Need moving advice, first time cross country move.

nostalgia.0 · Joined: 11 Mar 2009 Posts: 2

Hi,

In the coming months I'm going to be moving from NE Pennsylvania, back home to central Iowa. When I moved out here I packed everything I owned into my 2 door Toyota and drove. For the return trip I have a bit more stuff, and will probably need something more than my car.

Basically I'm looking for advice from more seasoned movers. I'm willing to drive it myself, or have it moved, but I really need to do this on the cheap. The main reason I'm moving is the economy and cost of living, so money is a serious issue for me.

Does anyone know of good companies for someone on a budget? I really appreciate any help.

Thanks,
Nostalgia

chptrkrules · Joined: 31 Jan 2008 Posts: 290 Location: Portland Oregon

The first thing you need to do is call 2 or 3 van line agents that are LOCAL and have them come and do an in home estimate. This is free to you and will give you a better idea of the cost. Budget is important to you, so sell or donate or trash everything you don't have to keep as your price will be based on the weight of your shipment and any services you require.

Everyone is looking for a good price because of the economy, but price alone is a bad reason to choose a mover. If the Van lines are out of your budget, you can hire labor to load a rental (stay away from Uhaul) and hire unloading help in Iowa.

Stay away from the find a mover websites, these are full of moving "brokers" who should be called "bottom feeding scumbag criminals". They will more than likely hire scam movers for you, then when you are in the midst of the scam they will blame the mover and be of no help to you.

I still say NEVER pay a deposit to a interstate mover. Some on here will say this isn't always true, which may be correct in some markets, but overall legitimate movers don't require a deposit. You will pay upon delivery.

I'm in Kansas City now, about an hour from the Iowa border. If you need help finding labor in Iowa, pm me and I'll help you find someone you can trust. Unless you are in BFE Iowa, but I'll still try.

farrah7031 · Joined: 11 Jun 2006 Posts: 4619 Location: Tallahassee, FL

Well, if you go the whole move yourself road, go with Penske or Budget - DON'T do UHaul.

Have you priced out ABF Relocubes? It holds about 2000 pounds. You would load it up, they drive it, drop it off and you unload it. You can always hire loaders/unloaders by finding a highly rated mover at www.emove.com.

nostalgia.0 · Joined: 11 Mar 2009 Posts: 2

Thank you both!

Loading and unloading isn't too much of an issue, I've got family to help when I get there and friends to do it here. I also don't have that much stuff... heh. Most of it will be boxes of clothes and books. I've noticed that U-haul is rather outrageous...

ABF looked interesting but there's not one terribly close, and I'd have to make multiple trips to load and unload. So far the best option suggested to me has actually been to ship my boxes UPS or FedEx and move just the things that won't fit. Its surprisingly economical.

Any other suggestions are welcome, thank you again for the advice! Smile

gatsby169 · Joined: 26 Apr 2008 Posts: 32

ABF drops off and picks up the relocubes at your address so you don't have to have them close (I don't know if they charge extra if you're far away from their depot). I used them to move out of a 1-bedroom from Madison to Des Moines and it was nearly flawless.