Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with uhaul

What is a Cheap/Reliable Way to Move Out of State?

mephesta — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 21:04:34 -0800

I will soon be moving from Southern California to Spokane, WA to attend Law School. I am looking for a good (cheap reliable) way for my wife and I to move some of our belongings up there. We don't have too much stuff; bed, a couch that is 7feet long and 2 50"tv's as well as a variety of boxes containing clothes and things.

We have looked at Uhaul and also getting one of those pods that you can pack yourself but they both would end up costing around $2000 from the few estimates I've gotten.

If anyone has a cheaper way, company or idea, or can just recommend some information from past experience that would be a huge help!

Thank you very much!

Truck Nutz not included

emilyd22222 — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 07:47:07 -0800

Help me find cost-effective hitch/trailer or truck options. I will be moving from Cleveland to Champaign IL in early August with an apartment's worth of boxes, a couch, and a dining room table. My dad will be helping me move, and we are planning on either putting a hitch on his car (2009 Toyota Rav4 AWD) and towing a trailer, or towing his car behind a truck. I will be driving separately in a very small car that is unable to tow a trailer. He needs to bring his car to Champaign, as we can't afford a truck plus air fare back to Cleveland.

I'm frustrated that so far I've been unable to find rental options that aren't more expensive than the value of the couch and table. UHaul is about 300 for hitch + trailer, plus installation costs (which seems to be one potential area to save, although I don't have the first clue about how to install a hitch), and about 500 for a truck + car towing apparatus. Penske seems less expensive to tow the car, but they don't offer hitches from what I can see.

Any ideas? I'm open to other money-saving moving tips as well.

Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled pooches, yearning to bark free.

TomMelee — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 20:14:58 -0800

Big move, 3 dogs, suggestions? Hello folks. It looks fairly likely that I'll be taking a job that will move me from WV to FL. The good news is that there is very little I want to take. I shall elucidate:
Self. Maybe 5-10 changes of clothes. Blanket or 2. Desktop Computer. PSP. Bicycle. PS3, 38" flatscreen. Girlfriend, and probably the greatest volume of all: fishing stuff.

Now for the kicker: 3 dogs.

No, really. There's nothing else worth taking. I'll be giving away almost everything I own from appliances to gadgets and tools and whatever. This is me starting over, committing belonging seppoku. I'll be hopefully moving into a furnished house, or I won't. I'll be managing a store where I can get all that stuff for free or cheap anyway.

Really though, 3 dogs. 1 Weighs 40lbs. One weighs 47lbs. One weighs 65lbs. One has bad hips. One is insane, but very well behaved. Really they're all well behaved. We used to take 3 hour car rides all the time, no issues. That was when I had an SUV with a dedicated DOG section though. Now I've got a 2004 dodge stratus.

They'll be paying me about $3000 in relocation expenses, so I'm guessing it's ryder truck and dolly, yucky. I can't crate the dogs in the back of the truck, can I? I can't rent a truck that'll let dogs in the cab, can I? I was thinking of buying an SUV this winter, but I won't need one in FL, seems like kind of a waste. I would just rent a 15 passenger van, but then I have to drive it back. Does anyone do one-way rentals of those?

Lend me your suggestions. I'm thinking of just UPS'ing everything to myself and driving down in the car---but I think 3 dogs and 2 people in a 5 seater car is a little...rough. I could get a separator bar though, I guess.

Oh right and a one-way plane ticket is less than $200, but I suppose I should move my car since I'm paying for it...and 3 dogs on a plane sounds expensive.

(btw I've lived in the same town now for 22 years. Never done more than an across-town move since I was 5. Eep!)(BTW Pensacola meetup in a month or 2 anyone?)

Cancel a reservation on uhaul.com?

amusem — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 14:19:15 -0800

Is it possible to cancel a uhaul truck reservation on the uhaul website? It does not seem to be possible. I ask because the wait to cancel over the phone is interminable. Thank you.

Help me pick a route into Manhattan

rustcellar — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 22:25:11 -0800

NYC Move: I'm driving a UHaul from Brooklyn to Morningside Heights in Manhattan. What's the best route? Alright, the big move is here. We're going from Bay Ridge to the Columbia area in Morningside Heights. What's the best route? We're driving a 14' UHaul truck (described here). Google Maps sends us on the BQE, through the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel, and up the West Side Highway all the way to 92nd street. I gather trucks aren't allowed for part of the West Side Highway, so how far can I go (I'm getting conflicted information) and what should I do when I can't use the highway?

This will be around 7:30 pm on a weekday, if that makes a difference.

Many thanks, MeFi New Yorkers!

Looking for experiences with Zipcar or similar services in NYC.

GilloD — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 11:26:31 -0800

Renting a Zipcar in NYC: Good idea, bad idea? Looking for experiences, anecdotes and suggestions. More inside. My wife and I just moved into a new apartment with a couple of folks from Europe. As a result, they're bed-less. What's more, in a few weeks we'll have to move our own Queen sized mattress as well as a couch and some other large-sized furniture items.

This usually wouldn't be an issue except we're car-less and in New York. Now, I'm not against trying to get a mattress home on the subway, but 3 mattresses and a couch? No way.

We're considering Zipcar because it's relatively inexpensive, they carry large vehicles and we don't have to manically schedule everything into one trip ala UHaul. A lot of our furniture is becoming available at different times, so being able to do a trip this week and then two months from now would be a huge benefit.

I snooped around a bit and got a lot of different opinions. Some people adored Zipcar, others made it sound like a DIY Chinatown Bus. More, a lot of the opinions seemed to come from 3 or more years ago.

What I'm looking for are recent experiences with Zipcar or alternate suggestions for getting large pieces of furniture to-and-fro in NYC on mutliple dates without breaking the bank.

move me!

loiseau — Sat, 28 Jul 2007 13:07:03 -0800

Canada + moving truck rental + interprovincial move = only u-haul? I'm moving from Toronto to Montreal at the end of August and have been calling everywhere trying to find a company to rent a small truck from. I've got a one-bedroom apartment and I think I would need a small cube van - I have a double bed and couch and stuff so I think a cargo/panel van might be too small. Based on estimates I've gotten online it sounds like about 2000lbs of stuff but I'm not sure what area that would take up.

I've called all the biggies (National, Budget, Hertz, etc.) and the only place I can find that allows the pickup in Toronto and drop-off in Montreal is u-haul. But I've heard so many bad things about u-haul and I'm a little scared of them. Mostly, the fact that you can't rely on a truck being available on the day of your move does not sit well with me. ("You know how to take the reservation, but you don't know how to hold the reservation. And the holding, that's the most important part.")

Does anyone know of other similar companies in Canada? The only one I've read about is Penske but in Canada they only do local (same location drop-off) moves.

When I moved here from Montreal 4 years ago I borrowed a mini-van but I didn't have the furniture I do now, so I'm forced to do a REAL move.

I should re-state that this is a move within Canada so while I appreciate helpful American friends, probably your suggestions won't apply here.

Thank you!

Towing a trailer at highway speed?

nebulawindphone — Sun, 10 Jun 2007 17:56:45 -0800

UHaul cites 45 MPH as the "recommended maximum speed" for towing their trailers. What's the reason for this recommendation, and is there any safe way to go faster? Let's say I wanted to tow a trailer safely at 55 or 60 MPH on the interstate.

Would I need better equipment than UHaul offers? Modifications to my car's engine or brakes? ('95 4WD Legacy wagon, if it matters.) Specialized driving skills? All told, how much practice or preparation could I expect it to take?

Or is that sort of speed really unreasonable for anyone with any gear?

To U-Haul, or not to U-Haul?

JPowers — Wed, 16 Aug 2006 13:17:27 -0800

In about a year, I'll be moving from Waco, TX to Los Angeles. Is U-Haul my cheapest option? I'll probably need at least a 17-foot truck, maybe even a 24 footer.

Moving services from DC to Colorado?

hokie409 — Tue, 13 Dec 2005 08:01:52 -0800

Help me choose moving services for my DC small condo to Colorado? I’m moving from Washington DC to Denver CO. I have a 1 bedroom condo in DC with furniture that I’m not sure if it’s worth it to keep for the move.

I have:
2 couches**
Coffee table*
Full Bed*
Reclining chair
8x12 foot rug
Dresser**
2 shelves**
Treadmill*
2 kayaks
3 snowboards
Flat screen TV and stereo
Various other stuff in a 6x8 foot storage room *
Lots of books
Dining room table*
Kitchen appliances and dishes

I’ve marked the items I’m totally ready to get rid of with 2 ** and the ones I’m planning on replacing w/in the year with a 1*.

A 10 foot truck from Uhaul is $1450 and a 14 foot truck is $1570. A POD from pod.com came in at a whopping $4300.

I will have no problem packing a truck but I would rather not drive a truck. I know there are shared truck services but I’m not sure which ones are safe and reasonably priced. Would I be able to fit my stuff in one of those shared trucks? Would my TV/Stereo and kitchen stuff be safe?

Finally, I do have an old car I can drive there but I’d rather replace that also when I get there as I don’t really drive now but I would have to in Denver. Neither car would be able to pull a trailer.

Any comments on how much space it sounds like I need? Recommendations for specific types of services or specific companies?

What's the best way to move 2000 books cheaply?

warhol — Mon, 19 Jan 2004 16:24:44 -0800

I'm moving about 2000 miles across the continental US and I have around 2000 books. What's the cheapest way for me to get them there? Just get my movers to do it (lots of weight), ship 'em via book rate at the post office, rent a uhaul and drive? Advice appreciated. Selling them isn't an option.