Moving from California to North Dakota this summer. (Bismarck, Lisbon: truck rental, rental)

[MikeyToo]

For anyone that has moved recently, or in the process of moving from California to North Dakota, what was/is your experience. I have been in contact of a few moving companies and prices are all over the place. The Better Business Bureau also said be aware of a lot of shady companies. Some will just drive your belongings, you load/unload. Others will do everything. We will be all boxed up, and ready to go, as we are currently moving almost everything into storage in preperation. Would like to know costs(realizing that costs are dynamic with fuel prices), weather you loaded/unloaded, delivery was on time, damage to your belongins etc.. Any help will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance.....

[Corbay]

http://www.upack.com/

[MikeyToo]

Originally Posted by Corbay

Move with the Truck Rental Alternative - ABF U-Pack Moving

Thanks for the input. I've been to their website. They are kinda expensive.
I appreciate your input!....)

[BreaOC]

Originally Posted by MikeyToo

For anyone that has moved recently, or in the process of moving from California to North Dakota, what was/is your experience. I have been in contact of a few moving companies and prices are all over the place. The Better Business Bureau also said be aware of a lot of shady companies. Some will just drive your belongings, you load/unload. Others will do everything. We will be all boxed up, and ready to go, as we are currently moving almost everything into storage in preperation. Would like to know costs(realizing that costs are dynamic with fuel prices), weather you loaded/unloaded, delivery was on time, damage to your belongins etc.. Any help will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance.....

When my family moved to ND, and then when I moved back to CA, we had local movers load the truck for us and we drove it ourselves. It's an easy drive (4-5 days) if you just want to take your time, or you can make it a quick 2 day trip. Then when we got to our destination we had a local mover unload our truck. That way we had our belongings with us at all times and there was no waiting for a couple weeks for our things to reach us. I do remember calling a moving company when I was moving from Mpls to Bismarck and they gave me a quote and a supervisor from the company called me later and doubled the charge because, I'm not kidding you, he said that I didn't understand that ND only has dirt roads and their trucks will get stuck in the mud. My reaction.... . I had lived in Bismarck before and obviously knew better, I tried explaining to the supervisor that I know for a fact that an interstate runs from Mpls to Bismarck and that you don't come anywhere near a dirt road and he kept arguing with me that ND doesn't have anything but dirt roads. OMG it was insane, and this was through a larger moving company. When I moved from Bis back to OC, Budget had the best prices. U-haul tends to be flaky, not being able to guarantee you a truck even with a reservation made months in advance. Good luck Mikey

[Christine Joan]

When I was comparing prices on moving companies, only a few months ago, my research also indicated that Budget had the lowest rates.

Please keep us posted as to your progress and what you find out regarding moving companies and their rates because I hope to follow you from California into North Dakota either this summer or next year, depending on how fast I can find the right home and pay for it. Best wishes. I am so happy for you.

[bismanpokerclub]

Originally Posted by BreaOC

I do remember calling a moving company when I was moving from Mpls to Bismarck and they gave me a quote and a supervisor from the company called me later and doubled the charge because, I'm not kidding you, he said that I didn't understand that ND only has dirt roads and their trucks will get stuck in the mud. My reaction.... . I had lived in Bismarck before and obviously knew better, I tried explaining to the supervisor that I know for a fact that an interstate runs from Mpls to Bismarck and that you don't come anywhere near a dirt road and he kept arguing with me that ND doesn't have anything but dirt roads. OMG it was insane, and this was through a larger moving company.

This is similar to things I encountered in my travels. Many people would find out I was from ND and they would say stuff like "how long does it take to get here" I would say oh it was about an hour flight or something and they would say not the plane ride but how long the wagon ride was to civilization, and they were serious! You could not get some people to believe we still weren't stuck in 1886. I would get questions like how bad are the indian attacks along the way, do we get tv, electricity running water etc. etc. Finally after a while when I would bump into one of these morons I would just play along and say stuff like "oh the wagon train took about 4 months to get to minneapolis and we got attacked pretty much every day till the outskirts of minneapolis" and my favorite is "whats TV?" I always enjoyed watching these people get so excited explaing to me the "wonders" of thier modern life like tv and phone etc. Then I would turn the tables and tell them I thought they were making all this stuff up and it sounded like wichcraft to me. Fun stuff.

[Cain]

Do you guys have a Penske out there? We had great success with them when we moved from CT to ND. If you got them in CA, may be worth a look.

[MikeyToo]

Originally Posted by Cain

Do you guys have a Penske out there? We had great success with them when we moved from CT to ND. If you got them in CA, may be worth a look.

Thanks for the info Cain. Yup! We have a Penske here and they are far cheeper than U-Haul I found out. Even cheaper than Budget. Budget was $1500 more for the same distance. U-Haul also has a reputation for poor maintenance on their trucks. Looks like it will be Penske if we can get everything in a 26' truck. Time to downsize!....
Also, thanks to everyone else for your inputs.

[Corbay]

Look into this

uShip - The Online Shipping Marketplace - Ship Freight, Furniture, Vehicles or Moves

[berlinassociates]

I too am moving from the Riverside County in California. I am enjoying reading all the posts. I hope to learn more from everyone about the state and the town that I will be moving to...Lisbon.