Unfortuantely, there is no other choice in KV.

U-haul is crap.
 
There is a cottage industry of U-Haul-sucks websites out there. The book sounds entertaining also:

Birthright: Murder, Greed, and Power in the U-Haul Family Dynasty

more tales of uhaul disaster:
http://www.clanboyd.info/uhaul/uhaul3/
http://home.earthlink.net/~rockisle/files/uhaul.htm
http://www.dontuseuhaul.com/OtherPeople.html

That said, I've successfully used U-Haul for local moves three times over the past few years. However, you have to watch your tail and make sure you realize what you're getting into. Some points:
1. Only do local moves. Never do a one-way long-haul trip with U-Haul. Use Ryder, Penske, Budget, whatever.
2. Avoid the big vans. Big vans on one-way moves is where 90% of your U-Haul horror stories come from.
3. The small vans and pickups are the newest and most reliable vehicles. I had a great uhaul experience with a small GMC van with 2k miles recently. (They also have better gas mileage.)
4. Remember, they make all their money on the surcharges.
5. Never, ever make a reservation on the website. Only do it by calling the branch directly. The website is run by corporate, but the branches are independent, so there is minimal communication between them.
6. Find out when they open, and arrive right before. They often lose or ignore reservations in favor of renting to someone who's right there.
7. Check your credit card receipt closely, make sure their odometer math matches yours. I never found a discrepancy, but others have, and their staff isn't exactly dedicated.
 
Ryder doesn't do one-way moves, so rule them out

I am moving 1400 miles - my wife and I have an apartment full of stuff plus a car we are towing. The UHAUL rate was by far the cheapest.

15 Foot truck with Tow Dolly 1400 miles
UHAUL $1200
Penske $1407
Budget $2956

I have used UHAUL twice to make cross country moves and have not had a problem. I am not discounting the volumes of testimony claiming otherwise, simply stating my own anecdotal experience.
 
Cheapest way to do it (I realize this will not be possible for a lot of folks). Pack it all yourself. Borrow two vans and/or one van and one pickup. Make two trips. Hire insured mover folks on both ends for the very heavy stuff that you couldn't bear to see your friends possibly get injured on. Total cost: gas, boxes, beers, movers wages and tips: $700. (This is a townhouse full of stuff).
 
I think I used the ABS freight company. I found them on the internet. It worked like a previous person said. They drop off a big trailer and you fill it with your stuff. They pick up the trailer and deliver it to your new home within a certain window of time. You pay by the square footage that you use. The rest of the truck is loaded with commercial cargo. Of course, the drawback is that you have to load and unload yourself, but I think it cost me around $1200 for a move from Seattle to Salt Lake City. Not too bad, if I recall correctly.
 
Diane Moore said:
BEWARE! ValueMoves with an s is not the same as the reputable company ValueMove operated by United Van Lines. ValueMoves is a scammer, as you can see if you go to this thread - http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=858

I worry when I see comments like this posted on this board: "ABF's quote was almost as much as the quotes I got from full-service moving companies on the Internet, so I'm going to go with a full-service mover." If any supposedly full-service company gives you a quote similar to ABF's, it is almost certainly a scammer that is lowballing you and will later raise the price in a hostage freight situation. Not only that, delivery delays of many weeks or even months are common, and your things will most likely be delivered damaged, often by a company different from the one you hired. The scammers are totally charming when they are trying to sign you up, but later they are rude or unreachable.

I myself moved with ABF and I'm a volunteer for a website called MovingScam at www.movingscam.com. In following the messageboard there for almost a year, I have yet to see one case in which a company found on the Internet (other than a major van line or a U-Pack, We-Drive mover like ABF) turned out to be reputable. I know that some people posting on this board are familiar with MovingScam. Please, warn others when you see trouble coming. One thing to look for: no reputable moving company requires a deposit except for auto transporters.

People should especially avoid websites like www.123movers.com and www.vanlines.com that specialize in funneling victims to scammers. I saw someone mention 123movers here and cringed. Even Monster Moving is suspect, and the Yahoo Yellow Pages are infested with scam companies.

Extremely intelligent people have been taken in by scammers--attorneys, college professors, and yes, even doctors and dentists. I spoke with a dentist today who was scammed after getting quotes from several major van lines and one scammer. The scammer's quote was 40% below the others so he hired that company. His things arrived in LA six weeks later delivered by a different company. All the legs were broken on his furniture and the movers demanded hundreds of extra dollars in cash or they said they would take his things away.

Bottom line: do not go with any company that contacts you as a result of contact information that you posted on the Internet. That's how the scammers get their victims.

If money is a concern, consider hiring a U-Pack, We-Drive mover like ABF at www.upack.com, which has 67 mostly positive reviews on Epinions, or Broadway Express at www.broadwayexpress.net, which also has many positive reviews on MovingScam. Of the two, Broadway Express is better for most people because the driver will help you load for a small hourly fee and all equipment such as a walkboard (ramp), dolly, moving pads, and material to construct decking is included in the quote. The prices for ABF and Broadway Express are usually quite similar. If you need to estimate how many linear feet you'll need in the truck, go to the ABF website and click on the Space Estimators link on the menu at the bottom, and then click on "Advanced" on that page. Broadway Express can move your car in the same van with the household goods if you want.
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pjm said:
That said, I've successfully used U-Haul for local moves three times over the past few years. However, you have to watch your tail and make sure you realize what you're getting into. Some points:

5. Never, ever make a reservation on the website. Only do it by calling the branch directly. The website is run by corporate, but the branches are independent, so there is minimal communication between them.
Click to expand...

I used Uhaul for a Seattle to Chicago move and had a decent experience renting one of their trucks, but I did shop around for branches in Seattle after one branch manager told me that he couldn't guarantee a truck for me even if I had a reservation. This was at one of the largest branches in Seattle. That made me nervous so I asked around to other branches and stumbled accross a great mom-and-pop hardware store that was also a Uhaul branch. There I was able to confirm things in advance and choose between several trucks. They were all a little beat up, but I did mangae to find one that I was comfortable driving.
 
drumming207 said:
I was expecting 2500-3000 and I locked in a move from New Mexico to Pennsylvania for ~$1200. I thought this was a great deal and the company is legit. My wife and I have a lot of stuff too!

drumming :D

Federated Moving

**If they keep my stuff and try to charge me $15k to get it back (like I saw some companies doing on Dateline awhile back)... I will let you know. ;) **
Click to expand...

OH MY GOD - this company is an alias of a known scammer, Discount Moving Network. Do a search on the www.movingscam.com message board on "Federated Moving."

Please, anyone else . . . check out the company you are considering on MovingScam.com before signing on with it. Any company that quotes you only half of what a major van line would quote is a scammer unless proven otherwise. Requiring any kind of deposit is also an enormous red flag that should make you rule the company out immediately.

If cost is a concern, please, please don't go with a "bargain" full-service mover. Instead, go to MovingScam.com and read about the U-Pack, We-Drive companies like ABF at www.upack.com and Broadway Express at www.broadwayexpress.net. I am a long-time volunteer on that website and have tons of doctors and dentists in my family. I've put together a FAQ sheet explaining how these companies operate and comparing ABF and BE at http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1771

I myself used ABF a year ago, but in my opinion Broadway Express is better for most people because the cost is comparable to ABF but it offers many more amenities. Its trailers are air-ride rather than spring-ride like ABF's (much easier on your things), all equipment such as moving pads, dollies, a walkboard, and decking material is provided, and--most important--the driver will help you load for a small hourly fee. People who have used BE have raved about it. Their reviews are posted on MovingScam.com on a sticky at the top of the message board at http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1935

Bottom line: the only way to save 30-40% over the cost of a full-service mover is to contribute some of your own labor. Don't go with any company that you've never heard of that contacts you as a result of information that you posted on the Internet. That's how the scammers get their victims. It's important to understand, too, that although in-state moves have some legal protection, people doing interstate moves are virtually unprotected against having their lives ruined by scammers because the weak laws that exist against negligence, fraud, hostage freight, etc. are not enforced.

If you use a rental van, Penske gets by far the best reviews on MovingScam.com. With input from someone posting on StudentDoctor.net, I've posted a thread telling how to get a 20-22% discount from Penske at http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1674 We advise against using U-Haul for all the reasons posted here. Budget also gets pretty good reviews on MovingScam.com.

The scam moving scene is described in the June 21 issue of People magazine (last few pages)--the one with Reagan on the cover. The article mentions MovingScam.com, which now gets almost a million and a half pageviews a month without doing any advertising. Please, those of you who are moving to med school or to residencies, mention MovingScam.com to others and post about it on your listservs so that we can protect more people from having their lives ruined by scammers.

If I can answer any questions, I'll be glad to do so here or in a PM (private message) on MovingScam.com, where I post as "Diane." I don't check this website very often, so querying me on MovingScam.com is probably better.
 
DadofDr2B said:
There is an outfit by the name "Two Men and a Truck" that I have used them locally for moving offices. I know there are some 130 franchises across the nation, but I do not know if they haul across state lines. They charge an hourly rate for small jobs. Could be an answer for some of you.
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Two Men and a Truck is a GREAT company. My grandmother moved from her large apartment to a teeny apartment right before I went to school, and so she gave me a lot of furniture. I'm only 2 hours away from home now, but I live on the 3rd floor and since my dad is handicapped, my mom had a back injury, and the furniture was heavy, I needed movers. Two Men and a Truck got to my house at 9am, put my stuff on the truck, got to my new apartment and had it unloaded by 2pm. They were fantastic. The whole thing was under $1000.

Ditto what everyone says on Uhaul-- Uhaul sucks. Budget is awesome. I drove the Budget truck from my grandma's place in Florida to my house in NC with absolutely no problems.
 
Originally Posted by drumming207
I was expecting 2500-3000 and I locked in a move from New Mexico to Pennsylvania for ~$1200. I thought this was a great deal and the company is legit. My wife and I have a lot of stuff too!

drumming

Federated Moving

**If they keep my stuff and try to charge me $15k to get it back (like I saw some companies doing on Dateline awhile back)... I will let you know. **

OH MY GOD - this company is an alias of a known scammer, Discount Moving Network. Do a search on the www.movingscam.com message board on "Federated Moving."

Please, anyone else . . . check out the company you are considering on MovingScam.com before signing on with it. Any company that quotes you only half of what a major van line would quote is a scammer unless proven otherwise. Requiring any kind of deposit is also an enormous red flag that should make you rule the company out immediately.
Click to expand...


Well, the move went as planned AND I have all of my stuff. The price stayed the same and my $15k bedroom furniture didn't have a scratch on it.

However, next time I move I am going to shell out any amount of money necessary just for peace of mind. In retrospect, I should have investigated the company a little more althougth I thought I did (contacted BBB, DOT, etc.). I am sorry to hear of those people that have been scammed and I wish you luck in pursuing legal action, etc.

drumming :D
 
I recently moved from NY to Wisconsin (about 1200 miles) and had a great experience with Penske. I did a pretty thorough search and found their rates to be the lowest. A 26' truck after all taxes and insurance ran about $1200. One trick you should consider if you live in a big city is to shop outside of the urban/suburban area. You will have to drive to get the truck but can save big $$. I saved ~$1000 by getting outside of the NYC area and driving to NJ to pick it up. The 1-800 customer service folks can help you search for the best rates. After gas, food and hotel it was under $2000 to do this. Another thing about Penske is that they have many brand new/very new trucks, automatic, with nice comfortable cabs. Every experience I've had with U-Haul has seen me driving a old run down rickety bucket of bolts. I'd steer clear of this. It was really nice to have a reliable truck for the trip.
 
I guess it depends how far you're moving. My fiancee and I moved from North Carolina to Rochester, NY (about 730 miles) with some help from friends. We rented our own 22' Penske moving truck, packed it up, and drove it up here. And trust me, we had a TON of stuff (3 full couches, 1 love seat, 1 single seater, 3 chests-of-drawers, 1 huge dresser, 2 nightstands, 2 mattresses (queen and king), king-size sleigh-bed, dining room table, large desk, book cases, large TV stands--the only stuff we got up here were our dining room hutch and some file cabinets). Anyway, it was about $450 to rent the truck and I figure we spent about $130 on gas. It's definitely a lot more work and kills an entire day and it also helps to have friends that are willing to help (we had 3 or 4 help us pack, 2 help us with the drive, and then a bunch to help us unpack when we got up here), but we found it to be worthwhile to save a couple grand.
Some day when I have plenty of money, I'll definitely be hiring people. But for now, I really think doing it myself was the way to go.

Hope this helps.
 
Two more notes:
1. I know $450 seems like a ridiculously low rate, but I think that's because we booked it so early. But in general, I think Penske has some great deals and like the last poster said, they have great trucks.

2. While it took about 14 or 15 hours, we did the drive in one day (saved on hotel expenses, got it out of the way).
 
zinjanthropus said:
15 Foot truck with Tow Dolly 1400 miles
UHAUL $1200
Penske $1407
Budget $2956
Click to expand...
I've had a friend use quotes from one company to bring down the price at another.
 
I used ABF to go from MA-->IA and looking back they weren't that bad. Just be sure you pack your stuff well and you try to protect it as good as possible (tarps and the like)....they don't provide any of this stuff. I was going with the bare minimum and it POURED the day before I picked up my stuff and as a result some of it got kind of wet. Luckily it hadn't been just sitting in the water for days, so after letting it dry out for a couple of days it was fine, no smell or anything but I was sweating bullets for a while wondering what I would do if I had to buy all new stuff. The only other thing I would say is that if I ever have to do another move like that I will pay the extra money to have professional do it for me. It may cost as much as 500-1000 more but in the end it's probably really worth it in my mind, because as long as you're using a reputable company it saves you a lot of time, worry and aggravation. Good luck.
 
I'm gonna move in a couple of weeks and the prices in all rent-a- truck companies were otrageous - from WI to Fl ~2800-3500 dollars.....! ABF gave me a quote of 1350. And I don't have to drive it myself and spend money on gas,etc....I guess I 'm gonna go with ABF...By the way, when I asked Budget and U-haul about their prices versus ABF their answer struck me - it depends on the destination as well as milage! Apparently, everybody is moving to Fl one way and nobody wants to bring trucks back, so they overcharge people in order to hire somebody else to bring the trucks back. Something to consider, people! I decided to check whether it's true or not. Went online, chose as a destination Georgia instead of FL (only 350 miles less) and same Budget gave me 1500 quote! Couldn't believe my eyes! My 2 cents.
 
drumming207 said:
Well, the move went as planned AND I have all of my stuff. The price stayed the same and my $15k bedroom furniture didn't have a scratch on it.. . . In retrospect, I should have investigated the company a little more although I thought I did (contacted BBB, DOT, etc.). - drumming :D
Click to expand...
Glad to hear that things went OK for you, drumming--you have to be one of the few people in recent memory who escaped being scammed by Federated Moving. See this thread for just a few of the cases that we know about on MovingScam.com - http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1895 (The BBB is almost worthless as a way of validating moving companies, by the way, since it is very reluctant to offend any of its dues-paying members by giving them an "unsatisfactory" rating.)

Also, I'm reading a lot of good tips in this forum about rental van companies (and have re-posted some of them on MovingScam; thanks very much!). As I said in my first post, people in the market for a rental van or an inexpensive U-Pack, We-Drive type mover might want to look at our four "stickies" with good information at the top of the messageboard on MovingScam at http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=2

There's a thread on rental van companies, a thread with reviews of ABF by people who have used the company, a thread with recent reviews of Broadway Express (a great, little-known company that's a step up from ABF in terms of amenities), and a FAQ sheet that I wrote on ABF and BE. Probably the most important thing that people should do before signing on with any moving company is to Google the name of the company.
In most cases, any bad information about it on MovingScam or on other consumer advocacy websites like www.ripoffreport.com will come up in the results.
 
I, too, have heard terrible things about U-Haul.

My wife and I moved back to TN (from CT) about six months ago. We saved lots of money by renting an el cheapo 14' truck from a local company, which I loaded myself with a friend ($25 + 12-pk Coors light).

The only catch was that since it was a local company, I had to drive the thing BACK to Connecticut and drive my car down, which was okay since we saved about $500 or more.

When we got here, we had to store our stuff for a couple of months while we looked for a house. Once we found one, we needed someone to bring our stuff cross-town, so we hired Two Men and a Truck, who were impeccably quick, careful, and polite. (And cheap.)

As you can see, time was not a concern for us, though money definitely was. If you have the money to spend, rent a nice truck one way and tow your car.

--Funkless
 
My dad was dying to see my new place and unbelievably willing to help with the move from OH to FL for this single gal. I rented the longest UHAUL trailer (12' I think) which we towed behind his SUV and the rest of my boxes in his car or mine. The trailer vs small Uhaul truck one way was ~1400 vs ~3800....but even better, if it was returned to the same place, it was only $20/d. So he stayed several days, helped me settle in and drive around town getting things like mattresses that wouldn't fit in my car then towed the trailer back more or less empty and returned it for a grand total of less than $180. The milage and gas we drummed up was paid for by the savings....but I was lucky enough to have him spend his vacation helping me move. Thankfully you can actually pull faster than the posted 45 mph AND the Uhaul trailers are in less demand so it's easier to actually get them as promised (assuming your vehicle can handle the load and type of trailer.)
 
Maybe I'm just lazy, but I'm just going to sell all of my furniture (a bedroom and a living room's worth) and buy cheap, med-school-friendly crap in my new hometown. It's a 2000 mile move for me and there's no way in hell I am driving a u-haul or similar type truck that far, and I figure the cost of getting a mover to take all of my crap that far would be as much as just buying a cheap couch, nice bed, and desk when I get to med school town. My boyfriend moved across the country and with a little help from IKEA, outfitted his new apartment for under $2000 (looks nice, too). Even if I lose a little money with selling my current furniture, well, I'm already going to be spending $200,000, so what's a little more on new furniture and saving myself some headaches :)
 
stinkycheese said:
Maybe I'm just lazy, but I'm just going to sell all of my furniture (a bedroom and a living room's worth) and buy cheap, med-school-friendly crap in my new hometown. It's a 2000 mile move for me and there's no way in hell I am driving a u-haul or similar type truck that far, and I figure the cost of getting a mover to take all of my crap that far would be as much as just buying a cheap couch, nice bed, and desk when I get to med school town. My boyfriend moved across the country and with a little help from IKEA, outfitted his new apartment for under $2000 (looks nice, too). Even if I lose a little money with selling my current furniture, well, I'm already going to be spending $200,000, so what's a little more on new furniture and saving myself some headaches :)
Click to expand...

I have often wondered why more people don't take this route. I mean, if you look around, you can find great deals on furniture. Certainly seems like a better idea than paying thousands of dollars to move stuff you probably won't want in 4 years anyway.

I was lucky that I was moving in state, only 5 hours. So, with my redneck arse in my pickup truck and a U-haul trailer behind, I was able to move (with my brother's help for packing and unloading) for less than 75 dollars. *shrug*
 
Does anyone else have any recommendations for / good experiences with specific professional moving companies?

I've seen Two Men and A Truck listed above--but everyone else has largely mentioned self-moving with truck rentals.

(I'm looking for the complete package...)


This will be a move between Northern and Southern California, by the way....


Thanks!
 
Molecule said:
Does anyone else have any recommendations for / good experiences with specific professional moving companies?

For a major move of mine several years ago I used United Van Lines and was pleasantly surprised. They were on time, speedy at bringing packages out of my old spot and into the new and were very friendly. A television was broken in the process which I rec'd a check for some time later. I would also recommend Penske.

Big Advice:

Get insurance. Whether you move on your own or have someone else do it, cover your booty. 'Cause when you've lost something you're really going to regret it. Oh, and remember that MANY auto insurance policies do not cover you if you rent a truck and crash it. Not good to repair a UHaul out of your meager earnings, right?

Get as many competing quotes as you can. And ask each person why they are the best. Price alone should not drive your purchase.

Screw the packing. Do it yourself and find things faster, save a bunch of money and save some trees while your at it.

Invite your friends over for lunch. They say your "real friends" are the ones who will help you move. This is true. Call folks you know and can rely on and you'll be surprised how fast your move will go if you do it on your own, or how fast your packing will go if you have someone else move you.

Save your receipts. This cannot be discounted. You can save a good chunk of cash come tax time by saving everything. I would recommend using a credit card for those times you lose a receipt as your credit card doesn't forget.

Chuck/Donate things you don't LOVE. You will save sweat if you do it yourself, money if you have someone else move it for you, and earn money come tax time if you donate. Plus, many places will actually come pick up your donation for you. Now that is sweet.

That's it. Hope it helps. If you have any other questions let me know. I've moved a great number of times in my life and have had so many friends move all over creation as well, so I'm sort of a good resource on this subject.

Cheers,
Doc Kane
relocationdr
Click to expand...
 
I'm a volunteer on MovingScam.com and am reposting some tips just posted there on all the threads here having to do with moving:

1. -->June 7, 2005 - Someone has just posted that you can get a 30% discount from Penske just by asking a customer service rep for it on the phone--no fooling around with web discounts. - http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4639 In addition, someone else posted that a Penske phone rep offered to match a Budget price in Manhattan as long as it wasn't more than 40% lower than Penske's price - http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4571 These things are definitely worth checking into.

2. Also, "yc" (who is moving with ABF, not using U-Haul) posted on 6/9/05 that you can get a month's free storage with U-Haul if you use any of the loaders, etc. listed on their www.emove.com website - http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4610

Since ABF does not offer free storage (which I will need for 2 weeks) I'm going to be storing my things at a local U-Haul storage center. The good thing is that if I use an emove.com helper to help me load/unload (or basically do any part of my move), U-Haul give me 1 free month storage. You just have to tell U-Haul that you are using emove.com.
Click to expand...
Hope this helps someone.
 
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