Do it yourself… or not? U Haul

Great for Local Moves

In the past, all of our moving has been done locally - in and around the Boston area. So we’ve had occasion to try several do-it-yourself - i.e., empty trucks.

Ryder was a bust. We reserved the truck well ahead of time with a credit card. We got there the day of, and voila - no truck. The guy behind the desk didn’t seem particularly concerned by this. After a few minutes he finally agreed to lackadaisically try calling a few other Ryder places in the area to try to get us our truck, but then explained that they all compete with each other so no one would help him. Sure enough, no one would give us a truck.

So we walked over a couple of streets to U-Haul. Not only did they have a truck, but it was about $20-30 cheaper (I think it cost us about $40) for a larger truck, and they were nice. I’ve used U-Haul several other times, always with great results. The trucks have been reasonably clean, the people have been friendly (for Boston), and the prices have been great. The ride is sometimes a little rough, but then this is a truck, not a luxury car.

The Website Rocks

http://www.uhaul.com/

Visit it today if you’re planning to move - even if you’re using professional .

You can check rates and find the U-Haul location nearest you. There’s an equipment guide to help you figure out what size truck you need. There’s U-Haul self-, no deposit needed. You’ll find descriptions of everything you can get from your local U-Haul people, like furniture dollies, furniture pads, and appliance dollies, including price of rental. You’ll find information on getting propane cylinders refilled, and you’ll find message boards on things like moving tips, city living, and “college connection.”

Now, for this particular upcoming move, we’re going to be using professional . So you may be wondering why the interest in U-Haul.

You see, they also sell and on their website.

You can buy different size boxes in bundles (oh boy, did we need book box bundles!). You can buy them in kits, too! The “smart start kit” includes pretty much all of the basics: small boxes, medium boxes, box tape (buy extra, though, if you like to tape your boxes securely), bubble wrap, box markers, and utility knife. The “household kit” includes a dish barrel box, some large boxes (sometimes you just don’t need a whole bundle), a couple of extra large boxes, and more tape. The “bedroom kit” has a couple of small boxes, some mediums, larges, extra larges, “shorty wardrobe boxes,” and more tape. There’s even a “protection plus kit.” It has lots of clean wrapping paper, more bubble wrap, cushion foam, and a “cell kit” for dishes and glassware to be used with the dish barrel in the household kit. (If you have lots of breakable stuff, I recommend getting a second protection plus kit.)

Us, we got the “master pak kit,” which is one each of the above. You can buy extra tape, as well.

Not to mention accessories: box markers w/knife, work gloves, bubble wrap, “stretch wrap,” picture kits, furniture pads, peanuts, “washer tub stabilizer,” tarps and furniture covers, security locks, tie-downs, and supplies.

It only took three business days for our supplies to arrive.

Pros and Cons of Do-It-Yourself vs. Professional

Do-It-Yourself isn’t a good idea for everyone.

Do you have lots of large furniture? You might want to go with a professional . Most people eventually accrete enough stuff that moving themselves is no longer a viable option.

Do you know what you’re doing? I’ve seen people do some pretty stupid stuff while moving themselves and others: tearing up floors by skidding book cases along them. Trying to lift dressers full of stuff by tipping them forward, so drawers full of things came crashing out. heavy things like books in large boxes. Tossing around boxes marked “fragile.” Failing to pack fragile things adequately.

Do you have the money for a professional ? Professional do cost money. If you aren’t sure whether or not you can afford it, I recommend trying Monster Moving (http://www.monstermoving.com/). You can use a little tool they have to get estimated moving costs from different companies. It’ll at least give you an idea of your ball-park figure. Do call around to multiple companies and get estimates. Try to find a company that does guaranteed estimates so you don’t have a huge surprise waiting for you. And, of course, ask around and look around to find out whether that company is reliable.

Us, we’re going to use professional this time around, but we’re everything ourselves to save a little money. We are, however, getting all the proper boxes and protective cushioning to make sure we pack everything correctly! Better to pay for extra bubble-wrap than to have things break because they weren’t packed well enough. And we couldn’t have done that, at least not easily, without U-Haul.

Tags: mover, movers, moving supplies, packing, storage

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