Moving ship vs. drive

[dura]

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Does anyone know the best way to get a good deal on a truck rental? How are people planning to furnish their apartments after moving across the country--just curious. Is anyone shipping everything?

 

[CoverMe]

I'm really dreading this whole "moving" thing... well, i'm excited to MOVE, i just hate the process. That being said, i've already boxed up a few things. To narrow it even further, i like to move IN but i hate to move OUT!!

Personally, i'm borrowing my dad's F250 HD Diesel, and renting a big UHaul trailer. I'm planning on getting a friend or my mom to drive out with me in my Honda, and I'll fly them back. This saves me a week and a lot of effort.

Shipping seems expensive, unless you have an entire house of stuff?? I really have no idea, it never occurred to me to hire someone to do it?

Moving out of Las Vegas has been comparitively cheap... apparently UHaul develops an excess stock of vehicles and trailers here, b/c there are more people moving IN than moving out... so they were pretty happy to get me to take some of thier inventory in a different direction.

A word to the wise... ABSOLUTELY rent the dolly (hand truck). Also, bite the bullet and get the UHaul for an extra day. You can take a little more time packing it and then leave bright and early the next morning... MUCH better! Also, for those of you who have never packed trailers, try to get the heaviest items in FRONT OF, OR OVER the trailer axel. If a majority of the weight is behind, it acts as a lever on the back of your car (at the hitch) and the trailer will whip from side to side at any freeway speeds.

 

[aragonh]

Im also making preparations to move.

But for me, Im getting rid of stuff before moving out. I only want to take a car-load of stuff to med school. Whatever cant fit in the car will be given away/thrown out.

I;ve done the uhaul thing before. I rented a UHaul truck with a dolley and put my car on it. Took a friend for the trip and flew him back. Total cost: about 1,500.

I looked into the moving companies at the time. Min cost: about $2500.

 

[CoverMe]

Im also making preparations to move.

But for me, Im getting rid of stuff before moving out. I only want to take a car-load of stuff to med school. Whatever cant fit in the car will be given away/thrown out.

I;ve done the uhaul thing before. I rented a UHaul truck with a dolley and put my car on it. Took a friend for the trip and flew him back. Total cost: about 1,500.

I looked into the moving companies at the time. Min cost: about $2500.

aragonh.. have you read eragon? any connection? Loved the book.

Don't you have furniture? are you planning on living in dorms? Due to having a prior career, life, and house, I have lots of furniture, and I'll be moving all of it 🙁

Uhaul trucks are pricey... trailers not so much. If you have a truck (or a friend w/ a truck) it's easily do-able.

 

[Code Brown]

www.craigslist.org

This is the best place to buy and sell furniture. Free and super easy to use. We've started selling our stuff since the place we'll be living at in Milwaukee and have had a lot of success. Too much actually. We were worried about being able to sell everything at a decent price and now have to live in our place for another 11 days with almost no furniture.

 

[miss bean]

Does anyone know the best way to get a good deal on a truck rental? How are people planning to furnish their apartments after moving across the country--just curious. Is anyone shipping everything?

When I moved across the country i rented what was basically a wooden box from this company called ABF. I brought all of my stuff to their loading dock in Portland, OR, shoved it in the box (honestly the 12'x9'x8' box fit a couch, mattress and box spring, kitchen table, dressers, clothes, everything). I am not even sure how we got everything in there. We locked it up, they loaded it with a fork lift onto a truck and then started driving cross-country. We took out sweet time driving across with our dogs, hiking, visiting friends,etc. The box got to DC before we did, but ABF kept it locked up in their storage facility outside DC until we got there (I think they give you two weeks).

I cannot recommend this company highly enough. They were so friendly and efficient. We priced every option out, and it was by far the cheapest. I am not sure how their prices are now with gas prices being so high, but it is probably still comprable if you consider that Uhaul trailers cause very low mpg in the car, and the trucks are very expensive and stressful to drive, and also get very bad gas mileage. Hope this helps. Best of luck with the big move!

 

[joffo]

Does anyone know the best way to get a good deal on a truck rental?

If you go to monstermoving.com there is a link to budget truck rentals with 10% off their regular rates. So far the best truck rates I've found.

 

[aragonh]

aragonh.. have you read eragon? any connection? Loved the book.

Don't you have furniture? are you planning on living in dorms? Due to having a prior career, life, and house, I have lots of furniture, and I'll be moving all of it 🙁

Uhaul trucks are pricey... trailers not so much. If you have a truck (or a friend w/ a truck) it's easily do-able.

Nope havent read it. My name Aragon actually comes from "El Cid".

Furniture I'll get once im at my destination. It would be more convenient for me that way.

 

[ruwan]

When I moved across the country i rented what was basically a wooden box from this company called ABF. I brought all of my stuff to their loading dock in Portland, OR, shoved it in the box (honestly the 12'x9'x8' box fit a couch, mattress and box spring, kitchen table, dressers, clothes, everything). I am not even sure how we got everything in there. We locked it up, they loaded it with a fork lift onto a truck and then started driving cross-country. We took out sweet time driving across with our dogs, hiking, visiting friends,etc. The box got to DC before we did, but ABF kept it locked up in their storage facility outside DC until we got there (I think they give you two weeks).

I cannot recommend this company highly enough. They were so friendly and efficient. We priced every option out, and it was by far the cheapest. I am not sure how their prices are now with gas prices being so high, but it is probably still comprable if you consider that Uhaul trailers cause very low mpg in the car, and the trucks are very expensive and stressful to drive, and also get very bad gas mileage. Hope this helps. Best of luck with the big move!

Do you remember about how much you paid for that?

 

[miss bean]

Do you remember about how much you paid for that?

I think $900. I will double check with my BF and get back to you. This was a year ago too, so it has probably gone up. Also, google ABF and I think they have an easy website, or you can call them. They were nice and friendly when we called. I thought it was sketchy to send my stuff off with some company found on the internet, by my BF insisted because we really wanted to enjoy our trip X-country, and it worked out really well. Good Luck!!

 

[miss bean]

Ok, it is upack.com and you can get a free price quote if you are willing to give your name and email address. They also seem to be willing to negotiate according to the wording on the website. I don't know whether we negotiated or not, but knowing my BF "we" very well may have!

 

[Dr. Starostik]

Is anyone shipping everything?

This may be a little of topic, but when my family moved from Germany to New York two years ago we shipped everything....ONLY TO HAVE MOST OF OUR BELONGINGS STOLEN. Therefore, I really think that shipping is a hassle and you'd be safer off renting a truck, knowing where all of your stuff is at all times.

 

[Diane Moore]

If you go to monstermoving.com there is a link to budget truck rentals with 10% off their regular rates. So far the best truck rates I've found.

How did you get to that link? I couldn't see how to access it. If I can find it I want to post about it on our rental van thread on www.MovingScam.com, where I'm a long-time volunteer.

Also, I just wanted to say with regard to ABF U-Pack, they are an excellent company and I used them myself a couple of years ago. But people are saying that they have raised their prices quite a bit. For example, someone just posted on Epinions that she got a quote for $2600 to move 6 linear feet (their current minimum for door-to-door) from NJ to CA. Terminal-to-terminal has a 5-foot minimum and costs less.

People might want to get a quote from Broadway Express at www.broadwayexpress.net as well, which is another freight company that we endorse on MovingScam.com. There is an interactive cost calculator on their website at http://www.broadwayexpress.net/household.html that would give you a good idea of what they would charge. The service is similar to U-Pack except with these amenities all included in the price: an air-ride trailer (easier on your things), a ramp, dollies, moving pads, plywood to build platforms with, and tie-down straps. Also, you can hire the driver for about $30/hour to help you load if you want. They have a 10-linear-foot minimum.

 

[patzan]

How did you get to that link? I couldn't see how to access it. If I can find it I want to post about it on our rental van thread on www.MovingScam.com, where I'm a long-time volunteer.

Also, I just wanted to say with regard to ABF U-Pack, they are an excellent company and I used them myself a couple of years ago. But people are saying that they have raised their prices quite a bit. For example, someone just posted on Epinions that she got a quote for $2600 to move 6 linear feet (their current minimum for door-to-door) from NJ to CA. Terminal-to-terminal has a 5-foot minimum and costs less.

People might want to get a quote from Broadway Express as well, which is another freight company that we endorse on MovingScam.com. There is an interactive cost calculator on their website at http://www.broadwayexpress.net/household.html that would give you a good idea of what they would charge. The service is similar to U-Pack except with these amenities all included in the price: an air-ride trailer (easier on your things), a ramp, dollies, moving pads, plywood to build platforms with, and tie-down straps. Also, you can hire the driver for about $30/hour to help you load if you want.

I looked into ABF (upack.com) as well as some others and got quotes from LA to Nashville. There is a company called ValueMoves (www.valuemoves.com). We used them and got 12' for $2100, I think. ABF was going to be $2500 and U-Haul was $3500 + gas + you have to drive the friggin' thing at 65 mph for 2000 miles! We went with ValueMoves and were very happy. They will beat any quote, including ABF. They are a small company and the "CEO" will answer his cell phone if you call it.

Be sure to pack well in any case. Your stuff will get bumped, scratched, and rubbed no matter who is moving it. STRONG rope is a good investment. Ours broke.

Keep in mind that ABF and ValueMoves do not include a ramp like U-haul, so it's a little harder getting stuff in and out of the truck if you have washers/dryers, couches, etc.

 

[joffo]

How did you get to that link? I couldn't see how to access it.

Go to monstermoving.com
Click "Moving" tab
Under "Moving Tools" click "Truck Rental"

Under the Budget listing is an underlined link to their website with 10% off a 1-way rental.

 

[Diane Moore]

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.

Hope this helps someone.