Moving cross country - need advice

[Matt Day]

All,

My fiance (wife in less than 2 weeks!) and I will be moving to Salt Lake City at the end of June and we're trying to nail down our moving plans. We're moving for her Fellowship, and I don't have a job nailed down yet to help cover expenses so we're trying to keep the cost down. I'll probably regret saying this, but I think I'd like to do most of the packing and moving myself to protect my stuff.

My shop is a big factor here. I have all the "Standard" hobby shop stuff:
Cabinet TS
14" BS
DP
8" jointer
Jet 1442 lathe
1.5 HP DC
and most all the portable power tools (circ saw, jigsaw, kreg jig, biscuit joiner, etc)

I figure it weighs in at about 3,000 pounds or so.

We don't have much furniture as we're renting in a shared house right now, but I do have a number of pieces I've built as well as 5 expensive bicycles and those tools (nothing compared to the ww'ing!).

I don't have a truck to pull a trailer, so I've explored the 2 major options of renting a truck (a Penske 24" was the best deal) for $2050 (including gas and a flatbed trailer to tow a car), and PODS for $2800 (8'x8'x16').

I can't for the life of me find a one-way, residential, truck rental with a liftgate, so if anyone has a recommendation I'm all ears. I'd have to use the ramp for all my tools if I can't find one with a lift.

I'm confident the truck would work size-wise, but not so sure about the POD. It would be nice to drive a car rather than a big truck across the country, and the POD is much lower to the ground.

I don't think I'd want to buy a shipping container, for one because I wouldn't have room for it at our destination and 2 I don't want have to deal with selling it.

Any other suggestions for moving? I think the rental truck is cheapest, and maybe I just need some confirmation that it's the right move for me (no pun intended).

[Aaron Berk]

When I moved cross country from CA to GA I kept calling the truck rental places one after the other and then back and forth again. They price matched like CRAZY!!! you can get a better deal, just keep them both on conference call:D and bounce prices.


And yeah, my vote is to move it all your self

[Victor Robinson]

Wow, I don't envy the task at hand. I'll be following your experience closely as I too may be moving in about a year, year and a half. The thought of moving my shop even a half hour away keeps me up at night!

If you've not seen this video by TWW, there might be some helpful tips...
http://thewoodwhisperer.com/a-moving-experience/

[Van Huskey]

Loading most of those tools wouldn't be too bad with an extra set of hands and some dollies and an appliance truck, but one thing to keep in mind is the Uhaul truck decks are MUCH lower to the ground than the Penske trucks (at least the ones I have seen).

[Lee Ludden]

This may or may not be practical.

You can rent a truck with a lift for a day, use it to load your tools, then put it back to back with the moving truck and shuttle the stuff between them using the lift as an elevator.

I recently bought a unisaw, floor mounted planer, 8" jointer, and 20" drill press and was able to get it all loaded on a trailer with just me and my neighbor. I am not certain I would have wanted to try loading it into the back of a truck, however.

[Brendan Plavis]

Might I be the one to perhaps recommend a cheap winch and pulley system? Or even perhaps just a winch... That would help you get the larger equipment up the incline, without you having to push it up... Then all you need to do, is boost it up over the lip...

you can get a cheapo harbour freight manual ratcheting one for about $15 for a 4000lb(probably rated closer to 1000lbs...) one... All you would need to do, is A) find something to attache one end to(preferably an eye bolt... not ancoured just into sheet metal!!!) and then B) a saddel for your machines(simple nylon rope, about triple wound should get even the heaviest of machines safely up...or for your piece of mind, you could use wire rope... but it might(and highly probably) take the paint off where you wind it....)

Just my .02

[Don Newman]

I have used the hand el-cheapo HF wench to pull my table saw up into my pickup numerous times. I built the ramps out of 2x10' with 2x4's on edge to provide more strength. I did this for several year with LOML turning the wench as I guided the saw up the ramps. A little dicey at times, but very doable.

If you use this approach I would recommend using the thing-a-ma-jigs that attach to the end of the ramps to transition to the truck bed. I can't remember where I got them, but they made a big difference moving the saw off the ramp onto the truck bed without the ramps bouncing out of control

[Jerome Stanek]

what about a engine cherry picker. You can get one that knocks down. Lift your equitment up and back the truck under it or push it into the truck. When you get there you can then use it to unload. Remember there is not much open on Sundays in Salt Lake City. Also be careful they drive crazy out there.

[David Nelson1]

HF hydraulic lift table. You will still require an extra person but it relieves some of the strain on the back. I think it lifts to 34 inches or so. I have used one for several years moving stuff by myself has never been easier. It also has good brakes. They are a bit hard to get off but they hold!!

http://www.harborfreight.com/automotive-motorcycle/lifts-stands/1000-lb-capacity-hydraulic-scissor-table-cart-93116.html

[Mike Archambeau]

Have you considered renting a box trailer towed by a rental truck? Uhaul will do this and in my area they are much less expensive than Penske. Some of the trailers have lower floor heights than box trucks, making loading and unloading heavy objects much easier. You could also use ramps to load tools, similar to the way people load ATVs into pickup trucks. Keep your tools if you can. You will be glad you did.

btw.....you can get some day laborers to help you load. And then to help you unload. In my area $10 an hour per person is the going rate for day laborers. And these guys work hard for their money.

[tyler mckenzie]

every piece i own has been moved with a portable engine hoist. I've got a few machines weighing in at 1400lbs. I usually dismantle, then go from the main casting. What's your heaviest machine?

[Glen Butler]

Have you at all looked into ABF? You load they freight. Service to all 50 states. I will be moving soon too and don't quite know where to begin.

[Bill ThompsonNM]

+1 for ABF
We moved from mass. To NM 7 years ago and used ABF-- worked great! I'm no muscleman but we didn't have any trouble getting heavy power tools up a ramp into a truck trailer which they sealed and delivered to our new house. Way cheaper than uhaul, etc.

[Dan Friedrichs]

You don't seem to have anything "special" on your list of tools (ie - you own relatively common pieces, not crazy-rare euro tools). Have you considered just selling the tools, then using the proceeds to buy new tools once you arrive at your new location?

[Troy Turner]

Go with the Penske. Uncle Sam has allowed us to move every 3 - 5 yrs. Uhauls are good for local moves, but the Penskes are so much nicer and smoother. Some friends and beverages, and we had the tools loaded up in no time. If you choose Penske, get a AAA membership. The discount on the truck and hotel stay paid for it plus some. Furniture dolly will do you better than a standard dolly because the wheels are solid and won't flatten out when you load the heavy tools. Plus, you can use it if you have heavier furniture. Good luck with all that though...been there, done that, way too many times.

[Noah Bledstein]

We move every 2-3 years in the Military and the ABF option has worked well. The ABF depots are very easy to work with and, if you ask, will provide two ramps to make it easier to move the larger tools. You pay by cube foot, not weight, another advantage. Also, you only pay for the part of the truck you use. I have the tools you listed and then some. All are on mobile bases, but mobile bases aren't much use on truck ramps (though winching them up does work.) After watching my friend's 20 something kids muscle them up the ramp I decided not to risk that again and bought a Jet 1 ton stacker from CPO Jet (no affiliation.) It is essentially a manual forklift. I suspect these, or similiar models from WESCO or Genie can be rented in most cities. I considered an engine hoist, but few have the hight to lift a 36" high tool into a 48" high semi-trailer. My shop has moved six times with little or no damage. For the big tools, take off anything that is unsupported and might be used to stack boxes etc... on such as tablesaw wings. I also pull off parts that might be snapped off or bent such as knobs and fences. I try to keep all the small stuff organized by taping bags of parts to the tool from which they were removed. If you have a RAS make sure the head and arm are supported, I just lower the motor housing against a 2/4 on the table. Make sure that you pack everything in tight with smaller stuff, boxes, etc... to prevent the load from shifting as the truck drives. This may come as a surprise, but in all the moves I have rarely had to tune up the tools on the other end. Good tools hold settings remarkably well. The reality is that tools move better than electronics or furniture. As long as you plan ahead for a safe way to get the tools on and off the truck it will be easier than you think.

[Mitchell Andrus]

Gas mileage..... Last week I moved my shop from NJ to NC in a 16' Ryder diesel.

10.3 MPG - 2 fill-ups averaged. They told me it'd about 13 - 13.5. HA.

YMMV
.

[Matt Day]

Thanks for all the responses everyone!

Victor: Thanks for the link to TWW video. The handtool tips were helpful and it's good to see the large equipment being moved. I'm a little surprised to see the jointed get picked up at the end of the beds. I thought that was a no-no? I was planning on building a plywood/2x4 crate for the top upper portion with 2x4's to hold at each end, so we don't have to lift at the beds.

As Van pointed out the Uhauls do have lower bed heights. Uhaul has a 33" deck above the ground, while Penske has 48". I might give Uhaul a call and see if they can match or beat the Penske price, though I've heard from others (including Troy) that Uhaul trucks aren't as nice as Penske, which is worth something on a 3-4 day drive with my wife.

I have an old 1000# winch that I might use to help get the tools up to the deck of the truck. I don't have anything over 600 pounds - the listed shipping weight of my Shop Fox 8" jointer. I should make a run to Harbor Freight too and pick up some lifting straps. I'll have to seriously think about getting a shop crane from HF to lift some of the tools - thanks for the suggestion Jerome.

I'm planning on 8-10mpg. :(

[Mike Reinholtz]

This is fantastic timing for me, I've been thinking about posting concerns I am getting ready to face when we move next year. Move will be (hopefully) from CA to MI, of course the garage is full of heavy tools and PODS have weight limits that could become an issue (most of my bigger tools are really old and weigh quite a bit). I'm pretty sure I will tow my wife's car with my truck while she flies with the baby, but getting everything else there has been the debate. I hadn't heard of ABF (u-load) until reading through the replies here and the quote I already got back from them is much better than even the 2 PODS I was considering.

I had considered selling some of the really big stuff but my concern is how long it will take to find similar deals for the quality of equipment I have. The other consideration is that we will be building our home when we get there and I will need quite a few tools. First thing to get built is the shop (per my lovely wife), needless to say I can't wait to move!

[Neal Clayton]

All,

My fiance (wife in less than 2 weeks!) and I will be moving to Salt Lake City at the end of June and we're trying to nail down our moving plans. We're moving for her Fellowship, and I don't have a job nailed down yet to help cover expenses so we're trying to keep the cost down. I'll probably regret saying this, but I think I'd like to do most of the packing and moving myself to protect my stuff.

My shop is a big factor here. I have all the "Standard" hobby shop stuff:
Cabinet TS
14" BS
DP
8" jointer
Jet 1442 lathe
1.5 HP DC
and most all the portable power tools (circ saw, jigsaw, kreg jig, biscuit joiner, etc)

I figure it weighs in at about 3,000 pounds or so.

We don't have much furniture as we're renting in a shared house right now, but I do have a number of pieces I've built as well as 5 expensive bicycles and those tools (nothing compared to the ww'ing!).

I don't have a truck to pull a trailer, so I've explored the 2 major options of renting a truck (a Penske 24" was the best deal) for $2050 (including gas and a flatbed trailer to tow a car), and PODS for $2800 (8'x8'x16').

I can't for the life of me find a one-way, residential, truck rental with a liftgate, so if anyone has a recommendation I'm all ears. I'd have to use the ramp for all my tools if I can't find one with a lift.

I'm confident the truck would work size-wise, but not so sure about the POD. It would be nice to drive a car rather than a big truck across the country, and the POD is much lower to the ground.

I don't think I'd want to buy a shipping container, for one because I wouldn't have room for it at our destination and 2 I don't want have to deal with selling it.

Any other suggestions for moving? I think the rental truck is cheapest, and maybe I just need some confirmation that it's the right move for me (no pun intended).

check with ABF (arkansas best freight). i'm not sure if they offer it outside of this few-state area, but they do offer a service where they drop off a trailer, you fill it, and they bring it where you tell them.

[Rob Steffeck]

I did something very similar when moving from Marina Del Rey, CA to Portland...I did it all myself. I rented a 26' Penske, however it did have a lift gate which was invaluable for the tools. Even though Penske's website shows a ramp for their bigger trucks, some in their fleet definitely have a lift gate.

[Eric Pitts]

Are you really dead set on moving everything yourself? Most reputable moving agencies will come to your house and give you a free estimate on what it would cost to move your stuff.

I recently moved from New Hampshire to Hawaii. I didn't have a shop to move, but I did have a lot of stuff (electronics and guitars, etc. ). I used Allied. They were great. They packed everything for me, loaded the truck, then unloaded it when it got to my house. The only thing that broke during my move was something I packed myself and mailed through USPS.

It was kind of expensive, but it was stress free. I'd say it's at least worth getting the free estimate. Your getting married and moving across the country in about a months time. I'd recommend coming up with a plan real soon. And as a side note, you should be able to write off a lot of moving expenses on your taxes. Well, for her job at least.

Good luck

[Randy Klein]

I haven't read the other replies, so this may be a repeat. I just moved cross-country. My suggestion is to get ABF and hire some help with the loading and unloading.

[Steve Griffin]

The only thing I see on your list which couldn't easily be handled by two guys, a little disassembly and a dolly is the Table Saw.

Sell it if it's going to cost money to move. I'm sure you could get a used saw in Salt lake for what ever you sell yours for. You wanted another one anyway right?

-Steve

[Matt Day]

After all the ABF recommendations, I did a quick quote and for 19' of trailer space (vs. the 26' Penske truck) is just shy of $4000. So twice as much for ABF, and it's not worth $2000 to drive a car vs a truck. Technically I'd have to pay for gas for the car drive in that situation, so there's another $250 out of pocket for gas.

I moved my TS with one other person (table saw wings off) and was manageable. So I'm not too worried about that tool.

I have definitely thought about selling some tools. I'm for sure selling my old C'man RAS, but I don't plan on selling the rest. I know it would save me a lot of moving day hassle, but even if I sell them here and buy them in SLC, I'll have to pull them out of the basement and load them up, and unload the new stuff in SLC. Not to mention I'll have to find it in SLC, and probably buy another trailer to haul it, etc etc. I know it would be a good opportunity to upgrade, but I'm pretty happy/comfortable with what I have now.

I confirmed with Penske (2-3 times actually!) they don't have lift gates on one-way rentals, but when I pick it up I'm going to have my fingers crossed! Not sure if they have hitches for towing a car with a lift gate anyway.

My first PODS quite was upwards of $4000, but when I called them back yesterday they somehow dropped it to $2800. I'm quite sure a POD will not be enough room for our things (8x8x16, so about 10' less space).

I already have a penske truck reservation, so I've got a plan in place. I can cancel that with no charge as long as it's 48 hours in advance, in case I change my plans. My last day at work is about 10 days in advance of picking up the truck to pack things up and get ready to load up the truck (okay, and to play a little bit too).

[Rob Steffeck]

I confirmed with Penske (2-3 times actually!) they don't have lift gates on one-way rentals, but when I pick it up I'm going to have my fingers crossed!

I suspect that the local franshisee just wants to keep the trucks with lift gates in their local-use fleet. When I went to pick up my truck, it was just a young highschool kid working the desk and she let me pick the truck I wanted for my one-way rental. One had a lift gate and the other had a ramp.

I also looked at the cost of having someone move us. To move from Southern Cal to Portland it was around $5,000-7,000. We had to make the drive anyway for our cars / dogs so it really wasn't a big deal to drive the truck. All in, it cost around $1,600 and it was good exercise.

[James Phillips]

I am loading a POD (2 acutally) with all my heavy tools and 600 bdft of lumber as well as all my household goods. They are easy to load.

[Greg Portland]

Be sure to check the moving insurance if you use a POD or mover. Often, insurance is based on $/lbs, not actual value of the item.

[Scott Kuykendall]

I moved cross country about 6 yrs ago and went with PODS. I have all the stuff you mentioned plus a riding mower and about 1000 lbs of mech. tools. You can fit a lot more into a 16 foot PODS since you are not rushed and you can pack every inch of space. With a rental truck you only have a few days to pack and get on the road. The best thing about PODS is it only a few inches off the ground. I made a 4X8 foot ramp so it was easy to roll all the tools up the gradual slop of the ramp. I also used cheap plywood and 2x4 to make flat areas so you can stack stuff all the way to the top of the container.
Scott