Moving suggestions...

[soxbox]

so i had posted before for suggestions on moving my cats cross country and I really appreciate all the answers everyone had... now I am on to obsessing about something else... how to move my stuff

I was wondering if anyone had any experience moving their stuff long distance? I have checked into companies like UHaul and it seems like it will cost roughly $3000 (not counting fuel) to move from Boston to Colorado... I also looked into the POD idea.. that was surprisingly expensive as well... about $3300 for ONE pod...

So anyone have any companies that they used that they thought were priced fairly and didnt damage/lose your stuff?

I definitely will be driving my car, so I will have to rope my parents into helping move if I go with some sort of rental vehicle (hence the appeal of the POD thing...)

Thanks for any ideas

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[hoodle]

I was wondering if anyone had any experience moving their stuff long distance? ...
I definitely will be driving my car ...

Thanks for any ideas

Here's my say, after moving back and forth across the country twice:
it's a pain in the ass. Driving a car full of stuff, especially with a UHaul trailer attached, is miserable, dangerous, frustrating, and unpleasant! I don't know how far you have to go, but really, less is more.

If you're moving clothes, personal items, etc, pack it in your car. Get a Thule to put on top of the car - they're very aerodynamic and can fit loads. Books - send them book rate! It's really relatively affordable and very convenient. Furniture? Go to craigslist.com and get stuff cheap in your new place. It's just not worth trekking your favorite bookshelf and dresser set 2,000 miles. Other stuff - if you don't have room, spend the money you would have spent with a UHaul and send it instead. It is so much more convenient, and much safer! UHauls often can't be towed over about 50 mph, even with a SUV - they wobble dangerously at speed. They are really terrifying and in my mind, should be used exclusively for local distances!

That's my advice... good luck...

 

[4theanimals]

Hey Soxbox:

I'm not totally obsessed yet...but soon enough. I get what hoodle is saying but that just isn't possible for me and perhaps its the same for you. I and the family would be very unhappy if I junked the antiques. ;-) I have moved across country a few times. The best was when my company payed for it but no such luxury now. The rest of the time it was Uhaul or some such. I'm really learning toward the pod thing. Driving my car with cats is one things. Driving a Uhaul, towing my car, and the cats in the cab of a truck sounds totally unappealing. There is a thread about moving in the main SDN forums, I believe it's in the off topic section. There are some recommendations and such which might help. If I come to some brilliant conclusion I'll share with you.

 

[hoodle]

(I'm interested in this topic as I live one one coast, all my family's on the other, and I have no idea where I'll end up... and I can see a lot of moving in my future!)

I just looked into the POD thing, and it really does seem amazing. I like the whole "I can pack in it for 2 or 3 weeks and not be charged more" ethos... it's not too rushed. And I like the idea of someone ELSE transporting the damn thing.

I think if you need to bring along furniture, or a family's worth of stuff, or whatever... this would beat UHauls any day, esp. as UHaul's aren't cheap. I'd shell out the extra money for the safety and convenience.

 

[soxbox]

well i have stumbled upon this article http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=consumer&id=5106956 which speaks positively of the you-pack moving services... and there is one called ABF U-Pack that you can either pack up a "relocube" or pack a tractor trailer with as much as you want and then they separate your belongings and the rest of the trailer is used for commercial transport... this company is cheaper (using either their "pod" or the trailer) than the POD company and according to eopinions, seems to be highly rated.... the only problem a lot of people have is the parking of the container or trailer in front of your new place... sometimes its just not possible

I am definitely leaning more towards this idea rather than uhaul or the such... never realized you cannot go more than 45/50mph with those rental trucks/trailers (thanks hoodle)!!

4theanimals... i never even thought of checking out the main forum.. thanks for that tip!!

 

[DVM2b]

I moved from California to Minnesota last summer and I rented a truck from Penske. It was half of the price of a Uhaul and the trucks are much newer than the uhaul trucks. They also give a AAA discount that I think was like $200. The trip was still pretty expensive with hotel and gas. We drove the truck much faster than 45 mph and we still got fairly decent gas mileage. The only scary part was where it was really windy through Nebraska.

 

[kate_g]

which speaks positively of the you-pack moving services...

Haven't done it myself, but I do have friends that went this route and were very happy. You do all the packing and loading, they just drive the truck. Thing is, if you do the tractor-trailer option, you can put your *car* in there if you want. Might be especially nice if you're a family with two cars (put one in the truck, drive the other so you can split the driving).

As for parking a tractor-trailer outside your new place... When we moved cross-country we used an actual moving company (which I do *not* recommend). Our place is on a really crowded street, there's never any parking space. We had this window of time when we thought they'd be arriving, so the day before we made some signs (just sharpie on a piece of paper) saying "moving truck arriving, please don't park here" in big letters, taped them to some garbage cans or whatever was around, and put them in the street just off the curb when we saw that a spot had opened in front of the house. By the end of the day we had blocked off enough spaces for the truck to fit, so we were ready the next morning. This depends to some extent on the politeness of your neighbors - in our case nobody on the street just moved the cans and parked there anyway or anything.

 

[wildfocus]

i've requested a quote from Door-to-Door moving services. anyone used them before? it would be great to just pack up the main stuff, and then drive the 20 hours with the cats and a couple of days clothes.

 

[pressmom]

I haven't moved cross country but I have moved 3 times in the last 4 years. (NC to NJ, NJ to NC, NC to KY and soon KY to OH, TN, or AL) Anyway, I highly recommend going with someplace insured. If your stuff is worth taking so far, it's worth protecting from unscrupulous people and breakage. My stuff is nice-ish and I like it, so I'm taking it. I have used North American Van Lines, which is franchised but overseen by the parent company, plus they're all over the country. Included in the package I bought was packing 2 rooms. I chose the kitchen (all those breakables) and the living room and packed the rest myself. Just a suggestion. It did cost more, but it was worth it to me.

 

[sundoggie]

I have moved cross country twice, and each time found that it was cheaper simply to sell my things in the first place and buy new/used stuff when I got to the new location. But, if you can't do that with everything then I found UPS shipping to be very reasonable and everything got there safely. If you have nice furniture that must go with you, and you decide to use a moving company PLEASE check their reputation with the better business bureau because many of them are really horribly run companies. I had a terrible experience with National Moving Network and they are in the middle of multiple lawsuits. It turns out they screw just about everyone over. So definitely don't pick them! Just do a google search on their name if you don't believe me!

Good luck guys!

 

[4theanimals]

i've requested a quote from Door-to-Door moving services. anyone used them before? it would be great to just pack up the main stuff, and then drive the 20 hours with the cats and a couple of days clothes.

From CA to CO I have been checking into prices. I checked ABF as they seem to have a good reputation, U-haul and Penske. By the time you pay for the truck, the tow dolly and the gas it's the same or more than ABF. And your not riding in that freakin' truck with unhappy animals. One of the small benefits I thought was that if you do the pods they are at ground level - none of that running up and down the ramp crap! I think it was four business days for it to get there which would be just fine.

If you go to the main forums here. Under premedical forums is an off topic forum. If you go there and search for ABF you will bring up a thread which has some good info regarding moving.