Moving (Iona: truck rental, apartment, rental)

[alsidw]

Now that we have decided to move to Deland and rent before we buy on advice of the list, the question is how, Pods, ABF, Uhaul, We have a three bedroom house in New Orleans and a lot of stuff, tools, lawnmowers and 50 years of living. I know I will have to unload some things and not try to move it all. Anyone move 800 miles on a DIY?

Sid

[kyle19125]

Originally Posted by alsidw

Now that we have decided to move to Deland and rent before we buy on advice of the list, the question is how, Pods, ABF, Uhaul, We have a three bedroom house in New Orleans and a lot of stuff, tools, lawnmowers and 50 years of living. I know I will have to unload some things and not try to move it all. Anyone move 800 miles on a DIY? Sid

I would very much recommend the DIY route, especially a rental truck. It kind of forces you to get rid of the junk you haven't touched/used in awhile versus piling it into a POD and transplanting everything. I can testify that it's definitely a liberating experience to downsize. I would also recommend checking out Budget over U-Haul as I have had better experiences with them as well as equal (sometimes less) rates. If you supply them with a printed quote from U-Haul that's lower, they'll match it as well. Also, you mentioned 50 years of living which means you're probably at least 50..?? If so Budget has a nice AARP discount too. Lastly loading and unloading (particularly) can be daunting. Companies like Two Men and a Truck provide affordable unloading services where upon arrival, a crew of two or three guys is waiting to help you move everything out of the truck and into the house wherever you want it. They charge an hourly rate with a minimum of a few hours. I used this service last December when I moved here and it ran around $170 for three guys for the three hour minimum (didn't take that long, more like half that time). Good luck and welcome to Florida!

Home Moving, Apartment Moving, Condominium Moving in Daytona
Budget Truck Rental

[TedTLPN]

Originally Posted by alsidw

Anyone move 800 miles on a DIY?

Sid

It's as easy as you are prepared. Get a moving date and do nothing right up till that day, you'll be screwed seven ways to Sunday... Get a date far in advance, do your homework (pun intended) and have everything ready to move a few days before hand, it will be smooth.


It's not easy getting the truck, getting it loaded, schlepping 10, 50, 250, 600 or 1200 miles, unloading and returning the truck. It SUCKS. But if you know it's going to suck going in, being prepared and planed outhelps. Making sure everyone involved in the lifting knows you love them no matter how psycho you get during the move helps.

More specifically it goes like this (for 200+ Mile moves)..
Get a move date. (hopefully at LEAST a month in advance)
Pick the truck rental company and book the appropriate truck. If they say you need a 24' skip the 26' and get a 28'. Make sure you have a good padlock.
Start packing. If you can set aside a space in your house to simulate the area in the truck that's even better, if it's near the door you will load the truck from; that's even better!!
If you have antiques, plan on having them on the floor of the truck and having their own space with nothing on top of them. Blankets and comforters are your friends!!
As you get closer and notice the reserve space on your living room floor is full, your are going to need a bigger truck, because you probably still haven't cleaned out your closets yet!
Move-3 days: Call the location you are renting from and re-confirm they are EXPECTING you and will have the truck you want.
Move-2 days: Make sure you know what is going where.
Move-1 day: VISIT the location you are renting from and re-confirm they are EXPECTING you and have the truck you want.
Move Day 1: Get the truck as early as possible, load it with the heavy stuff on the bottom, the fragile stuff on the top, and keep in mind that what goes in first comes out last. Once the truck is loaded go to the local place to crash for the night.
Move day 2: get up early and drive where you are going, Crash for the night when you get there.
Move Day 3: Unload everything into the house (don't be picky) and try to return the truck...even if it's not due for another day unless you are planning to use it. Crashing at your destination is ENTIRELY OPTIONAL!! Yes, you are talking about a 3rd night in a hotel, but if it's a good nights rest, it's a good nights rest, and you don't have the overwhelming feeling when you wake up.


That's about it in a nutshell...

[alsidw]

Thank you, thank you. Just what the Dr. ordered BTW I am 67 and my wife of 43 years is 66, love younger chicks.
sid

[annerk]

We did an 1100 mile move--twice.

Forget Budget and U-haul, their trucks are NOT good for long haul moves. Go with Penske. Period.

Their trucks are better maintained and newer and get better gas mileage.

[alsidw]

That is good information, thank you.

Sid

[annerk]

One other thing. You will not have enough blankets and comforters. Rent packing blankets. We used about six dozen of them on each move. It's worth the small cost to make sure your furniture arrives safe and sound.

Another hint is to try to use uniform box sizes as much as possible. Toy stores are a great source of free boxes. Go in and speak to the manager, find out which days they get their shipments in and ask them to save the boxes for you--but be prepared to have to pick them up at specific times or they'll be in the recycle dumpster.

[Rabflmom]

Originally Posted by annerk

One other thing. You will not have enough blankets and comforters. Rent packing blankets. We used about six dozen of them on each move. It's worth the small cost to make sure your furniture arrives safe and sound.

Another hint is to try to use uniform box sizes as much as possible. Toy stores are a great source of free boxes. Go in and speak to the manager, find out which days they get their shipments in and ask them to save the boxes for you--but be prepared to have to pick them up at specific times or they'll be in the recycle dumpster.

My favorite free box were banana boxes. they are pretty strong and they have hand holds to carry them. We found out using big boxes were just too hard to maneuver for us.

Choose a room to unload all the boxes to and have your helpers put all the furniture in the room it will be going to.

[annerk]

The toy store boxes I got came in three basic sizes, smaller, medium, and supersized. The supersized ones were good for packing things like pillows and towels.

I labeled each box with not only which room it needed to go to, but also what was in it. For the kitchen I labeled the boxes with the exact contents.

I also had one large box that I packed up with things we might need immediately. I included duct tape, electrical tape, two box cutters, scissors, a flashlight and extra set of batteries, a few rolls of paper towels, some paper plates and plastic utensils, some all purpose spray cleaner, toilet paper, a couple bottles of liquid soap, Clorox Wipes, a couple kitchen towels, a Sharpie, pens/pencils and a legal pad, a baggie with some assorted paper clips and rubber bands, some twist ties, a couple boxes of Ziplock bags (gallon and sandwich), two extension cords, a small hammer, a couple of screwdrivers... I can't recall everything anymore, but we used almost everything in that box as we were moving in.

That box was the very last box we loaded onto the truck, so as soon as we arrived and opened the truck door, there it was with everything we would need that first day or two.

[TedTLPN]

Originally Posted by Rabflmom

My favorite free box were banana boxes. they are pretty strong and they have hand holds to carry them. We found out using big boxes were just too hard to maneuver for us.

Choose a room to unload all the boxes to and have your helpers put all the furniture in the room it will be going to.

Big boxes are evil!!! Sure, you can put a lot of stuff in them, but then you have to turn around and lift them!! The only thing big boxes should be used for is pillows!!