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As I posted in another thread I am shopping moving costs. My last call, ABF U Pack half of trailer sounds too good to be true, because renting a truck costs the same?
Their cost $1700 and they are willing to store our stuff for 30 days no charge
Looking for objective feedback on good, bad, and ugly. TIA.
I can't comment on storage cause I didn't use it, but after having expensive stuff stolen by movers, I only use ABF UPack now. They are cheaper but you assume the risk for your belongings arriving in tact, because it's up to you to pack them in the trailer or pod thing or hire people to do it. If you're a good packer, you'll be fine.. I shipped my stuff from Canada to California and nothing was broken. I like that your stuff arrives in the same truck you loaded it into, unlike the movers I used where all my belongings switched trucks 3 times! So crazy. I don't have anything bad to say about ABF. They drop off a trailer within a time frame, you load it, and then they come pick it up (usually the next day). You can track your stuff and arrange for delivery of the trailer at your destination, again they show up, drop off the trailer, and you unload everything. Then they come pick up the empty trailer later. Easy peasy and very straightforward/honest in their dealings with me. To arrange delivery and pickup of the trailer you deal with the local terminal and not the ABF 1-800 number, but all the terminal people I dealt with while tracking and arranging delivery were great. Possible downsides would be having space to park a 28 ft trailer (if you use a trailer and not one of their storage pod type things).. I had to fill out paperwork with the city and pay like $10 for a permit to park it on the street where I was living. If you have regular street cleaning on your road or neighbors from hell, this can be an issue so definitely get a permit if that's the case. Delivery was easy because it was a condo complex and the lot was private so I didn't have to worry about a ticket or anything. They can't always guarantee same day pick up of the trailer, so count on it possibly being there at least 24-48 hours minimum. The trailer was kind of dirty, so have a tarp or something to cover your shipment with.. if everything's boxed it should be fine but mine got a light dusting of some sort of black powder on some of the boxes (printer ink??) and although it wasn't an issue, it was annoying to have to wash my hands constantly while unboxing things. The only other stuff I can think of that could be bad is having to use the ramp to load the truck, and figure out how to secure the bulkhead to secure your shipment (I'm a 5'5ft 120lb female so that part wasn't fun). For me, renting, loading, and driving a truck 1500+ miles by myself wasn't a great idea so ABF was a good choice for me personally.
We have used ABF twice now and great experiences both times. We loved having control over the packing of the trailer (we have gotten very good at it and would have no one to blame but ourselves). We liked not having to rush to get the truck packed, moved and unloaded on the rental truck company's timetable. Our trailer arrived a day early during the last move, but it was no problem for them to store the trailer (wherever they do that) until we called to say we were ready.
The only negative (and this was our fault) was during the delivery of the trailer at the end of our last move. We did not realize until talking with our new neighbors that moving trucks/trailers could not be left parked on the streets. The association we were moving into has narrow streets and all vehicles must be in a garage or in a parking spot. It was suggested that we have our trailer delivered to the side street (near the main entrance) in the closest spot. Actually to have the trailer pulled forward enough to park one of our cars behind as a holding place. We then rented a U-Haul pickup truck to shuttle our things from the trailer to our home. It was an extra step and an extra expense, but still worked.
Both times we used less space in the trailer than originally quoted so the price ended up lower. We love ABF and I am sure we will use them again.
Thanks for the helpful feedback. I am going to check with our HOA, house we are leaving, and let them know it would be on the street a few days. The offered to leave it in driveway but I am concerned it may damage the driveway and don't need any kinks in getting our house closed.
I used ABF in 2012 and would highly recommend them. They also placed the container in the driveway and it did not cause any problems - plus it meant I didn't have to carry the stuff very far. I have moved a lot over the years, and this was the best experience by far.
I used ABF in 2012 and would highly recommend them. They also placed the container in the driveway and it did not cause any problems - plus it meant I didn't have to carry the stuff very far. I have moved a lot over the years, and this was the best experience by far.
Hmm, maybe I should reconsider having them put the trailer in driveway
Thanks for the feedback I appreciate it everyone. We are definitely going with them.
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