Exciting as it is, moving is a pain. There's the packing, the lifting, the unpacking-- and someplace in there, you actually have to move your things from one house to another. You can constantly hire experts to do this, however that can add a significant expense to what is currently an expensive process.
Which's how some movers all of a sudden discover themselves behind the wheel of a truck that's several feet longer and several thousand pounds much heavier than anything they have actually ever driven in their lives.
Driving a moving truck can be intimidating, but it's not difficult. With an understanding of what's various about driving such a big, heavy vehicle, any skilled chauffeur can carry their own possessions without too much tension. And the cost savings from doing so can be substantial.
How to Prepare to Drive a Moving Truck
If you're ready for the challenge of driving a moving truck, there are a few essential things you need to do to prepare:
Research your rental company options, 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 spot sensors that make it much safer to alter lanes. They might be worth paying a little additional for if these functions are crucial to you.
Estimate how much truck area you'll require for all your things. Most truck rental companies provide standards to assist you find out what size truck you require, and it is essential to rent the smallest truck possible. Smaller trucks are not only more economical, they're simpler to drive.
Think about hiring a good friend to join you on your moving journey. You can take turns driving if it's another experienced driver and your truck rental contract allows it. Having a second individual can likewise can be found in handy if you need someone to direct you in backing up the truck.
Buy a GPS mount. If you plan to use GPS on the trip, buy a quality phone or GPS mount that you can install in the truck. It threatens to fumble with your device while driving any vehicle, let alone a fully-loaded moving truck.
If this is your first time driving a moving truck, it may be rewarding to lease a truck for a day simply to practice. For in-town relocations, truck leasings are frequently affordable.
Budget plan for gas. In general, moving trucks get poor gas mileage, and longer trips might wind up costing you a number of hundred dollars in gas.
When Driving a Moving Truck, Safety
Once your journey has begun, there are a couple of extra security pointers to observe:
Drive your moving truck around town for numerous miles before loading. If you discover a concern, take the truck back to the rental business and exchange it for another one.
Secure your whole load with rope, bungee cables or straps. Truck rental business often rent these devices, also.
Focus on all road signs that use to trucks, which you have actually most likely discovered to ignore. This consists of different speed limits, lane restrictions and overhead clearance limitations.
Stop securely. Always give yourself additional time and range to stop the truck.
Avoid moving your load by driving slower than the surrounding traffic and utilizing the brakes and accelerator gently.
Check your side-view mirrors typically, since there are no rear-view mirrors in moving trucks.
Follow the law when it concerns stopping at weigh stations. These laws vary from one state to another, however ABF U-Pack has assembled 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 roadway with no shoulder for emergency stops. Drive as slowly as essential to guarantee your safety.
Prevent backing up. Try to prevent situations where you'll require to support your truck. When parking in a lot, for example, try to find two surrounding empty areas so that you can drive straight through.
Purchase the rental insurance from the truck business. Without it, even small damage to the truck can click here be costly.
Moving Truck Alternatives
Think about the other cost-saving alternatives to full-service movers if you're genuinely anxious about the concept of driving a 16-foot moving truck.
There are a number of moving companies that will do the driving as long as you do the loading and dumping. ABF U-Pack, PODS, 1-800-PACK-RAT and a number of other rivals provide a variety of shipping container types that you can fill throughout a few days. In order to utilize these services, you'll need a location to drop your containers at both your starting address and your location, so they can be tricky for home residents in dense metropolitan areas.
If this is an issue, some of these business will allow you to bring your products to a regional shipping depot and load them onto a truck or into shipping containers there. With this choice, you'll probably still need to drive a truck and rent, and you'll need to move everything two times on each end of the trip rather of just as soon as. You'll spare yourself the concern of a driving a box truck official site over a long distance.
Driving a moving truck isn't for everybody, but if you observe these finest practices, you'll win a terrific sense of accomplishment and a little money in your pocket.