Shipping Furniture Across the Country: How to Keep Costs Down
Getting ready for a long-distance move is rarely easy. You’ve whittled down your belongings to the essentials, completed all the steps for a change of address, and said goodbye to your favorite neighbors.
All that’s left is to navigate the long-distance furniture shipping process. However, ensuring your furniture arrives safely isn’t always easy.
Thankfully, you can send your furniture off and have confidence it will arrive at your new address in one piece. From choosing the right type of shipping service to reducing the overall cost, here’s what you should know about long-distance moves involving furniture.
Determine Load Size
Before selecting any furniture shippers, it’s a good idea to check the size of your load. The type of shipping service best for your moving needs may be different if you’re only shipping a dining room table compared to a complete set of bedroom furniture.
As you’re reviewing the various services and pricing, you’re probably running across a couple of terms like LTL and FTL. Understanding what the terms mean can help decrease your overall shipping costs.
What is LTL?
LTL is the acronym for less-than-a-load. In other words, your furniture shipment isn’t going to take up all of the available space in the trailer.
To help keep costs down, shipping services typically combine these types of smaller loads. Your couch may be sharing space in the trailer with someone else’s dining room set. Don’t worry about extending the delivery time simply because you’re sharing a freight trailer.
Shipping companies tend to keep loads with similar destinations together. A potential advantage of this shipping method can be the reduced cost. You often share the shipping costs with other customers. Sometimes, this can result in significant savings.
What is FTL?
FTL or full-truck-load is just what the term implies. Your furniture is taking up all of the available space in the freight trailer. While you can’t share shipping costs with other customers, this can still be a great option.
Filling up an entire trailer is more cost-effective than trying to use multiple containers, even if it means sharing the cost with others. You also have a little more control over the delivery date. Since your belongings are the only ones on the trailer, the delivery driver can work more easily with your schedule.
Types of Furniture Moving Services
When you think of furniture shipping services, large trailers probably come to mind. If so, this is a type of moving company but it’s not your only option.
Full-Service Movers
With full-service movers, there’s very little you have to do beyond supplying the company with a pickup and delivery location. You also need to give the moving service a date, but otherwise, you can sit back and let the company do all of the hard work.
A full-service moving company will show up to disassemble and wrap up your furniture. This alone can save hours of your time. If you’re already trying to manage a hectic schedule, this can be a lifesaver. The movers will even package up any nuts, bolts, and screws to ensure an easy assembly upon arrival. Yes, full-service movers will unwrap and reassemble your furniture at your new address.
An advantage you may not consider is experience. Full-service movers have plenty of experience moving all types of furniture from heavy walnut bed frames too fragile antique lamps. You can also usually take advantage of things like insurance. The insurance, supplied by the shipping service, covers any damage your furniture may suffer during the long-distance move.
Storage Containers
If you’re searching for a more cost-effective solution than a full-service moving company, using a storage container can be a good option. You’re essentially renting the use of the container from the shipping service. The service handles the logistics of getting the container to your new address.
A potential downside of some storage containers is whether the container shows up at your door or if you need to head to the freight yard. If you’re responsible for delivering and picking up your items, the costs can quickly add up. You’re going to need a way of getting the furniture to the storage container and this may mean renting or hiring a moving truck.
Even though storage containers can have downsides, there are advantages. You can usually choose from a variety of sizes and this can help decrease overall shipping costs. If you’re not sure what size container is right for your furniture, the moving company can help with some recommendations.
Renting a Moving Truck
If you don’t mind the drive, what about renting a moving truck? This is often the most cost-effective way of shipping furniture long-distance. However, you’re also responsible for every aspect of the move. This means you’re disassembling the furniture, packaging everything up, and loading it on the truck.
Thankfully, most moving trucks are equipped with dollies that can make the process go a little faster and easier. Don’t forget, you’re also the one who’s going to be uploading, unpacking, and reassembling everything on the moving truck.
Going By Bus, Plane, or Train
You can’t move a couch or even a fully assembled dining room table on a bus, plane, or train. You can also rent space in a cargo plane but the costs are usually prohibitive. However, if you’re only moving a few small pieces of furniture that fit in a crate, this may be something to consider.
While your belongings are stuffed into the cargo and possibly luggage compartments, you can relax during the trip. This may give you a little more energy when it’s time to start unpacking.
Keeping Your Long Distance Move Affordable
Moving furniture is going to come with some expenses but you can take steps to help keep costs down. You can share space in a freight container with other customers or even handle every aspect of the move on your own.
With a little planning, you may be able to reduce the overall cost of shipping your furniture across long distances.