Royal Hawaiian Movers or American Pacific Moving (how much, house)

[darlaxox8]

Hi all, we were intending on getting a 20 ft Matson container and getting some movers to help us pack, doing what Matson calls a "drop and pull," but recent circumstances is forcing us to go with a company that can pack for us and do a door to door. We live in Los Angeles and are going to Oahu.

Can any one share their experiences with either moving company and are the prices comparable for both companies. Also, I got two stories from Royal Hawaiian and her sister company, Calif. Relocation. Royal said they would re-pack our goods after the truck left our house even if we could fill a 20 ft (not bringing the container out to our house). Calif Reloc. said they would bring out the 20 ft if we could fill it.

American Pacific Moving said that if we could fill a 20 ft, they would bring it out and not co-mingle our goods ensuring that it would get there in a timely manner. Cal Relo said it would take anywhere from 4 to 6 weeks for our things to arrive which for us not a problem. We can live out of our suitcases and my whole family, all our friends reside on Oahu, we can borrow stuff. After living many years on the Mainland, we are finally coming home!

[Dreaming of Hawaii]

I used Royal Hawaiian for moving a truckload of furniture from one spot to another on the Big Island. They did a great job and I would use them again.

We are going to be shipping from Colorado to the Big Island soon. My plan is to use Matson door to door, and have a local company pack it for me. So Matson will bring the container to my house and leave it for several days. We will have a local moving company pack it for us and I understand that we put a lock on the door. Then Matson comes and picks up the container and ships it to Hawaii and drops it at our house there. Then we will have local movers unpack it for us.

[Calico Salsa]

I wonder if the difference in the two stories is because Calif Relocation knows more about where you live. When we moved, we had the container dropped at our house and we packed it. But Matson was very cautious in explaining how much room we needed, asking about slope and trees, all of that. For example, the area we lived had a few curbside planted trees that would have been damaged if the container was shoved under them. In older areas of town, the moving companies quiz you about bigger trees. In hilly parts of town, they want to know the grade of the hill.

We had to block off a section of curbside equal to 6 car lengths...that allowed for maneuvering room for the container and the truck pulling it. Some areas of town that would have been very hard to do.

Could it be that Royal gave you a generic situation explanation, whereas CA Relocation knows your area and thought dropping a container would be too tough?

[darlaxox8]

Dreaming, good to know that Royal does a good job. Have you thought about how your local company will prep the Matson container? I talked to someone who did a move from LA to Kona and they built walls in a 40ft container. As my husband is having major shoulder problems this precludes us from going the Matson route.

Calico, I think that might be the case about one knowing the area better than the other. We had the visual inspect. w/ Cal Relo today and the rep told me they would bring the actual container out. Although Cal Relo does the inspect and packing, our contact is Royal Hawaiian - haven't got the price quote yet. I learned that Cal Relo is associated with Royal and UniPack. We've got so much to think about w/ a very fluid timeline as far as escrow, cat quarantine, etc. that we may have to go w/ Royal w/out checking out American Pacific.

[Calico Salsa]

There were some previous threads with lots of suggestions on how to pack containers. Read these from start to finish:

https://www.city-data.com/forum/hawai...-question.html

https://www.city-data.com/forum/hawai...container.html

[Dreaming of Hawaii]

Actually, we are both lazy and unhandy, and really cannot imagine packing everything into the container so that it doesn't shift in transit. Besides, the edge is four feet off the ground and they don't provide ramps or lifts.

Our friends who moved recently used a local moving company to pack the container for them. They wrapped the furniture, and provided packing for framed pictures. Their items didn't quite fill the container, so the company built a bulk-head to pack it in tight. I think the cost was around $1,000. For us, we decided the cost to get it packed right was worth it.