Long distance movers?

[OriginalWheelman]

Last time we did a long distance move, we loaded everything that would fit into out Civic and drove. I'd like this move to be a little less cramped. We can afford to pay movers, so I'm looking at hiring a company to ship our stuff.
We're basically moving a studio. We have no appliances to move, and no furniture aside from a desk, and our queen bed. Anyone have a good recommendation? I'm just wondering if there is an option I've overlooked.

So far I've obtained quotes from PODS, Atlas, Uhaul, The uhaul PODS ripoff, and Budget. So far it's cheaper to ship and drive the Miata than it is to rent a truck and tow the Miata, when fuel cost are included. Also, I don't want to worry about all my worldly belongings in a uhaul at a roadside hotel for 4 nights. nor do I want to drive it over the Rockies. So I'd prefer to ship and drive.

PODS is the cheapest so far. It also seems easier, and more straight forward. Uhaul's PODS seems cheaper until you factor in things like, having the container at your house costs $15 a day, each delivery of a container (4 total) costs $159 unless you tow it yourself. and they say "Don't worry, if your car can't tow it, we'll rent you a truck!" Yeah, I'm sure you will. Atlas was the most inclusive, but also the most expensive. However, If I pay movers to load and unload the pod for me it is still cheaper than Atlas. That is essentially the only real advantage Atlas offers over PODS anyways. Well, from what I can see.

[szh]

Pack and ship everything with a reputable moving company and drive your Miata there. I don't remember which company I used, but they are all about the same in general. It will depend more on the specific packer/trucker that does the work - both moves I did ended up fine, but there are horror stories with every one of them, of course!

Anyway, that is what I did with my moves - eventually going from New Hampshire to California - years ago.

I drove my Z from New Hampshire to Mississippi back in 1988, stayed there for a year, was then transferred to California, and then drove from Mississippi to SF Bay Area in 1989.

Did it relatively quickly, so didn't get to see much of the country, but will do that some other day!

Z

[OriginalWheelman]

I really want to drive. We're going to be driving out the Oregon Trail. I've been making Dysentery jokes and Nxer keeps looking at me like I'm a horrible person for it.

[szh]

I really want to drive. We're going to be driving out the Oregon Trail. I've been making Dysentery jokes and Nxer keeps looking at me like I'm a horrible person for it.

Z

[Bubba1]

FWIW, I just helped a good friend move his parents from west Palm Beach FL to central NJa few weeks ago, about 1200 miles. They had a 2 bedroom apartment worth of stuff. Did it all in a one way 20' U-Haul. I drove the truck and was going to tow his parents car behind but the parents decided they did not want to fly, so they drove with my friend in their car. My friend told me that combination of the U-Haul, gas, my labor, airfare down there, insurance,and incidentals (hotel, food, packing material) he saved 50% over the cost of having a professional mover do it, plus he got it there more quickly than the professionals offered. He happened to get a great price as 20' trucks were in high demand in the destination area. Keep in mind, if the case of the opposite scenario, wherethe rental company has a surplus in the destination city, they may not be as willing to negotiate.

,

[OriginalWheelman]

Uhaul quoted me $2,100 for the truck and trailer. If I am driving a uhaul full of stuff and towing our brand new car I'm going south through California and up I5. That adds 400 miles to the trip, but I feel it's worth it. The difference in fuel cost (est 25 mpg Miata / 2400 vs 10 mpg uhaul/ 2800) is about $700. Most of our other expenses would be the same as we will be driving anyways. So cost of uhaul + fuel difference ~= $2,800. The quote I have from PODS is for $2,600. PODS will drop it off, pick it up when I ask, haul it to Portland, store it till I ask for it, and pick it up when I'm done. That includes full insurance and taxes. Plus, if I go that route, I'm driving the Miata through the Rockies and not a 1997 E350 box truck through LA.

[frapjap]

If I were in a similar situation to you, I'd be going the PODS route. You pack it, and know its packed right/safely. They drive it, you can enjoy the ride up there. You're going to take WAY better care to load your belongings than the folks with the movers will.

[szh]

They drive it, you can enjoy the ride up there. You're going to take WAY better care to load your belongings than the folks with the movers will.

Yes, but I have also had good experiences - the movers I used did a great job of packing. Carefully, because I supervised the work. My only difficulty was forgetting to cleanly label what was in each box, so some "search unpacking" after things arrived to find something specific. But that could have happened even if I personally did the packing.

Nothing broke! Lots of glasses, dishes, etc., arrived totally safely. And these were significance distance moves (NH to MS, followed in a year with a MS to CA move)

YMMV, of course.

Z

[OriginalWheelman]

I booked with PODS this morning. I'm not excited about the idea of arriving a week before my stuff, but it means Nxer and I get to ride together in the Miata through the Rockies. The ease of it all makes the delay worth it.

[PapaSmurf2k3]

NH to MS

Did you get a lot of "Dang- you a long way from home, boy!" when you were down here? Cos I get that s*** about every day.

[szh]

NH to MS

Did you get a lot of "Dang- you a long way from home, boy!" when you were down here? Cos I get that s*** about every day.

No.

It was an experience living in Mississippi for a year though. I liked the small town atmosphere in Starkville (MSU is the educational institution in town), but it was seriously lacking in a bunch of basics (albeit a very safe living life-style).

For example, there was only one movie theater in town (usually filled with college students), one Chinese restaurant (quite poor), zero Italian restaurants (back then anyway), a couple of so-so Mexican food places, some excellent barbeque places, etc. Only one good high-end restaurant at the big old hotel in downtown - food was good, but over-priced, so I didn't eat there too often.

The house prices were downright cheap though - I had serious sticker shock when I got to the Bay Area, even back in 1989.

So, for many things, I had to drive to Columbus (24 miles) or Jackson (further away, but I forget how far). The funny part is that the 24 mile drive to Columbus felt like a long drive, so nobody did it often. Yet, around here, that is not a big deal at all! Probably had a lot to do with the totally empty fields in those 24 miles between Starkville and Columbus - around here, it is all wall-to-wall towns.

One other interesting thing: I went with some friends to a local relatively large pool/bar just outside town one time. After I walked in, I realized after a bit that I was the only non-white among the fifty or sixty people there (not college students either)! Got some interesting double-take looks, given my brown skin color ... fortunately, I was with white friends and didn't have any trouble. Once I started playing pool, it was all good ... whew! After that, I never went in there just by myself though.

Z

[frapjap]

I booked with PODS this morning. I'm not excited about the idea of arriving a week before my stuff, but it means Nxer and I get to ride together in the Miata through the Rockies. The ease of it all makes the delay worth it.

Post back about your experience. We're planning on doing the same thing when we move to NH.

[OriginalWheelman]

I did some fananglin (verb, 1. the act of tinkering with or working with something until a better outcome is achieved, usually without new parts or cost. see also fanagle, fanagled, ) and found myself a better deal. Budget had a 20% discount on truck rentals before the 27th and a bonus for driving a truck out of the southeast, making the total cost of the truck and the car trailer (not dolly) $1,800. So it's now officially $300 cheaper to get the truck so we are going this route.

[PapaSmurf2k3]

ROAD TRIP!

[OriginalWheelman]

I am tempted to put the K40 on the Z and do a bizzaro Smokey and the Bandit, going west with the white Z and Nxer driving the Budget truck.

[AZhitman]

What's your new route plan, J?

[OriginalWheelman]

Not sure. We have decided to leave a day early and spend the day at Nxer's sister's house in Salt Lake. I was planning on going to Denver via Oklahoma City (I40 to I70), then over the mountains. I can keep most of that plan, but instead go north from Denver to Cheyenne (I25), then I80 into Salt Lake. My other option is to take I40 to Albuquerque, then US-550, US-491, US-191 and into Salt Lake. I'm not sure I like the 2nd option as it is two hours longer. The thing that worries me is it is not on the interstate, and if something were to happen, I'm not sure how long it would take to get help in the middle of the desert in August, but it will be longer than I want. So with all that said, I think I'm going for the first option. I could take I55 to St. Louis, and then Oregon Trail my way down I70, I29, and then I80 straight to Salt Lake, but that is a lot of driving through the midwest. Anyway I go I have to deal with that, but If I go via OKC I at least get 2 hours of the Ozarks to break it up.

*Here is (roughly) the planned route.

https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Memphis ... !3e0?hl=en



The trucker forum I could find, (never imagined one of those but I guess they had to exist) also recommended crossing the Rockies on 80 when going to the Northwest so I think that's the way to go.

Honestly, we always knew we would leave Memphis eventually. We never planned on moving here. I love it here, and I will miss it, but it was always just a long stop on this route.

[OriginalWheelman]

I spent a few hours discussing things with a friend who is an over the road trucker. He had some insights and recommendations. He prefers the desert route as well, but he isn't paying for his own fuel. There are some mountainous areas between the desert and Salt Lake and it is a long way around. Since I'm driving and trying to keep a budget, both time and fuel, we're going to skip the scenery and go the Midwest route. The lack of hills means low (relatively) fuel consumption for most of the trip. Either route has sufficient fuel stops for the truck, which for some reason only has a 35 gallon tank. I'd have to go to a 24' truck to get a diesel for some reason and the 16' is already more than I need. The 24' truck would have a 55gal tank and mean less stops, but I'm not going to pay $800 more for a truck that's too big just so i can stop less.

So here is the revised route.


Also, I'm going to Utah, and MoD has yet to speak up. I think he's still scared of me because he used to talk to Nxer on aim.