I have a few questions that I need input on from unbiased internet strangers (you). Moving from Texas to NC in about 2 months.

Major items to move: 3 cars, 3 kayaks, and a dope ass bedroom furniture set that can not be sold, and a stand up snap-on tool box thingy with wheels. Everything else is being sold- couches, end tables, entertainment center, odds and ends, etc.

Decisions:
1- Do we drop $1000 on a moving truck that will also tow one of the cars, fly a friend down one way- and drive a fleet of 3 vehicles back to NC? (uhaul with benz in tow, volvo driven and suburban driven) I mean, that's going to cost about an additional $1000 in GAS too...

2- Will a company ship our furniture for us? Who does that? How do I even google that? Can we put our bed in a box? HA...Where's JT?

3- Anybody know any good tips or tricks for moving? I mean, I'd like to find somebody with a huge truck that's just going towards NC and kinda hitchike my stuff on their truck...sure, lots of potential with theft there- I'm just saying. I feel like UHaul is totally f******* us here...and there must be an alternative.

4- We could sell our mercedes, but it has 250,000 miles on it and it won't sell for more than $1000....sucks, dude...it's like a total catch 22. Anybody wanna fly down here and drive a car back?

THanks for any input, helpful or not. I'm kinda stressin' and I know I shouldn't be. Yes I should. But atleast I'm coming home to NC in the end of this.

4/1/2012 7:10:44 PM

you could tow the volvo with the suburban. that would get you down to 2 drivers required. rent a tow dolly from uhaul or buy one on craigslist and then sell it when you get here.

yes, there are companies that will move your furniture across the country. it won't be cheap. just google "cross country moving companies".

if you've got the money, you can get anything shipped anywhere.

rent a truck with a lift gate. totally worth it, especially if you've gotta move shit like a full size snap-on box.

[Edited on April 1, 2012 at 7:27 PM. Reason : adf]

4/1/2012 7:25:16 PM

DO NOT DRIVE THE VEHICLES. have them shipped.

4/1/2012 7:31:27 PM

My sister has driven across country to move and for shits and giggles a couple of times. She only was responsible for 1 car and a moving truck though. She went from PA to CA by herself. Loooooooong drive lol

I'm Krallum and I approved this message.

4/1/2012 7:42:15 PM

not sure about the vehicle situation but when we moved from NC to KS and then back to NC a few years later we used UPACK's relocubes to move our furniture. It was good cuz it was cheap compared to other ways of shipping/hauling stuff, we could pack it ourselves so we know how good it was packed, and then didn't have to worry about it after that.

4/1/2012 7:51:02 PM

Buy my plane ticket and I will drive a car here for a small fee

4/1/2012 8:00:10 PM

have you looked at the storage container things that they drop off at your house, you pack it, they pick it up and drive it to your destination, and then you unpack it?

I don't know what they cost, but that's the first thing i would look into. You wouldn't have to drive a moving truck. You'd just have the cars to worry about.

http://www.pods.com/
http://www.upack.com/

Quote :

"4- We could sell our mercedes, but it has 250,000 miles on it and it won't sell for more than $1000....sucks, dude...it's like a total catch 22. Anybody wanna fly down here and drive a car back?"

If you don't really have a need for it, whey not sell it and put the cash toward moving which is going to be costly no matter how you do it. It seems like you can do without it, So maybe get something out of it while you can, and $1000 would go a long way toward moving.

[Edited on April 1, 2012 at 8:20 PM. Reason : links]

4/1/2012 8:16:21 PM

Where in TX? I live in Houston & I'm in the market for a new car

4/1/2012 8:29:59 PM

You still have that old ass benz?

I had a buddy fly me down to TX once to help him move back to NC. He, his brother and I took shifts driving the uhaul towing his car back, made the trip in like 24 hours straight driving. Fun times. One of us would sleep in the car while the other two drove.

[Edited on April 2, 2012 at 12:00 AM. Reason : .]

4/1/2012 11:57:50 PM

Is that your brother's Benz from back in high school? He used to give me a ride home now and again when I would miss the bus. That was a loooooong time ago.

Where in NC are you moving back to? Sorry, I have no advice to offer on your moving conundrum.

4/2/2012 1:27:16 AM

here's a website that lets you make proposals for "guys with huge trucks just going towards NC" and they send you bids. you might have some coke hidden in your stuff though, haha. I never used this service but I did use it to get quotes when i was thinking of moving stuff.

http://www.uship.com

4/2/2012 2:06:39 AM

^It's hit or miss, I've used it twice and both times it ended up usually the owner was a guy who owned a cargo box truck with some hired help for the day. One was was great, cheap, and cordial, the other guy tried to sneak the payment by the IRS contractor form (1099?) which caused my company CFO to get on my ass when he wouldn't respond and return the form. He also tried to get me to help him and his crew after they got tired even though I told him both apartments were third floor and in the middle of August. Failure to plan on his part does not make an emergency on mine.

4/2/2012 2:20:17 AM

Lauren,

I'm looking to do the same thing but Raleigh to Houston. I contacted All my Sons moving company and they are going to give me a quote. I'll let you know what that is. My situation is a little different in that we are actually making two moves. One with just me and the dogs at the end of this month and then another with Jennifer, Chandler and the rest of our stuff in mid-June. I've been looking at some pricing with Uhaul. It looks like I can get a 6'x12' trailer which i'll pull with my Jeep for the first move for about $250. Second move with a 20' truck and motorcycle trailer will be about $1200. I'll be flying back up for that move. Jennifer drives her car and I drive the truck.

4/2/2012 4:20:36 PM

Wow, ya'll. Thanks for the excellent responses. There really is a difference between chit chat and the Lounge. Hah.

Anyway, thanks again. Seth put me on that "uship" mailing list somehow (damnit) and so I may look in to that more- however, the stuff we need to move will need to be in a legit insured vehicle...it's not like giving my pet hamster to Raul who's fleeing to the NC while on probation or something.

Not that there's anything wrong with guys named Raul...or even being on probation.

It's going to be a pain in the ass, is what it boils down to...and I'm still looking for options.

Thanks again.

4/2/2012 8:07:19 PM

We just had all of our stuff moved from NC to Kansas in December and it cost around $5000 through a vanline service (we drove our cars out here separately). Now we are being relocated to Amarillo from Overland Park (10 hours)- and the quotes from two companies are about $3250 (All My Sons and MOOvers). We have two kids and a dog- so we have a lot of stuff so it is kind of expensive- but it is worth the money to have the headache of loading and unloading a truck away after making the drive. Unpacking is enough of a headache!
Good luck!!!

4/3/2012 5:14:52 PM

What about mayflower? http://www.mayflower.com

4/3/2012 11:32:46 PM

All My Sons came back with a quote of $4,800 with them packing, $4,250 with us packing.

4/4/2012 11:24:34 AM

My brother in law shipped his jeep to TX for like 450 bucks.

I would say thats worth it vs. the tow dolly. The tow dolly slows you down, wastes gas, and also is gonna cost you like 100-150 to rent for long enough to drive that far.

I would honestly ship the volvo and the benz, rent a box trailer from uhaul, and tow your shit one way in that with the tahoe. That way you can actually take turns driving and not all be so fatigued too...thats a long drive.

4/4/2012 1:38:20 PM

No way in hell I would pay 5k to move stuff unless you have a lot of good stuff.

Ship the cars for ~1,000.

Sell what you don't need, Tow the rest behind your SUV in a box trailer.

Also this might sound a bit crazy, but my dad just paid like 2k for a brand new box trailer locally, we had a relative pass away who kind of hoarded things and rather than keep renting them to move stuff out of her house he decided to buy one.

They are selling used on Craigslist for the same thing he paid for the new one, so I would imagine you would not have a hard time selling it once you get there and get the cash back to move in or whatever. That might be cheaper than renting a ragged ass uhaul one way, I would check both options.

4/4/2012 1:45:24 PM

Here is where the box trailer came from.
http://www.eastcoastsales.com/trailers.asp

4/4/2012 1:55:01 PM