Moving pods

[bobobb.livejournal.com]

I'm going to be doing a major move in January and was considering one of those moving pods. I've seen people post about it in the past, so I thought enough people on the livejournal might have an opinion about:

1. Which company is good/terrible.

2. How to go about getting a permit to park the pod on my street.

3. Any other thoughts, tips, things I wouldn't have thought of....

Comments

[jodi.livejournal.com]

ABF is the company that we've used and they are awesome. They get high marks for customer service and quality and price.

We used their "Relocube" service in a number of differnet ways and were satisfied on all accounts.
1) We had one cube delivered to my driveway and I loaded it and had it shipped directly to my next driveway (in Somerville). We were lucky enough to not have to park it on the street so I didn't have to worry about city rules for that sort of thing (every city is different).
2) We had one cube delivered to a parking lot at my partner's apartment and we filled it there and had it stored for the summer.
3) Then we unloaded it at their facility in Brockton (its cheaper to do this and sometimes less hassle if you can't aprk the cube where you want to ).

We highly recommend ABF's Relocube service.

[arinamay.livejournal.com]

1. I used UPack (they have "Relocubes" which are smaller than normal PODS) and they were ok. They were a little late on the drop off and pick up of the Relocbue on both ends.

2. It was very easy to get a permit. I just went to the Somerville parking office, filled out a form, wrote a check, and had my nice big permit to tape to the pod. The only potential problem was street cleaning - obviously you can't have a pod on the street during street cleaning. Not having a car, this never occurred to me!

3. I really liked the size of the Relocube. I was moving a lot of furniture (table, bed, desk, book case, multiple chairs, night stand, end table, etc.) as well as boxes and boxes of my stuff. It all fit! I could have easily fit a couch in there as well, tipped on its end. It was easier to find a place to put the smaller Relocube at my new place - a POD would have been more difficult. But if you have more than a one-bedroom apartment's worth of stuff to move, a Relocube would be too small.

Unlike the pricier companies, the UPack trucks don't always keep the pod level when putting it on or taking it off the truck. I kept this in mind while packing and none of my things were broken, although everything did shift in transit. Also, tying things down can be very helpful to reduce shifting during transit. I just used twine, although something a bit more durable probably would have been better.

When you pack, think vertical. Go to the back of the pod (or to one side) and pack things to the top, then pack the next layer out to the top, etc.

[chenoameg.livejournal.com]

My roommate has moved twice with actual PODS, and has found them to be an excellent company. The pods themselves were very clean, and had a translucent roof so in daytime you can see well inside.

(It was a treat to watch the driver deliver the POD).

Getting a permit required a trip to the DPW building by Foss Park, proof of address, and a check.

[thapsychlone.livejournal.com]

Upack. Although I used this for cross-country, which was expensive but better than hauling it all myself in a truck, which would have been astronomically expensive. But they are a good company.

[jodi.livejournal.com]

To clarify since others have posted, Upack = ABF.
I fit 89 boxes of books, a small one-bedroom worth of furniture, all my clothes and personal stuff, pottery, dishes, lamps, plus a bicycle and sundry other things.
Nothing got broken.

[ron_newman]

I thought you got the permit at the traffic and parking office? Where is the DPW building that is near Foss Park?

[rifmeister.livejournal.com]

My own experience was that the differential in pricing between the pods and the movers who come into your house and get stuff and put it in a truck was surprisingly small. So you might consider that also. [Note that if you want multiple months of storage, I think the pods become more advantageous.]

[koloratur.livejournal.com]

Seconding ABF - we used them for a move in 2002 and it couldn't have been smoother. The price was reasonable, and the customer services was excellent. A former housemate used PODS this summer, and it was a disaster. They dropped it off way too far into the driveway and the guy who was supposed to pick it up REFUSED to do it and insisted that PODS send out the guy who dropped it off. So it finally moved, a day and a half late. Then when she got to her destination, they couldn't find her in the system! So it took her a bunch of extra time to actually get it dropped off. Google PODS customer service; it's terrifying.

[chenoameg.livejournal.com]

Bah, my brain was not working today.

I thought we got the permit at the DPW building near Trum Field, but maybe we just got sent to the parking office instead, or maybe it has changed in the last two years.

I have no idea why I typed Foss Park instead of Trum Field. Thanks for the correction, Ron

[madscientist01.livejournal.com]

I did a cross country move with ABF and couldn't have been happier. Their customer service was very good. I felt the price for ABF/UPack was much more reasonable than PODS. For what PDS wanted to charge, we basically could have paid full-service movers. FYI, we used a full size trailer (not the ReloCube) but only cause we had two apartments worth of stuff. I read a lot of reviews on http://www.movingscam.com/ beforehand and felt even further discouraged from choosing PODS. For a really short move, though, it seems like renting a Budget truck could be the cheapest option of all...

[she-of-emeralds.livejournal.com]

Moving van parking permit for Cambridge, at any rate, can be done online, and they come and post the relevant signs for you. (But I don't know where you're moving to.)

Good luck!

[teko.livejournal.com]

Agreed. I had all my belongings shipped in a "Relocube" from Columbus to Somerville with zero hassles. I compared all the different 'cube/pod' places, and ABF was the least expensive and best-rated. The cube arrived just when they said it would, nothing was broken.

Permits can be had at the Parking Office, very simply.

Buffer your belongings with lots of blankets and you'll be fine.

[blunderblunder.livejournal.com]

Since nobody said this yet, parking permits for Somerville can be printed here, and then you bring them to the Parking Office (address also on this page): http://www.somervillema.gov/section.cfm?org=Traffic&page=349

I recently used United Mayflower, which was less expensive than PODS and didn't try to sell me any extra stupid stuff. I didn't have any problems with them.

[djdreilinger.livejournal.com]

I was home during a POD pickup the other week and... boy howdy... I hope the truck's driver wore ear protection.

[sparkgrrl658.livejournal.com]

i need to move and have a car to move as well, which means a pod would be easier than trying to find someone to drive a truck for me. but whenever i go to ABF's website to request a quote, it tells me they specialize in longer moves and redirects to the PODS website.

in #1 was that within MA? i'm going from arlington to warwick (RI). maybe i'll try to google relocube directly but any help is appreciated :)