How to move small loads across country?

A successful house move is all about making the right choices whenever the specific decision-making moments come along. Arguably, the most important single decision you will ever need to make when moving is to pick up a professional moving company that will fit into your relocation budget and will satisfy your individual shipment needs. But before you can verify the reputation and trustworthiness of your future movers, you will first need to make up your mind about what type of a moving company you actually need.

Sometimes, you may wish to relocate just a few heavy or bulky items instead of moving all of your possessions to your new home. Or maybe you just want to move a single specialty item, such as a piano, a pool table, an heirloom, an antique or a standard piece of furniture. And if that is the case, then you still need to find professional movers to help you out but you will have to browse through moving companies that take small loads. And it’s good to know that the so-called small load moving companies operate a bit differently than regular full service movers.

Interested in knowing how to move small loads with the invaluable help of dedicated small shipment movers? Also, are you willing to learn more about how the small moving cost is formed and how the small moving services will influence the final relocation price? Let’s assume that you are.

How do small move services work?

The majority of professional moving companies will charge a minimum weight for each household shipment, and if you fail to meet that specific weight requirement, you will be charged a minimum fee to have your item or items transported to their destination. In other words, if you’re not moving small amounts, for example small loads of furniture, then you will be paying for weight that you don’t really have. Which, of course, is something that you don’t really have to do because of the available small moving options ahead of you.

Small moves are estimated to be about relocating household items that weigh up to about 1000 pounds, so if you fall way below that weight mark, then you’re all set for a mini move. Small moving costs are estimated by using a simple combination of

• your total shipment weight (without a minimum weight requirement),
• the move distance between the two homes,
• the number of movers dedicated to the job, and
• the specific services you select besides the obvious one.

What’s more, small items movers won’t refuse to ship your small number of household items short distance or long distance across the country. But first, your future partner will quote you a corresponding price. If you need to ship your small load locally within the same state, then you will be charged on an hourly basis (How much do local movers cost?). On the other hand, if you find yourself in need to be moving small loads across country, then you should request a moving quote from a reputable small scale mover to know exactly how much you will be charged in the end. (How much do cross country movers cost?)

But that’s not all.

The partial load movers you contact should be able to offer you secure storage solutions for your small load of personal items if your destination home is not ready yet for their arrival. In addition to the common flexible pickup dates when hiring the services of a small load mover, you should also get to select between standard or expedited delivery options in accordance to your particular needs and moving budget. Opting for declared value coverage for your moving partial load is another option you can explore, if necessary.

Where to find small load movers?

Regardless of whether you’re moving small loads long distance or locally, one thing is certain: you will need reputable and trustworthy mover to get the job done in a quick and affordable way. Here’s some good advice on how to find affordable yet high quality movers near you:

• Ask around your circle of friends or coworkers if any of them has used the services of a good moving company to move small loads from one home to another. Remember that friendly recommendations from reliable sources is something very valuable so you should definitely explore your options there. Write down the name of any mover whose services you’ve been recommended for further research.

• Now it’s time for a little research – check out customer reviews and performance ratings of the local or nationwide moving companies whose names you’ve managed to write down. If you don’t have any recommendations, then access a reputable database of moving companies reviews and see for yourself what people say about the movers around your area. Moving reviews will help you form a good idea of what to expect in general from the small scale movers around you.

• The third step is to check, just in case, the legal status of the movers you have shortlisted after having checked a sufficient number of moving reviews. See if the companies have valid USDOT numbers issued by the U.S. Department of Transportation.

• Finally, remember that should you come across something that sound suspicions during your initial research and hunt for a good small load mover, then double check your suspicions against our Moving Fraud Prevention Guide.

SEE ALSO: How to find cheap movers near you

Small moving cost

The best thing about using moving companies that move small loads is that they will most likely offer you highly customized solutions for your mini move. Price-wise, this higher level of customization means that you will be paying only for the items you’re actually moving simply because you won’t have to worry about minimum weight requirements, nor any hidden charges for that matter. You will be quoted a final price based on the weight of your item or items, and the move distance.

However, if what you’re moving falls into the category of high value articles, then it’s a good idea to think about purchasing adequate insurance coverage and requesting possible crating to keep them perfectly safe during transit. And of course, both these options will incur additional moving costs for you.

Be mindful that the case-by-case nature of relocation makes it impossible to know how much your mini move will cost in advance unless you request precise cost estimation from a small load moving company. Gather a few price estimates from reputable partial load movers, compare the conditions carefully and choose the small moving helper that will work out best for you.