In 25 years, we've made 9 corporate moves with so-called 'top tier' relocation experts. While those moves were certainly far less physically stressful, all but two were disasters. But even the moves that went well (by comparison) did not go as smoothly as our ABF move from Dallas TX to SW Florida. Their customer service is without peer. They are courteous, accommodating, humorous, and (believe it or not) they keep their promises! (Ditto for their drivers!) At the last minute we had to delay our move by one week (at the height of the moving season - July). No problem. They confirmed our new move date via email (with an amended contract attached) within one hour. When I expressed concern about having a trailer parked in front of our house overnight in an area where commercial vehicles are banned except for deliveries, they gave us great advice (which we followed) for getting a permit from the local police precinct. (This is important to check if you live in an area where commercial traffic is not allowed.) Then we had to delay the trailer pick-up by 1 day because our helpers were no-shows (more about that later). No problem; just call the terminal as soon as you lock the trailer door! When we arrived in Florida, we called the local terminal and they were able to confirm the delivery date we had requested, including ramps. The driver arrived exactly on time, all the paperwork was in order, and the final charges were exactly what were estimated. What a concept! We unloaded the trailer and found no damage whatsoever. When we were finished, the driver arrived within 2 hours of our calling the local terminal for pick-up.Caveats:
Plan your packing carefully.
We taped a section of our garage floor with the dimensions of the truck (based upon our estimate: 8ft x 22ft). As we packed, we stacked the (few) pieces of furniture we were moving with the countless boxes in the taped area of our garage. This helped us to plan the actual loading of the truck.
Hire labor to help you.
Our 'helpers' (friends) were no-shows. I scrambled, calling various companies who offer moving labor by the hour and the rates were astronomical (>$500)! We bit the bullet, loaded ourselves, (3 adults) and had to delay our pickup as a result. Fortunately, at our destination, a friend recommended a company that I wish I had known about in Dallas: Able Body Labor (http://www.ablebody.com). We hired 2 men and we were able to unload in 4 hours at a cost of less than $200. Able Body has offices in FL, AL, NY, NC, SC, GA, TX, MS, DE, CO, TN and AZ.
That damned gate!
The gate you install to stabilize/divide your load from others that may be loaded afterwards is a b**ch! You must have 2 strong adults with 2 (6ft) ladders or you are S*****D! You'll also need those ladders to stack the top 'layers' of your load so you can use all the cubic feet you are paying for.
Purchase good quality plastic tarps.
Line the walls and ceiling of your load with the tarps. This way, if there is an opening anywhere in the trailer (though we didn't see any) your possessions will not be damaged by rain or road grime.
Time and Labor Estimates
Estimate how many people you will need to load and how much time it will take. Then multiply by 4 and you may come close to reality. If you AND your friends/family/help are not in top physical condition, allow enough time between pick-up and delivery to recover. I'm not kidding!
Do not skimp on the quality of your moving boxes!
If you take the cheap route (grocery store, liquor store, etc) the boxes at the bottom of your load will collapse and you WILL have damage! We found the quality and prices at U-Line (http://www.uline.com) to be outstanding. They have moving 'packages' (which you can add to) and the delivery charges/lead time are outstanding.
Recommended:
Yes
Punctuality: Showed up on time
Ease of Filing Claim: N/A
Lost Goods: No
Amount Paid (US$): 2400.00
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