Interesting as it is, moving is a pain. There's the packaging, the lifting, the unpacking-- and someplace therein, you in fact need to move your things from one house to another. You can always hire professionals to do this, but that can add a significant expense to what is currently a pricey procedure.
Which's how some movers all of a sudden discover themselves behind the wheel of a truck that's a number of feet longer and a number of thousand pounds much heavier than anything they have actually ever driven in their lives.
Driving a moving truck can be frightening, however it's possible. With an understanding of what's various about driving such a large, heavy vehicle, any experienced driver can transfer their own possessions without too much stress. And the savings from doing so can be significant.
How to Prepare to Drive a Moving Truck
If you're ready for the challenge of driving a moving truck, there are a few important things you should do to prepare:
Research your rental company options, with particular attention to the features of their moving trucks. Modern trucks have tools like rear-facing video to assist with supporting and blind area sensing units that make it more secure to alter lanes. They might be worth paying a little additional for if these functions are crucial to you.
Price quote just how much truck area you'll need for all your things. A lot of truck rental companies provide guidelines to help you figure out what size truck you need, and it is necessary to rent the smallest truck possible. Smaller sized trucks are not just less pricey, they're much easier to drive.
Think about hiring a pal to join you on your moving journey. You can take turns driving if it's another experienced driver and your truck rental contract permits it. If you need someone to direct you in backing up the truck, having a second individual can likewise come in helpful.
Buy a GPS mount. If you plan to use GPS on the journey, purchase a quality phone or GPS mount that you can install in the truck. It's unsafe to fumble with your gadget while driving any automobile, not to mention a fully-loaded moving truck.
Get some practice. If this is your first time driving a moving truck, it might be worthwhile to lease a truck for a day simply to practice. For in-town moves, truck rentals are often affordable. Practice can help you with things like getting and turning utilized to the size of the car, but keep in mind that your truck will manage in a different way when it's packed with all your things.
Spending plan for gas. In basic, moving trucks get poor gas mileage, and longer journeys could end up costing you numerous hundred dollars in gas.
When Driving a Moving Truck, Security
As soon as your journey has actually begun, there are a few extra security pointers to observe:
Drive your moving truck around town for a number of miles before loading. If you find a problem, take the truck back to the rental company and exchange it for another one.
Protect your entire load with rope, bungee cables or straps. Truck rental business often lease these devices, as well.
Focus on all road indications that apply to trucks, which you've most likely discovered to ignore. This consists of separate speed limitations, lane limitations and overhead clearance limits.
Stop securely. Always offer yourself additional time and distance to stop the truck.
Prevent shifting your load by driving slower than the surrounding traffic and utilizing the brakes and accelerator gently.
Examine your side-view mirrors frequently, because there are no rear-view mirrors in moving trucks.
Follow the law when it comes to stopping at weigh stations. These laws differ from state to state, however ABF U-Pack has assembled a detailed 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 gradually as needed to guarantee your safety.
Prevent supporting. Try to avoid scenarios where you'll need to support your truck. When parking in a lot, for instance, try to find two surrounding empty spots so that you can drive directly through.
Buy the rental insurance coverage from the truck company. Without it, even minor damage to the truck can be expensive.
Moving Truck Alternatives
Consider the other cost-saving alternatives to full-service movers if you're genuinely nervous about the concept of driving a 16-foot moving truck.
There are several moving business look at this site 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 offer a range of shipping container types that you can fill throughout a few days. In order to utilize these services, you'll need a place to drop your containers at both your beginning address and your destination, so they can be challenging for apartment residents in thick urban locations.
If this is an issue, some of these business will permit you to bring your items to a regional shipping depot and load them onto a truck or into shipping containers there. With this alternative, you'll probably still require to drive a truck and rent, and you'll require to move whatever two times on each end of the journey instead of just as soon as. You'll spare yourself the worry of a driving a box truck over a long range.
Driving a moving truck isn't for everybody, but if you observe these best practices, you'll leave with a great sense of accomplishment and a little additional money in your pocket.