So What Does It Cost To Move 'Cross Country These Days?

[Doug&Julie]

Just trying to get a feeler for what it costs to move 'cross country these days? Say we're paying a Mayflower (or other) crew to move 1800 square feet from house to house?

The reality is we'll likely be moving in two stages, one will be packing up a PODS (or other) and having that moved, then the rest of the house in one fell swoop.

If anybody has any money saving tips, we're all ears!

Thanks!

[equality72521]

I know the cost was $13,000 for Allied for pack and move us 125 miles away. My employer paid moving expenses and didn't pay that much but that was what was listed on the invoice as "regular" price.

[Doug&Julie]

Thanks. Yeah, I was speculating around $15k. That's what we're saving for, anyway. So whatever we can do to make that cheaper...money in our pocket.

[Joeaksa]

Pay someone to do it. Have done it myself several times and its just not worth it.

Just make sure that you have insurance on the move and check everything. Every move I have done had something broken or stolen.

[Porsche-O-Phile]

My recent move from LA to the northeast cost about $8,000 doing it myself. Cost of rental truck, tow dolly, fuel, shipping two cars, etc. It was murder but I don't trust anyone other than me to do it. Difficult or not, this is something I'd always do myself. I simply do not trust moving companies - way too many horror stories out there of stuff getting lost/busted/held hostage for months while they change the price/terms after the fact, etc. No way.

My advice: Pare down to the stuff you really care about keeping or have use for, sell, donate or throw away everything else and get a storage unit. Transfer stuff into the storage unit to "mock up" how you're going to load your rental truck (get the dimensions ahead of time and build in a few inches on each dimension "just in case" and move stuff over several weeks. Spread it out. That way when the time comes, you just have to pull the truck up to the storage unit, roll everything up (it's already boxed/stacked the way you want, just make sure to account for first-in-last-out) and hand the keys in. That's what I did and it was very effective. But it's still not a fun experience.

Best of luck.

[Porsche-O-Phile]

BTW we looked into the pods things - they're stupid expensive and there's still the uneasiness about having someone else take possession of your stuff and hoping that you'll (1) ever see it again and (2) it'll show up in approximately the same number of pieces as when you loaded it originally. We decided against doing that, needless to say.

If I ever end up moving back west, I'm taking one car, my road bike and a couple of suitcases. That's it. Already decided. I'll sell everything else - I ain't kidding.

[mossguy]

Movng regularly in the military, the maxim was "Three moves is like having a fire!"

Joe has it right. Good inspection ( by you) in and out. Good insurance. Pack and move your prized stuff yourself in your Subie.

Best,
Tom

[vash]

POP is correct. i'm a sucker, and i helped my sister move from texas to portland. the largest u-haul (POS) fit all of her belongings. her fiance and her took the dogs and a brand new truck on a roadtrip, vacation..camping along the way. in the meantime, my brother and i, drove all of her stuff in that POS truck, with a tow dolly pulling her rover discovery all the way to portland. it was hell. she did make the mistake of giving us her credit card, and authorizing us to use it. we charged everything! we spent wayy less than $15k. i bet her move cost $3k.

i say unload everything you dont love. sell it, give it away. rent a big truck for the rest and road trip it.

funny story. on that move. this alarm clock...it is a chicken with a guitar. it went off in the back of the truck. it sang, "get up, get up, it's time to get up, you sleep head...cockacockadoo!" the entire length of california, until the batteries died. it was buried in the stuff..we listen to that for hours. i almost went mad.

[bell]

We moved about 1000 miles (cleveland to florida) 2 years ago, total cost was about $1700, us (me) packing/loading/driving/unloading/w car trailer......(22ft truck)
We used penske, if you're renting the truck I wouldn't use anybody else, new trucks, great service, best one-way prices, plus AAA discounts.
If you're really trying to save money I'd pack everything yourself and pay someone to load/unload and drive it yourself, it'll be a nice road trip too just plan plenty of time.......
Mark every box for what room it's going to go into......
I also just moved last weekend, used penske and brother inlaw for help, we were packed/loaded/unloaded/ truck returned in about 7 hours, was a 95 mile move......that one cost me about $200 with truck/boxes/fuel

[mossguy]

Vash, It has been a while since I last moved. Times have probably changed. The addition of a small child into the mix would lean me towards Joe. Good health, strength, and lack of money would lean me toward POP.

Best,
Tom

[Porsche-O-Phile]

I used Budget. Mixed feelings. Some good aspects, some bad. Rental cost was just shy of $5k for the big truck (biggest one they had, 24' I think). Diesel. Definitely get diesel if you can - especially if you're going up/down mountainous terrain. Gas trucks are crap. Diesel rigs are way better and you get to take advantage of all the decent-priced over-the-road diesel prices at truck stops.

I'd have to look at my receipts, but here's ballpark/off-the-top-of-my-head:

$4500 - rental truck
$1500 - fuel
$2000 - shipping two cars ($1k/ea)

Plus a few hundred for food/hotels/crap along the way.

Truck stops are your friend. They have showers - use 'em. Also great places to sleep without anyone bothering you. In retrospect there were aspects of the trip that were fun, but the experience just sucks overall. Moving is never fun.

[bell]

Oh and I cannot stress enough......
F uhaul, their trucks are as stated above POS's!!!!!!
PENSKE all the way, period, all of their truck fleet are miles above all others in reguards to maintanance, quality, fuel efficiency.......their one-way rental costs can vary if you can return to a main hub, I moved to ocala fl, but returned the truck to orlando (90miles away) and it was $300 cheaper than if I dropped it in ocala.
You can setup and get quotes, and do everything online......

[R K T]

When we moved from Arkansas back to California (big mistake, shoulda stayed there) we used United. 3200 sq ft house full, including 1000 Porsche scale models cost us 8 grand. I packed and boxed all the models cause I don't trust anyone touching them, and wifey packed the kitchen etc. There was enough room on the back of the truck for the MINI Cooper!

[Seahawk]

Lots of good advice above. I have done a few DIY moves and will never do it again.

My Dad moves about every three/four years. He has decided to live all around the states one move at a time: DC, Charlottesville, Bend, Monument, WA, Tenn and, next, Montana.

He and his wife (my Mom died in '90) do all the box packing and have the movers do the rest...lots of insurance, etc. They also insist on partial load containers that they supervise the loading of, which are then sealed. Their stuff never leaves the container until it arrives at the new digs.

They then rent a small trailer they pulls behind his truck...they put all their essential items for a comfortable move in when they arrive in the truck and trailer (motorcycle, kitchen stuff, etc.), independent from the moving van. She follows in their other car.

My 2 cents? As mentioned, the best way to save money on a move is to pare down your detritus. A move is a great opportunity to purge.

[Tobra]

Move is a great opportunity to jettison detritus.

NEVER RENT FROM U HAUL

[Porsche-O-Phile]

Agreed with not renting from u-haul. They suck.

A few years ago (moving from OR back to CA) I used u-haul. Big mistake. Ended up in a hotel parking lot in the pouring rain for two days unpacking all my crap and re-packing it into a new truck 'cause the old one decided to grenade the transmission. Did I mention they suck?

[Buckterrier]

Originally Posted by vash

funny story. on that move. this alarm clock...it is a chicken with a guitar. it went off in the back of the truck. it sang, "get up, get up, it's time to get up, you sleep head...cockacockadoo!" the entire length of california, until the batteries died. it was buried in the stuff..we listen to that for hours. i almost went mad.

Is that why your chickens now live in poverty?

[austin552]

Did the A.Z. to V.A. run about ten years ago with two large trucks. PIA but saved a bunch and had an ADVENTURE. We took an extra day which really helped. Think we are still banned from Jackson, M.S. but wanted in El Paso, T.X.

[ghost1001]

Hi,

It is VERY hard to ballpark your move based on what others have paid….

The cost of your move will be calculated based on volume...which is the converted to pounds....and then priced per the "tariff" rate. So any large, bulky items that you can ditch prior will save money. Take a couch for instance, your entire kitchen (small appliances, plates, silver, etc) may take the same area as that couch but you will be charged the same. Maybe you need a new mattress…..buy that when you arrive at your new home instead of moving the one you have….you get the idea.

Packing yourself will save you money, obviously. You can maximize space and save on materials (boxes, tape, etc) as well as man hours.

The “pods” type containers are nice Atlas just came out with a new container service that is secured prior to leaving your house…the container is also bomb proof. You load and unload….still, pack it well to avoid damage.

If you are moving a house ask the agent if they “self haul”. That means that they use their own tractor trailer for the “long-haul” part of the trip. This will help to avoid damage, but no guarantee.

The general drill is the mover will use “straight trucks” to load at your house, then they will off load at their warehouse and then your stuff will be “packed/consolidated” with other peoples stuff going from/to the same general area.

Independent (non-van line) movers may use “brokers” for the long-haul….this can be a problem….you can have damage or the old, “your stuff is a week and a half behind sched.” The reason is that the broker will wait till they have a full load to move your goods.

Go will a national van-line…United, mayflower, Atlas….

This is my business (moving) and we just changed from United/Mayflower (these 2 are the essentially the same company, uni-group) to Atlas. The 2 organizations are night and day….my professional recommendation, Atlas they are very customer service oriented and have a great reputation in the industry….they will probably not be the least expensive, however.

Feel free to PM me if you have specific questions.

Kevin

[Rufblackbird]

cost from moving across the pacific for our stuff was about $7k, however when the movers came they said anything they didn't pack themselves cannot be covered under insurance, so check with the moving company first. Made a lot of mistakes by holding on to stuff I should've gotten rid of instead of shipping it, so now that we're getting ready to move one state over (13 hours away) we've started downsizing and getting rid of stuff that's not needed.

This time though, I'm buying a long gooseneck or 5th wheel trailer to tow everything so it'll just be the cost of gas, food, and maybe $1-2k for the trailer, which I'll have use for afterwards anyway.