Frank, the following advice was gleaned from several articles I've written over the years about movin a small amount of stuff.
Anyone contemplating a personal relocation that involves moving between states should first consult the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's
Protect Your Move.gov website and download
AND READ Your Rights and Responsibilities When You Move
Small shipments of personal effects, miscellaneous commodities, supplies, or equipment have been a nemesis of the household goods (HHG) moving industry ever since Horace Greeley suggested Americans move west.
Their size and relatively low revenue potential dampen their appeal to both large and small, and local and long distance service providers. Shipments weighing less than 2500 lbs (roughly equal to the contents of an efficiency or small, one bedroom house or apartment) are typically a third the size of the average interstate customer’s HHG move yet they require the same degree of internal administrative effort, manpower and equipment resources as customers who pay a whole lot more to relocate.
Why does it cost so much to move?
Regardless of what’s being moved, small shipments generally require more frequent handling by a driver and crew. It takes more of them to fill up a truck. This extra effort frequently results in a higher incidence of loss and damage claims which cut into profits faster. Increased aggravation combined with low margins makes these little orders that much less desirable within the moving and storage industry.
To the property owner, however, the value of their business is only exceeded by their expectations that their relocation will be handled as expeditiously and problem free as a household that occupies a complete moving van. Most inexperienced customers moving interstate expect their small shipment to arrive within days of pick up – regardless of where they’re moving from or to. They’re genuinely shell-shocked when told it could take up to a month to receive their delivery. Neither their busy schedules nor meager budgets were planned around living out of a suitcase for an extended period.
Because of this huge difference in perspective, moving companies and van lines have historically used their pricing and transit schedules to discourage potential customers with only a few things to ship from using their transportation service. Many implement minimum weight requirements and extended service dates especially during the busier summer moving season for just this reason.
As the worldwide recession deepened, more and more companies reduced their spending by eliminating many of the benefits and perks in their corporate relocation packages. Many clients, in fact, eliminated full service benefit options to all but senior managers and above. Other transferees and new employee recruits were essentially allowed a lump sum amount with which to move themselves.
Forced to look for budget relocation options, many turned to more affordable do-it-yourself (DIY) truck rental or containerized or mobile/portable storage shipping options to move their things. Unfortunately each of these low cost services came with its own unique set of logistic challenges.
How much capacity do I need?
Regardless of the size, driving a loaded moving truck requires a certain amount of confidence and expertise, particularity if traveling long distances or having to operate it in an unfamiliar congested urban traffic environment.
Some DIYers underestimate the size of the vehicle required or find that they can’t load as tightly or densely as professional movers. Then they either have to transfer everything into a larger truck or need to rent a trailer to pull behind the vehicle that’s already loaded.
Using an unfamiliar rental truck to tow a car or trailer becomes even more challenging because of problems that inexperienced drivers have with turning or backing a longer combination unit, or knowing if they have sufficient power or braking capacity to safely negotiate roadways with steep inclines.
Mobile/portable storage or shipping containers, on the other hand, allow the DIY users more options because they’re both modular and multimodal.
Inexperienced shippers can adjust their container order up or down order depending on their space requirements. Need more, order more. Unlike the rental truck alternative, shippers don’t have to worry about how long it takes a container to get to its destination or traffic problems it encounters on the route along the way.
Most mobile/portable units are easily demountable and offer some type of free storage incentive at origin and/or destination. Some require a roll-back or unique type of lift system for pick up and delivery. Others allow four-way forklift entry or sling-hoist handling so that they can shipped via a flat-bed, or inside an intermodal rail container, spring ride freight trailer or air-ride moving van. Some can be even be shipped by air in the belly of a plane.
This option is the least understood but most appealing service capability of containerized shipping simply because of the number of logistic resources that can be used to quickly and efficiently arrange transportation.
Moving Labor
The biggest problem with using both the truck rental and containerized shipping methods to arrange a personal relocation is finding the willing, experienced labor needed to complete the job. Moving, after all, is extremely hard work.
Abundant amounts of free pizza and beer are frequently the rewards offered to those young enough or fit enough to be coerced, cajoled, schmoozed, shamed, or lovingly enticed into helping someone move. Being willing (or simply available), however, isn’t the same as being experienced. DIY moves are often characterized by unanticipated, expensive property or cargo damage or painful injuries.
Many truck rental outfits, mobile/portable storage services and container shipping companies have an affiliate arrangement with some type of labor resource. It might be with a traditional temporary labor service like a state employment agency, Manpower or Labor Ready, a virtual resource like Craigslist, eMove or Hire-a-Helper, or a more conventional partnership like PODS, uPack, or PackRate has with independent movers and/or van lines agents to hire their professionally trained crews.
Each service option has its own advantages and disadvantages but all share one thing in common. Due to numerous contractual exclusions, neither the relocation service provider nor the labor service provider is liable for problems that the shipper (that be YOU) has with their move.
And that’s the biggest risk that inexperienced budget conscious consumers assume when they decide to do it themselves.
The following references contain some additional information about the issue of vicarious liability for the acts of a loaned or borrowed servant. I'm not an attorney, so if you have questions about any of this information you should consult an legal expert.
(http://www.scottcallahan.com/articles/TTLA.pdf - broken link)http://www.scottcallahan.com/articles/TTLA.pdf (broken link)
VICARIOUS LIABILITY FOR THE
Vicarious liability - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This information is might be helpful to those shopping for moving services online.
How to calculate space when moving
Three things a virtual mover might not tell you
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