Insider Tip #1 – Options for Small Moves

If you need to move a 1 bedroom or studio apartment with not much furniture or household goods, you might want to consider some options.

First of all, a moving company van will be prohibitively expensive, or you might have to wait weeks for your items to be shipped. But there are options, depending on how many items you have.

Before you select any service, you must understand pricing policies. There are two types of weight measurements in the shipping industry.  One is actual weight – how many pounds an item weighs – as opposed to “dimensional weight,” i.e., the size of the item or how many cubic feet it takes up. Then they round up to the next whole number. The shipping company will always select the larger of the two figures, actual or dimensional, to determine shipping charges.

Dimensional weight is calculated by multiplying the length times the width times the height of an item in inches, then dividing by 166. So if you had a 1’ x 1’ x 1’ box, you would have a dimensional weight of 11lbs.  (12” x 12” x 12” = 1728, 1728 divided by 166 = 10.4096, rounded up to the next pound would be 11 pounds).

            Shipping via “Small Package” Services

If you have only a very few items that you can fit into 10 or fewer medium sized boxes that weigh up to 150 lbs. each,, then your best bet would probably be to use a small package service such as UPS or FedEx.  Shipping Connections is an authorized shipper for both UPS and FedEx and has several pickups per day for these services. 

            Palletizing and Freighting

If you have to move just a few items (no furniture), Shipping Connections can palletize them and air freight them for a surprisingly low cost, about $1 per pound.  This includes the labor and materials for putting the items on the pallet and stretch wrapping them to stabilize the load according to industry standards. We can go up to about 4 or 5 feet high and still be safe and stable with most items once they are boxed (costs extra to have us box them).

This is a hub to hub service, not door to door. So there is a pickup charge on our end if we have to go to your residence or storage shed.  This is very reasonable, usually $25 for a pickup truck load. On the other end, you can pick up your items at the nearest major airport, or you can pay a cartage fee, usually 15 cents ($0.15) per pound for deliveries within 30 miles or so of the airport, up to 20 cents or more ($0.20+) per pound for more distant destinations.  Allow two days for pickup and 2-3 days for air transport to the hub.

           

Do It Yourself

Shipping Connection is an authorized U-Haul dealer with two cargo vans in its fleet.    These vans are a bit larger than typical family vans that you’re familiar with. You can lay a queen size mattress between the wheel wells and stack a lot of other stuff on top, plus you have a few feet of additional floor-to-ceiling free space since the cargo bay is about 9 feet long and the typical mattress is about six feet long.

U-Haul cargo vans cost $19.95 per day to rent, plus $0.69 per mile, plus $11 per day for insurance if you want it. In addition, these vans get about 8-9 miles per gallon of gas, and you’ll have to bring the van back with the same fuel level as when you got it, so plan your budget accordingly.

If you’re making a short move within the city, as university students often do, then using a van and making a few trips with it can be a smart way to save money.

If, on the other hand, you’re moving a lot of items including some large furniture, then you might try looking at the other options that U-Haul has.  They have a fleet of box trucks from 10-foot cargo bays to 26-foot cargo bays (the largest you can drive without a commercial driver’s license). You can rent one of these, but the rent and mileage are generally higher according to the size truck you select.  Also, they probably get lower mileage as they have larger engines hauling heavier vehicles and loads, so you’ll spend more on fuel. So plan accordingly.

Another advantage of the larger trucks is that some are for rent on a one-way basis.  So if you’re moving far away, you can drop the truck off at the U-Haul dealer closest or most convenient to your destination.

            Lift Vans, U-boxes, and Pods

Lift Vans (also called “Van Packs”) are large wooden crates that are used for shipping items.  They are used for international shipping as well as domestic. They are about 7 feet high by 7 feet long by 4 feet wide.  They hold about 200 cubic feet of goods. You can ship multiple lift vans if you need to (each lift van holds about 1 room of a typical move, but we will get more details from you for making more precise calculations of how many lift vans you might need).

If you want to use a lift van, give Moving Connections a call. Our movers will come to your residence or business and load the items directly onto a lift van in the truck, or they will load your items onto the truck and take it to the lift van warehouse, where it will be loaded, banded, and shipped.

Lift vans can be a cost saver for smaller shipments, so be certain to call us before booking a move.

Lift vans are a door to hub or door to door service.