Planning move from San Diego to Northern California. Allied estimator said he had no problem; but the official estimate says ammunition prohibited. Have not called them yet to discuss; and will be getting another estimate from a different company.

Grok says neither state nor federal laws prohibit it, but almost all movers won’t knowingly take it due to liability issues. Grok also says would void insurance if there were a fire.
Ammo would be in heavy duty boxes that look like toolboxes and tool chests.

I could fit it all in the minivan and drive it up, but not wild about it.
Does anyone have any experience dealing with this.
I have what is probably a low-average amount of ammo for SigForum.

I should add all the “toys” have already been moved to a safe in nor Cal.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: sjtill,

What's your issue with taking it yourself? Overnight stops are my main concern about traveling with firearms and ammo, but I'd figure a way to do it rather than possibly pissing off your movers.

It's one reason I prefer sedans with trunks over minivans or SUV's.

Who says you have put it in the moving truck? Put it in your personal vehicle(s).

I just remembered there's a company called PODS that provides storage containers that you load yourself, they pick it up and deliver it for you. You could put the valuables at the end of the pod farthest from the door, stack the rest of your goodies on top and around them, nobody will be the wiser since they don't unpack the pod, just deliver it for you.

Check with them.

Last time I moved...20+ years ago...they came out with a PODS and helped us load.

IIRC I got the guys cool drinks and they turned around while I put my ammo in...maybe it was the $20 I gave them for lunch

I ran into the same BS when I moved. I was moving most of the ammo myself over a couple of weeks but the company that did the main moving said: “No ammo.”
I told them that this was just primers and powder - not ammo. Somehow that made all the difference.

Boxed up “stuff” remains in the boxes until you unpack it. Guns are tools, the ammo is just part of that tool.
Unless the moving company truck gets hit by a train, there isn’t a problem. Fires involving ammo are ho-hum events to fire crews. The odds are favorable for your side.

Don’t tell them its ammo.

Similar issue when I moved from NH to AZ

quote:

Originally posted by newtoSig765:
I just remembered there's a company called PODS that provides storage containers that you load yourself, they pick it up and deliver it for you.

U-Haul also does that. Load the pods at your convenience. They'll pick them up as you progress and ship to the U-Haul at your intended destination to await your arrival.

While you could probably sneak the ammo onto the moving truck by lying to the movers is that really the right thing to do?

Many years ago I worked for a moving company to put myself through college and for a short while after that. We had the contract to move military personal in and out of what was at the time Pease AFB and Devens (Army?). Many of the guys we moved owned personal weapons and of course ammo. It was the policy of the moving company even back then to not handle ammo so they found other ways to transport them.

If you’ve already moved your guns why can’t you do the same with the ammo? Even if it takes 2 trips. Another possible alternative is to rent a truck…

The moving company I used would have taken firearms but not ammo. I would not have let them take my guns so they all went in the truckbed first, then ammo, then other stuff. The Diamondback cover let me sleep a little easier at the hotel on the way and at rest stops. The one thing I didn't consider was the weight until I was loaded and saw how much the truck was squatting, the truck and I were relieved when I offloaded, I felt the weight coming through the mountains.
A friend of mine just didn't tell the movers and had no issues.

Just hope the truck/pod doesn't burn in transit and leave you holding the bag for not adhering to their rules.

I'd drive it, even if it meant renting a small pull behind trailer.

We moved from San Antonio to Georgia in 2018. The moving company prohibited ammunition. No problem, I had no intention of them doing so.

All ammunition, over 60,000 rounds, was in the U-Haul trailer I towed with my truck.

Firearms were taken into the hotel room at the midway point. My truck and trailer were parked outside our first floor room with alarms connected to the trailer.

When we moved back to North Dallas, I rented a large Penske truck, hired local labor to load the truck, and drove everything myself. We hired local labor to unload here.

The guys on both ends were curious what was in the numerous heavy ammo cans. I told them "Hobby supplies" When they loaded and unloaded the gun safes, I think the figured it out.

Not moving ammo, firearms, or chemicals is a very common stipulation for moving companies.

When I moved in 2020, my moving company was the same way. I ended up renting a Uhaul panel van and transporting all the ammo, guns, and chemicals myself.

Layers of ammo cans, crates, and cases on the bottom. Layers of guns on top with towels and blankets to pad between the layers. And a couple large ice chests filled with chemical bottles.

Wife and i are prepping to move from CA to TN in the spring.

Between a safe full of guns, ammo cans full, reloading components, and two full-size dogs, we have some planning to contemplate for the 2-3 night trip.

We are thinking about renting an RV. Sleep nearly anywhere and no need to worry about retardants in the parking lot

What is the estimated total weight of the ammo and containers?

From personal experience, they will move the firearms but not the ammo. (They had a procedure for the guns that would stay locked in the safe.) Same with anything else combustible.

They will not take gas cans unless they are new. Same with motor oil still in the box. Propane tanks are a no-go.

They were OK with my generator as long as it had little or no gas in the tank.

No primers or powder.

I will also state that they do not open any boxes or containers to see what is inside. If it is heavy, just let them know the box is really heavy.

We moved in 2018 and the mover was the same. Went from NC to TX.
I put the ammo in the bed of my truck( it’s all in ammo cans), and all the things they wouldn’t moved(anything liquid), the powder and primers were inside the cab, and a few boxes of stuff for an apartment as our house wasn’t done yet. Guns went into her cars trunk.
We did the drive in 3 days because of the dog.
At night we parked her car right in front of the door to the hotels, and just put a tarp on my truck.

Was I worried-yes. Did everything come out ok-yes.

2 years ago neighbor up the block moved back to Washington State. They used PODS. Paulette called one day and me, tom, her & another neighbor, walked his ammo into the POD and built an ammo pile in the middle of the POD by lining the thing with furniture. Right next to his safe-we used golfballs to move it..

She called when they got situated and said they had to sneak the stuff out at night so the neighbors wouldn’t know. And she was happy about the golfball trick. (Take furring strips and make a “road” then dump a buncha golfballs and you can roll a safe anywhere).

I’m sure they discourage ammo and guns too-which is why they hid it.

I think it depends on the quantity...
You could probably get away with a couple of well-packed tool boxes but not a monumental cache.

Eight years ago, I moved from CA to TX and after getting bids from 3 different moving companies, we decided to get rid of a lot of our old belongings, and move ourselves, taking three trips total to move stuff, cars, and firearms/ammo. Our 2nd trip, my son (on Xmas break from college) and I drove my Tacoma pickup (with camper shell) towing a Uhaul 8'box trailer non stop to Texas, both truck and trailer filled with long guns, reloading equipment and supplies, and ammo. My son and I took turns driving with me doing the bulk of it, we off loaded the reloading stuff and ammo at my storage unit, and stored the truck and firearms at my friends house. My son flew back to college and I flew back home. It was well worth the effort, nothing was lost or damaged. On our 3rd trip, the final one out of CA, my wife and I had a 15' Uhaul towing her car, along with all of our handguns and some ammo, again we drove non stop.