Need Advice on Hiring Moving Vans From the North East
 

Looking for recommendations from Villagers who have moved from the northeast to TV. What moving company was fair and honest? Looking to move lots of household boxes - very little furniture - but nonetheless a good amount of stuff. Estimates all over the place and online reviews seem biased (maybe paid for?). So, help us out if you can. Thanks

we interviewed four long distance movers before we moved...doesn't matter who, the prices were all over the board

rule of thumb is ya don't take the lowest or the highest.

it's a crap shoot....but ya wanna be there when they are packing up

most often your stuff will be combined with another load and be put in storage down here until you arrive and they can
schedule your delivery

we had some minor damage...it happens, thankfully it wasn't with anything important

good luck....as Uhaul says...it's an adventure in moving

We used Allied in February they were basically fair. Gave us as many boxes for free as we wanted as well as 7 wardrobe cartons (used but very clean)

Only problem is driver highers loaders to load and unload.

Va loaders were great very careful and we think no damage.

The loaders here not so good.

They broke a glass table and put it together just enough so we could not notice they broke it.

Some glass pitchers also broke.

Overall decided it would not make the insurance deductible so didnt file.

the trucker showed up on time both days.

We moved from NJ to The Villages and used White Glove Moving out of Bayonne NJ. Very, very pleased with their professionalism, attention to detail. Price was reasonable. We, too, mostly moved boxes and just one room of furniture. Nothing was broken in our move. Our daughter has used them to move locally in NJ twice in as many years and, again, they did a wonderful job.

Don’t use Atlas Van Lines. They are one of the big moving companies. I interviewed Atlas, United Van Lines, and Mayflower. I ended up choosing Atlas. Their price and customer service were ok but they broke several pieces of furniture and my 60 inch tv was broke. And you know all those plastic containers and boxes you have? Well in order to maximize the storage in the truck they pack those 6 or 7 high which crushes the bottom two. They all talked a good game.

The Villages offers relocation services that include a discount on moving services. The move is managed locally to help be responsive to any issues.

We moved all in a uhaul trailer, towed by us, no furniture 3/4 full . . . only damage was a computer monitor didn't make it on the way home, $129. Other people from the northeast used PODS, though don't know much about the service. Used the recommendations of the helpful posters on this board to change lifestyles and reinforce "You can't take it with you" mantra.

sportsguy

You can interview until your blue in the face but one thing to consider.

The job is given to a driver and a couple of loaders.

You the customer have no say in who those guys are.

Depending upon the driver who bids and gets the job and the loaders he arranges will determine how happy or unhappy you will be at the end.

You might look at using pods since most everything is in boxes.

Get rid of all your stuff up there. Save on the moving costs and just buy new when you get there. At the very least just hire one of those PODS and fill it up. They will drop if off in your driveway here in The Villages.

We got our best and most accurate quote from Allied. They packed the boxes, crated several large, breakable items, picked up on time, and delivered on time. The driver was great. He hired labor at both ends and closely supervised them. Nothing was lost or broken. I'd highly recommend them.

The PODS recommendation is a good one if you don't mind doing a lot of the work yourself. Just make sure you do a good job packing, and load the container tightly so your boxes don't shift or fall.

We have moved a zillion times (from CA to the East Coast, from PA to FL, and many local moves in between). I have never had a single thing broken or damaged until I used pods to move from PA to FL.

I am fanatical about packing all my stuff into boxes. We used professional movers to fill them up north and unpack them down here. The thing about pods, though, is after they are filled they are raised and lowered by a crane a number of times and stuff gets tossed about.

In our case the pods were stored at their warehouse for a couple weeks, which required lifting them up and down with the crane multiple times. At the final location they are again lifted and lowered with a crane. As a result of all that raising and lowering of the pods things were broken (and our pods were filled to the max so there was little space for stuff to be jostled around.)

Even if we hadn't stored them for a while the pods would have been raised and lowered several times before they ended up in our driveway. Compare this to items that are moved by moving van, in which things are walked onto the truck and then stay at that level throughout the move. Personally, I would never use pods again except to move relatively non-breakable stuff like couches, chairs, and mattresses.

Just our experience. Good luck with your move.

kathy

PS -- FWIW, I strongly advise you to think twice (or more) about every single thing you plan to move down here. Most of us bring way too much stuff and regret it.

In the history of the villages nobody moving here ever decided they took too little :bigbow:

We used a service called U-Pack which is just like it sounds. They drop off a large trailer at your house and you get about 1 week to pack it as carefully as you want, either by yourself or your own chosen loaders. When you are all done, they come and measure how much of the truck you used and that's all you pay for - not the whole truck. It's by linear foot, not weight. They drive and deliver the truck to your new location. You can take as much as 3 days to unload - again either by yourself or your chosen crew - and they take it away. They have loader/unloaders available at either end or there are many services that allow you to rent your own crew by the hour. We had nearly a full truck and it only took our rented unloaders about 3 hours to empty the whole load here in the Villages. Very flexible, you control the packing and loading - high and tight will save you quite a bit - and nowhere near as expensive as a full service moving company. U-Pack also has "pods" if you're sure you don't need a full sized truck.

This also avoids the risk of the moving company withholding their final cost estimate until after the truck is loaded. That goes by weight and if there's an overweight surprise you are negotiating with some one who has your whole life packed in their truck already.

I was in the moving business for 50 years b4 retiring. There is a lot to say regarding your question. Message me if you’d like some professional answers