(Topic ID: 132958)

UHaul vs. ABF UPack for home move (including pins of course)

By DUFUS

8 years ago



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  • 8 posts
  • 5 Pinsiders participating
  • Latest reply 8 years ago by Neal_W
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    #1 8 years ago

    Moving 2000+ miles. I posted here before thinking I'd go with a full service moving/van line service, but that's cost prohibitive. I'm retired, so there's no company paying for my move. So now I've narrowed my choices to those in the Title.
    What I like about UPack is convenience (you pack, they drive). What I'm wary of is crappy freight suspension beating the holy hell out of the games. Anyone have recent experiences with non air-ride long distance transport of pins?
    I feel UHaul MIGHT be a little more gentle of a ride, and I'd have complete control of delivery date. I have my doubts about ABF wrt logistics/exact day of delivery, thus could screw up lining up movers on the far end for the help I need in unpacking. UHaul would be cheaper also, even after factoring in gas $. Maybe enough to buy another pin. Of course, the big drawback to UHaul, is driving a UHaul truck. Just don't know that I can take it for that distance. If I think I might want to tow a car it gets even worse. Slower speeds, more cumbersome, multiple mountain ranges where I'd go mad crawling up them and be worrying about brakes going down them.
    Opinions?

    #2 8 years ago

    Had a pin shipped on a pallet from Texas to Michigan w/ABF...arrived with no issues. If..I where to use the Upack service, with a pin..I would load it near the front. The Tractors have air suspension on the rear axle..So, the front of that trailer will ride "softer". You don't want something at the rear of the trailer (no air ride). Abf uses 27' single axle trailers for the upacks..so it is a stiffer ride then lets say a 53' dual axle.
    I saw a video of a 55 gal drum of liquid (aprox 500 lbs) on the rear of a 27' single axle trailer with the door open, hitting a speed bump in parking lot at about 5mph, it bounced 2 ft up...(to show the drivers what's going on in the trailer). So, a lot depends on the driver to do things right.

    Once the trailer arrives at your destenation terminal they they are very good about a time window to deliver the trailer to your location.

    #3 8 years ago

    They really aren't that bad to drive. Just take a few more breaks and stop early to get a room. Hell if you have the room on the truck, keep the legs on one pin and when you stop for the night run an extension cord and play.

    Just my 2 credits.

    #4 8 years ago

    I have not moved pins, but have some good moving advice. I pack myself which is a good time to sort and throw lots of things away. (that is the hardest part, and I plan 3+ weeks of packing up at a minimum.) Remember, if you haven't opened a box since your last move - ditch it. (List what you have in your yard sale on Craigs List for good results, and donate whats left.)

    I rent a truck myself, and hire 2 guys for 5 hours labor to load and unload on each end, and drive the truck myself. If your just going across town use the same guys to unpack or if going to a new city, schedule labor there for your arrival.

    To get your car to the new destination, find a friend to drive it along with you, and pay their expenses.

    The truck rental I like is Ryder or Penske. Use the 800 number to make the reservation, and confirm locally a few days before. The local guys will accept the national rate, but if you call them directly, they will quote a much higher rate. I consider U-Hual sketchy and may not have a truck when you show up, so I avoid them.

    Use something like http://www.collegehunkshaulingjunk.com/ for the labor. As I recall, you can pick the guys you want based on their feedback and hourly rate. Check with them, you may need to rent a dolly with the truck, since they probably don't bring one.

    To get moving boxes, check Craigs list daily for people giving them away, as long as they are in a garage, or just put out that day. After your move, put your dry boxes on Craigs list. It is an easy way to get rid of them. Also you can get 10 bankers boxes at the office store for about $10 if necessary. Moving stores sell bigger boxes for big items, but those are much more expensive.

    Label the boxes clearly so you can direct the movers to exactly which room to put it. It's easy for them and your unpack goes much easier when there is not a big mountain of boxes in one place.

    You can do a big move for under $2000 versus 10x that for a moving company. Definitely load the pins near the front.

    Hope this helps.

    #5 8 years ago

    Thanks for the replies. I have one other "self" moving company I'm going to check with, Broadway Express. The price they quoted is in the ABF UPack ballpark but they use the big boy air-ride moving trailers. That would put to rest one concern, but raises another. I'm not sure such a truck can get into my driveway(s). That would be a deal breaker at the new house. The driveway is inclined enough to where another truck would be needed to transport each major/heavy item the final 100 yards or so. Ugh. Seems like a PITA, and more $ in unloading labor.
    Rest assured, plenty of stuff I have will not make the cut to be transported, and will be sold or donated. My pins aren't anything special, no A-Titles, but any machine in good condition at a decent price is difficult enough to find to begin with. Even more so around where I'm moving to. That's why I want to take them with me, vs just selling EVERYTHING, and taking that money along with the money saved by not moving and apply towards new stuff. It wouldn't go far.
    Being the DUFUS I am, I actually upsized homes in retirement. So I have a lot of room to fill, including a sprawling 2nd MBR that will make a great gameroom. One of the factors in deciding to buy the place. But now I have less $ for toys to put in it.
    First world problems...

    #6 8 years ago

    Local move w/ a UHaul truck that had a lift gate. Traveled just 15-20 miles but the pins didnt budge. For a long range trip id secure them a bit more.

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    #7 8 years ago
    Quoted from ZenTron:

    Local move w/ a UHaul truck that had a lift gate. Traveled just 15-20 miles but the pins didnt budge. For a long range trip id secure them a bit more.

    Yeah, if it was local, or even say < 1K miles and flat, I'd certainly be renting a truck. But as it is, 2K+ miles, solo, just don't know that I want to deal with it. Northern IL to the Olympic Peninsula WA. Having made the round trip in my car twice now (and more to come), I'm noticing the amount of mountain passes and river valleys that have to be traversed. I really don't want to be in that line of semis going 20 mph in those cases. And when the speed limit is 80, I like to go 80. Good ol' SD and WY.

    But who knows. The option is still in play. I've got about two months to figure it out. I have to prep pinball machines, etc. either way, so I better get at that one of these weeks.

    #8 8 years ago
    Quoted from ZenTron:

    Local move w/ a UHaul truck that had a lift gate. Traveled just 15-20 miles but the pins didnt budge. For a long range trip id secure them a bit more.

    Yikes, one strap holding 7 or 8 pins @2000+lbs, looks unsafe unless there were items packed all around to prevent shifting. Not much to prevent those center pins form careening right if an emergency maneuver was necessary to avoid a crash.

    I would add a strap on the back legs of each pin to the wall at a minimum, even for a short trip. Glad you made it safe.

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