Moving Made Easy - Rent A Truck or Hire Professionals?
There are few things in life that can be as stressful as uprooting your life, home, and belongings, before moving to another location. Whether it's a few blocks away, or across the country, it is certainly a task that requires plenty of planning and effort. All while having to deal with the near certainty of encountering friction, mistakes, and damages along the way.
Long-distance moves further compound this stress and effort, often leaving little room for mistakes. Among a wide range of decisions you’ll have to make while planning your move, a crucial one, is whether you plan on renting a truck and moving on your own, or whether you want to hire professionals. They each come with their own pros and cons. The choice you make will determine how you spend the last few days in your current residence, how you decide what to bring with you, and what to discard while moving.
Renting A Truck
An increasingly popular option these days, especially with the rise of organized players such as U-Haul, PODS, and Penske. With the use of such services, you are essentially opting to do it yourself, with no help from experts and professionals to make your life easier.
Here are some pros and cons to look out for when going with this,
Pros
This is the cheapest option, with consumers only having to pay a flat rate and mileage for the truck itself. That is apart from the boxes and other essential packaging materials.
Ideal for short-distance moves, either within the same city, or state, or within 100 miles. Beyond this, it might get difficult to drive all by yourself.
Plenty of flexibility when it comes to the date, time, and terms of the move. Thus, giving you plenty of time to double-check everything, delay certain things, and even go back if you feel you’ve forgotten something.
Fewer restrictions on how you pack, store, and handle your items, along with what you can or cannot bring with you.
Cons
Driving a truck isn’t suited for everyone. Especially the larger variants of trucks available, and required for various heavy moving requirements. Beyond the necessary license and a clean driving record, renting a truck on your own requires plenty of effort in navigating busy traffic and tight parking spaces.
You are on your own when it comes to packing, lifting, loading, and unloading items. That is unless you have friends or family help.
A time-consuming process since you will have to do everything. From the planning to the packing and loading, and even the driving and unloading is all by yourself.
Not suitable for long distances given the amount of driving. This can get tedious and tiring fairly quickly, not to mention dangerous.
Hiring Professionals
For those who can afford it, the preferred option has always been hiring full moving services to handle your move end-to-end. Here are some pros and cons of the same,
Pros
Less time-consuming as you will only have to meet with the professionals and explain your items, move, and requirements.
The planning, packing, and the move itself are entirely hands-free.
Considerably less stressful when compared to doing everything by yourself. After all, you have experienced professionals to advise you, and take care of the tedious aspects themselves.
The benefit of the mover’s expertise when it comes to items, their safe packing, and moving, will definitely be better than someone DIY-ing it.
A wide range of add-on services such as arranging yard sales, or the movement of heavy equipment such as pianos, etc.
Cons
Considerably more expensive when compared to just hiring a truck. Prices range from between $2,000 to $8,000. After all, it depends on the complexity, distance, and other factors. However, there are a few newer breeds of professional movers who offer inexpensive coast-to-coast moving options that you can check out.
Less flexible in terms of dates and timelines, requiring you to work with the mover’s availability.
Possibility of additional charges such as insurance, packing charges, labor, and more. These add to the already high bill.
Final Words
Whether you choose to rent a truck or hire professional movers is entirely up to your circumstances and requirements. For long cross-country moves, renting a truck and driving on your own is rarely feasible. However, there are 1,000s of individuals who do just that each year.
This list should give you a better idea of the factors and various trade-offs involved with both options. Thus, helping you make the best decision.
