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We are looking at a 2000 mile move. Family of 4, 1800 sq. ft. house, 3 car garage.
Looking at the ABF trucks at 28 feet has me concerned about space. I think we will need 2 trucks.
Looking at Self Move - 53' truck I think we can do it in 1
ABF are spring ride, Self Move is air ride
I can find lots of reviews for ABF and they are predominately positive.
Self Move is harder to find information on.
Anyone have experiences with Self Move or know of another self pack type service with the bigger 53' trucks?
Please don't advise me to sell everything we own, we will not, we will be moving all furniture, some appliances and a household full of memories.
If SelfMoves USA is the company that you're referring to, they don't have ANY trucks or trailers -either air-ride or mechanical spring suspension.
Unlike ABF which is a general freight common carrier that operates 3800 trucks nationwide, SelfMoves USA is a household goods broker. The company as has been licensed by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration since 2003. Authority History
Using the FMSCA definition, a broker is “A company [or individual] that arranges for the truck transportation of cargo belonging to others, utilizing for-hire carriers to provide the actual truck transportation. A broker does not assume responsibility for the cargo and usually does not take possession of the cargo.”
Brokers generally have no dispatch control over any of the driver or equipment resources used by the transportation companies that they have contractual agreements or interline relationships with.
Moving is expensive – regardless of whether you do it yourself or hire professionals! The best way to reduce your relocation expenses is to purge when packing. You'd be surprised at how much unnecessary or useless junk most folks pay to have moved.
Yes, I am looking at Self Moves USA, their premium package which states:
53' air ride trailer
Dedicated load dates
Dedicated driver
Ramps, dollies, blankets etc.
They sent me a quote which is about a $1000 less than 2 ABF trucks would be.
Their website says its their "newest addition" so I am assuming it is a newer service, I just can't find a lot of consumer reviews.
If I was a consumer considering their brokered moving service, I'd be wondering how a small company with absolutely no dispatch control over any drivers, tractors, or trailers can COMMIT to providing ANYTHING with certainty - regardless of the price.
If I was a consumer considering their brokered moving service, I'd be wondering how a small company with absolutely no dispatch control over any drivers, tractors, or trailers can COMMIT to providing ANYTHING with certainty - regardless of the price.
Thus the reason I posted here, looking for information so I can make a somewhat informed decision.
We just moved 400 miles and used pods. We had to get four and we found it great. We were moving all furniture, appliances and tons and tons of boxes. I liked them because there was no rush in filling the pod or empyting it. We have three emptied in 12 days and the last one will be delivered on weds. I dont have the total amount we spent yet but will let you know asap.
Good luck. I didnt like abs ( the container co) as they only gave us 3-5 days to fill and the same to empty.
I used U-Pack recently. Just the storage container. They were excellent to deal with, on the phone to the guys who picked up the pod,everything, but the U-Pack containers aren't that big. Not sure about moving large pieces of furniture with them. It cost 2700.00 for 1 cube and 700.00 for 2nd one. I got 50.00 off using a coupon online that I told them about when I booked. Forgot the name of it, but you can google it.
We recently used ABF's cubes. Worked great. In the past we have used Broadway Express (which is similar to the ABF truck option) and would also highly recommend that option. We used the ABF cubes this last time because we needed storage on one end, otherwise we would have gone with Broadway Express or ABF's truck option (whichever gave us the cheaper quote) as in our case the truck would have been cheaper than the cubes, primarily because you pay only for the space you need. The Broadway Express driver was great. He supervised things when we packed up the truck (you can hire the drivers to help if you arrange in advance) and made sure that everything was packed as tightly and as safely as possible. We didn't use the ABF trucks, but their customer support was good and we felt it was good value. We've used more full-service moving companies in the past, but unless someone else is paying do not anticipate ever going that route again. Broadway Express and ABF are so easy to use, and they don't charge by weight. If we don't need the storage we'd likely choose the truck/trailer option, but the cubes worked well in our last situation, and you can cram a LOT of stuff into one of those cubes if you pack it right.
Just to chime in about ABF. We used them about 10 years ago to move from Ohio to Atlanta.. I would definitely recommend them... it made the move 100% less stressful. If you don't have room on the truck, perhaps you could rent a trailer and pull what you have left??
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