Big move coming up... need some advice

Hot Rod Reverend

Hot Rod Reverend

Well-known member
Looks like I am going to be moving sometime this summer and it will be in another state about 400 miles away. Like most of us on here I have a ton (ok, well several tons) of garage related equipment, tools, engines, parts, etc to move. You guys that have done this before - how did you go about getting it done?

Anyone ever have to rent a POD? how did that go?
 
When my Dad retired (30 years ago) we arranged for a 40 ft Connex on a trailer chassis delivered to his house in IL. He & friends loaded it. Then they came and picked it up, put it on a train and off loaded it in Seattle a week later. They then delivered it to my house. After we unloaded it, they came and took it away. He had much more room than he actually needed, cost was only about a third of what the typical moving co would have charged, and was way more convenient on both ends.
 
I am retiring in 2016, and I will need to move to a State with a lower cost of living since I plan to be on a very small fixed income. That means that I must also deal with the tons of tools and parts in the garage. It is likely, I won't even have a garage where I am going. I am not going to take it all with me. I'm getting rid of about 75% of the tools and about 95% of the parts. Maybe I'll take all the tools to the flea market and try to peddle the parts on one of the online free selling websites (like webstore). The goal is to have everything gone by last week of Sept this year. Been slowly getting rid of things I don't use out of the house over the last few years by giving to Goodwill & Salvation army, so the household items shouldn't be too bad.
After the move is complete, I will sell my 2007 F150 pickup truck and shed it's responsibility. Then I will only have the Fairlane Sedan and the Courier cargo wagon left.
Once I'm dead, I'm just gonna have 'em throw my carcass in the back of the Courier, dig a big hole and bury the whole thing. Cheap funeral, no casket needed.
 
Daves55 DON"T sell the truck!!!!!!!! Did that several years ago and missed it! You just don't know how handy having one of them is until it is gone. Retired in 93 from the Navy, moved to TN and left the truck in Va. Beach with the oldest daughter. Our move was in July, had a new (left over) 93 F150 in the drive way in September. Haven't been without one since!

Look at AL, where I finally settled, no tax on SS, low property taxes, not much "drama" with the politics here, just assume every one of them is a crook and a great break on property taxes once both of you hit 65 or one is disabled. Realestate is fairly low.

H R R I moved my self, tools and shop stuff went in the first trip to a storage shed, found a new place, house got sold, packed up all the house stuff and moved it to the new places shop to weather a hurricane for two days, closed and moved it all into the new plaqce. Not too hard if you sit down and figure out what hasn't been looked at. opened up or used in the last 5 years.
 
rent a ryder moving truck and a trailer to pull behind it, then put a car trailer behind your truck, that way you can haul another car or what ever. you can rent them one way or return them to where you got them, you should be able to get all your stuff moved in one trip, thats what I did when I moved 600 miles north from so.cal
 
Dave,you might want to check out this guide.Recently the "cheapest" place in America turned out to be Danville,Il but if you are tired of snow and humidity Phoenix is pretty good still a lot of older 3 bdrm 2 bath 2 car garage places under $80K available.And cost of living is pretty low,A/C bill in summer can run higher but evap coolers are much cheaper when the humidity is low. http://www.bestplaces.net/compare-cities/
 
I looked into a POD when I moved from Mi. to Az. and the cost was pretty steep. Probably because of the long distance. Your move is shorter so it won't cost you anything to check out costs.
 
The trailer[ connex] or competeter as mentined above is the best bet lots of room and you can weed out the junk as you go also dry storage while moving into your new space this is the time where you find out who your friends are when we moved our bodyshop 2 man operation my boss and myself some years ago we did it ourselfs its a lot of work with a borrowed flatbed after hours and many trips and that was just across town just make sure boxes are closed securely and strapped in take your time and find things you forgot you had [treasures] good luck in your future endivers
 
Dave dont sell the truck i sold my 87 f250 XLT 4x4 460 55,000 mi with a fisher 8ft blade back in 2000 for a growing family to get an excursion great truck the excursion but no pickup i finally bought a used 2011 f 150 crew 2 YRS AGO and installed a snoway 71/2 ft blade and found out how much i had missed a p/u also had a couple of expeditions also great trucks in between as i do snowplowing so load it up and go good luck on your retirement
 
Last edited:
Not sure if this would work for you, but a friend of mine just bought a used shipping container. Then had it delivered to her place for storage, similar to the conex you guys speak of.

I hope this is a good move for you, I've always enjoyed your posts and I seem to remember talking to you on the phone back some time ago about Yblock parts of course! Good luck to you my friend, my wife and I are seriously considering downsizing now. A move or a change like this is a big challenge to many of us.
 
y'sguy said:
Not sure if this would work for you, but a friend of mine just bought a used shipping container. Then had it delivered to her place for storage, similar to the conex you guys speak of.

I hope this is a good move for you, I've always enjoyed your posts and I seem to remember talking to you on the phone back some time ago about Yblock parts of course! Good luck to you my friend, my wife and I are seriously considering downsizing now. A move or a change like this is a big challenge to many of us.
Click to expand...

I am going to check into all of these options you guys are bringing up here. I have not investigated the POD idea but I do hear they are pretty pricey. I "think" they are better for long term storage or if you have the need to load a little bit at a time. As far as "help" - I have quite a few. Not many of them are "old car guys" but they sure are supportive.

I will call the church on Monday to let them know about my decision. I have been in this area for 12 years now, and although I do love the people, the area, the scenery, etc, this change will be good for our FAMILY in many ways. I am a FAMILY first kind of guy. My wife and kids went with me on this trip to consider everything and I valued their opinion. The kids are old enough to be able to give input - my oldest is going to college this fall and is already saving a good bit of money where she works. The kids have decent heads on their shoulders and aren't like many of the nitwits you see running around today - excuse me. And well, the wife - well, I love her and married her about 19 years ago. One older fella told me after I got married, "You know football right? Son, it looks like you outkicked your coverage here with this fine lady!" Boy, was he right.
 
streetdreams said:
Lowrider should move back here to Michigan. I need a good part time mechanic.
Click to expand...

Working with you there is one of the few things I miss about living in Mi. 6 months of winter, too much snow & cold. It's been in the mid 70's for the last month. I wouldn't want to try that move again. I've accumulated a lot more "stuff" since moving here including a 38 2dr. Deluxe. I'd need my own private car hauler just to get the vehicles back.


The shipping container idea is a good one. When I picked up another car I was running out of room in the garage to store things. i picked up a 40ft container for 2600$ which was way less than a good sized storage shed from Home Depot. You could use it for moving then for storage after you move providing you have the room. You could also sell it after your move making it a pretty cheap move.
 
Last edited:
We made a 700 mile move last fall. My back prevents me from doing much anymore. We hired a trailer from ABF. It was delivered on time, we filled it, and it came to the new home on time. I think it must have no suspension whatever, each piece of furniture was damaged from rubbing on another, even though we use blankets. If you go this route, rent moving blankets. Lots of them. Old parts that have dirt on them are considered contaminated waste. The price for them to load goes way up fast. We must do that part ourselves. We had our kids help.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top