Cottonwood Posted February 5, 2017 Share Posted February 5, 2017 After 20 yrs in the Air Force, DD retired about 1.5 yrs ago. We had them move us to our home state of FL from Montana. Welp, we weren't sure we were making the right decision and as it turns out, we feel our home is back in Montana and we all voted to move back. Because the military always moved us before, we just let them arrange a lot of it. Sometimes we partially moved ourselves. But now, we have too much stuff, even if we downsize, to use the biggest Uhaul truck. Basically, I am wondering if anyone can make suggestions on any variety of options. We need a company to either partially or fully move us. We also aren't opposed to companies that drop a 'pod' or semi and allow us to pack it, and they move it to our new address. The POD company itself seems awefully expensive though. And because we are footing the bill, we are on a very tight budget. We have to put aside funds to also make that drive up with the family while towing DH's car trailer (hobby car), gas..hotels...food..$$$$$. I mean...we are prepared to pay for this move, but I obviously want to look for the very best deal. Is there a company that will help retired vets with this? I've also entered info into the 'get a quote' section of some of these moving sites and they all say a rep will call me Monday. But I'm just hoping for some 'in-real-life' experiences and ideas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OneStepAtATime Posted February 5, 2017 Share Posted February 5, 2017 I had companies bid for our move. And I have them give quotes for them packing absolutely everything/loading/unloading vs. partial packing/loading/unloading vs. just loading and unloading to compare apples to apples. It helped being able to compare companies in that way. Moving is expensive, especially when you hire a company to move you. Any chance you could cull down and squeeze everything into just one U-haul? Or two U-Hauls and hire a relative/friend to drive the 2nd one? 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cottonwood Posted February 5, 2017 Author Share Posted February 5, 2017 well DH has to drive his truck to tow his enclosed car trailer with his hobby car in it. And it's heavy enough so that not much else can go in it and it can't be towed by a uhaul. We are considering having a friend drive my truck and he'll be towing another enclosed trailer with dirt bikes and four wheelers and some of DH's tools that can't be packed. DH has a shop full of man-stuff that he's already ....'downsized'. Well anyway So, along with household goods/furniture, etc. that can be packed and sent ahead, we also have two enclosed trailers, 3 vehicles (and only 2 drivers), a bunch of heavy tools that can't be replaced (heirloom type stuff). So even if we have a company involved in some way, it seems like we will also need 2 drivers towing stuff. I think we have the "2 drivers towing the enclosed trailers" figured out. It's the household goods that we need some sort of help with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OneStepAtATime Posted February 5, 2017 Share Posted February 5, 2017 So you are saying you already need (and have) two drivers for the other stuff but the household goods themselves are going to fill more than a U-Haul so you will need to hire out to get the rest of your stuff to your destination? In that situation I probably would do as I suggested above and get at least two, preferably three moving companies to get you quotes. If it doesn't look affordable I would start culling down household goods and see if you can hire a driver to drive your household goods in a U-Haul. Or move in shifts. Move the first set of stuff then you both fly back down and drive the U-Hauls with the rest of your stuff up (assuming you can fit in two U-Hauls). Hopefully someone else has a better suggestion... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cottonwood Posted February 5, 2017 Author Share Posted February 5, 2017 So you are saying you already need (and have) two drivers for the other stuff but the household goods themselves are going to fill more than a U-Haul so you will need to hire out to get the rest of your stuff to your destination? Yes..exactly. So..quotes. Just a quick google search pulls up a gazillion companies. Just start going down the line? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OneStepAtATime Posted February 5, 2017 Share Posted February 5, 2017 Hmmm...There must be some way to read reviews. I'd read reviews first. Then make a list of 5-6 that look promising and maybe do some additional research and look them up with the BBB then cull that list to your top 3. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YaelAldrich Posted February 5, 2017 Share Posted February 5, 2017 After 20 yrs in the Air Force, DD retired about 1.5 yrs ago. We had them move us to our home state of FL from Montana. Welp, we weren't sure we were making the right decision and as it turns out, we feel our home is back in Montana and we all voted to move back. Because the military always moved us before, we just let them arrange a lot of it. Sometimes we partially moved ourselves. But now, we have too much stuff, even if we downsize, to use the biggest Uhaul truck. Basically, I am wondering if anyone can make suggestions on any variety of options. We need a company to either partially or fully move us. We also aren't opposed to companies that drop a 'pod' or semi and allow us to pack it, and they move it to our new address. The POD company itself seems awefully expensive though. And because we are footing the bill, we are on a very tight budget. We have to put aside funds to also make that drive up with the family while towing DH's car trailer (hobby car), gas..hotels...food..$$$$$. I mean...we are prepared to pay for this move, but I obviously want to look for the very best deal. Is there a company that will help retired vets with this? I've also entered info into the 'get a quote' section of some of these moving sites and they all say a rep will call me Monday. But I'm just hoping for some 'in-real-life' experiences and ideas. One thing you might look into is having Amtrak take your stuff. I don't know if where you're going in MT has a station nearby, but it was pretty cheap when we did it. Good luck! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DawnM Posted February 5, 2017 Share Posted February 5, 2017 We hired ABF. They dropped off the semi, we loaded it, they brought it from CA to NC and we unloaded it. I think it was around $3,000-$3,500 if I am remembering correctly. We also had 3 cars and 2 drivers, so we shipped 2 cars. Each car was around $800 to ship, but that was 10 years ago so not sure what they are now. Dh's company gave us $5,000 for the move so we were trying our darnedest to get the move in for that price! And it wasn't really a moving amount, it was more of a sign on bonus to help with the move, so whatever was leftover, we could keep. Unfortunately, we had no leftover and in retrospect, our stuff wasn't that great, we should have just rented ONE large U-haul and only taken what fit in there, but we were pressed for time and I didn't have it in me to go through everything. But DH and I were just discussing a possible move back to CA and we said we would leave 90% of our furniture behind and just rent ONE truck we can move ourselves if we do, and start over on the other end with furniture. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retiredHSmom Posted February 5, 2017 Share Posted February 5, 2017 Could you drive the trucks and trailers up and then fly back and drive two uhaul trucks back with household goods? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
displace Posted February 5, 2017 Share Posted February 5, 2017 It may be worthwhile to pay a car moving company or drivers with all the vehicles and trailers. I'd also seriously consider the value of dirt bikes/hobby stuff/trailers and think about selling/replacing them. I don't know the value of them though. When you move, and pay to move especially, the value and cost of things is important. We paid about $4,000 each move. Paying a few hundred dollars for one way plane tickets to drive things yourself may be more cost effective. But that's a far move, so IDK. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebel Yell Posted February 5, 2017 Share Posted February 5, 2017 I have never moved further than across town... My question for you is, what is your "stuff" worth? For me, if it would cost me $3,000 to move a bunch of junk furniture that I actually hate and got from my neighbor's curb, I would leave it and use the "moving" money to buy something new. So if I had to move right now, I would take our computer, maybe 1/3 of my kitchen stuff, pictures, and about 1/4 of our clothing. Oh gosh, moving to the other side of the country is sounding so good right now! If you are planning to use Uhaul, figure in the gas and mileage costs, they seem to be higher for a one-way trip. That $19.99 move they advertise is a myth, LOL! (of course, the base rental rate is true, but we've spent close to $100 in extra fees for a move of only 4 miles! ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marbel Posted February 5, 2017 Share Posted February 5, 2017 We hired ABF. They dropped off the semi, we loaded it, they brought it from CA to NC and we unloaded it. I think it was around $3,000-$3,500 if I am remembering correctly. <snip> We used ABF U-Pack when we moved from Oregon to Pennsylvania. We had left some stuff behind (thinking we'd be going back) and later friends used ABF to ship those items to us. No complaints, just high praise for them. Customer services was awesome, held my hand every step of the way. I had also checked out Pods - no comparison in customer service or price. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 5, 2017 Share Posted February 5, 2017 (edited) Back up the bus... Is your husband FULLY retired, as in, not seeking employment ever again? I ask because the majority of people who retire from the military take up a second career afterwards (like my husband has). And if he IS seeking post-military employment, do you have a job in Montana lined up? If not, I'd start with that because many times the gaining employer will pay for your relocation, especially if it's a federal job. As a veteran, he would have hiring priority for a federal job. If you can get the relocation paid for, then this whole thread is moot. Edited February 5, 2017 by Kinsa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cottonwood Posted February 6, 2017 Author Share Posted February 6, 2017 But DH and I were just discussing a possible move back to CA and we said we would leave 90% of our furniture behind and just rent ONE truck we can move ourselves if we do, and start over on the other end with furniture. I have seriously considered selling a bunch of stuff, especially furniture, and rebuying in MT. But, when we moved here, we replaced everything so most all furniture is new so I'm thinking it would just cost us much more to sell it all and rebuy it. If it were all a few years old, I think it might be worth it. Could you drive the trucks and trailers up and then fly back and drive two uhaul trucks back with household goods? I can't be one of the drivers. We are paying our other driver (family friend) to come from MT to help drive us up. So we are already paying for a plane ticket down. It is FRIGHTFULLY expensive to fly out of Montana so I'm not sure about flying him out, then reflying him with my husband back down. I think it would be much more expensive. Plus, Uhaul gave us a quote and the biggest uhauls are $1600 each for that distance/size. I'm thinking it might actually be cheaper to use something like the ABF upack trailers for less $. But I'll run the $'s.... It may be worthwhile to pay a car moving company or drivers with all the vehicles and trailers. I'd also seriously consider the value of dirt bikes/hobby stuff/trailers and think about selling/replacing them. I don't know the value of them though. When you move, and pay to move especially, the value and cost of things is important. Wellll...... DH's hobby car is a '56 thunderbird that his mother drove in high school in the 60s. He later bought it from his grandparents when HE turned 16 and has been married to refinishing it all these years. There's no replacing it. If we sold the kids 4 wheeler/dirtbikes, we might gain some space not enough to get rid of a whole trailer. And..trailers are a staple in our household because DH is a gear head and all his grandfather's and father tools are in the trailer with the t-bird..so I guess we have to keep them. All this type of stuff seriously complicates every move, but I dare not suggest we downsize that stuff, though I'd love to!! LOL Back up the bus... Is your husband FULLY retired, as in, not seeking employment ever again? I ask because the majority of people who retire from the military take up a second career afterwards (like my husband has). And if he IS seeking post-military employment, do you have a job in Montana lined up? If not, I'd start with that because many times the gaining employer will pay for your relocation, especially if it's a federal job. As a veteran, he would have hiring priority for a federal job. If you can get the relocation paid for, then this whole thread is moot. He will be looking for a job there and has been looking into the federal jobs. So far, all the ones he would apply for have specifically said "no relocation assistance". But, we aren't putting the house on the market until late March so our goal dates are from late June through September so it's really premature at this point and a LOT will likely pop up between now and then. This whole discussion is pretty premature, actually but we are making lists and info gathering right now. Between DH's retirement pay, some savings and two other sources of income, we can move ahead of securing a job. It will be tough but not impossible and can't go on past 6 months or so. Ideally, of course I'd LOVE for a federal job to relocate us...that is the ultimate hope. But again, it's early and we are just preparing for the scenario that it will be completely up to us. So many good ideas here, thanks ladies and keep them coming! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LarlaB Posted February 6, 2017 Share Posted February 6, 2017 ABF u pack.... we used in a move from VA to KY, and again from KY to CO (including 2 weeks of storage). Amazingly great service and helpfulness you can choose whatever size you need - even partial trailer. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newgrace Posted February 6, 2017 Share Posted February 6, 2017 We used ABF, moving about 1,000 miles. They were fantastic and the price was comparable to renting U-Hauls and driving ourselves. I highly recommend them. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FriedClams Posted February 6, 2017 Share Posted February 6, 2017 U-Haul and DIY. Really. DH just retired from the USAFR - so no move. We moved 400 miles away, so we took a few trips but we could have done it in one with a u haul. Packing yourself is a WHOLE different game and so so so much cheaper. I got boxes from the liquor store (free) then went room to room and sorted, chucked, gave away, etc. I probably did it over a month. I was ruthless. I went in a couple of waves, reducing more each time. I reduced our stuff by a half. With half the stuff, moving is much easier. Loading day was friends from church and air force friends. Didn't take that much time at all since we were VERY prepared. There was no packing, only loading. I was warned the last 10% to pack takes forever...so true!!! On the back end, we had a couple friends to help, but our family of 4 could have done it solo (we did about 75% solo). I also considered hiring day movers to load/unload, as if they were available we might have done that. Honestly, our church family was better than movers! We moved from a big house to a rental/storage unit so it wasn't a simple move. Planning, reducing (and reducing more), and packing were key. You can do it!! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
City Mouse Posted February 6, 2017 Share Posted February 6, 2017 Are you moving to a city in Montana, or more of a small town/rural area? When we moved from a city in Texas to a very small community in a rural area three hours from a big city, we could not find a pod style moving company that would deliver to our new location. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ealp2009 Posted February 6, 2017 Share Posted February 6, 2017 I know you want to hire someone, but if you change your mind. We moved ourselves cross multiple times. We found Penske to have the nicest and least expensive trucks. Also, a 25 foot truck can fit a lot of stuff. Maybe something to look into. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Upward Journey Posted February 6, 2017 Share Posted February 6, 2017 Another vote for ABF. We've done the cross country move thing four times. ABF was very affordable and by far the least stressful. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
displace Posted February 6, 2017 Share Posted February 6, 2017 As an afterthought, if you diy but just want help loading or unloading trucks with furniture or boxes, we found a uhaul-link-affiliated-rent-muscle. I have no idea what it's called, but basically on the uhaul website they advertised affiliated people to rent per hour to help move stuff. I know when you move a lot you may not have local friends you can just ask to help. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sgo95 Posted February 6, 2017 Share Posted February 6, 2017 We also had a great experience with ABF...much less expensive than our other options at the time. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cottonwood Posted February 7, 2017 Author Share Posted February 7, 2017 Are you moving to a city in Montana, or more of a small town/rural area? When we moved from a city in Texas to a very small community in a rural area three hours from a big city, we could not find a pod style moving company that would deliver to our new location. A city of around 85,000..I haven't checked for sure lately, but when we lived there before we saw the POD company there. U-Haul and DIY. Really. DH just retired from the USAFR - so no move. We moved 400 miles away, so we took a few trips but we could have done it in one with a u haul. Packing yourself is a WHOLE different game and so so so much cheaper. I got boxes from the liquor store (free) then went room to room and sorted, chucked, gave away, etc. I probably did it over a month. I was ruthless. I went in a couple of waves, reducing more each time. I reduced our stuff by a half. With half the stuff, moving is much easier. Loading day was friends from church and air force friends. Didn't take that much time at all since we were VERY prepared. There was no packing, only loading. I was warned the last 10% to pack takes forever...so true!!! On the back end, we had a couple friends to help, but our family of 4 could have done it solo (we did about 75% solo). I also considered hiring day movers to load/unload, as if they were available we might have done that. Honestly, our church family was better than movers! We moved from a big house to a rental/storage unit so it wasn't a simple move. Planning, reducing (and reducing more), and packing were key. You can do it!! Thank you. We've moved across the country 3 other times, all a variety of different ways...but every time we moved DH's covered trailer ourselves. His tbird is non insurable for a company to move. There is no category in their database for a car like that. lol That was a surprise to me years ago. This time, with only 2 drivers (me not being one of them) and even after reducing still cannot fit every thing into one Uhaul truck (even the largest), and with two trailers to tow and it being a minimum of a 4 days drive, we cannot Uhaul it and be done. We DID do that two moves ago from CA to MT. DH sold all vehicles but my truck and he drove a Uhaul towing his covered trailer w/ his tbird it in while I followed in my truck. STILL....he had to drive my truck back and get a second load. And now we're talking a TON more mileage. Sadly, i am no longer capable of doing this type of drive. We are willing to DIY as much as humanly possible, but we need a company to deliver the bulk of the house stuff. This will likely mean we pack everything and pack a pod type trailer but either way, 2 people are going to have tow/drive the 2400 miles to MT. We have tons of people on both ends who have said they will help do whatever they can. Plus the moving office out on base here is helping me source some things. So I seem seem to have plenty resources to draw from. But once we leave, and how we GET it all there, is up to us. Ug...so many decisions... I know you want to hire someone, but if you change your mind. We moved ourselves cross multiple times. We found Penske to have the nicest and least expensive trucks. Also, a 25 foot truck can fit a lot of stuff. Maybe something to look into. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Welp, i don't really WANT to hire someone. I like to pinch pennys for blood...really. But we simply won't fit into any companies largest truck no matter what we do (classic car/trailers/heirloom tools/another trailer). It looks like we are going to HAVE to hire someone with this complicated move. We thought we were done moving...guess not! lol Thanks everyone! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sarasue7272 Posted February 11, 2017 Share Posted February 11, 2017 Another vote for ABF-UPack. We didn't use the whole thing, although it sounds like you would need the whole truck. They dropped off the trailer, we packed it, they picked it up and hauled it from AR to GA. The pods were WAY more expensive. We had no trouble at all. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corraleno Posted February 11, 2017 Share Posted February 11, 2017 When we moved a couple of years ago, ABF Upack had the best prices and stellar customer service. I also used PODs for one shipment and found that they were more expensive per square foot, caused a lot of damage, and their staff were not very knowledgeable or helpful. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.