Tips & Advice

Do You Need A Mover?

With so many choices available when it comes to moving help, we thought you might want to know about your options. There are basically three kinds of moving services.

Full-service is perfect for you if you are going more than 100 miles or if your time or physical restraints are such that the labor and driving would be best if someone else does it for you.

If budget is an issue, most shippers immediately assume that getting a van or truck such as U-Haul or Penske is their best option. However, many forget to take into consideration all the ancillary charges and how quickly they can mount up. When doing your budget for self-moving, make sure you figure out the cost of insuring the vehicle for damage, gas (figure 6-7 miles per gallon for large trucks), the cost of motels and food on the road, and tolls. If you need help with loading or unloading, assume movers are at least $20-25 dollars an hour. If your move is longer than 1000 miles, it's highly possible that a full-service mover will be the same price as moving yourself, if not less. Call a reputable mover or 2 to get a quote.

The newest option in the market is containers, where a container is dropped off at your home, you load it and the container is picked up and shipped to you. Again, shippers often assume this is an inexpensive solution, and are often surprised when they get pricing. Certain companies such as WeHaul Movers will drop a truck off at your home and it will be driven to your new location for you. You can save money over full-service moves and pay a little more or even less than the cost of moving it yourself. It depends on how many miles you are moving, what part of the country you are moving to and from and how much your inventory weighs.