How would you move a bed if you don't own a truck?

June 20, 2007 2:28 PM

What would you recomend for getting a bed from Atlanta, GA to Chattanooga, TN if you do not own a truck?

I am wanting to purchase a bed from IKEA, which I can purchase online, but it will cost almost $350 in shipping charges. I checked on renting a 1 way truck. U-Haul was the cheapest for about $150.

Would anyone in the Hive Mind have any other suggestions for me?

posted by slavlin to travel & transportation (11 comments total)

$150 for a uhaul sounds relatively cheap. I wonder if you did consider all those pesky per-mile charges. they really like to go to town on those.

I would suggest posting on craigslist or on a local college campus board. perhaps a student with a truck would be willing to transport it for you for a fee. I would want to meet them in person though if it's a valuable bed. you do want to at least be hopeful the thing arrives in one piece.

150 will be tough to beat.
posted by krautland at 2:35 PM on June 20, 2007

oh, I forgot: consider renting a truck from a place like budget or dollar (or, if everything else fails enterprise but reservations aren't reservations to them and you will often show up and they cheerily tell you they have a completely different vehicle for you).

a full-size flatbed truck should go for no more than $60/day.
posted by krautland at 2:36 PM on June 20, 2007

You have no friends with trucks? A case of beer (not during the trip!) and roadside meals would be enough for many friends to take a bed getting road trip.
posted by ODiV at 2:58 PM on June 20, 2007

I'd really consider adding the $150 to the cost of the Ikea bed, then taking that amount and buying a different bed locally. Do you really want to go through the hassle on top of the expense?

Plus, Ikea stuff is OK in a pinch, but does not really hold up all that well. Think of all the use you need to get out of a bed.
posted by jeff-o-matic at 3:14 PM on June 20, 2007

I'd 2nd the renting a flatbed truck idea.

jeff-o-matic is right too. Can you really not find a suitable replacement for the Ikea price + transport costs? A lot of local mattresses will ship the bed for free if you push for it.
posted by PFL at 3:23 PM on June 20, 2007

You should be able to rent a pickup truck from [national chain].

Once, I had to rent a moving truck to get a dead car from Portland to Seattle (cheapest tow was doing it myself). I had the idea, albeit a bit too late for it to work effectively, to "sublet" space on the moving truck. Advertised on craigslist, but no takers in the short amount of time I had. Shrug. With Craigslist, you've just got to get lucky.
posted by puddleglum at 3:31 PM on June 20, 2007

A flat deck is wild overkill for this purpose, any half ton pickup would do the job. Heck a minivan would work if the bed frame you want is sold knocked down and you don't have a queen foundation.

Rent from anyone with unlimited mileage. The trip is less than two hours so a single day local rental would do the job. Just make sure you can travel out of state, all the US car rentals I've had allowed me to go into directly adjoining states.
posted by Mitheral at 4:27 PM on June 20, 2007

I've lived both places, if you don't live within spitting distance of someone with a truck, or have a friend/coworker with a truck (or dad's truck, or something like that), then you're lying to us and don't actually live in the area at all ;)

However, I vote for looking for a local option too. Unless you just have to have the Ikea bed for some reason, you can find something locally that'll probably include delivery. there used to be tons of furniture stores around the malls/Brainerd Road/Gunbarrel Road...

Is there a particular bed you're looking for style-wise?
posted by pupdog at 4:29 PM on June 20, 2007

i've never bought a bed from ikea, but everything else i've bought from them has been "flat packed" so that it's in a long flat door-sized box. i've been able to bring everything home in a standard 4-door sedan with the back seats down or, if it's too wide, tied down to the roof.

but then again, i've also been willing to drive 500 miles with a mattress on top of my car.
posted by noloveforned at 5:26 PM on June 20, 2007

You could try uship, which is kind of like ebay for shipping. I have several friends that've had good experiences with it.
posted by Item at 10:43 PM on June 20, 2007

Another option if you have the car for it is a 1 day local rental of a trailer or renting a pickup from someplace like Home Depot; both should be significantly less than $150.
posted by TedW at 5:06 AM on June 21, 2007