Aside from movers loading up a van and delivering belongings, the steps involved in a long-distance move can come as a surprise to many customers. Whatever your experiences or expectations, let’s just say there’s a lot more involved than going from point A to point B.
Here’s a glimpse into how a typical move happens — along with some tips, tools, and techniques for making the experience as seamless, stress-free, and surprise-free as possible! As experienced Georgia movers, we handle these long-distance relocations across our full range of service areas every day.
We Go Where We’re Needed
Not every customer lives in a major metropolitan area or near an interstate. That’s why long-distance movers like us fall under “irregular route carriers.” We need to be as efficient as possible because we go wherever people are moving to and from. Routes are carefully planned and mapped out to handle multiple loads and leverage our scheduling and shipments to service as many customers as possible.
Customers sometimes like to track their belongings en route, and occasionally, their van is not where they expect it to be. Rest assured, that’s perfectly normal. Much like when you’re tracking a package sent by Amazon or UPS, it all comes down to logistics and efficiency. At Budget Van Lines, we encourage you to reach out to your Move Coordinator if you have
questions or need a status update.
An example of how “Van Lines” work is: You have the 53-foot trailer that has a set amount of cubic feet (~4200cf). unload them into a warehouse prior to loading the 53ft tractor-trailer moving van has enough room to handle the contents of several typical households, so unless you have an exceptionally large home, there will be more than one set of customer shipments in the van. It gets filled up with multiple families household furniture; and for example let’s say the pickup location for 5 different families is all in Atlanta, Georgia (or within the area). The moving trucks go and pickup those moves — and they’re all going to either Louisiana or Texas (along the same route). That van will make a stop at their warehouse in a main metro area, for example let’s say that have two families moving to New Orleans, and 1 family moving to Dallas, Texas. From there, they will unload those families household goods from the 53ft truck and load them back onto a 20ft/26ft Moving Trucks and finalize the long distance moving process from there to families and individuals whom are being moved to those previously mentioned cities that a few hundred miles of the warehouse. For us — and any major long-distance mover — it’s a matter of utilizing the equipment efficiently, organization, safety, and planning.
Let’s say, for another example, that we have five customers moving out of California, with the furthest move ending up in Florida. The van driver would load these shipments and deliver them to customer homes in Arizona, Texas and Georgia before they get to Florida. Or they may load one shipment in California, another one in Arizona, another in New Mexico, and then take it all to Florida. We rely on Transportation Specialists to bundle loads (LTL-Shipping) together which makes the cross-country moving much most efficiently and a lot more cost-effective.
Why We Have Delivery Windows
Major Van Lines leverage innovative technologies and have 50+ years of experience to ensure that our long-distance moves happen as quickly and efficiently as possible. However, moving will never be an exact science, which is why most long-distance moves are scheduled to happen between predetermined delivery windows — plus the Department of Transportation and FMCSA only allows specific amounts of mileage and hours driven per day.
Here’s why:
[su_panel background="#f9e3e3" color="#bb1d1d" border="1px solid #de2323"] Weather conditions and the occasional mechanical hiccup can happen. When you consider that many vans are carrying more than one customer’s belongings, loading and unloading is another reason our delivery windows are flexible. [/su_panel]
[su_panel background="#eff9e3" color="#166513" border="1px solid #1d9d18"] As a reputable mover, Most van line drivers have to abide by the Department of Transportation rules and regulations, which include standardized hours of service. Our drivers cannot be behind the wheel of their vehicle for more than a set number of hours each day — nor would we want them to be! [/su_panel]
[su_panel background="#e3f4f9" color="#135165" border="1px solid #18799d"] Not all our customers’ belongings are moved exclusively in vans. Depending on the location and type of service, we also move shipments using containers and trailers, which have different delivery windows and timeframes. [/su_panel]
Our Relocation Resources and Interactive Guides and Tools
Our latest moving technologies — Virtual Survey & In Progress: Budget Moving Portal — empower you to take charge of your moving journey without needing to be behind the wheel.
The Resources for relocating section on our website provides you with the necessary tools, information, advice, and acts as a centralized platform to track moving milestones from 500 miles to 2899 miles; and you can also organize a weekly moving calendar, download + sync it to your iPhone or Android calendar, book moves online — and much more. With our Relocation Resource Center, you benefit from:
- Interactive Move Checklist: A customizable checklist to organize and prioritize tasks
- Online Booking: Easy online booking with a streamlined payment process
- Moving Guides / Moving Advice: A centralized place to access important moving guides, checklists, contacts, and more
- Helpful Relocation Resources: A library of moving tips and links to essential services
Meanwhile, our Virtual Survey is a convenient and efficient way to get a moving quote from the team at Budget Moving Services. It offers a video chat experience where you can show your belongings to an estimator directly through your smartphone or tablet without the need for an in-person visit.
- Convenience: Schedule appointments at your preferred time, often sooner than in-person estimates
- Speed: Receive faster moving quotes through the video chat process
- Quality: Accurate and reliable estimates, similar to in-person surveys
- Ease of Use: User-friendly process from scheduling to the actual virtual survey
The Budget Moving Portal (in progress) and the Virtual Survey are both great innovative tools that significantly simplify and streamline the moving process for families, businesses, and individuals that are going to be moving long-distance and have endless questions needing to be answered. By providing a centralized platform to manage moving tasks, resources for moving, have a long-distance moving timeline, and offering a convenient virtual booking option for getting your moving estimated, these technologies cater to everyones needs whom are moving, have a busy schedule, questions, and concerns.
Ultimately, these solutions let you take the reins, saving time and reducing stress. Whether you prefer a hands-on approach or a remote experience, United Van Lines offers flexible options to meet your unique moving needs.
4 Quick Tips for a Better Moving Experience
Want some more tips to help ensure a smooth move? We’ve got you covered with advice from our pros.
- Make Informed Decisions: Start by researching and selecting the right mover for your needs early; gathering multiple moving quotes will help you compare prices and services.
- Plan Your Move Strategically: Whether you prefer your assigned coordinator and detailed planner from the moving company or a simpler approach — creating a moving schedule that keeps you organized weekly and on track.
- Customize Your Moving Service: Choose from the flexible full-service moving & packing services and customize them with a variety of add-ons to meet all of your specific requirements, whether you need residential moving or commercial moving support.
- Protect Yourself from Scams: Stay vigilant and safeguard your belongings by reading our guide on avoiding common moving scams.
Whatever moving company you choose, take a moment or two to explore the content we have available on everything from setting up a to-do list to packing your belongings, settling into your new neighborhood as well as our guides to regional cuisines, cities, and national parks.
Tell us about your home and get a personalized packing service for your home and use our: timeline for packing a house or apartment, moving and packing planner, and most important — to save money, time, and a headache, check out our packing and moving supply calculator and get close to a 99% accurate list of: moving boxes, tape, shrink wrap, padding, and packing materials for your move!
Ready to move? Get an instant estimate with our Moving Cost Calculator, check our current pricing, follow our Weekly Moving Checklist, and estimate your boxes with our Moving Supplies Calculator. Get a free quote in under 5 minutes or call us at (561) 788-5070 for fast, friendly service.
