Exciting as it is, moving is a pain. There's the packaging, the lifting, the unpacking-- and somewhere therein, you actually have to move your things from one house to another. You can always employ professionals to do this, but that can include a considerable expense to what is already a costly process.
Which's how some movers suddenly find themselves behind the wheel of a truck that's a number of feet longer and several thousand pounds heavier than anything they have actually ever driven in their lives.
Driving a moving truck can be intimidating, however it's not difficult. With an understanding of what's different about driving such a big, heavy vehicle, any skilled motorist can transport their own valuables without excessive stress. And the savings from doing so can be substantial.
How to Prepare to Drive a Moving Truck
If you're ready for the difficulty of driving a moving truck, there are a couple of important things you ought to do to prepare:
Research study your rental business alternatives, with particular attention to the functions of their moving trucks. Modern trucks have tools like rear-facing video to aid with backing up and blind area sensing units that make it safer to alter lanes. They may be worth paying a little additional for if these features are important to you.
Quote just how much truck area you'll need for all your things. Many truck rental business use standards to help you determine what size truck you require, and it's important to rent the tiniest truck possible. Smaller sized trucks are not just cheaper, they're simpler to drive.
Think about hiring a friend to join you on your moving journey. You can take turns driving if it's another experienced driver and your truck rental agreement permits it. Having a 2nd individual can likewise come in useful if you require somebody to direct you in supporting the truck.
Purchase a GPS install. If you prepare to utilize GPS on the trip, buy a quality phone or GPS mount that you can set up in the truck. It's dangerous to fumble with your gadget while driving any car, let alone a fully-loaded moving truck.
If this is your very first time driving a moving truck, it may be rewarding to rent a truck for a day just to practice. For in-town moves, truck rentals are often affordable.
Budget plan other for gas. In general, moving trucks get poor gas mileage, and longer trips could end up costing you several hundred dollars in gas.
When Driving a Moving Truck, Safety
Once your journey has begun, there are a few additional safety tips to observe:
Drive your moving truck around town for several miles prior to filling. If you find a problem, take the truck back to the rental business and exchange it for another one.
Secure your entire load with rope, bungee cables or straps. Truck rental business typically lease these devices, also.
Pay attention to all roadway indications that use to trucks, which you have actually most likely discovered to disregard. This includes separate speed limitations, lane limitations and overhead clearance limitations.
Stop safely. Always give yourself extra time and range to stop the truck.
Prevent moving your load by driving slower than the surrounding traffic and using the brakes and accelerator gently.
Check your side-view mirrors often, due to the fact that there are no rear-view mirrors in moving trucks.
Follow the law when it pertains to stopping at weigh stations. These laws differ from one state to another, but ABF U-Pack has compiled a thorough list of state weigh station laws for moving trucks.
If you'll be driving a moving truck through mountains, keep in mind that there will be stretches of road with no shoulder for emergency situation stops. Drive as gradually as needed to ensure your safety.
Avoid supporting. Attempt to avoid situations where you'll require to support your truck. When parking in a lot, for example, look for 2 surrounding empty areas so that you can drive straight through.
Buy the rental insurance coverage from the truck business. Without it, even slight damage to the truck can be costly.
Moving Truck Alternatives
Consider the other cost-saving alternatives to full-service movers if you're genuinely anxious about the idea of driving a 16-foot moving truck.
There are numerous moving business that will do the driving as long as you do the loading and unloading. ABF U-Pack, PODS, 1-800-PACK-RAT Read More Here and several other rivals provide a variety of shipping container types that you can fill throughout a couple of days. In order to use these services, you'll need a location to drop your containers at both your starting address and your destination, so they can be difficult for apartment or condo dwellers in thick metropolitan areas.
If this is a problem, a few of these companies will permit you to bring your products to a local shipping depot and load them onto a truck or into shipping containers there. With this alternative, you'll most likely still need to drive a truck and lease, and you'll need to move whatever twice on each end of the trip rather of just once. You'll spare yourself the worry of a driving a box truck over a long distance.
Driving a moving truck isn't for everybody, but if you observe these finest practices, a fantastic read you'll win a great sense of achievement and a little money in your pocket.