ABF saved me a lot of money
Written: Feb 17 '04 (Updated Feb 18 '04)
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Pros: Cheap, Won't have to wait forever to get your stuff
Cons: Not knowing if ramp will be available at destination
The Bottom Line: If you don't mind a little workout while saving yourself a load of money, ABF is tough to beat.
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| visrow's Full Review: ABF U-Pack Moving |
After reading all the good reviews from Epinions on ABF U-Pack, I decided to give them my business. That, and getting quotes form Allied and Atlas. These two wanted $3700 and $2700 respectively. ABF said $750!!! I figured in about another $700 in boxes, moving help, etc and came up with a max of $1450. This was a no brainer.
Everything went well from the first contact to the last. I was moving a three bedroom house minus a lot of stuff from the third bedroom. I was given a quote for 12 feet, but I thought there was no way my stuff would fit. I drew out the big things on paper, but the odd shaped boxes and items left a big question mark in the calculations.
As they recommended, I used an early week drop off date to lower my price and I had the ABF coupon for one free ramp rental. Next, I had to buy the equipment for the move. I researched the web, and u-boxit.com offered me the lowest prices on the most packing materials and boxes. Their boxes were more than enough for the normal stuff, and I saved myself from ordering picture packaging by going to the local refrigerator/stove/washer retailer and getting all of their boxes. These were great for mirrors and bed frames too.
I bought some cheap blankets from Wal Mart for $4 each to cover furniture. Much better than renting them from uhaul or ryder. I bought a dolly from Lowes for $38. Don't buy the appliance dolly if you don't have any steep inclines to negotiate. My $38 dolly had a 800lb weight capacity versus the $92, 700lb capacity appliance dolly.
With all the equipment in hand, we started packing stuff to be done a day or so prior to ABF arriving. I called ABF 2 days prior and the dispatcher gave me a time block between 9-11 am. I thought this was odd since everyone else wrote about a specific time. Well, like nearly any other service, I figured they would be at my house no earlier than 11. So, it was quite a surprise to be woken at 856am to an ABF driver. After letting me fully wake up, he explained everything to me that I had already viewed on the video, but it was very reassuring he was taking the time to do it.
The truck was a little dirty inside, but I wasn't expecting to eat off the floor. We swept the floor of mostly small dust items and marked off our 12 feet. We checked for holes and found only two, which we sealed with tape. I bought two huge tarps which were useless. Its nearly impossible to get the tarp to cover the entire load as you load high and tight...you'll see if you try it.
I ended up using the one tarp I opened as filler and returned the other to Wally World. All the stuff I thought wouldn't fit ended up fitting with about 6 inches still left unused!! Trust their estimates and load properly and yours will too. I had no problems with dust or other contaminants on my load. I didn't really care to track the load. Who cares if its in Tupelo or San Fran as long as its there when they told me it would be. And, it was. Thankfully, they also had a ramp to unload(my biggest worry about the entire ABF U-pack was the uncertainty of having a ramp at dest). The entire load had shifted backward as mentioned by another on this forum. Amazingly the stuff I packed was in place, but the "professional mover" I hired to help load...their stuff was mostly tossed back. Its like taking apart a Jenga puzzle when this happens. If you aren't careful, the entire thing will fall on you!
In any event, hope this wasn't too long. I will without a doubt use ABF again. Packing yourself is not fun, but if you've got time, you will save a lot. This is my first post, but I thought Epinions saved me so much, I had to at least try to help someone else decide.
Recommended:
Yes
Punctuality: Showed up early
Ease of Filing Claim: N/A
Lost Goods: No
Amount Paid (US$): 750
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Epinions.com ID:
visrow
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Reviews written: 1
Trusted by: 0 members
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