suggestions for cross-country movers??

[stationcalling]

quick Q for you guys -

i'm moving from Illinois to California....

anyone have any suggestions for which company to hire to move all my junk?

my main concern is "quality" and reliablity, not so much how much they cost...

--S

[Patrick del Poker Grande]

The only company you can completely trust is yourself with a U-Haul. The last time I moved, my company paid my expenses, so I got a mover - they gave me something like a 10-day window for when my stuff would arrive. Christmas eve was the last day of the window and they hadn't arrived as of 9pm Christmas Eve when I got a call from the guy asking me if he can just come the day after Christmas. At that point, I was just as happy to have this happen and not pay the full rate as I was to have them come that late on Christmas Eve. I told him that's fine, but I'm not paying the full rate. I ended up with movers at my house until 11:30pm Christmas Eve, which gave them an amazing 30 minutes to spare before the window was up. I also had damages to my stuff. You should keep in mind that if they damage your stuff, they don't reimburse you based on any kind of actual value of what they ruined, but rather some trivial amount per pound that it weighs ($0.60/lb comes to mind). Bring your valuable stuff with you and let them haul the heavy stuff.

I'm sorry I don't remember who this was, but I remember looking at several companies and this was the best one as far as I could tell - they weren't the cut-rate company. It's incredibly hard to be able to tell who's really good.

[Patrick del Poker Grande]

I've driven a U-Haul from MI to San Diego and that did suck for various reasons, but given the experience, in the future, I'd almost rather do it myself with the help of some friends than trust my stuff to a mover. If you don't have anyone that can help you, I'd still almost rather pick up a few local high-schoolers and pay them a few bucks to help me unload the truck.

[jakethebake]

[ QUOTE ]
The only company you can completely trust is yourself with a U-Haul.

[/ QUOTE ]
NEVER EVER use U-Haul. Use Penske if you do it yourself. Twice in the last 7 years I've had reservations w/ U-Haul and both times the truck weasn't available the day of my move. They don't guarantee the reservation so if it ain't there you're just screwed. And both times on the day of the move Penske came through for me.

Another option is P.O.D.S. With this service (you can find it on the net) you pack the stuff yourself into what is basically a big shed, and they then move it for you.