Moving company recommendations (Minneapolis, Eagan: coupon, apartment, movers)

[Jane12345]

We are moving from CA to MN in December. Any recommendations for moving companies? I searched but didn't find any recent info.

We'll have a 3-bedroom apartment. No piano, no fish tank. Should be very straightforward; we will pack everything ourselves. We will need up to 6 months of storage upon arrival.

[BryaninMSP]

I've personally had good success in two moves with United — once from Minnesota and once to Minnesota. The more important side of the transaction is on the California end for you, as the success of everything getting here in one piece depends to a large degree on how well the truck is packed. I would do some research on your end for moving companies that are highly rated.

And get a couple different quotes both for the shipping and the storage on this end.

Good luck!

[uptown_urbanist]

We moved from California and used Broadway Express; you pay by the linear feet in their semi-truck, and pack it yourself. It was much cheaper than the full-service moving companies. We hired movers to help on both ends. This was a few years ago, but we've used them twice over the past 12 years and have been happy.

The other option we used when we did a cross-country move that required storage was to use ABF Relocubes; those are also a pack-yourself option, but the nice thing is that they drop them off, you pack, they pick up, and you can have them move it all directly into their storage and then, when you're ready, you just call and have them deliver to your new place. It's very convenient, and that way you don't have to move your stuff onto a truck, off a truck, on again, and off. Once you factor in those costs, the ABF storage might start to look like a good deal. Only downside is that you won't be able to access your stuff once it's stored (unless you want to pay for a delivery/pickup), so this choice won't work if you need to go get things out of storage during those six months. you can also save some money if you have the cubes go to the terminal out in Eagan instead of door-to-door, but since you'd have to get a truck to pick it up, that probably would end up costing the same or more than just having them drop it off when you're ready to move into your new place.

I agree with BryanMSP that the most important factor will be the people who are packing it on your end. Although we did pack up our own ABF cubes without any outside help (but lots of experience watching movers in the past, so we'd picked up some tips).

[ellysbelly]

We used ABF (not the relo-cubes, but the truck that we pay by the foot) for our move from FL to MN-- and it was FAR, FAR cheaper than a 'full service' move ($3300 for ABF plus $700 for movers--- vs $9000+ for the cheapest of our full service moving quotes), even including hiring professional movers to load and unload. I found movers on movinghelp.com (owned by Uhaul). There are a number of companies that have similar setups to ABF-- and prices will vary depending on location and dates-- so be sure to check rates with all companies (and there's always a coupon code or two floating around).

I believe ABF included up to 30 days of storage for free-- and each additional month was in the $400 for a 26' truck (might be vastly different for the cubes).

[WoodburyWoody]

It has been a while, but we used Graebel going to California, from California to Minnesota and for a short move within Minnesota. Pods might have been around but if they were, we did not know about them (such a brilliant idea).

The Cali to Minnesota and within Minnesota were both full house but no garage stuff (no tools or equipment, just some boxes in storage).

Bryann is right about the packing on the Cali end for this. It is the most important part of it.

They came in, boxed/prepped stuff and added packing to boxes we already had (the boxes of stuff you keep in the basement, until the next move) for us. Of the three moves, one casualty which as a tube TV with a gash on the back (pretty big and wide). Showed it to the driver, he said how about $xxx (I don't recall, but enough to replace it with a like but much newer one), took out the amount from what had to be at least $1000 in twenty-dollar bills he had on him when I said, "Sure." Then he plugged it in (it worked) and he asked one of the local guys who he hired to pack/unpack if he wanted it and that was that.

Super easy, super well-done. No idea of cost as it was covered by an employer.

[toobrown]

We also used ABF service (upack.com) for our move from MN to TX and were very happy. They have tons of instructional videos available on youtube (https://www.youtube.com/user/Upack). We hired some loading help via craigslist and were happy with the job they did (can't remember their number, but they charged us $40 per hr for 2 people). Have tons of patience and good luck with your move

[Tipsy McStagger]

Just to throw another idea out there, you might want to talk to a local moving company as they sometimes do cross country moves as well. The benefit is that your stuff isn't sharing space with others' belongings, there is less risk of damage as things aren't potentially unloaded/reloaded multiple times as with the national moving lines, and you don't have to live without your stuff for longer than it takes to be driven to your destination and unloaded, as opposed to living out of hotels or sleeping on a mattress on the floor for two weeks.

We chose this option on a recent move from MSP to PDX and it was the best moving experience we have ever had. Movers packed the truck Saturday morning and with one driver, the stuff reached Portland on Monday evening, just a couple hours after we arrived with the pets. Made for 3 reasonable days of driving with plenty of time to get some exercise with the dogs each day, etc. Everything arrived in perfect condition and on Tuesday morning, the driver supervised the local movers contracted out to unload on the other end.

Have done moves with United, Mayflower and others in the past but this was far and away the least painful. It cost a bit more but was more or less a wash after taking into account a couple weeks of ordering in and staying in a hotel.

[Baro0202]

I recently used a company called SmartBox and was happy with their service. I just moved from a 3 bedroom single family home with a two car garage full of stuff. I was able to pack everything in 6 boxes, which cost just about $500. Keep in mind, I wasn't moving from a different state, just a different city here in Minneapolis.

They dropped off the boxes in my driveway perfectly. Once I was done loading them, they picked up the boxes and stored them in their temperature controlled storage facility. Then I called them once I closed on my new home and they dropped off the boxes and I requested for them to pick it up the same day. Done! It was so easy and so cool. Nice to organize things in each box and they were good size boxes.
Please let me know if this post was helpful.