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U-Pack, Pods, Rental Truck, or Full Moving Service!! How should I choose?

Many factors will come into play when deciding how to choose how to move your furniture?  In our years of experience, the number one factor is usually the price and unfortunately price shouldn’t be the deciding factor.  Other factors that can come into play, are you physically able to move furniture yourself, do you have the expertise to stack a U-Pack or Pod or rental truck yourself so no damage will occur, do you know how to drive a truck etc.   These are questions to ask yourself when deciding between a full-service moving company or a self-move company.

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What is a Full-Service moving company?  Full-service moving companies are regulated by the FMSCA as household goods carriers.  They typically do the packing and loading of your household goods in their truck and drive it to your new residence and unload your furniture in the rooms you want it and unpack boxes if you have requested this service. A reputable full-service moving company will send out an estimator to your residence and walk through your home and determine the weight of your goods.  From the weight and the miles your shipment is traveling, he/she can give you an estimate of the cost of shipping your goods.  The full service company can fully pack your household goods or if you want to do some or all of the packing yourself, this can be done as well.  This is an area where you can save money by packing your goods yourself.

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The Self-Move companies can be truck rentals such as U-Haul, Penske, Ryder and the “You Pack, We Drive” companies are U-Pack, ReloCube, and Pod’s.  These type of companies fall under the regulation of the DOT as an “all commodities” carrier.  If you rent a truck you are basically responsible for all the packing, loading, and unloading of the truck.  You are also responsible for any damage to the rental truck.  If you go with U-Pack or a Pod, they will deliver a container of a certain size and park it outside your residence.  You are responsible for packing and loading of your goods.  When you tell them to pick the U-Pack or Pod trailer up, they will come to pick it up, drive it to your destination.  You again will need to unload and unpack your goods yourself.  When the U-Pack or Pod is empty, you must call again to have them pick up the trailer. Check with your Homeowner’s Association and all regulatory agencies in your area to see if a “Pod” can be parked at your residence to load or unload.

Things to consider when renting a truck:

  1. Do you feel comfortable driving a truck, especially in the cities across the country?
  2. How do you get your car to the new residence?  You can tow it behind the truck, but how do you feel doing that maneuvering?
  3. Besides paying for the truck, you will also have the cost of gas and hotel rooms getting to the new residence. You may also have to pay labor to load and unload the truck.
  4. How do you feel about packing and then stacking your furniture into the truck?   You will need to rent pads to protect your furniture from damage of rubbing.

Things to consider when going with a POD, ReloCUbe, or U-Pack:

  1. Will you need a parking permit for the POD, ReloCube, or U-Pack?  If you can get a parking permit, how long do you have to load your goods?
  2. If you live in a neighborhood, will the covenants allow a POD, ReloCube, or U-pack in the drive way.
  3. How do you feel about packing and then stacking your furniture into the truck?   You will need to rent pads to protect your furniture from damage of rubbing.

Moving is listed as one of the most stressful times in one’s life.  It is a wise person who takes there time to determine all that goes into moving your goods safely and as stress free as possible.  I hope these ideas will give you more information to a safe moving experience.