If i'm relocating 1000 miles away from home, best way to move furniture/belongings?

[EagleKeeper]

Depending on how little your vehicle is, put a $100 hitch on it and get a 4x6 trailer from UHaul. Any 6 cylinder vehicle can pull it. I would recommend taking the I40 or I80/I15 route in that case to avoid the climb through the Rockies.

I have a class C licence and drive an integra.

Not a problem; You do not need a special license to pull a UHaul trailer.
Trailer may be $10-$20/day and you do not have to worry about paying for mileage. You may have to pay for a one-way fee. For trailers it is not to much and you may be able to negotiate if down if you get the hitch from UHaul.

If the Integra will pull a trailer, you might be able to rent a hitch (and trailer) from uhaul. That's what I did years ago when I moved from OK to CA.

I do not think the Integra can handle a bumper hitch. (the only type that they rent)


As another stated, you might be able to purchase a used trailer (CL) and then resell it.
Remember, that the trailer needs to be licensed with lights.

If you get the hitch installed; make sure that they setup trailer light connections for you.

 

[Leros]

Your new employer will likely be willing to pay relocation costs which will include hiring professional movers with a truck.

 

[EagleKeeper]

Your new employer will likely be willing to pay relocation costs which will include hiring professional movers with a truck.

Much depends on his skill levels.

Also, he implied that he does not have a position yet; he wants to move because of better opportunities.

No employer is going to reimburse him for expenses incurred before a hire/offer

 

[olds]

Not a problem; You do not need a special license to pull a UHaul trailer.
Trailer may be $10-$20/day and you do not have to worry about paying for mileage. You may have to pay for a one-way fee. For trailers it is not to much and you may be able to negotiate if down if you get the hitch from UHaul.


I do not think the Integra can handle a bumper hitch. (the only type that they rent)


As another stated, you might be able to purchase a used trailer (CL) and then resell it.
Remember, that the trailer needs to be licensed with lights.

If you get the hitch installed; make sure that they setup trailer light connections for you.

Good call, IIRC, uhaul has a proprietary connector so you have to buy thier adapter.

 

[Meghan54]

If I were to do it, and we just did this in May, I'd go to U-Haul and rent one of their trucks and their car tow dolly, like this: http://www.uhaul.com/Reservations/EquipmentDetail.aspx?model=TD

Even U-Haul's smallest truck, the 10' one, has a V-8 engine and a tow capacity of 6,000 lbs. Granted, as you load the truck, you lose tow capacity, but still....and if that's not enough, move up to the next larger truck, the 14' truck, which has a ~10,000 tow capacity.

Load truck, hitch up the dolly, drive car onto dolly, strap down, make sure parking brake is off, and drive away....all your household goods and your car are both with you.

 

[k3n]

If I were to do it, and we just did this in May, I'd go to U-Haul and rent one of their trucks and their car tow dolly, like this: http://www.uhaul.com/Reservations/EquipmentDetail.aspx?model=TD

Even U-Haul's smallest truck, the 10' one, has a V-8 engine and a tow capacity of 6,000 lbs. Granted, as you load the truck, you lose tow capacity, but still....and if that's not enough, move up to the next larger truck, the 14' truck, which has a ~10,000 tow capacity.

I'd probably

Load truck, hitch up the dolly, drive car onto dolly, strap down, make sure parking brake is off, and drive away....all your household goods and your car are both with you.

Where would be the ideal place to rest? I.e. park the car and such. The same place where trucker go?

I'd probably intend to start driving at night for 8-10 hours, when traffic is "light", and then from 6am to 1pm, take a nap. I do know truckers can only drive for 8 hours a day max, as that's the law.

I do have a set of "skills", I just don't have the work "experience"; so I'd definitely be sure to ask the employer if they'll compensate some of the traveling/moving costs.

Thanks for the inputs.

 

[Fatdog]

Actually, we can drive 10 hours a day or more with proper rest periods.

You can use highway rest areas and truck stops if you need to keep moving. Some states will allow parking along on/off ramps on major highways, some won't. All motels/hotels will have big enough parking areas to accommodate a uhaul and trailer setup so you can get better rest and showers. Keep everything locked and try to park under lights when ever possible. If you park in big truck areas, don't take a spot bigger than you need as you might find yourself blocked in by a trucker angry at you.

Don't trust strangers at rest areas.

 

[MidasKnight]

http://www.upack.com/

 

[EagleKeeper]

Where would be the ideal place to rest? I.e. park the car and such. The same place where trucker go?

I'd probably intend to start driving at night for 8-10 hours, when traffic is "light", and then from 6am to 1pm, take a nap. I do know truckers can only drive for 8 hours a day max, as that's the law.

I do have a set of "skills", I just don't have the work "experience"; so I'd definitely be sure to ask the employer if they'll compensate some of the traveling/moving costs.

Thanks for the inputs.

Last time I went with a UHaul (Vegas->Denver) I took the I40 to I25.
The truck was loaded out of a storage shed; so did not leave until early afternoon.
I did stretches of 3-4 hours with a 30 minute rest.
Checked into a Quality Inn at New Mexico/AZ Border; then continued onward the next day following the same driving pattern.

While driving, I had a cooler of trail mix and water.

I took the longer Southern route to avoid a snowstorm sweeping in from CA.
Then the storm took a southward dip; the last hour in AZ was a decent blizzard. Had about 4-6 inches of snow on the truck the next morning and the hotel coffee maker was broken

Moral is keep very close track of the weather patterns that are 1-2 days infront of you.

 

[Thebobo]

I used Pods from TN to DC to move some of my parents furniture. Had the pod delivered to thier house in TN flew down and at my convenience loaded it over the course of a weekend or two and then flew back. PODS picked it up and brought it up here (DC) to their storage facility in the area which was right down the road from work. I could grab things from my pod container as I made room from them at home. Had a very good experience with PODS.

 

[Leros]

I used Pods from TN to DC to move some of my parents furniture. Had the pod delivered to thier house in TN flew down and at my convenience loaded it over the course of a weekend or two and then flew back. PODS picked it up and brought it up here (DC) to their storage facility in the area which was right down the road from work. I could grab things from my pod container as I made room from them at home. Had a very good experience with PODS.

The pods option looks awesome, especially for moving boxes and other small items. I like having professional movers for large stuff like furniture, but Pods seems like a better option than UHaul.

 

[silverpig]

I bet it would be more expensive than that. Heck, it would probably cost $300-400 merely for the gasoline/diesel to move the loaded truck 1000 miles. If he's moving from an economically depresses region (fewer Uhaul trucks coming in, more coming out) then the truck rental itself might be more expensive.

15 years ago back when gas was $1/gallon a UHaul rental was feasable for such a move and I did several, but now-a-days you really have to consider selling everything at a big garage sale and taking what you can fit in your one or two cars. (Obviously, the most valuable and personal stuff--your best kitchen ware/small appliances, computers, etc.)

So, OP, where are you moving from and where are you thinking of going to? Here's a link to a discussion forum that's very helpful for people looking to relocate:

http://www.city-data.com/forums

I'm looking at doing the same thing. This is Canada from Toronto to Vancouver.

Renting a uhaul truck is $2k. Fuel not included.

Renting a trailer alone is $600. I calculated fuel at $400-500.

It's probably cheaper in the US, but he's not going to be able to move everything across the country for $300.

 

[JoeKing]

just thinking outside the box here for a second

since it doesnt seem like he has a lot of stuff, couldn't he just rent an F150 from a car rental place, load up the bed, load up the car and hitch it?

 

[silverpig]

just thinking outside the box here for a second

since it doesnt seem like he has a lot of stuff, couldn't he just rent an F150 from a car rental place, load up the bed, load up the car and hitch it?

One way car rentals are really expensive too generally.

The best idea is to load up his car with everything that is really important (this is a good forcing function!), sell the rest, and drive his own car with no trailer or anything.

 

[alkemyst]

If you are really as good as you say you are, someone would foot the bill for your move.

 

[Meghan54]

We looked at Pods, but the cost was insane compared to doing it ourselves. And the only real advantage of Pods is you don't drive it. You still pack and unpack, and the driving wasn't worth at least double the price of driving ourselves. This was last May in our move from Cape Cod to SC.

We stopped for a couple of hours in a rest stop. Dogs, cats, and ourselves. Parked out in the semi- section in the outback of the rest area....was one of the larger ones. Had no problems at all. Both my wife and I have done just that more than a few times, stopping at rest stops and taking nap breaks. They are patrolled by cops and if they ask you to move, you do. But never have had a problem doing it...and too many other people doing the same exact thing. And too many people in and out all night.

Also have done the motel stay. But I prefer driving through as much as possible. Then again, haven't driven across country before like that, so probably would work it differently....maybe. Did drive Cape Cod to Milwaukee, WI straight through, pick up a boat, drive back through Chicago before stopping for a few hours at a rest stop. Then drove the rest back to Cape Cod with just coffee/bathroom breaks.



Done it over the years. I know not the safest, but never have felt threatened at all.

 

[Leros]

We looked at Pods, but the cost was insane compared to doing it ourselves. And the only real advantage of Pods is you don't drive it. You still pack and unpack, and the driving wasn't worth at least double the price of driving ourselves. This was last May in our move from Cape Cod to SC.

We stopped for a couple of hours in a rest stop. Dogs, cats, and ourselves. Parked out in the semi- section in the outback of the rest area....was one of the larger ones. Had no problems at all. Both my wife and I have done just that more than a few times, stopping at rest stops and taking nap breaks. They are patrolled by cops and if they ask you to move, you do. But never have had a problem doing it...and too many other people doing the same exact thing. And too many people in and out all night.

Also have done the motel stay. But I prefer driving through as much as possible. Then again, haven't driven across country before like that, so probably would work it differently....maybe. Did drive Cape Cod to Milwaukee, WI straight through, pick up a boat, drive back through Chicago before stopping for a few hours at a rest stop. Then drove the rest back to Cape Cod with just coffee/bathroom breaks.



Done it over the years. I know not the safest, but never have felt threatened at all.

I looked at Pods for moving across the city. It's actually cheaper for me to hire professional movers. I think the main benefit pods is that they can store stuff for you while you're in between places. You could sell your house, put everything in pod storage, and then get the pods delivered a few months later when you buy a new house.

 

[Meghan54]

Y'all have got to learn how to game U-Haul. When we moved last May, we were getting quoted ~$700 for rental of truck in the 14'-17' range, one way, Cape Cod to SC by everyone.

But, while I was looking around, I played with the end destination. When I changed it from where I really wanted to go to just over the border into GA, suddenly U-Haul offered a huge discount (~25%) by agreeing to drop off the truck in Athens, GA, a college town. Basically, I was relocating the truck from a low-need area to a high-need area. I saved almost $250 for driving an extra 1.5 hours to drop off the truck. I certainly didn't use an extra $250 in gas. Brought the price of the truck down from just over $700 to ~$450.

That never showed up when I was looking around SC towns. But choosing a town just over the GA/SC border, Elberton, GA, and the discount appeared. It was worth it completely. I imagine the same thing can be worked if there are any decent college towns within an hour or two of your "true" destination. After all, U-Haul really doesn't know where the truck's really going.

Our Pods quote was over $1400 and an almost 2 week delivery time. Unacceptable.

 

[k3n]

Wow the UHAUL trucking prices are ridiculous, from Baltimore to Dallas; $1700+
http://www.uhaul.com/reservations/RatesTrucks.aspx

Cargo van, unavilable.

I was expecting <$700, of course not including fuel...
An extra $122 to tow my integra.

A trailer attached to my car will be $125-170; which makes the most sense, thus far...

I don't know which craigslist category I can find used tows though.
http://baltimore.craigslist.org/

 

[zerocool84]

Luckily I'm only moving 30 miles away and should only have to make two trips but yes the prices for moving is definitely not cheap. I'm moving this weekend.

 

[k3n]

A year and a half later, I've come to the most logical conclusion, it seems the best solution would be to use UPS to ship items placed in "Home Depot" boxes.

The items I want to move, is nowhere near $1400 (Penske or Budget Truck rental w/out fuel) or $1800+ (U-Pack pods) in value. U-Haul truck rental cost a thousand more, or 40% more. Using a trailer on my Integra risks, damaging its transmission.

Large bulky items I'd like to move, are my desktop computer components. Floor jack is the heaviest, at 60 pounds. Mattress, office chair, drawer, desk, will all be left behind.

A person on city-data, stated in a similar case, UPS or FedEx would be good. What do you all think?

None of the packages seem to exceed the UPS weight and size limits.

I plan to tie a know around the box, to make it easier to carry.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8INQIeKpHiY

Any objections?

 

[DrPizza]

I think the cost to ship a 60 pound floor jack is going to exceed the possible loss you would take by selling yours on Craigslist, then buying another one on Craigslist in the new city.

The risk to your transmission is very low, assuming you're towing within your vehicle's limits.

 

[IronWing]

Price the cost of shipping the jack vs buying a replacement when you get there.

Edit: Quit stealing my points!

 

[k3n]

I plan on putting the floor jack in my car. If I need to change a flat tire, it will be easier.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Cheap but more work: uhaul trailer or moving truck etc. Keep in mind you need to pull into gas stations, restaurants etc with this so it will be a bit more work as some places may have crappy parking. Just something to think about.

Less cheap but easier: sell all your stuff and buy new once you get there. You also get new stuff out of it.