Should I rent a trailer or have a container sent?
 

I moving from So Cal. to Pompano Beach, Florida. I have a full sized F-150 so I can tow a trailer. U-haul has a 12" trailer that may fill my needs for a charge of a little less than $600. Another company will drop off a trailer, allow me to load it, and then drive it to my new home in Florida for about $2,100.

I also have a Harely that will be moved using the bed of my truck (DAS wants over $800!)

Anyways, given the cost of gas, and the longer trip due to going 55 mph with a trailer, would you rent a a trailer or have a company move my stuff? Either way I have to make the drive. I'm just trying to figure out the best and most economical means. Are they any other one-way trailer rental companies?

Any experiences?

You ever see "Movin'" ? :)

...I would tow my stuff, but that's me. I like to know where my stuff is at all times :) If add the cost to ship the Harley, that's $2900 for someone to move your stuff. Fuel from Cali to Florida is a fraction of that. And if the movers don't get your stuff there on time, you'll be sitting around anyway...the time lost going slower might not mean much.

Good luck with the move Paul. And drive safely (w/ or w/o the trailer).

Fuel costs should be under $400, then you have your airline costs. Add that together and it will be at least $1000.

How much is your time worth and what happens if something breaks down on the road. Not trying to talk you out of it but its a hell of a drive towing a trailer. You can save about half the cost but need to factor in your time.

JoeA

Never rent anything with a motor from U-haul, ever. That company is terribly shady, and if you rent a trailer, be absolutely sure it has good tires and a sound hitch.

I moved from the Houston Area to Sacramento a few years ago. Had three vehicles and a ton of stuff to move. Towed my Acura on a dolly behind my wife's SUV, no problem. Towed my cherry VW convertible on a flatbed behind the 26 foot truck. This was a 2 year old truck, and it broke down a dozen times before we got out of Texas the first day, just died. The last time it died, it was in the middle of nowhere, 80 miles from Barstow. I had to drive 30 minutes to get cellular service, and they offered to send a guy to repair it, from LA, over 3 hours just for him to get there. My father in law got it going, and we did not turn it off until we got to Sacto. They ended up refunding all the money I gave them, including the cost of the hitch that is still on the wife's truck. Never rent from U-haul if you can avoid it, they will rent you a piece of crap with bald tires and leave you stranded or dead on the side of the road.

That said, if I was driving my own vehicle, I would probably rent a trailer.

Penske or Rider diesel. Agree with what Tobra said above...

I used ABF moving this summer and they dropped off a trailer and I loaded it up with my junk and I unloaded it when they dropped it off at the new location. Worked out great for me. I might even have a 50 dollar off coupon I could mail you. Drop me a PM if you are interested, and I will try my best to find it.

Uhaul stinks! ! ! ! Do not count on them to get anything right. I rented a trailer from them once and they didn't have the size I ordered, and the thing had no tail lights. If you are renting a truck go with penske I have used them at least 4 times and never had a problem. Plus if you are a AAA member you get a pretty decent discount there.

Rich

1- Have everything but the Porsche shipped.

2- Enjoy the drive.

I would probably tow the trailer myself. I've towed quite a bit (ski boats, race cars, etc.) and trust myself more than moving company employees.

DO NOT EVER HAVE A MOVING COMPANY MOVE YOUR STUFF!!!!

Is that clear enough for you? You're only inviting a nightmare.

When my wife and I moved to Georgia from Lake Tahoe, we had contracted a moving company to pack our stuff and drive it here. From the moment the packers/drivers showed up it looked like a racket.

First of all, they showed up with a truck that in no way would have held all of our stuff. This was after they had sent a man out to do a visual, and gave us an estimate. Like they were really going to fit 100 lbs of stuff into a 50 lb bucket.

When the guys opened the truck (which, again, was way too small) I saw that it had already been half-loaded with someone else's stuff...so now that were planning to fit 100 lbs of stuff in a 25 lb bucket. No way!!!

The crew, who barely spoke english, tried to explain that this was normal business. anything that didn't fit would be loaded onto another truck that would show up the next day...by another crew!!!

When we called the company, we weren't allowed to speak with the guy who did the estimate....they refused to let us. Instead, they directed our call to a really friendly guy who told us that, in no uncertain terms, if we cancelled this contract, we would lose our $1000.00 deposit! BULL*****!!!

Long story short, we sent the guys packing (no pun intended) and hired a local crew to pack our stuff. We ended up using TWO U-Haul trucks, one of their biggest models, and one, the next size down. We had no problems with either truck for the entire trip. And fortunately, we had charged the deposit on our Capital One card....got every cent of our deposit back, no worries. :D

Oh...I forgot to add, when the crew that showed up to pack our stuff got there, they immediately went into their routine of, "Dat wuz not on list." "Dis wuz not on list." They were racking up extra charges even before they put a single box on the truck!!!

Once the moving company has your stuff, they can hold it in storage until you pay, in cash, in full for it;s release. And until you pay, you're adding up storage costs too. It's just not worth it. Hire a crew to pack and load/unload everything..on both ends, and you'll sleep much better at night.

Just my .02!

Randy

If you do a trailer, make sure it has working brakes. (You'll have to buy a brake controller for your truck.) I warped the rotors on my 2000 F150 a few years back pulling a non-braked trailer through chicago.

If you do move cross country, get a reputable company with a fixed price contract. We used Bekins. We did have some issues, for example they were 10 days late, but we were not charged any extra.

Oh yeah, the "extra" cost of having some guy come out and pack our world, priceless! I didn't have time and my wife was freaking out, never having moved like this.

OTOH, when I moved her to San Diego, we got rid of her furniture, and only moved the essentials. She was down to 13 boxes, which I sent by Forward Air for $250 (including a bunch of insurance). The rest we drove in her car (Glass, pictures, TV, etc).

When we came to houston, I bought a used car tow dolly. It cost me less that it would have cost to rent one from U-haul. I serviced it before I left, and even had Los Panchos paint it in Tijuana.

Do it yourself, that way if anything gets broken, you know who to blame. And who says you only can go 55? I pulled an A4 on a car dolly from Dallas with our 4Runner, 70-80 MPH all the way. That's nearly 4000 lbs with a vehicle rated to tow 7000, your F150 shouldn't have any problems.

I agree about UHaul, I came close to renting a trailer from them for our last move, but their customer service was such a joke that I ended up borrowing one. They wanted an appointment to guarantee a trailer, but it wouldn't for sure be there. It could be in one of many surrounding towns, and I would be responsible for driving to get it. I was in central KS at the time, and the next nearest UHaul place was an hour away, minimum. I think not.

Thanks for the tips. I have a lead on a moving company but am leaning towards renting a trailer.

Who else rents trailers you can tow behind a F150 besides UHaul? I do not need a truck. And a truck rental is similar to the container drop of rates anyways. The only trailers I can find are for semi trucks.

Anyone need an emplty trailer moved from So Cal to Florida?

I would skip U-Haul and get Penske equipement. I have moved twice in 3 years and used Penske. Minor problems getting the right truck, but the trucks were basically new. U-Haul are scum bags.

last i checked, only UHAUL will rent you just a trailer. the rest of the companies require you tow with only one of their rigs.

that said, i would ship everything, and load the bike into the truck and casually drive across the country. i like to move myself, but you have a problem. nobody will have a trailer big enough to load the f150, so you will have to drive it. i lied to my sales dude and loaded my 4x4 S10 into a penske trailer. towed it with one of their midsized vans. which was the smallest i could tow with. their policy. i had room to spare.

but i did have a blow out on figeroa and gage (trailer tire), in LA southcentral LA. i had to spend the night sleeping in the van. i stuck my benchmade into the dash and slept with one eye open. i have never been so exhausted in my life. nobody would get me a hotel room at 7:00AM (when the sevice finally showed up) because check out time was in just a few hours. i pushed on to san fran. i was so tired i didnt even use the ramp to get my truck off, i just backed it off. then went to a friends house to pass out.

I'll be selling 'n moving out of Kalifornia one of these days, myself.
I found a site where folks post their shipping/freight needs, etc.
Arrangements made between parties for this/that, such as your looking for a trailer to transport.
If/when I find the link, I'll post it.

I would do the trailer route. But I have to share a U-haul story. When I got married the first time we moved from Mobile Al. to a job in Indiana. Put everything we owned in a large truck, including a VW and a piano. Also towed my car behind the truck. In Ohio the engine blew. Just slap blew, grenaded, imploded etc. Called and they said they would being me another truck. I told them to bring a crew because of the car in the truck along with the piano. I was close to a major U-Haul center and they towed everything there and replace the engine in about 3 hours. Told me it would either last 30 miles or 30,000. No problems after that.
Good luck. If you have the time drive it and enjoy. My .02 your results may vary.