Self service movers

[Flail]

I am brain picking all the good people here. I am trying to move from Hood River, OR (60 miles east of Portland, OR) to Fallbrook, CA (40 miles north of San Diego) I have about 20,000 pounds of tools/tooling I would like to move and thought I had it figured out with ABF.com, a self service mover. This means they drop a semi trailer at your house, (with 24,000 pound capacity) and you have 3 days to load. They then pick it up and move it to your new location and you have three days to unload it. I have just found out that ABF won’t drop a trailer in Hood River. They suggested I could bring all my stuff to a freight terminal in Portland and load it there. Not gonna work as I have a lot of stuff palletized. They will, however, deliver to my home in Fallbrook. They recommended Estes.com. They have the opposite problem. They will deliver a semi trailer to Hood River but not to my new location in Fallbrook. I would have to unload at a terminal in San Diego and transport to Fallbrook. Also not going to work. Anyone have any suggestion or know of similar self service movers on the west coast? The largest Penske truck driven by me can only hold 10,000 pounds.

 

[nadogail]

Make two trips. With a co-driver you will each have a very long day on each trip.

Or have company A take the trailer to somewhere company B can pick it up and drag it to Fallbrook.

 

[The Cobbler]

just a thought,maybe a stupid thought... how about buying a shipping container . load it , have it transported, unload it and sell it

 

[Flail]

just a thought,maybe a stupid thought... how about buying a shipping container . load it , have it transported, unload it and sell it

The problem is getting a 10,000 pound container with 20,000 pounds of stuff onto and off a semi-trailer at 2 residential locations.

 

[Flail]

Old Dominion also appears to offer this service…… but not in California despite being based in San Diego!!! I suspect this has something to do with private contractor vs employee laws in CA.

 

[The Cobbler]

^^^ Like I said, maybe a stupid idea!

 

[Snip]

Couple of options I will add that may or not work but may spark other ideas. Have you discussed with Estes or ABF the possibility of you having the pup trailer moved from their closest facility to your final destination using a insured "Power Only" company. These are usually some companies or single truck people that only move somebody else's trailers. You might try explaining your situation to somebody above the front line personal at the freight companies? Another option, ( further out in left field) is sometimes you can find a power only driver moving somebody's empty trailer that is wanting to bootleg a load into it to increase their bottom line. A little riskier and the time window to load/ unload would be less with less notice.
I haven't checked, but does YRC ( Yellow freight) or Salas offer the same service?
When we moved (about 40k pounds, crossed the scales at 78,800) Colorado to Tennessee we purchased an old 50' moving trailer, loaded it and hired a Power only to move it to our new place. Sold the trailer when we were done. Living in a residential (cul-d-sac) area in Colorado I located a spot in a storage lot to store it, loaded it a little at a time until it was time for the final push. City was cool having it at the house for 6 days while we loaded the shop and rest of the household, just made sure we didn't block any neighbors. On this end we are in the country and had room to store the trailer till it was time for it to go.
Like i said, just some thoughts and ideas. May or may not work for your situation but might spark an idea for you or others in the same boat. Good luck

 

[rsparks64]

ABF does have pods as well. Perhaps they would drop some of those off at your Hood River location.

I wouldn’t jump at a chance to move to California, or even back to Oregon again, but I did like Hood River and central Oregon a lot.

 

[Flail]

“Snip” that sounds interesting. Did you need to get some type of license and DOT inspection for the trailer? If so could you tell me the process and costs?

 

[Snip]

Flail, Not too much to it. I found the trailer for the right price and titled it thru oklahoma , cheap to title and plates for a year were like 10 dollars to renew. The trailer was a 95 Kentucky (brand name) 50' moving and storage trailer, these are made with vertical E-Track so you can build different levels inside. For most people though an older 50-53' dry van trailer would work and should be easier to find and sell when done. . If one is not mechanical minded it the transportation field I would have it looked at and a DOT inspection (maybe 150.00, maybe a littler more as this would be a mobile service) done by someone of your choice, not the sellers. Try to be onsite when it is done so you can see and learn a little about your trailer and what it might need. Most of sellers are honest but might be some that might try to slip one by? You are not looking for a beauty queen here ( not so rough looking that draws attention) just one that stays dry, 50% or better brakes and tires and all the lights work. Insurance is generally the responceabilityof the transport company, they can tell you the amount of coverage they are covered for. Keep in mind that if the trailer looks unsafe or the driver thinks he might have mechanical trouble or a "time out" with the DOT folks there might be discussions when picking up the trailer. Drivers don't want to get in a mess that costs them time.
Once I had secured the trailer I kept an eye on Marketplace and C/L for supplies, moving blankets, load locks, used moving boxes, 4 wheel furniture dollies, hand truck, straps etc. most can be gotten for cheap after somebody else is done with their move.
All said and done about the only unrecoverable cost was the cost per mile to move the trailer. I actually made a little profit selling the trailer and moving supplies, off setting my overall out of pocket costs. Keep in mind you will have to find someone local at both ends to move the trailer from where you have it stored to your home/place of business. The power only driver will just want to show up when the trailer is ready to move, do a pre-trip inspection and get underway.
I hope some of this information helps you or others reading your thread. Any other questions please feel free to ask