The way to go if you want to save on money and a headache!
Written: Aug 15 '04
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Pros: Honest, Good price, they drive the truck, no headache
Cons: Takes longer, but worth the wait. Dirty trailer bed
The Bottom Line: Just do it. It is worth it.
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| dantesque's Full Review: ABF U-Pack Moving |
We moved to Colorado from Utah. I called around trying to find the cheapest already after my husband had done some calling himself and he had decided to use U-haul because it was just cheaper than the rest. He was going to be riding the bus back to Utah to help us move since he was already in Colorado working and probably wouldn't be getting much sleep to drive the Uhaul after the long bus ride (8hrs).
I ended up finding ABF by word of mouth from my mom saying that a friend of hers used some company that drives and you do the loading. I decided to do a search on the internet and found ABF (www.movingmyself.com). I called them to find out more about the pricing. I later found this forum with loads of reviews on ABF and called back with more questions regarding other things that I've read in your reviews (Thank you!). ABF was by far the cheapest compared to Uhaul including the gas, insurance, etc... and the rest of the companies that I had contacted, Penske, Movex and so forth.
The price for transporting was $1,045 based on 21 linear feet of trailer space for a 3 bedroom apartment (with garage space) and because it was just under the 'long distance' of 500 miles, it being about 497 miles. I think they just rounded it to 500 miles to make it a better deal. I was worried about not fitting our stuff in that amount of space in the trailer. So, I asked about getting the rest of the trailer and how much that would be (the trailer being 28 ft. long, 8 ft. wide and 9 ft. high). They gave me a flat rate for the entire trailer which was $1,295. They also explained to me that every foot past the estimated 21 feet is $50 per foot. The absolute minimum charge was $895 for only 18 ft. of space. I had the extra space in the trailer just in case some things didn't fit which made it even better. They would take off $25 dollars for making the reservation online. I did just that to save on money.
You always want to include the loading ramp (which is about 12 ft. long) because the trailer is about 4-5 ft. off of the ground and they will ask you if you want one. The price for that was $75 for each end, Colorado & Utah. They put the loading ramp inside the trailer when dropping off the trailer and then take it out when transporting the trailer because of ABF being a 'freight company' too.
When I called them, here are some questions that I asked and wanted included in or on my trailer:
1. Will my trailer be cleaned out, no pallets etc on?
**His answer**: They almost always clean it out. There might be some dust or a little dirt.
(I had planned on sweeping the inside out and then putting down a tarp on the floor of the trailer to protect my furniture or anything else that wasn't packed in a box.)
2. I want a trailer that has latches or hooks of some sort to tie off my stuff.
**His answer**: All the new trailers have tie off latches and all of the old trailers have the boards that you can just nail into and tie off, off of that.
(I told him that I would like a newer trailer then so I wouldn't have a hassle. He said that would be fine)
3. What kind of gate is the 'bulkhead wall' and is it secure enough to hold not be pushed? Also, Do I need to make sure that I have the lower and upper bulkhead locks?
**His answer: It's a plywood board that is extended from both sides of the trailer and load bars kind of like a jack. He said you don't need the bulkhead lock upper and lower anymore. These are newer and easier to use.
(I accepted that. In fact, they are easy to use and work just great. At the end after having the trailer loaded, there were some cleaning supplies from cleaning our apartment that I wanted to stick inside the trailer. We ended up tying a rope and putting the cleaning supplies inside a kitchen garbage can and attaching the rope to both sides of the garbage can and slowly slid it down on the other side of the bulkhead wall.)
4. How do I lock the bulkhead wall or will I have problems doing it?
**His answer: He said there are very basic directions on the wall itself and if I wanted I could have the driver show us how. **
(I found it very easy to follow and it was not a problem. The driver even checks it when they pick it up to make everything is stable.)
They only drive Monday through Friday which was fine by us, giving us time to drive over to Colorado and not be rushed for time while traveling or having to find a Uhaul (or any other company for that matter) location to drop off the truck after unloading, etc, etc.
Their office hours are also during the business days not open on the weekend: 7AM - 7PM Central Time.
I called 3-days in advance to make sure of times that the truck would be arriving with our trailer. They gave me a more specific time then for between 1-4pm on Thursday. On the day of delivery, I called first thing in the morning to get a more specific time frame. The dispatcher on the Utah end said he'd probably be there from 1-2pm and if there was any problem of him being later than that to give him a call back. The driver arrived at 1:25PM.
I had already called the city about parking semi- trailers in the street and we were not allowed to do that without getting a ticket. I had also measured the driveway and found that our driveway was long enough, so no worries there. Make sure you find out this information before hand.
I had previously planned to have people arrive to help load up the trailer at 5pm, giving plenty of time for any problems. We had everything loaded Thursday night and ended up only taking 18 ft. of the trailer (the absolute minimum charge of $895). You have to call when you want things picked up. I called early Friday morning to have it picked up so the trailer wouldn't sit there all weekend without anyone to watch it. They picked it up and left the trailer at the terminal (locked up) until the next business day.
If you just load things nicely and pack well in the boxes. Putting the couches up on the ends and tying things off every once in a while helps to secure the load and helps to stack things higher. Everything will be just fine.
They give you an estimated day... between 3-4 business days. That would mean we would have our stuff the following week either Monday - Thursday. We were able to get ourselves settled into our new house, clean it and relax a few days. I called on Monday to find out the exact day of arrival. They told me either Wednesday or Friday. They were able to even look up exactly where the trailer was. I could even look up the tracking number and find out that information myself. I called on Wednesday morning and found out it would be here Thursday between 8am -12pm. I called Thursday morning at around 8:30am and found out that they left first thing that morning and should be at my house soon. He arrived at 9:15am and backed in exactly where I wanted him. I asked him which he thought was best since our driveway is on a slope. He did great and even made sure that I knew how to set up the ramp. I signed the papers and he was on his way. We had asked a few neighbors and people from our church to help us load things in. If you don't know anyone in the new area, just call up for some hired hands. I called up that night after unloading the trailer and left a message that they could pick up the trailer. They called in the morning to confirm the trailer to be picked up.
Recommended:
Yes
Punctuality: Showed up on time
Ease of Filing Claim: N/A
Lost Goods: No
Amount Paid (US$): 1020
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Epinions.com ID:
dantesque
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Reviews written: 1
Trusted by: 0 members
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