[Boomer]

Snow again today, so my thoughts, once again, turn to TV. My msn.com opening page is showing the sun coming out for those of you in TV. Even when you have a little cloud showing all day, your temps are beautiful.

Even though we have not bought a home in TV yet, I am beginning to plan how to get it furnished. We are likely to buy a patio villa and keep our home here which is about a thousand miles away.

I have been thinking about using a POD to get some stuff from Point A to Point B.

I have been accumulating (maybe some would call it hoarding ) a few pieces of wood furniture. -no valuable antiques or anything but some good sturdy stuff. The plan is to figure out how to transform it into the shabby chic look I like. I think I will paint it white and then beat it up a little. We shall see.

Going to all this trouble might not even make sense. It might be better to just try to find things there. But I kind of like doing this sort of thing.

What I am wondering is whether anyone can share the experience of using a POD or whatever those things are called. I think there are other brand names, too.

I know that moving the stuff into the TV house could be an issue. But we are not bringing the piano and we could take the drawers out of the dressers. We are relatively able bodied types, not great but still fairly sturdy. - just like the old furniture I want to move there.

I know I can pick up a phone anywhere and have the beloved Sleep Number delivered so moving a big mattress in by ourselves is not an issue.

So...has anyone tried the POD move? Any advice?

[JohnN]

pods.com I'm thinking about using one for a lot of stuff that I'd prefer to pack and move

but I've not used 'em yet

[l2ridehd]

I looked at pods, smart move, U Haul, Penske Budget, etc. Pods and smart move were very expensive compared to U Haul. Almost double and that was looking at everything including gas and all but my time driving it there. The big advantage to the pods is you can take a week or more to load it and then have it delivered. With a U Haul you have 5 days total. One interesting thing about truck rental is the price seems to change daily. I saw a low of $541 and a high of $968 for the same trip, same truck, and everything else. Check it several times until you see the lowest rate and then lock it down. Once reserved you maintain that rate and rate structure even if you upgrade to a larger truck or move dates. I have gone from a 10 ft, to a 14 ft, and now a 17 ft. The cost only moved from the original $541 to $578 for the larger truck. I also went on craigslist in Ocala and under services found moving help for $50 an hour for 2 people. Haven't used them yet, but have them reserved for now. Will let you know if it works. And Southwest and Jet Blue also have cheap one way tickets for the return home. So even doing all that, truck, gas, airline, rental car to airport, it was still over $1000 less then the pods. And I probably shouldn't count the airline, even with a pod, you will need to be there.

[Boomer]

Thanks JohnN and I2ridehd,

Regarding getting local movers for hire: Have you found that they are covered with workman's comp insurance or whatever it is that covers them if they get hurt? I recently hired someone to haul away basement stuff for someone I was helping with a house sale. The big guys with the big truck had to fax me the papers first.

Prudent? Paranoid? - don't know. It's just the way I have to do business. While I don't worry so much about somebody dropping my stuff, I do worry about our liability for an on the job injury. There are some circumstances under which it is not an issue for me, but with movers, it is. I know that litigation can try to hit everybody in the lineup, but I just like to build in a little buffer zone where possible.

I think hauling the stuff to TV yourself and hiring locals to help you move it in makes good sense. I would just have to understand the liability coverage aspect. :dontknow:

[l2ridehd]

I called them and asked that question and they said yes, I have not seen the paper work yet, but will have them fax it to me before I use them. Here is a link to there web site so you can check for yourself.

http://home.earthlink.net/~martinrelocation/

[l2ridehd]

Right now it is scheduled for March 20 and 21. Will load on the 19th, drive on the 20th and unload on the 21st. At least that is the current plan.

[mmclover]

I have been in contact with SmartMove. The price for containers 6'Wx7"Hx7"L is quite reasonable. I plan only to bring small personal items and household items, very little furniture. I think I will have my hands full driving a van with the dog and cat. SmartMove
loads the containers on UPS and will hold them at the nearest UPS terminal until you are ready for them for like a dollar a day storage fee. They will also provide loading and unloading help is you want it. I am hoping that I can get by with two containers, but can have as many as needed. They will brigng four and charge you only for what you use/ You lock them with your own lock and unlock when they arrive at destination. That is the way I plan to go when???? I sell my house and make it to TV.

[l2ridehd]

The price I got from smart move was a little over $1500 a container and there containers were small. This was from Virginia to Florida. That seems really expensive to me when the space for 2 containers is only 27 cubic feet more then the 17 foot truck. So they would want over $3000 and the truck, gas, tolls, pads, dolly, is under $1000 for the same trip. What am I missing?

[Boomer]

I wonder if prices will eventually be affected somewhat by the fact that fewer people are moving anywhere.

[Muncle]

I've never used Pods so I have no real-life knowledge about them or, surprisingly, even an opinion. However, Boomer said they'd likely be moving into a villa. With the parking situation and real short driveways in Villa communities, I'd give a lot of thought to the timing. With a single family home, you could park the Pod in the drive or even on the street for a few days while you paced your unpacking. It might be a bit more complicated in a Villa.

[Boomer]

Originally Posted by Muncle

I've never used Pods so I have no real-life knowledge about them or, surprisingly, even an opinion. However, Boomer said they'd likely be moving into a villa. With the parking situation and real short driveways in Villa communities, I'd give a lot of thought to the timing. With a single family home, you could park the Pod in the drive or even on the street for a few days while you paced your unpacking. It might be a bit more complicated in a Villa.

Good point, Muncle. Thank you.

I love this site. I will get this TV thing figured out yet, but I would never have gotten this far without the advice I find here.

[l2ridehd]

I just called Pack Rat and they don't deliver to TV. They have to have a warehouse within 25 miles of your delivery location and the closest one is Orlando. I talked to there agent and they would not bend on that rule. They wouldn't even give me pricing for a 16' pod. So they are not an option for moving to TV. If you hear something different from them, be glad to know what it is.

[aln]

I used a POD from WIS. The great part about it for me was that we contracted with it just before we put our house up for sale. Put all the stuff we felt made the house look 'cluttered' in it. Took the POD away. After the house sold (6 weeks), brought it back. Repacked for the move. At the time, 2006, they would only use 16 footers for interstate moves. My cost for about 3 months of using the POD was $3,000.00.
Another nice part about the POD is that it is virtually at ground level for packing. Also, we had 2 curio cabinets with allot of glass in it and they made the trip with no damage.
Overall, a satisfying experience and I'd use them again.

[Patty]

Last year we used PODS to move from a North Atlanta suburb (Woodstock) to TV. they were very professional and timely. We even changed our date of delivery and did not have any problems with them accommodating us.
We had it delivered on a Friday to TV, unpacked it in about (2 hours - we hired some high school boys to help us) and they picked up the POD from our driveway first thing on Monday morning. Even though it was on our villa driveway for over 24 hours, we did not receive any complaints from our neighbors.
total cost was less than $1500.00 and I would use them again.

[SteveFromNY]

I recently made arrangements for PODS to do my move. I am having the pod delivered in April, moved from NYC to Ocala in June and then to TV early July.
I will come down and empty it, and then, unfortunately, return to NY and work a few more months!