U Haul: When You’re Too Cheap (Like Me) To Hire A Professional Moving Company U Haul
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I have some old Viking blood in my veins which became Scottish at one fork in my family tree and I have been pretty skimpy with spending money ever since. This especially applies to moving from one location to another.
I have moved every 4-5 years or so over the last 35 years, and I have always used either a U-Haul or a Ryder truck to do so. Some of my friends hire professionals to do their moving for them, but as long as I am healthy I can’t see paying out 2-3 times as much money when I can do it myself. If I ever get to where my health is gone maybe I’ll do that, but until then I’ll do my own moving.
The last time I moved, two months ago, I used U-Haul. It was a good experience; probably the best one I’ve had yet with a do-it-yourself mover.
The best way to do this, I have found, is to go to a place like U-Haul a few weeks before the move; maybe even a couple of months before the move. Put down a cash deposit ($80.00 in my case) on a truck (having picked the size truck you expect to hold all your beloved junk) and sign a paper telling when you will pick up the truck and pay the rest.
Then, a few days before you go to pick up your truck, I have found it to be a good idea to call the U-Haul place and verify that yes, there will be a truck waiting for you the day you go in to pick it up.
You see, no matter what they tell you, things can foul up. Once I had packed boxes for two weeks and then just drove down to the U-haul place like Mr. Innocent, only to be told, “Oooops! I guess someone forgot about your size truck sir…er…it’ll be two days before we can get you another one like it.” Well, I raised sand for ten minutes with the people and they got on the ball and called a neighboring truck depot 45 miles away and 3 hours later I had my truck. I hate to put pressure on people but when they mess up and I’m on a deadline sometimes the tone of my voice rises a bit. Anyway, the lesson is not that these are bad people or this is a bad company. The lesson is that human beings everywhere forget things, misplace sheets of paper, and computers and other gadgets can foul up. So call a few days ahead and let them know that what you have ordered had better be there or else they will have a disappointed (and potentially sandraising, but you don’t have to spell that out!) customer on their hands.
Anyway, on my last move the truck was ready as promised. U-haul had a clean, new one for me and it was great: power everything, clean, and air-conditioned (I was going to cross a burning desert, with my dog in a cage on the seat beside me, so that helped). The attendant and I did a stem-to-stern checkout of the truck including checking for damage marks, I paid the rest of the money, and he turned the keys and the paperwork over to me.
Don’t lose that paperwork. I know it sounds dumb to say this, but in the hassle of a move it is very easy to lose the paperwork on the truck. Don’t.
You load your U-Haul truck like this: You put the heavy stuff (Like books, etc.) in the front (cab) end and then you put your furniture in the middle and you put the rest (bicycles, lawn chairs, etc.) in the end. Wrap your scratchable furniture good in blankets or pads U-Haul can sell you. EXPECT THINGS TO MOVE IN WAYS YOU DON’T WANT THEM TO inside the moving van and ask yourself:
“If things get jarred around in here when I have to put on emergency braking behind a jacknifing semi-truck, how do I want the stuff to move so as to cause the least damage?”
Most of the time you won;t have a problem with shifting stuff in the van, but Murphy’s law being what it is, some day it will.
I was almost strung up and hung by a certain family member when a certain piano was damaged in a move because it wasn’t secured properly, so expect the unexpected and prepare for the worst…it may in fact happen, but you can do a lot of damage control with a little planning and asking “What if?”
Here are a couple or three tips.
First: If at all possible, move your VERY fragile stuff like dishes in your CAR, rather than in the van. You can control the road shock to the contents better.
Second: Do the same thing to your computer software and hardware. Don’t make them bang around in the bed of the moving van where things tend to go crazy sometimes. Better to transport that stuff in the cushy back seat of an air-conditioned car.
Third: Use those big boxes that U-Haul sells to move your clothes in. These are like big cheap closets and when you get to your destination you can set them up and unload them at your leisure. Much better than having your clothes in big messy garbage bags or loose and open or something.
Now, as to driving the truck. Be familiar with all the traffic and safety laws, of course, and watch out when coming to overpasses and bridges and ESPECIALLY GARAGES AT YOUR NEW HOUSE OR APARTMENT that you don’t bang the top of the van against something too low.
Allow LOTS of clearance with your truck, take LOTS of time to change lanes and maneuver in traffic, and plan of using LOTS of fuel.
Another tip: Use a pair of handheld radios to communicate from moving van to car if your spouse or friend is driving the car with you as you go. If you want to read about a great little walkie-talkie, scroll back through my epinions to one I did about 6 months ago on the MOTOROLA SPIRIT and that one is great for jobs like this. That way you can do many things safely and much more conveniently.
When you get to your destination, U-Haul is often pretty generous about giving you ample time to unload the truck and return it to them. That’s great. Clean up the truck good after you unload it, MAKE SURE YOU HAVE THE PAPERWORK, refill it with gas to the mark where it was when you received it, and take it back.
Normally there is no hassle when you turn it in. Always give the people ALL of the required paperwork and be completely honest about the drive and report any abnormalities. Usually the folks on the receiving end of the trip will be glad to get the new arrival, and will want to see you happy so they can get the business from you again the next time you have to move.
My experience with U-haul this summer was about as good as I could expect. I would recommend them highly to you. Again, get your reservation in for your truck well in advance and check on it a few days before you take delivery. Happy moving!
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