Moving Systems
December 10, 2009 by admin
Filed under Moving Tips and Advice, Moving Truck Rental, Moving company rates, Moving labor
There are several moving systems.
Depending on your move the moving system that you should use will vary. I.e. a small local move will most likely best served by a do it yourself move; and a large long distance move may be bettered served by a full service mover or vanline.
The best way to determine what is best for you is to know what each kind of moving system there is and to ask a lot of questions.
I know that moving can be tough and stressful that is why I have this website and all these articles: I want to address every question that may come up and answer them. I am also very accessible via email or the telephone.
But this article is about the different moving systems out there. So lets get into them:
Quite obviously this kinda of speaks for itself.
This is the moving system you may use when you have a small local move.
moving yourself may not be viable to you – or even cheaper – if you have a larger move in town. However, if you have a 1 bedroom apartment (or even a small 2 bedroom) or smaller this may be a great option.
It is not uncommon to rent a U-Haul (or Penske, Budget or Ryder) moving truck, load it up with a bunch family and/or friends and move to your new place down the road.
This can be very cheap. But don’t kid yourself: moving yourself is the most stressful of all the moving systems out there. You have no insurance protections or any other fail-safes. Something goes wrong…and it is all on you.
Secondly, you must weigh in the hidden cost factors: Gas, Mileage (the real killer), Boxes, dollies and blankets, etc. These are all added to overall cost of the move if you can not or do not have way to provide them yourself.
That cheap do it yourself move may quickly become more expensive to do than if you hired a full service mover.
A moving labor moving system is more than just hiring a couple of guys off Craigslist or elsewhere to load and unload your moving truck or trailer. There is a bit more.
There are few different business models that I categorize under moving labor: There are the “you load, we drive” style of movers. The most famous of these types of moving labors are ABF and PODS.
What these companies do is bring you a trailer or shipping container and you have to load them yourself or hire the muscle to do it for you.
This can be very inexpensive to move your household goods very long distances, but they are too expensive really for the shorter, in state moves.
Again, there are not a lot of insurance protections for you here. If something is damaged or stolen (highly unlikely) then “oh well”. Not much you can do about it.
Moving labor also can go hand-in-hand with a do it yourself move. You rent a moving truck from a moving truck rental place and then hire laborers to load and unload your moving truck. This also goes with “you load, we drive” types.
But like I said there is far more risk in this type of moving than with your full service style movers.
But this can be very cheap if nothing goes wrong.
These are companies like mine – U-Save Moving, Two men and Truck, All My Sons, Moishe’s, etc.
These companies, when hired, will do everything for you. They’ll box up your household, store your households possessions if needed, load and unload the trucks, and even assemble your furniture and place it in the right rooms for you. These companies are insured and licensed for your protection.
And best of all, they are there for you every step of the way.
Using a full service mover lessens the stress factor by a 1000x easy. Sure it can be expensive, but not in all cases.
Typically, a medium to large move locally will be cheaper with a full service mover than if you were to do it yourself believe it or not, PLUS you get the peace of mind knowing that you are insured.
Most of the movers are pillars of their communities. Being members of the BBB or Chamber of Commerce and other social and charitable organizations.
Reversely, there are a lot of scammers in this moving system. There are many that have a pick up and trailer and think they can become movers. So one really has to be on guard initially until they hire a licensed and insured full service mover.
A good rule of thumb in hiring a full service moving company is the amount of information that you can find out about the company and their principles. The more info you can find, typically, the better the company.
Just try it: Google me – Jae Burnham – or my company – U-Save Moving – and notice the amount of information there is about me and this company. I am all over the place. I am on Twitter, FaceBook, MySpace, Flickr. I have listings with every major search engines. I am in the Yellowpages and Yellowbook. I am not hiding.
Any company that little to no information easily accessible should NOT be used.
When moving across the country this moving system may be most affordable option for you. I would not recommend them for local or even across the state moves.
The most notable vanliners are Mayflower, Allied, United and if you have to, Bekins (voted one of the worst by J.D. Powers and Associates.)
The problem with this type of moving system is that it takes far longer for your possessions to reach your destination than if you were to use a full service mover.
Where typically a full service movers can deliver your possessions in a day or two, vanliners will take a week or two to deliver your goods.
Another negative point is that your possessions may be unloaded and reloaded a couple of times, adding to the chance that your stuff is lost, damaged or even stolen.
However, rarely will you find a vanliner that is not insured and licensed.
These companies usually are usually very bureaucratic. Meaning if there is an issue with something lost, damaged or stolen it is very hard to reach someone that can make a decision and give you satisfaction with your claims. There is a lot of red tape and hoops to jump through and many just give up.
However, for the most part, many of these moves are smooth and problem free.
So you can see there are many moving systems and each of them have their own strengths and weaknesses. Not all moving systems will be right for you. You need to know what each moving system is and how it could benefit you personally.
Choosing a moving solely based off the cheapest usually ends in disaster and will leave a bitter taste in your mouth. Asking questions and studying the industry will give you a basic education and allow you to make educated choices for which moving system is for you.
