Storage Units in Huntsville/Cullman (Decatur: apartment, insurance, movers)

[boomer]

We are hoping to move to the Huntsville area by year's end. Does anyone know the average price of a storage unit? I am looking to store my belonging at Huntsville or Cullman, which ever is the cheapest and safest. Also, what areas are consider safe to store your belongings?

[zenjenn]

We are using ABF U-Pack Moving (which someone from this board recommended, thanks!) I researched the company found them to have a fantastic reputation, and freight moving is a fraction of the cost of full service. They will store an entire trailer at their facility in Decatur for $400 per 30 day period, and it remains packed as loaded the entire time. The fee includes insurance for major theft or disaster. The downside is you cannot get any of your goods until you are ready to unload the whole trailer. So we are loading up our minivan with the family's basic needs for 2-3 months.

I'm sure there is more economical public storage, but I think if you are moving an entire household's worth of goods, ABF U-Pack is worth looking at. The total cost including unloading and loading (using separate labor, I'm using Moving Staffers), ABF's transport and storage for 2-3 months, came out to substantial savings for us over a full-service mover and separate storage. It all fits well within our relocation budget from a small company.

I hear PODS are popular, and ABF also has something similar (Relo-Cube) and the whoel cube could be dropped off the storage facility of your choosing with out having to unload each item. Probably great for an apartment or partial-home move. For our full house, we found the trailer to be a better deal.

[boomer]

Thanks ZenJenn,

I don't think I'll get any relocation package so I will have to do the U-Haul (U-move-it-by-yourself) thing. I am actually looking at storing my belonging for 6 months to a year. Just trying to find the cheapest solution, as money will be tight until I can sell my house in Florida.

[harry chickpea]

I recommended the ABF solution. We figured the cost of the U-Haul vs. the ABF, and the U-Haul would have been more expensive to start - even before buying gasoline and paying for motels and meals. Our items are still in storage in Decatur. I can't wait to see what storage in the 105+ degree weather did to the plastics.

Zennjenn pointed out the issues with schlepping items between a truck and a storage unit. You would probably pay about $200/mo for comparable storage, so it might make sense if you had to go the full six months, but for two or three months, you are better off paying the higher storage costs and avoiding the extra labor costs and potential for damage, loss, etc. Remember you still have to get the items from the storage unit to your home at some point, which means another loading/unloading cycle.

[boomer]

Hi Harry,

Can you give the cost difference between U-Haul and ABF. Please include the distance traveled and size of truck.

[harry chickpea]

It has been a while. I compared the 24' U-Haul going one way from south Florida to north Alabama to the ABF unit for the same distance. IIRC, the U-Haul was about 1200 per trip and the ABF 900. The rate on the ABF depends on how tightly you pack, and not the weight. The 24' U-Haul probably would not have even carried the weight of our stuff in a single load, since I made a number of trips using my small cargo trailer to take the lightweight stuff, and saved the books and heavy furniture for the ABF. When you are talking about a library with 24' x 6' of solid books, a dozen big boxes of old movie posters, and a complete set of National Geographics from 1914 on, you are dealing in tons, not pounds.

You can get quick quotes online from U-Haul, and an estimate from ABF at the U-Pack website.

FWIW, we hired four day laborers to do the loading of the ABF (two each from two different companies in case of no-shows and to eliminate too much time wasted on interpersonal stuff). One of the guys had previously worked for Bekins Movers, and one was a born manager, so we got the best of all worlds.

[boomer]

ZenJenn and Harry,

You were both right, ABF U-Pack is a much better choice than the traditional U-Haul. I had a quote estimate between $1200 - $1600 depending on the option I choose. This includes the driver, gas, and tolls. If I read correctly, they will drop off the truck and give me 3 days to pack and 3 days to unload at my destination.

[harry chickpea]

Do yourself a favor and spend a little of the money you save on decent packing boxes. We bought about a hundred file storage boxes, and some 18" cubes and 24" cubes from a box store. The standard sizes made packing and loading a lot easier, and the file storage boxes can be re-used many times. File storage boxes are hernia preventers, since they are human scale and have handles.

Although you get three days on each end loading and unloading, try to estimate your time for one or two days. Invariably, something you need will be packed on the first day, and the stress is actually less if you hire labor and get-r-done in one rather than dragging through the three days and trying to make it in under the wire.