My mother-in-law has decided to move into a retirement home and sell the house. She lives in CA, I live in VA.

My wife will get some of the stuff that her mom cannot keep - a couple of chests, a grandfather clock, some china, crystal, etc.

OK, my dilema: How do I get that stuff out here. I know I can drive out there in my truck and bring it back -- I'm looking for options and advice on how to execute those options.

brienobrien has commented that he is a freight broker and can offer advice -- are you out there brienobrien, or anyone else.

Will a company pack that stuff for me and ship it? Any idea of cost? Obviously, this will be a partial load.

Can I (should I) fly out. rent a vehicle and DELIVER the stuff to a terminal of some sort and pick it up someplace in Northern Va (I have seen several truck terminals in our area).

How would I start looking for a company to do this -- yellow pages?

Is this what freight brokers do?

Thanks for advice.

 

There are a couple of ways to approach this. You can use a moving company such as united or allied, or you could use a ltl(less than load) carrier such as roadway or yellow freight. Depending on the size and weight of shipment, you may find a moving company a better option. They can pack and pickup as well as transport and deliver and unpack the goods. Be sure to figure in your cost for travel if you want to be there to supervise the packing. The Yellow Pages would be a good place to start as well as the internet. Freight brokers handle shipments of freight. They coordinate betwwen the shipper and the carrier and the customer. I would recommend starting with the phone book first. Hopefully this helps....

West

 

Well waddaya know... I just happen to be a shipping manager. Ok, I ship hot tubs, but it's close to furniture. If you want to talk to a really good broker, call Paul Vandenbush at Sunteck Transport 877-292-1837 tell him that Mike at Viking Spas sent you. Also, you might try ABF Freight system - they have a deal where they will spot you a trailer, you load it, they haul it to where you want it. Unless you go with a moving company, you are doing all of the packing yourself. Nice thing about using a moving company, should something break, it is covered under their insurance. Virginia to California is a long way, but it may be worth it to just rent a trailer and take your Ford. ROADTRIP!!!!!

 

I kind of ran into the same situation, in a way, I needed to get some family heirlooms from MD to NM.

I priced ABF, Uhaul, etc, and I deal with shipping everyday myself at work. The prices just seemed too hi.

My parents offered the use of their truck one-way, and then they flew out to NM and are driving back as we speak.

We ended up buying a horse trailer to pack the stuff in and tow back to NM. At least that way, we weren't wasting, or throwing away $600+ bucks. We paid $600 for it and I am sure that if we didn't have horses and need the trailer, we could sell it for the cost.

ABF does have a "UPack, we drive" type thing, but you need to know the total space and the weight of the merchandise you want moved to get a rate.

 

Be warned, those LTL carriers Roadway,Yellow and the like have spring ride trailers. If we're talking breakable things I'd make sure you have done an excellent job of packing. That is a long way for stuff to get pitched around and bounced and beatup. I'd drop the extra nickel and let the pros do it. A name brand company and not some fly by night you found on the internet. They all have solid reputations and air ride trailers. With insurance. Those prize possesions will arrive in the same shape and form as when they left. Good luck.