Wife wants to move from Kansas back to Ohio to be closer to family. Ohio is where both of us are originally from. I would rather stay in Kansas, but am afraid it's a losing battle.

Has anyone used Pods for shipping their household goods?

Is it cheaper than renting a 26 foot Uhaul truck?

When I transferred to Kansas 20+ years ago, my company moved us. Now we are both retired and doing this on our own and need to try to do this as economically as possible.

Thank you.

Mark

Can't imagine Pods will be cheaper than the truck. Personally, I think both companies are terrible rip-off artists. But the truck should be thousands cheaper, in my experience.

quote:

Originally posted by showpro:
Can't imagine Pods will be cheaper than the truck. Personally, I think both companies are terrible rip-off artists. But the truck should be thousands cheaper, in my experience.

It depends on where it's going from and to. By the time you add up the mileage charges, fuel at 7 mpg, your time to drive the thing,tolls and everything else. Sometimes the pod is a lot cheaper, sometimes not.

Maybe you can ask for the rates and associated charges for both and then figure it out yourself?

Or you can post ALL the rates here and I'm sure people will be willing to help you if numbers isn't your strong suit.

Also, make note of the non-financials. Like you won't have to drive the pod yourself.

Have you considered having a moving company do this for you?

When you factor in gas, tolls, hotels, any labor help, etc., it sounds a lot less ludicrous.

I know i few people who have used Pods or a similar service. They say they wouldn't do it any other way if they have to move again.

Check with ABF U-pack, part of ABF Freight. Have never used them, always did the U-Haul thing but I was a lot younger then.......

X2 for ABF Upack. Ordered one up one yesterday for our client.
Great service. Good prices. Three day load up and three day load out allowances. Direct shot to your locations.

And they do the driving.

Ps. You needs moving pads and will also have to buy the insurance.

It also really helps if you know how to pack a truck.

We are starting to plan for our retirement (6 years out with luck...) and expecting to move to a different state. My current plan is to sell all furnishings and only move personal items (clothing, keepsakes, firearms, etc...) limiting it to just what can be carried in the truck and a smallish U-Haul trailer.

Since we will be downsizing, I figure probably cheaper in the long run to just move on the cheap and buy necessary furnishings where we land. All of our current furniture could be replaced for about $8-10K. I figure selling what we have should net $3-4K, money saved by not having large truck, tow dolly, vehicle shipping, PODs, or movers should be another $2-3k (and probably even more), storage as much as $1K (up to 3 months at $250-$350/mo). So $6-8K to spend on new furnishings and not having the hassle of the move or dealing with loss, theft, breakage, etc. is worth another $2K+ to cover any shortage.


Also I think there is something to be said about buying a new place and then furnishing to taste without limiting housing based on what you currently have and want to fit into it.


When I got out of the service I did a DIY move with a 27' box truck and tow dolly for my pick up. It was a hassle loading everything, even with careful packing we had some breakage, than I had to pay for two large storage units until we found a place, paid for one storage unit for the stuff we didn't have room for, and eventually liquidated stuff to get rid of the storage. I seem to recall the truck rental being around $1000 in 1990 and I imagine it is considerably more now.

Consider a combination for your ease and convenience?

When we last moved we loaded up a full sized POD with everything we needed to go with us but didn't need to be able to live immediately in new home. Yes, it was packed floor to ceiling, we've got stuff! Had that picked up and stored locally, knowing we only had to give a couple weeks notice when we wanted it in the new home location, but didn't have to deal with all that stuff while trying to move in the essentials.

{We eventually hired Two Men and a Truck type guys to move all the POD contents into new home, probably paid $3-400 for that at the most and didn't kill ourselves dragging around furniture and a bazillion boxes.}

Then pack and load either with a service or smaller rental truck all the basics you need for full time residents at new home.

Worked better than I imagined since we were able to more easily move in, get all the basics unpacked and THEN start picking a date for all the extras, garage stuff, etc. to show up.

I quoted pods to move to Washington State from KS. The bulk is in the mileage from them. You can get a free email quote from them at no cost. With pods you can load stuff on your own time. A truck of course its somewhat of a rush. My folks used them for an in town move to pack gradually and would do it again. However, we did use trucks as well.

Get quotes. When I moved from Ft. Lauderdale to Orlando, an actual mover was cheaper than having the POD hauled long distance. Pods are fantastic for short range stuff, but can be very expensive for long distance.

quote:

Originally posted by shovelhead:
Check with ABF U-pack, part of ABF Freight. Have never used them, always did the U-Haul thing but I was a lot younger then.......

Also, Old Dominion Freight Line got into the pod business a few years ago.That will give you another source for rates.

Family recently moved Florida to Oregon Via Pods. Told me they saved $$$ & way more convenient.

Thanks everyone for your replies.

Getting input with actual experience using the various methods of moving is what I was looking for and appreciate the advice.

My wife is still in Ohio house shopping, but we discussed selling off furniture to cut down on what needs to be moved and will most likely take this path.

Mark

I did this 7 years ago.

Ran all the numbers a pod was the cheapest.

Moved a pod full of stuff from MA to Florida.

Other players have moved into the market.

I checked partial truck load movers, POD, Uhaul and Penske with gas tolls mileage and fees,

There are at least 10 companies in the pod business now.

Several have mentioned tolls as an added expense with U-Haul. There are no tolls that I am aware of between Kansas and Ohio. Straight shot east on I-70.

quote:

Originally posted by Rob Decker:
Have you considered having a moving company do this for you?

When you factor in gas, tolls, hotels, any labor help, etc., it sounds a lot less ludicrous.

The wife's company paid for a moving company to move us about 300 miles. It was half a semi worth, they boxed and moved. It was the best thing in the world, I took care of moving the guns and pets, they boxed, moved, and unloaded a whole house in 3 days. It also cost around $25,000 6 years ago. They charge by weight, mileage, time. I think somewhere between 1/3 to 1/2 of that charge was actually hauling our stuff.

I'm pretty sure they fleeced the employer, but they did a spectacular job, nothing broken. Charged a $150 riding lawnmower fee to move our 10yr old push lawnmower, brought in 3rd party venders to custom crate and then uncrate plate glass and flat screen tv items, usually costing multiples of what the item cost new.

When we moved across town several years ago, I found a local company that supplies the HS football players if you rent the Budget/Uhaul/whatever truck. These type of outfits are usually very reasonable and worth it when you factor in your chiropractor bills for doing it yourself.

For short to medium moves our experience with Pods has been fantastic. I would consider the new freight versions but there is one drawback that I see: The pods are at ground level and the freight trucks will require a ramp (I guess)

Mark

Saw and ad for another type - Pack Rats

https://www.1800packrat.com

Also just saw this... UPack.com

I looked back in 2009 and Pods semmed pretty pricey but the competition might have driven prices down.

quote:

Originally posted by wcb6092:

quote:

Originally posted by shovelhead:
Check with ABF U-pack, part of ABF Freight. Have never used them, always did the U-Haul thing but I was a lot younger then.......

Also, Old Dominion Freight Line got into the pod business a few years ago.That will give you another source for rates.