how are you moving self with U-haul or trailer and vechicle, have checked with pods this i found info last year to compare your choice.
I just moved 2300 miles using PODs, here is what I learned.
Experience & Tips
I moved from Cincinnati to Seattle about a month ago and figured I would share my experience/what worked or didn’t work here.
After researching a lot of moving companies I decided to use a POD shipping container. Overall I’m happy with how things went, but here is the breakdown of pros and cons:
PRO: Cheap - total cost including 1 month of storage was just under $3,000. I got the largest size pod (16 feet) for a 1200 sqft apartment. This was more than enough, I could have gone smaller and saved money.
Reliable - I was not at all worried about some sketchy moving company “having their truck break down” or handling my stuff poorly. That being said, YOU are responsible for making sure your stuff arrives safely. I spent a long time packaging all my breakables and used a ton bungee cords and ratchet straps to fully secure my things in the pods. Everything arrived in good shape, sans one broken dresser leg (pack you dresser upside down!)
Storage - I was not comfortable finding a rental sight unseen, so I stored my pod for a month ($200) and lived in a furnished apartment I found on furnishedfinder while looking for a place. This allowed me to see 10+ apartments in person and I ended up with a place I’m really happy with.
CONs
Delivery - if you’re moving to a dense city it is very possible you will not be able to get your pod delivered. To deliver it they need a space 12ft wide, 40ft long, and 15 (really 16) feet of vertical clearance. I found a rental with a driveway, and was thinking “sweet this will be easy!”. I scheduled my delivery but when the guy showed up he couldn’t drop off the pod due to some low hanging telephone wires. In some places you can get permits to put it in street parking spots, they also offer a street delivery where they will park it on a road for 4 hours while you unload it, which costs $599. I ended up hiring a moving company to go to the pod storage facility, unload my pod and deliver my things to me. This added $730 to my total cost, bringing it to about $3500
Labor - you will be loading and unloading everything yourself. It’s going to be hard if you have a lot of furniture and you will likely need help so just remember to include that while comparing costs. Task rabbit is great for this.
TIPS Use moisture removers, especially if you are planning to store your pod. I bought 5 hanging ones for closets and they were all completely full when it arrived.
Use moving blankets to protect furniture
Pack all of your boxes fully so you can stack them to the top of the pod. While packing write heavy/bottom or light/top so you know how to layer them in the pod.
Place wooden furniture with their legs pointing up. *someone in the comments said this isn’t a good idea. The movers I hired told me it would have prevented the damage for my specific dresser, YMMV
However many straps you think you need… use more.
Hope this is helpful to someone, happy moving!
Edit to add more info from the comments: Uhaul Ubox is another good option that may be even cheaper
The 16ft pods have a weight limit of 4,200 lbs, the smaller pods have higher weight limits
Get as many of the same size boxes as you can for the best stacking
Note : packing books use liquier boxes go to locale hopstial and ask for the medicial carboard boxes for dishes with white packing so not to wash the ink off news print or use news paper an wash dishes, can use it for filler on bottom and each layer of dishes with cups around plates bunch paper in crinkle balls. 2300Mi you 724 Mi
i see is less distance above, and person is correct turn over furnature or use a saw and 2x4 (stacked making 4x4) to support legs and nail to floor only like a pedisile with wood in T form is way and heavy piceses and more to even the load bearing on bottom. correct brace with rachet straps for pod is 50° angle loading so pack it tight to the door make a plywood wall and fill the space infront of plywood with blankets old sheets.
Note barn doors for a roll-up need to use 4x4 in X pattern on the plywood so not to jam the roll-up door with 4x4 fit tight against door frame
happy moving day, make sure nothing move inside pod like vacuum pack.
