Who has used PODS
 

Looking to move soon to TV. It looks like PODS is the new way to move. Not much more than the total cost of renting a truck and I don't have to drive it. Relatively small monthly storage. Anyone used these? I would love some tips. Any problem with having one in the driveway for a few days while unloading?

We used PODS. Good experience. Had it professionally loaded and unloaded.

Yoda

Yoda, we're going to be moving soon (within TV). Can you please explain to me how pods operate? What is the advantage over using a traditional moving truck? Can they be used for local moves or just for long-distance moves?

We would definitely want them professionally loaded and unloaded. Would it be possible for you to recommend a company?

Pods
 

We used PODS to move down from NY. They come and drop it off the day you want it. Then you let them know when it has to be here. They'll let you know when they need to pick it up. You load it at your leisure. There are tie downs and side kleats in the unit. I also added some floor anchors which I removedbefore they picked it up. If you need storage here they have it . I believe the warehouse was in Orlando. We lost nothing in the move. You can take out insurance, if you need it longer you just pay the additional. It was much cheaper then a moving company, cheaper and easier then a truck u drive rental. I would deffinatly do it again. However I don't plan on moving.Hope this helps.

mgman,

I would check before thinking about leaving the PODS in your driveway for a couple of days unloading. I have heard and read that trucks and PODS can not be left in the driveway for more than a day. Check the rules for the Village you are moving into. The Neighborhood Watch might tell you it has to be moved before you have unloaded it. There are other treads that mention a company in Ocala that has been used to higher two guys for a day to unload rental trucks that people have rented to move. You can search looking for the thread.

If you need a number for unloading I have one. My POD was here 5 days before it was picked up, as was one around the corner. But they're right you should check.

We used PODS 3 years ago. Great experience.
Two biggest advantages for us was
1. Loaded it with junk and sent to storage; put up house for sale & sold it.
Brought back POD, sold junk, put in belonings and moved to TV. Had on driveway for 3 days.

2. It's only 4 inches above the ground. "one small step for man".

We used the pod also. We left it in our driveway in NY for months and verly slowly packed it (as we went through many years of accumulated junk and either disposed or packed it all).
They picked it up on time, drove it to FL, and stored it in a climate controlled wharehouse in (I thought) Ocala. They delivered it to the house in TV on time, the next day we had unpackers show up and empty it for us, and the next day pods came back and picked it up. A painless experience.
One tip - when they deliver the pod, make sure the door open into the house so you don't have to walk around it to get to your stuff.
And don't underestimate the value of the low step in - no long ramps to manuever getting heavier stuff in and out.
I wouldn't worry about them allowing them in the driveway either, as long as it fits. Pods actually knows the local rules, and where they can deliver, and where they can be kept. I recall them telling me they can deliver to the driveway, but can't leave it in the street.
It was a very easy experience.

Can someone post the approximate cost of using a POD, for storage and/or for transporting?
Thanks

POD Costs
 

Mine was just around $2K with the insurance on contents.

Skip, thanks for the number. I'm told that PODS come in three sizes - a small seven foot unit, a standard twelve foot unit and a large, sixteen foot unit. Which one did you use? I'll be moving from NY as well, so your price should be in the right range for my estimate. I only wish I didn't have to wait another year or so to do it.

Size
 

I used the 16'. I didn't pack it all the way to the ceiling and as I said I screwed pieces of 2x4 to the floor for additional tie downs. Seemed to work very well

At the time of my move (2006) if you crossed state lines you had to take the 16'.
Check on that now!~

We used a POD in moving from CT to TV last year. The cost was just shy of $2,000. That covered drop off at our former house, storage in CT for five weeks and then shipment to Ocala followed by delivery to our new home. I do not remember if we bought the insurance. But storage time and distance of moving the POD obviously will affect your price.

I didn't use PODS but I did use ABF.They work they same way but were cheaper. They were great! I didn't have any problem with it in my driveway for a few days.

Pods
 

We have a pod in storage in ocala right now. The rental from RI was 2400 for 16ft. We had movers load it fit more in it than I thought would. Rental for each mo after first was 266. Was cheaper than mover. We have just bought house so we needed to have it stored until we could find house and unload.

Mine, last year from NYC to TV was around $2400, but that included 2 months rental in my driveway while we loaded. Also included insurance.
We used one 16' pod.

WE used 2 --16ft pods and if you use 2 PODS and are planning to have professional movers unload you..you may run into a problem. Even though we have a 2 car PLUS GC driveway with a fairly good size driveway, the POD guy would not drop 2 PODS side by SIDE and would not drop them on the grass. I scheduled delivery of the pods at the hosue one day and scheduled the unloaders to come the next day..not having both pods there at the same time was potentially troublesome for me. I almost ...well I wont go there...but I had to unload the first pod my self and then they brought the second pod for the movers to unload. Believe me I bitched and almost got thrown in jail...becaue I would not let the first POD driver go until I spoke adn spoke then to his BOSS.......the first driver after talking to his dispatcher took pictures and then the second driver came by and said it could have worked but my first driver was a new worker who didnt want to cause any liability problems by breaking sprinkler lines or causing problems with putting it on teh grass. It was a hectic start to the end of teh move but it all worked out in the end.

Almost certain long distance across state lines you have to use the 16 footers. 2 of them from N Va cost me approx 3000- 3400. We hired Professional Packers and unloaders on both ends

Good Guy to use for UNLOADING locally is Arthur Martin 352-347-3420 or his cell is 352-207-4896...I think his cell is the better contact number.

Make sure when you get the Pod, look inside with someone closing the doors with you inside, if you see light, you will know where water can come through.

I furnished 2 complete homes using www.Craigslist.com in Virginia. On the weekend there are 100 new ads an hour for furniture. So over a couple months, bought all very high end stuff at a very low cost and stored it in my garage. Then used a U-haul truck to move everything to TV. Had free help loading on the VA end and used Arthur Martin on TV end. I found a rental truck to be much cheaper then PODs. There is something about the U-haul web site they do based on where they are trying to move trucks that causes price to vary greatly. By checking regularly, adjusting dates, I got a 17 foot truck for $415 one way. Gas was another $200 and help was $200. So each move was about $800 total with help on TV end. I made two trips with a 17 foot truck and one trip with a trailer to furnish 2 2000 sq foot homes. Yes it cost me my time, and yes I am sure there was cost getting the furniture in VA as I had to look at an average of 3 before buying 1 of almost everything. And I had to move it from where I bought it to my home. But I bought all of it including new mattresses for the beds for about 5K each home. Then another 1K to get it all to my VA home and then to TV. PODs would have added another 2K to each home. I do understand why you might use PODs as they seem very convenient. For me this way worked out better.

And as an aside, I also highly recommend Arthur Martin. He did a great job at a reasonable price.

A problem I found with using ABF is that unless you packed the entire trailer you had to share the extra trailer space you did not use with someone going your way. Potential (and I say potential) for loss is greater as well as scheduling for delivery at your final point.

ABF has shipping containers similar to PODS, I am looking into using them when we relocate.

BUMPING up this topic ~~
 

This seems like a very convenient method of moving ! Are there any recent comments from people who have used the PODS and from anyone using them coast to coast ?

We just arrived 3 weeks back. We did use a pod. Our experience was GREAT!. They picked it up from our home in Michigan 1 day before we left for TV. It arrived 2 hours after we closed on our home at TV.

I would recommend using pods!!!!

We used 2 PODS in our move from GA in May. Loved the convenience of packing it at our leisure. We had one delivered and had it empty by nightfall. They picked it up he next A.M. and delivered the second one. It was perfect for us.

Suzi & I just finally moved down from Maine after buying in 2005. I priced PODS, U-Haul, regular movers and ABF UPACK. For us it was ABF all the way. Pods was about 2.5 times more expensive, Uhaul 2 times. We had 3 days to pack the trailer that they provided (28 ft trailer) and 3 days to unpack (it only took 1.5 days to pack and 1 to unpack). True, if you do not use the complete trailer they pack other things in with your items, but they pack freight in with it not someone elses moving materials. They picked up the trailer on Monday and it was here on Friday. They only pick up and deliver on "work days" (Mon thru Fri) so if you have your trailer delivered on Wednesday you actually get 5 days to pack or unpack (at no extra cost). The one bad thing is that if you want to have the trailer held for you it will cost $450 (for one day or 30 days). The final cost for us from Maine to The Villages was $1,600

ABF movers
 

used ABF ...it is an alternate to PODS and we were very happy with them. moved from MA in Sept.

I used a pod 3 years ago from Marblehead, MA. For long distance moves they have a 16 foot pod with tiedowns available every 4 feet. I loaded and unloaded the POD myself. I packed the first 4 foot section floor to ceiling and then used a mattress at the first 4 foot tiedown and did the same each 4 feet. Nothing could move or shift. They even had poles for hanging clothes.

If you rent a truck and are loading and unloading yourself you will have to do both a basically a day. Think of the extra lifting involved.

They do have a 12 foot POD available for local moves.

We are currently using a pod in our move to Pennecamp. We only needed 1 sixteen footer as we were able to sell our furniture with the house.
They give you a full month from the 1st pick-up till they pick up the pod at your final destination.
Another super convenience is that it is loaded at ground level (no ramp)
Our closing hit several delays and we had to reschedule our 1st drop off a number of times.They were very acccomodating and gracious when we changed our dates.
The pod will be dropped in our Pennecamp drive on 12/27.

We have been very happy with their service and would highly recommend it.

I had looked into ABF, Pack-Rat and PODs. I also looked into having a moving truck with professional movers. My driveway here is long, narrow, and steep with a turn in it too. All of the movers said they would have to use a shuttle/transfer from the house to their moving truck.

ABF would only let me keep their cube in my driveway at this end for 3-4 days unless I paid additional money for storage AND they would NOT guarantee the delivery date in FL without any additional fee. Their cubes are only 6' X 7', so I would need 2 of them. By the time I added up all their fees, it was going to be more than the professional movers!

We just our POD picked up last week to send to TV. We had them pick it up ahead of time because they were predicting snow here in NH. Good thing we did. It snowed that night.

I will let you know how it works on the other end after Christmas. My POD is supposed be dropped in my driveway on Christmas Eve and I sure hope it is there when we arrive Christmas night!

If you have more stuff than a POD holds you can consider what we used which was ABF Trucking. They deliver a trailer to your home, 9' high, 8' wide and 27' long. Then we hired local movers to load it. Then ABF picks it up and delivers it to your location at your direction. We then hired another local mover to unload it. Cost was actually better than PODs. Let me know if you want any more details.

We also used ABF Trucking in Sept. 2010. We loaded it with the help of family members and used 20' of the 28'. Set up the partition with the lock. They used the 8' with freight that was coming to FL anyway. We unloaded here with the help of a Villages Charter High School kid who has his own business here helping people move in & out. We had 3 days to load, held here 2 days in storage til we got here from MA and had 3 days to unload but these kids unloaded it in 3 hours. They were neat and careful with our things and very professional. Young man's name is Troy 352-874-8958. I've recommended him to several neighbors moving in and all have been impressed. ABF was by far the least expensive and the more flexible company to deal with.

Raynan, your post was very timely!
 

We just got a call earlier that the help we were counting to unload the POD was not going to be able to come over on Sunday. I was going to post on here to see if someone knew who I could call at such a late date and there was your post. I gave Troy a call and he is going to be there on Sunday morning to help us. :MOJE_whot:

I am so glad this forum is here with all the wonderful folks on it!

Troy was a NO-Show!
 

I had contact Troy and he had agreed to come over to assist us in unloading our POD on Sunday 12/26. However he NEVER showed up NOR did he call to say he wouldn't make it! As of tonight we have still not heard back from him!

Jim and I unloaded the POD ourselves into the garage by about 1:30 or 2. We still were hoping that Troy got the time mixed up and would help get the stuff into the house. No dice. We slowly got everything into the house and in place. The POD was picked up this morning, so we don't have to worry about being in violation of deed restrictions.

The only item that I couldn't help with was the dining room table glass-top. That was WAY TOO HEAVY! But when the "cable guy" came by to get our cable installed today, he helped Jim lift it up onto the table.

I don't know what happened, but we surely CANNOT recommend him.