Moving Cross Country: Any discounts on PODS or other moving options?

BrerDan

BrerDan

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Hey everyone!

I'll be moving from Alabama to California soon and have never done a major move like this. We have about a 3 bedroom's home worth of stuff to move--so it's not a small move. I like the concept of PODS (where you pack a truck and they transport it), but that would cost over $5,000.

Does anyone have any promotion codes for PODS or similar services, or any suggestions on cheap/easy alternatives?

Thanks!

Dan
 
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I'll be doing the same (only moving from GA to CA) in about 9 months. I'm trying to avoid renting and driving a truck (since I've got to take a car as well!), so any PODS type suggestions would help me as well.
 
MightySlacker just recently did the move from Cali to Ohio (I think it was Ohio), so he might be a good person to ask about long distance hauls.
 
If you want to save on packing materials, you can go behind stores and look for cardboard only dumpsters. These can have plenty of boxes. I did this recently when I needed some boxes. Don't try big chain stores though, since they will likely have a compactor.

Maybe you should try looking for a truck rental company that has tractor trailors that you can get and they provide the driver. I've seen people use those before.
 
Thanks for the replies....I really like the concept of the Pods--they are just so costly. I located a competitor through Google--but they only operate on the West Coast right now. I'm trying to get there, darn it!! :)

If I find any promotion codes for Pods, I'll followup with them here (they have a space on their order from for such codes).

--Dan
 
[quote name='BrerDan']Thanks for the replies....I really like the concept of the Pods--they are just so costly. I located a competitor through Google--but they only operate on the West Coast right now. I'm trying to get there, darn it!! :)

If I find any promotion codes for Pods, I'll followup with them here (they have a space on their order from for such codes).

--Dan[/QUOTE]

I really doubt you're going to get a huge discount on it.(i understand even a 10 percent is 500 dollars). you're also paying for them to pick it up and take it where they are going so i can see where it'd cost 5000 (that just seems like the cost for the driver and the truck and a little profit.. they do use like big trucks right?) If you have someone going with you.. just get the cheap 200 dollar a day truck packing.. it may not be "what you really want and not nearly as cool" but if its a matter of major money why spend that much ... you can make it cheaper because you can put the car on the back of the truck (or you can have someone drive the car to CA with you).. i mean.. there are alternatives.. i'd rather just rent a truck.. (since you got to physically move yourself across the country anyway.. and you're always near your stuff).. i'd be worried that they might "misplace" your POD with all your valuables in it.. but good luck either way.
 
Thanks for the input. It really is a tough call. We're pretty tight with money because of the move (well--we are anyway, but...). We're moving to a very expensive area and every dollar is going to count. That being said, we've gone the U-Haul type rout before and the larger trucks (which we would need) are NOT easy to drive long distances. Given how far we have to move, we'd be talking 3 12-hour driving days in a row--plus vehicles full of pets to boot. We'll each have to drive separately too since we have two cars (unless we ship one--but that would cost another $1,000).

So, do we save about $3,000 which we really do need, or do we put ourselves through the difficulty of driving a rental truck?

It's a tough call!

--D

[quote name='urzishra14']I really doubt you're going to get a huge discount on it.(i understand even a 10 percent is 500 dollars). you're also paying for them to pick it up and take it where they are going so i can see where it'd cost 5000 (that just seems like the cost for the driver and the truck and a little profit.. they do use like big trucks right?) If you have someone going with you.. just get the cheap 200 dollar a day truck packing.. it may not be "what you really want and not nearly as cool" but if its a matter of major money why spend that much ... you can make it cheaper because you can put the car on the back of the truck (or you can have someone drive the car to CA with you).. i mean.. there are alternatives.. i'd rather just rent a truck.. (since you got to physically move yourself across the country anyway.. and you're always near your stuff).. i'd be worried that they might "misplace" your POD with all your valuables in it.. but good luck either way.[/QUOTE]
 
[quote name='BrerDan']Thanks for the input. It really is a tough call. We're pretty tight with money because of the move (well--we are anyway, but...). We're moving to a very expensive area and every dollar is going to count. That being said, we've gone the U-Haul type rout before and the larger trucks (which we would need) are NOT easy to drive long distances. Given how far we have to move, we'd be talking 3 12-hour driving days in a row--plus vehicles full of pets to boot. We'll each have to drive separately too since we have two cars (unless we ship one--but that would cost another $1,000).

So, do we save about $3,000 which we really do need, or do we put ourselves through the difficulty of driving a rental truck?

It's a tough call!


--D[/QUOTE]

Seriously... tow one car behind the Uhaul and ship the other car.
 
I just wonder how much the gas is going to cost once you rent the truck. Those big trucks take a lot of it (not to mention the extra car that may or may not be driving along).
 
I'm also going to be doing a cross country move in a couple months, so I'm interested in whatever information you find out. I don't have that much stuff (it can all fit in a van) since I lived in a dorm room for most of the time, so my situation is different than OP's. I was thinking of just selling the bigger things and shipping the rest. If anyone else has advice on that, it would be greatly appreciated.
 
Even with gas, it's still going to be WAY more cost efficient to move yourself. Penske always seems to have the better deals, much better than U-Haul. I would hire some local movers on each end, which will probably cost you $200-300 at each location and will save your energy and back, trust me, it is money well spent.

My wife and I drove a large Penske truck filled with furniture from Minnesota to Texas immediately after our wedding in about 3 days and it wasn't bad at all.

If you want to take your second car without shipping it, may I suggest using a friend to come along with you? If you have one that is bored with no job or something, offer them a couple hundred bucks, and to pay for their meals (and the extra hotel bed) and a one-way ticket back home. Just a thought, you'd have somebody to help you out more and it would still be cheaper.
 
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