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Those who are planning to move before the second week of July would be wise to make and confirm their relocation arrangements as soon a possible.
Service within the entire household goods moving industry – both full-service and do-it-yourself (DIY) – is going to be strained this year, particularly during the peak period between the middle of May and the middle of July. Some van lines have already restricted some types of business until after the first of July. Movers now closing off bookings for June | RELO Roundtable...a gathering place
Although moving quotes are normally only good for 30 days and extensions can be usually be arranged, the shortage of both qualified drivers and equipment throughout the moving industry is going create supply shortage which will affect pricing.
If you've received quotes from full service movers but haven't selected a carrier by signing their estimate/order-for-service, it's best to do so ASAP to lock in your pricing and service dates before you're told the company you want to use can no longer register new business. When most of the major van lines start shutting off their bookings, the DIY truck rental and container moving options will quickly become saturated also.
Have used UHaul trucks for moves...never again! Two many mechanical problems with the trucks I rented: bad battery on one, and on another truck it would not accelerate more than 30 mph! We had to find another UHaul place and ended up moving our belongings to a different truck...what a pain. Very weird though because when we picked up the truck and drove it to our home, we were able to get it up to 35 mph...wow, a whole 5 mph faster!
Maybe we were just unfortunate in the ones we rented...can't say all UHaul trucks are bad..but I won't take that chance again.
When is the last time you used Uhaul, they have replaced most of their fleet, the newer trucks are pretty nice.
Yes, I have used Uhaul, I think they are the cheapest.
Just to add in my U-Haul experience from last weekend, I rented a 26' truck to move from Clearwater, FL to Greenville, SC. Here's my breakdown:
26' Truck (with tax for 4 day and up to 720 miles): $850
Tow Dolly (the kind where you load up the front 2 wheels of your car): $50
Total Gas: $310
Miles Driven: 654
Approx mileage: 8 mpg
Hired help to load (2 guys @ 2 hours): $105
Hired help to unload (2 guys @ 2 hours): $110
Total Cost: $1425
We had everything boxed up with pads and shrink wrap on everything so it was ready to load. The movers loaded the 26 ft truck front to back and top to bottom barely fitting everything in and they did it in 2 hours. They were flying, so dont expect that from an average mover. Knowing that it takes less time to unload, our unloaders took the full two hours to unload the same truck. Not as quick, but still good.
The truck could have been better. I tried to get a head start the night before the move and came to find out that the tail lights did not work (brake lights did, but no lights in back with headlights on). I called uhaul roadside service and they offered to reimburse me for a hotel stay as long as they could sent a tech out to look at it. They made good on the hotel, but could not fix the tail lights, so I finished the drive the following day during daylight hours. The AC also wasnt the greatest. I was able to drive full speed though. The truck had ~77k miles on it to give you an idea of its age.
Overall a successful move, but its a rough ride in those trucks and even tougher towing a car behind you. The car arrived fine, but I couldn't help but worry about it when driving on some rough roads. One word of caution on the 2-wheel tow dolly: do not back up! It is not like backing up a trailer or boat. The two wheels on the dolly and the two back wheels of your car do not move in sync. I noticed that the back wheels of the car would go one direction and the wheels on the dolly would go the other. You must pull through everywhere you go and make wide turns so that you dont whack your car on a post or something. If you get the trailer that you pull your whole car up on, then you should be able to back up. Hope this helps and good luck in your move!
Last edited by chilehead; 06-01-2011 at 07:04 AM..
Reason: typo
Could you give me an estimate of how much weight you loaded in the truck, or how much sq. ft. home or rooms of furniture? The 26' U Haul truck only has a carrying capacity of 7,500 lbs and about 1,600 cubic feet. It is my understanding that my 4 bedroom house is heavier than the truck will carry. The U Haul dealer just indicated that I pull a 6' by 12' closed trailer which is 1,900 lbs plus carrying capacity of another 2,500 lbs. So it appears with U Haul's 26' truck pulling a 6X12 trailer you can carry 10,000 lbs.
I would guess that the U Haul 6X12 trailer would be much easier than using a tow dolly to pull a car.
My local dealer has many 26' new trucks with less than 1,000 miles that are only used for long one-way moves, where some of their smaller trucks for in-town moves have 215,000 miles or more.
It seems like you're trying to match the rental capacity you need without first determining the dimensional size of all of the items in your home you want to move.
Using someone else's previous experience to determine your job requirement is dangerous. If you use their feedback and you're assessment is wrong, you lose valuable time making alternate arrangements on move day. Then it might be to late to make other transport arrangements.
If you have a 'well appointed' four bedroom home crammed with the normal junk families accumulate, I seriously doubt that the two pieces of uHaul equipment you mentioned with be enough. Unless you're an experienced mover or have really heavy, dense stuff and know how to pack really, really well, you might be able to haul approximately 1250 -1400 cu ft or 8000-9000 lbs in in both rental units together.
The contents of most 4-bedroom American homes w/gar and/or basement usually exceeds 1800 cu ft or 12,000 lbs. A better option might be to consider two full-sized 20' mobile/portable moving containers.
HOW on EARTH did you pay such a LOW amount, I talked to allied today and got a quote, I'm moving 1000 miles,doing the packing myself, a small 1BR apartment, and they quoted me $1895, when I asked about what if it was less than the 3000lbs he estimated, he said, you still pay the same price because if it goes over I still pay the same unless I just did'nt tell him about some giant piano.
How long ago did you pay that price? I realize with gas going up, it makes a difference but I dont see how your 3BR home costs nearly 900 less than my 1BR home going 700 mi less distance????
I was thinking the same thing.
We have a 4 bedroom home and plan to move approx 1000 miles. Sure wish we could find a moving company that has low rates....
Could you give me an estimate of how much weight you loaded in the truck, or how much sq. ft. home or rooms of furniture? The 26' U Haul truck only has a carrying capacity of 7,500 lbs and about 1,600 cubic feet. It is my understanding that my 4 bedroom house is heavier than the truck will carry. The U Haul dealer just indicated that I pull a 6' by 12' closed trailer which is 1,900 lbs plus carrying capacity of another 2,500 lbs. So it appears with U Haul's 26' truck pulling a 6X12 trailer you can carry 10,000 lbs.
I would guess that the U Haul 6X12 trailer would be much easier than using a tow dolly to pull a car.
My local dealer has many 26' new trucks with less than 1,000 miles that are only used for long one-way moves, where some of their smaller trucks for in-town moves have 215,000 miles or more.
We packed an 1850 sf 4-bedroom house, but all our rooms weren't full of stuff. The big items were:
I have no idea on the weight. I will say it was highly dependant on the movers and how they packed it in there. I personally would not have been able to make it fit. I would probably get the 26 footer and the trailer and "priority pack" and then sell/dump what doesnt fit.
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