moving question (u-haul)

Hi all!
Pardon my somewhat off-topic post, but I wonder if anybody here has
experience
towing their cars with U-HAUL auto-transport. I'm moving to a fairly
far-away
place (Hamilton, Ontario, 2,500 miles from where I am now!) I'm looking at
an
option of renting a 17' U-HAUL moving van, putting my car (1996 Accord 4D)
onto
auto transport (all wheels off the ground) and driving away with my stuff
along
trans-Canada hwy What I'm concerned about is
1) I know my stuff would fit in the 17' van and I won't need extra space
BUT
2) the U-HAUL thing is rated for 2,900 lbs load (less than the 14' van: same
gross weight - go figure). My stuff is probably more like 3,500 lbs (2
bedroom apt)
3) the auto-transport + car would add another 4,000 to the weight .
The guys in my U-HAUL office are telling me that *probably* everything
should be fine, and nobody there seems to be concerned about the weight,
whether it's gross, or empty or whatever, but heck, the responsibility is
all
mine if I rent the thing from them.
Any advice would be appreciated. (Please don't tell me to hire movers, and
unfortunately, in the place where I live U-HAUL is the only game in town as
far as self-moving goes )
Thanks,
Vlad (in Victoria, B.C.)

 

Cross your fingers and buy lots and lots of insurance!




____________________________________

 

I did this in California, it was about a 200 mile move. It was ok.
Took some getting use to driving, but otherwise, not too bad. Be sure
to buy the insurance.. You're current auto policy MAY/MAY NOT fully
cover you.

Get a bigger truck.

My advice is to get the appropriately sized truck for 3500 lbs of
payload. They should have charts and information on hand to know what
is acceptable.. I also recommend the insurance and someone to
accompany you on the drive. Plan out places to stop, as its not easy
to pull into a mini-mart with a trailer in tow.. It's even harder to
get out of sometimes if you have to turn around to do it.. (Don't ask
me how I found this out..)

__________________
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N38.6 W121.4

 

Vlad,

Have you checked an outfit called ABF U-Pack Moving http://www.upack.com/ ? They
do have terminals in Surrey, British Columbia (an hour or so from Victoria) and
Hamilton, ON .

I used ABF's "terminal-to-terminal" service not long ago and was very pleased.
To use this service, you would have to rent a U-Haul (or similar) truck in
Victoria, drive your things (but not your car) to the terminal an hour or so
away, load up one of ABF's trucks, sign the papers, and forget about it all for
the next five or so days. ABF hauls your stuff with one of their tractor trailer
rigs. You'd drive your own car and yourself to Ontario, get settled in your new
digs, then rent another truck and go to the Hamilton ABF terminal to pick up
your stuff.

The ABF people at both ends were really nice.

I found ABF comparable in cost to estimates from U-Haul, but with a lot less
hassle.

I've done it the way you're proposing below. I do not recommend towing your car
as you describe below unless one has a helluva lot of experience driving a very
long truck. I'd be far less worried about the engineering of the truck and
trailer than I would be about the driver.

If you wish, you can email me in private for more info on the above.

 

The advantages of having an unemployed buddy at your disposal... A one
way flight from Vancouver to Toronto is about $200 (which should be
about 1/2 the price of the trailer rental).

Pars

 

Hi Caroline,

I am moving from Calgary,AB to Toronto,ON. I tried to get quote from
their website and it says it does not provide services from Canada to
Canada. I am trying to call them and they are not attending the phone.
From where did you find they have offices in Surrey and in Hamilton.

Thanks

 

Yahmed,

Go to http://www.upack.com/t2t.asp

"t2t" stands for "terminal to terminal." This site says the nearest terminals to
your two locations are:

4041B 6TH ST SE
CALGARY, AB T2H2G8

and

15 STRATHEARN AVENUE
BRAMPTON, ON L6T4P1

ABF's phones are busy, especially this time of year. Also, they're kind of a
casual, low key (but friendly) operation, so hang in there. Once you get a
reservation for space on one of their trailers, things should fly along.

 

Vlad,

My question to you is...
You're moving from Victoria to Hamilton... WHY? Boy will you be
depressed.
Most of us Hamiltonian's are trying to make our way to BC. I hope your
move is temporary.

 

That's possible. After a week I spent in Hamilton this summer (looking for
housing) I got a strange feeling that a better half of the population is
looking
to move somewhere... OTOH, life here in Victoria is also somewhat of an
acquired taste (which I didn't acquire in the two years I spent here), so
I'm not
looking back.

But, yeah, I've heard this question before (or seen it in the eyes of people
I've been talking to...)

Vlad

 

Have you considered transporting the car. I shipped a car in 2004 from
the east to west coast. It cost me about $875 with Air, Land and Sea
Vehicle Delivery. I think the website was http://www.alsautous.com
Best of luck!