[DylanTodd]

Hi,

My wife and I are starting to plan the logistics for our fall move to the Villages full time.
We have looked at the cost of various ways to do it but each method seems wildly expensive. Full service moving companies seem to quote $6000 to $10000, those u-pack pods are around $4000, and even a uhaul rental from New England was $3600.

Does anyone have a reliable company that they used to move long distance where they felt they got good value?

Is there anyone from New England moving down this fall/winter and should we split a moving truck to save some costs?

I know people say don't bring your stuff with you and just buy new, we are not even bringing that much furniture, probably 4 to 5 pieces of furniture at most but we have so many totes filled with clothes, sporting equipment, mementos from over the years so we don't want to downsize any further until we get into our new house.

Thanks in advance

[Cupcake57]

Originally Posted by DylanTodd

Hi,

My wife and I are starting to plan the logistics for our fall move to the Villages full time.
We have looked at the cost of various ways to do it but each method seems wildly expensive. Full service moving companies seem to quote $6000 to $10000, those u-pack pods are around $4000, and even a uhaul rental from New England was $3600.

Does anyone have a reliable company that they used to move long distance where they felt they got good value?

Is there anyone from New England moving down this fall/winter and should we split a moving truck to save some costs?

I know people say don't bring your stuff with you and just buy new, we are not even bringing that much furniture, probably 4 to 5 pieces of furniture at most but we have so many totes filled with clothes, sporting equipment, mementos from over the years so we don't want to downsize any further until we get into our new house.

Thanks in advance

I had good luck with Upack. They came when I asked, picked the loaded trailer up within an hour of when we packed it; dropped it off on the day I asked; after unloading by the Village Mover, Upack came within an hour and took the empty trailer away. $2500 for 18 ft of the trailer from the midwest. I didn't want my stuff loaded and unloaded off of the truck etc like the big national movers do. The Village Movers also did an excellent job of unloading and assembling the beds, etc. Best of luck and bring whatever makes you happy.

[kathyspear]

Originally Posted by DylanTodd

Hi,

I know people say don't bring your stuff with you and just buy new, we are not even bringing that much furniture, probably 4 to 5 pieces of furniture at most but we have so many totes filled with clothes, sporting equipment, mementos from over the years so we don't want to downsize any further until we get into our new house.

Thanks in advance

There is a reason why people say don't bring a lot of stuff with you and it's because almost everyone who lives here brought way too much stuff and regrets paying to ship stuff that they later donated to Goodwill. I totally get how hard it is to get rid of stuff but my advice would be to try really hard to prune your belongings. You will be glad you did!

Good luck with your move.

kathy

[DAVES]

Originally Posted by DylanTodd

Hi,

My wife and I are starting to plan the logistics for our fall move to the Villages full time.
We have looked at the cost of various ways to do it but each method seems wildly expensive. Full service moving companies seem to quote $6000 to $10000, those u-pack pods are around $4000, and even a uhaul rental from New England was $3600.

Does anyone have a reliable company that they used to move long distance where they felt they got good value?

Is there anyone from New England moving down this fall/winter and should we split a moving truck to save some costs?

I know people say don't bring your stuff with you and just buy new, we are not even bringing that much furniture, probably 4 to 5 pieces of furniture at most but we have so many totes filled with clothes, sporting equipment, mementos from over the years so we don't want to downsize any further until we get into our new house.

Thanks in advance

Complaints about moving companies abound. My sister worked for a moving company in their finance section. So I had the inside information.

What you experience they send over a salesman titled an estimator. He pulls out his laptop punches in what you have. A couch for example his program says a couch on average weighs xxxxxxx. His estimate is based on estimated weight. They file with the government something called tariff weight-cost per hundred pounds for so many miles.
They will never tell you that. You get several estimates from movers, and it is simple math to determine the tariff rate. You will discover they are very close.

The gotchas. If, the salesman under estimates the weight his bid will be lower. On the highway you will pass signs that say weigh station. You will not be the only one on the truck. They weigh the truck when it leaves and many times on the trip. Your bill is the actual weight of your stuff. If, your estimate was deliberately or not under estimated they will shake you down for the additional charges before delivering your goods.
If, you refuse, they will charge you to store your goods. Not sure of how it works but eventually they can seize you goods and sell them at auction.

Insurance? The included insurance is, if I recall fifteen cents per hundred pounds.
If, I recall our tariff rate was fifty seven cents per hundred pounds. Keep it sell it, toss it,
if, it wasn't worth .57 a hundred pounds, I sold it, tossed it or gave it away. I am a pack rat. We were in the same house for about 40 years. We planned our retirement over two years. I sold stuff on ebay, had 5-6 garage sales etc. Roughly 20,000 dollars worth.
Money is far lighter to move than all that stuff.
Advice-I would purchase full replacement insurance and I would take digital photos of each item in inch box. Should items get broken, your proof that it was in the box and that it was well packed and not broken. In numbered each box, we had over 200 of them, along with what was in each box. The mover will apply their own numbers. They will not deliver them in numerical order. They will had you a bill of lading and expect you to sign it was all there and it arrived in good condition. If, you sign that and discover one box or two are missing or as we did that any damaged boxes were turned so you could not see the smashed side etc, they gotcha, you signed the were all there and in good condition.
Estimates-there are two major movers that are actually the same company. Both say they can't accurately determine your weight so they will add in extra weight and you will be credited back in the end. Another gotcha, they don't tell you the tariff charge is .57 per hundred and the credit is .13 per hundred. I didn't read that part either. The gotcha was roughly $800. Many, most do not fight and they know that is so. I got my $800 refunded.

[jdulej]

We used a POD when we moved here from California. Worked out great - the POD was picked up on time and delivered to our driveway on time. No one touches your stuff except you. Not cheap, but the cheapest of the alternatives.

[DAVES]

Originally Posted by DylanTodd

Hi,

My wife and I are starting to plan the logistics for our fall move to the Villages full time.
We have looked at the cost of various ways to do it but each method seems wildly expensive. Full service moving companies seem to quote $6000 to $10000, those u-pack pods are around $4000, and even a uhaul rental from New England was $3600.

Does anyone have a reliable company that they used to move long distance where they felt they got good value?

Is there anyone from New England moving down this fall/winter and should we split a moving truck to save some costs?

I know people say don't bring your stuff with you and just buy new, we are not even bringing that much furniture, probably 4 to 5 pieces of furniture at most but we have so many totes filled with clothes, sporting equipment, mementos from over the years so we don't want to downsize any further until we get into our new house.

Thanks in advance

Our move was a roughly 24 hour drive. Wife does not drive. So I took three eight hour drives. Do you want to do that in a truck and then face unpacking?

Will your wife appreciate loading stuff onto a rented truck and then unloading after a three day drive?

Our adventure we hired pros. They hired whatever they could find on both ends.
From our sold home their people did not know that my large armoire comes apart.
How it go up the stairs on the way in 40 years ago. They tried to carry it down the stairs in one piece. Damaging both the furniture and the freshly painted painted walls and iron rails. That piece of furniture must have been haunted. On arrival in the villages, different people same company their guy dropped it into our brand new wall and punched a hole into the sheet rock 6-8 inches across.

I have a heavy woodworking table. It was delivered to our living-room. Different world view. It was perfect there. You do not need to bend to open boxes etc. We did not move our couches so plenty of room for it. Wife not happy. She tried to move it by herself.
When, I finished laughing it had to show her, I built it to come apart, all the pieces are numbered so it goes back together. The heaviest piece is the top solid oak butcher block with two vices on it. I had to call my neighbor wife, at about 110 lbs could not pick up the light end. Hum, I will bet she would have move the whole thing herself or die trying.

[PugMom]

if you are coming from new england, as we did, please stay far away from Father&Son moving. it was possibly the worst experience ever. delivery was a MONTH late with several items missing

[thelegges]

We rented a uhaul 10’, and they gave us a 15’ for same price. Truck was $745. Brand new truck, very comfortable.
Two guys to unload here, $150. Uhaul has load and unload people very reasonable. Our next trip will need a small 10’, and plan to use uhaul. But May use a pod for the rest of our items.

I don’t drive so other half drives the 18 hours straight. But we do that twice a year, so not a big deal.

On a note, right now furniture and appliances are at a premium. So glad we didn’t listen to the “Sell everything” and buy new. We would be sitting on the floor. Plus we love our furniture, it well made, and not the veneer you find today, and it goes well in our homes. Not a fan of the Florida look.

[Orvil]

Upack has both trucks and pods. I used the pods for a small move from Texas to Georgia. I only needed one pod. They sent two. They said their experience was people under estimated how much they would be moving and it was better to have two on site than be calling in a panic needing a second pod. I only used the one pod, but I thought that was pretty good customer service.

I could track the pod as it moved across country. It chased me on I-20 the whole way. When I was ready to receive it, they delivered it by appointment. When I was done, they picked it up by appointment. Easy peasy.

I've done a lot of moving through my life. I know how to load a truck. It is an art. I also know that insurance isn't worth a rip. I've had great moves and really bad moves. You just never know what you get until you are finished.

Here are my tips:
Buy packing supplies and boxes from Uhaul store. Get lots of reams of their packing paper. Anything you don't use can be returned.
Lots of small boxes are better than large boxes, but get a variety.
Get your tape from Office Depot, a tape gun and a lot of 10 packs of bankers boxes.
You will need a sharpie and an exacto knife.
Those really huge wardrobe boxes carry a ton of clothing, not just hang up clothes.
Pack your own boxes yourself.
Mark the boxes with your sharpie with a full description of what is in the box. Also mark with your last name and PBO (Packed By Owner).
Pack a box filled with clean sheets, pillows, blanket, towels, a bar of soap and the coffee pot with a bag of coffee. This way you can get a shower and make the bed after a very long day without searching through boxes for what you need. A fresh cup of coffee in the morning is a treat.
You can save big money by packing 90% yourself. You save money on the materials, you save money on the packers because they charge by the box and you will know where something was packed. You won't end up moving stuff you forgot to pitch out because you packed it.
I always have problems with packing large pictures and mirrors myself. I hire help to do this.
You can also hire help from the Uhaul website for packing, loading, unloading, unpacking, and clean up. They don't get paid until you give them the code.
The downside of the Upack model is the large trucks do not have a low deck. It's an 18-wheeler trailer. But, it's all yours.
I always offer to pay for extra help on loading day. I would rather have extra hands so that the load is set up correctly. It makes for a very long day if there is insufficient loading help and a sloppy job.
Moving is hard. But, organization and the right materials is the key to success.

Good luck with your move. Don't pack your sense of humor in a box. You are going to need it during the move.

[DAVES]

Originally Posted by thelegges

We rented a uhaul 10’, and they gave us a 15’ for same price. Truck was $745. Brand new truck, very comfortable.
Two guys to unload here, $150. Uhaul has load and unload people very reasonable. Our next trip will need a small 10’, and plan to use uhaul. But May use a pod for the rest of our items.

I don’t drive so other half drives the 18 hours straight. But we do that twice a year, so not a big deal.

On a note, right now furniture and appliances are at a premium. So glad we didn’t listen to the “Sell everything” and buy new. We would be sitting on the floor. Plus we love our furniture, it well made, and not the veneer you find today, and it goes well in our homes. Not a fan of the Florida look.

You can still buy quality, real wood furniture try the Amish place on 301 by the post office. As far as veneer, even that has been cheapened it is far thinner than it used to be.

Driving 18 hours straight commercial drivers are not allowed to drive that long. Hum is he reading this? Real cost, tolls, fuel. Boat, golf clubs, new fishing rod and shotgun as earned payment?

[TNGary]

Originally Posted by jdulej

We used a POD when we moved here from California. Worked out great - the POD was picked up on time and delivered to our driveway on time. No one touches your stuff except you. Not cheap, but the cheapest of the alternatives.

txs for sharing, I sent you a PM when you have a few seconds please

[jedalton]

bring as little as possible. use a POD for whatever you are bringing. I made the mistake of trying to bring a lot and movers low balled my estimate, cost me almost $3,500 from VA and movers stole about 1/3 of my things. My attorney said this was standard practice in their industry.

[Mpappie]

We moved from New England, we used Pods, very reasonable. Hired someone to load in New England and someone else here. We were very happy with them.

[jedalton]

they ripped me off also

[jedalton]

sorry it was All In The Family moving