Moving stuff cross country

Collar_N_Cuffs

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Howdy :)

I am looking for help in how to move a bunch of furniture a few thousand miles for the least cost (1st) and hassle (2nd). I will tell you my current plan, and then all the experts and experienced peeps please let me know where I'm going wrong :rolleyes:

Everything is currently in a storage shed up east (in the US). I'm going to fly up there, load it into a U-Haul, drive it to another state (about 900 miles), drop half of it off (that's the tricky bit), load the smaller amount into a smaller U-Haul and drive it another 1,000ish miles to the final destination.

Does anyone have any reasonably productive :D comments or suggestions on how to do this better? I'm doing it on someone else's dime as a favour, so I want to keep the cost at an absolute minimum. Is there anything cheaper than U-Haul? Is it worth it to change out to the smaller truck at the first drop off point? Is it cheaper to split the stuff up at the point of origin and hire professional movers to get the stuff to the two destinations?

Any helpful hints or anecdotal experience appreciated :)
 
Den

Far from an expert but here's how I did it moving from central Illinois to NW Florida, 1033 miles. Yes I know this.
First of all it was closer to 1200+ miles until I figured the way birds fly and took more 2-lane highways. Sure it took longer but we'd just retired and had the time. Use a map and forget the GPS. My son and wife get more confused with those things and have no idea where they actually are.

This will be two parts since we recently moved back to Illinois taking way less crap.

In June 1994 I bought a used Chevy full sized van and turned the rear sofa bed into a permanent air mattress bed with a small home AC unit in a back window. This only helped in regular RV parks. We also had a five year old adopted son which made the first two trips more exciting. Removed second seat and he slept on an air mattress next to the side doors.
Added a Cool-A-Tron 12V cooler for drinks and food. No stopping much to eat. Sleeping in rest areas and fast food joints saved lots of money and was much faster than a motel or RV park. In no real hurry I only drove 300 miles or so most days.
After we found our dream home in paradice my wife and son stayed in Florida so he could begin school. Then I drove 500 miles which was roughly half way each trip to sleep, eat, and fuel up. Athens, Alabama has many fast food, gas stations, and motels at exit 351. Your stops may vary!
I also bought a commercial grade 18' flat bed trailer and made 4X8' side boards that were removeable. I added top bows and a large tarp to haul seven different old cars and lot of crap to our new home in Florida. Everything remained dry.
Later traded van and sold the flat bed trailer. Total cost fuel. No matter what I drove I needed insurance, tag, etc.
Seven trips was a lot but I decided to bring everything I could so life could go on like before, yet in a warmer place. I masturbated and sang to myself. You probably don't need pictures.

23 years later and getting old. We bought a home in Oct 2014 back in lllinois but refused to leave. Bad health. I hired a semi driver and had four of my cars and everything we could fit in them shipped back to Illinois. Six months later son and his wife drove down to get us. We quickly loaded his new mini van and my Impala with only things we wanted to save. Everything else was left to an auction company to sell and that home put up for sale.
This time we moved in one trip with two vehicles in a long day and a half. Sadly left so much behind plus the memories. Still no regrets.
Take what you can and stop using rental units for things worth less than the rent. We discovered those material things can be replaced.
 
Howdy :)

I am looking for help in how to move a bunch of furniture a few thousand miles for the least cost (1st) and hassle (2nd). I will tell you my current plan, and then all the experts and experienced peeps please let me know where I'm going wrong :rolleyes:

Everything is currently in a storage shed up east (in the US). I'm going to fly up there, load it into a U-Haul, drive it to another state (about 900 miles), drop half of it off (that's the tricky bit), load the smaller amount into a smaller U-Haul and drive it another 1,000ish miles to the final destination.

Does anyone have any reasonably productive :D comments or suggestions on how to do this better? I'm doing it on someone else's dime as a favour, so I want to keep the cost at an absolute minimum. Is there anything cheaper than U-Haul? Is it worth it to change out to the smaller truck at the first drop off point? Is it cheaper to split the stuff up at the point of origin and hire professional movers to get the stuff to the two destinations?

Any helpful hints or anecdotal experience appreciated :)

U-Haul can be good for an afternoon in-town move, but you also have to usually pay a per mileage and a per diem, and that can rack up really quickly. The advertised price is in-town only, go out of town, and the cost spikes up. Plus the 0.89/mile, damage protection, fees, etc. And then you have to factor in your plane ticket, and so forth. I would really suggest that you sit down and make a comprehensive budget in order to see how much it will cost, and read the fine lines, because it will be those caveats that will trip you up.

Depending, you may also look into a professional moving company. When I moved, and factored in the costs, transport, gas, motel, time (driving and packing and unloading) etc, it ended up being more economical to hire a long-range moving company. They were quick, efficient, and well-worth the money (the price included insurance whereas I would have had to take out a separate moving insurance if I did it by myself). I had a peace of mind and it took two days.

I cannot recommend any companies, as I've only moved furniture in Canada.

Good luck.
 
What an experience, sounds fun, and thank you for that! :)

Ummm... not to be rude, but anyone have any other ideas that won't involve converting a van or hiring semi drivers or buying multiple cars? :)

One storage unit, possibly 20 X 20, but I'm not positive.
 
Try a google search on one way moving costs. There are several sites with calculators to figure out which options are cost effective.

My last move was done by my employer. I was never really told the cost, but I didn't have to do anything but be there for them to pack it up and be there for them to unload everything. I understand that the cost was over $10,000, but I was moving a 5 bedroom house.

I have also moved myself. And most one truck rentals are a flat rate. No mileage. If I remember the cost with a trailer to haul the second car was around $1,100. And that was from Atlanta to Denver.

Good luck.
 
U-Haul can be good for an afternoon in-town move, but you also have to usually pay a per mileage and a per diem, and that can rack up really quickly. The advertised price is in-town only, go out of town, and the cost spikes up. Plus the 0.89/mile, damage protection, fees, etc. And then you have to factor in your plane ticket, and so forth. I would really suggest that you sit down and make a comprehensive budget in order to see how much it will cost, and read the fine lines, because it will be those caveats that will trip you up.

Depending, you may also look into a professional moving company. When I moved, and factored in the costs, transport, gas, motel, time (driving and packing and unloading) etc, it ended up being more economical to hire a long-range moving company. They were quick, efficient, and well-worth the money (the price included insurance whereas I would have had to take out a separate moving insurance if I did it by myself). I had a peace of mind and it took two days.

I cannot recommend any companies, as I've only moved furniture in Canada.

Good luck.


Ok, excellent advice. I will sit down and figure out the cost for hauling it myself with UHaul, and then get estimates to have it done professionally if I go this route. Thank you so much for sharing your experience!




Try a google search on one way moving costs. There are several sites with calculators to figure out which options are cost effective.

My last move was done by my employer. I was never really told the cost, but I didn't have to do anything but be there for them to pack it up and be there for them to unload everything. I understand that the cost was over $10,000, but I was moving a 5 bedroom house.

I have also moved myself. And most one truck rentals are a flat rate. No mileage. If I remember the cost with a trailer to haul the second car was around $1,100. And that was from Atlanta to Denver.

Good luck.

Can you explain a little more? What are "one truck rentals" I can look for at a flat rate?
Thank you!
 
Ok, excellent advice. I will sit down and figure out the cost for hauling it myself with UHaul, and then get estimates to have it done professionally if I go this route. Thank you so much for sharing your experience!






Can you explain a little more? What are "one truck rentals" I can look for at a flat rate?
Thank you!

Sorry, I meant one way rentals. You pay a flat fee for a truck from your beginning city and have x days to get it to the destination city.

You can find out what it should cost you on the UHaul site. Just fill out the form on the first page - pickup location(the city you start in), drop off location.
 
Does anyone have any reasonably productive :D comments or suggestions on how to do this better? I'm doing it on someone else's dime as a favour, so I want to keep the cost at an absolute minimum. Is there anything cheaper than U-Haul? Is it worth it to change out to the smaller truck at the first drop off point? Is it cheaper to split the stuff up at the point of origin and hire professional movers to get the stuff to the two destinations?

Any helpful hints or anecdotal experience appreciated :)


1) If you rent a U-Haul (or generic equivalent, like Nationwide, Penske, etc) check the brakes closely. My last experience with a DitY (do-it-yourself) move my friend and I spent an unplanned night in Twin Falls Idaho while the brake system was rebuilt due to excessive wear. Rental trucks get a lot of wear from people who don't have a lot of experience, so they get a lot more wear on the brakes (among other systems) and can be down-right dangerous if not detected.

2) Since you're looking at two destinations, consider renting a smaller truck and a small trailer instead of a single big truck. Put the stuff for the first destination in the trailer and the stuff for the second in the truck. Drop the trailer at the first destination and continue the trip with just the truck without the extra labor of shifting cargo from one truck to another.

3) Alternatively, get the smallest truck that will hold the entire load. Load the second destination's stuff first and tie it down. Load the second destination's stuff and tie it down. Unload the first half at the first destination and continue on in the same truck. You'll save the labor of shifting the second load and you'll be continuing in a truck you're already familiar with (instead of learning a new truck's quirks and foibles.)

4) Seriously consider a moving company or "PODS." Let someone else deal with the idiots on the highway and the blisters and strained muscles doing it yourself will entail. There's also the insurance consideration to consider.
 
Sorry, I meant one way rentals. You pay a flat fee for a truck from your beginning city and have x days to get it to the destination city.

You can find out what it should cost you on the UHaul site. Just fill out the form on the first page - pickup location(the city you start in), drop off location.

Ok, I got you now. Thank you for clearing that up and taking the time. Appreciated! :)

1) If you rent a U-Haul (or generic equivalent, like Nationwide, Penske, etc) check the brakes closely. My last experience with a DitY (do-it-yourself) move my friend and I spent an unplanned night in Twin Falls Idaho while the brake system was rebuilt due to excessive wear. Rental trucks get a lot of wear from people who don't have a lot of experience, so they get a lot more wear on the brakes (among other systems) and can be down-right dangerous if not detected.

2) Since you're looking at two destinations, consider renting a smaller truck and a small trailer instead of a single big truck. Put the stuff for the first destination in the trailer and the stuff for the second in the truck. Drop the trailer at the first destination and continue the trip with just the truck without the extra labor of shifting cargo from one truck to another.

3) Alternatively, get the smallest truck that will hold the entire load. Load the second destination's stuff first and tie it down. Load the second destination's stuff and tie it down. Unload the first half at the first destination and continue on in the same truck. You'll save the labor of shifting the second load and you'll be continuing in a truck you're already familiar with (instead of learning a new truck's quirks and foibles.)

4) Seriously consider a moving company or "PODS." Let someone else deal with the idiots on the highway and the blisters and strained muscles doing it yourself will entail. There's also the insurance consideration to consider.

All great info.
And PODS. Oh, I love it!
Definitely looking into that!
Thank you for the input :)
 
If the furniture is special, move it.

Otherwise sell it and buy new at the other end.

Particularly when you are paying someone.

Think about it. An old couch that you will be replacing anyway. A mattress and box springs that has seen better days.

Decades ago when I was young I paid an arm and a leg to have a bunch of junk moved. I could have replaced it all for less.
 
If you have a lot of stuff that you don't need immediately, you might look for backhaul options to save money.

When a truck's moving stuff from A to B, sometimes there isn't a return load ready. Logistics companies hate to waste capacity and fuel on deadheading (driving without a load) so they'll offer a discount on backhaul - your load sits in storage until they have a return trip without more urgent cargo, and then they run it down to where it's needed.
 
Tip: UHAUL is phasing out their 17' trucks. If you reserve one, and one is not available, they will give you a 20' for the cost of the 17'.

Whatever you get, I wouldn't unload and reload after the first drop. That's a lot of work, unless someone else helps you.
 
This makes me pine for the days when all of the stuff I owned fit in a duffle bag. Now the stuff owns me. To think, we fight over stuff.
 
U-Haul can be good for an afternoon in-town move, but you also have to usually pay a per mileage and a per diem, and that can rack up really quickly. The advertised price is in-town only, go out of town, and the cost spikes up. Plus the 0.89/mile, damage protection, fees, etc. And then you have to factor in your plane ticket, and so forth. I would really suggest that you sit down and make a comprehensive budget in order to see how much it will cost, and read the fine lines, because it will be those caveats that will trip you up.

Depending, you may also look into a professional moving company. When I moved, and factored in the costs, transport, gas, motel, time (driving and packing and unloading) etc, it ended up being more economical to hire a long-range moving company. They were quick, efficient, and well-worth the money (the price included insurance whereas I would have had to take out a separate moving insurance if I did it by myself). I had a peace of mind and it took two days.

I cannot recommend any companies, as I've only moved furniture in Canada.

Good luck.

I am also Canadian, but have moved cross country three times, all paid for by my employer.

A few notes, I would also recommend getting a few quotes from professionals. They have an incredible ability to pack, load and unload a truck. I agree with Firebreeze, when you really figure out the costs of doing it yourself and the time and work involved you may not save much money.

A second tip, if the second portion of the load is to set up a new house, my wife would not pay for the unpack. Just have them set your furniture where you want it and unpack the boxes yourself.

Our moves have always been a full house worth of stuff.
 
Yes, it's special furniture. However, I'm sure some of it can be purged, so thanks for that reminder.

Backhaul options, phased out U-Haul trucks, ALL of your tips and pointers are extremely helpful. Thanks everyone for chiming in, very much appreciated! It will be a while still - probably about a month until I take care of this, so please speak up, anyone with further info.

I'll come back and let everyone know how it panned out once it's all done, but again - it will be a while.

Thanks to everyone again! :heart: :)
 
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