Question about Pods (moving) and Hitting the Road

Ok. Husband and I have decided to throw in the towel on the farm. We quit. Tired of the financial stress and all of the work and we are going to hit the road. Maybe truly hit the road for a while then settle down and build a small home. Once we sell the farm (we have quite a bit of equity) we plan on living in a travel trailer until we find a location to settle down and put roots again. Never thought we’d be leaving the farm.

We have a lot of stuff. Most of it will be sold/discarded in the interest of having a simpler life in the future. We are tired of being a slave to stuff too! But, we will be keeping some items of furniture and lots of books etc. We have been looking at the PODS units that we have been seeing others use. They drop off a small metal container, you fill it up and they haul it away for storage until you are ready to retrieve it. Then they drop them off at your new place.

Wondered if anyone here has any direct experience with this method of moving. Was it expensive, a bad experience in any way, stuff damaged at all, hard company to deal with service-wise? Also, will they store for long term should we decide to hit the road and travel? Would love to get some anecdotal information before deciding.

Since I am posting this question, has anyone here ever just took a break and hit the road for long term travel? Was it a good experience for you? We have been beat to death the past few years and have had it and this idea is appealing. Small construction business owners that have been hanging on by a thread in this economy and could I tell y’all stories…

Just want to thank you all for your great advice and knowledge. I have been a lurker for about 15 years and just beginning to get brave enough to post. I have learned so, so much on these forums and know that you are all a very intelligent and thoughtful group of people. I am not much of an internet poster or even forum visitor but I am addicted to the Straight Dope.

Thanks in advance and I look forward to your stories and experiences!

The only experience I have with them was when I checked them out as a possibility for my move. The seemed rather high priced for my needs but much of that was due to the distances from their nearest offices. If you’re dealing with less driving on their part then it may make sense.

Thank you for your quick reply. I was worried about the cost since it is so convenient and would work out so well for us and that usually means $. I haven’t yet seriously looked into them as this plan is only a few days old but it is on the To Do List. There is SO much to get done!

We put our stuff in a storage locker for 3 months and went on an extended cross country camping trip once. Most fun I’ve had in 3 months ever. The beauty of putting your stuff in storage is that it is so cheap - so even while we weren’t making money our expenses were super low - just the storage, food, camping fees & gas really.

So I wouldn’t discount comparing prices with your local storage rentals either.

Enjoy yourselves.

We used a similar product (Ratpacks) for our move two years ago and they were great.

We needed three (!!) of them since we had so much crap, but the company was responsive, helpful and the total cost was less than a traditional moving truck. We used three companies, one to load our boxes into the Ratpacks, one to transport them and a third to unpack at the other end. Again, all of those bills, total, cost significantly (>$1,000) LESS than a traditional move on a truck.

If your ultimate destination and time frame is amiguous, PODS would be perfect for you.

You can pack up your stuff into one or more PODS containers, then they’ll come and haul the container(s) to the local warehouse. You can store them there indefinitely, then once you know where you’re moving to, just call PODS and they’ll bring them to wherever for you to unload.

We used PODS for a cross-country move last year. It was not cheap, but it was less than a full-service mover and only very slightly more than renting (and fueling!) a comparable-sized truck. We did agonize over the options of selling large items, towing a rental trailer, driving a rental truck, renting a trailer AND a truck, etc. and using PODS containers eventually won out as it’s very easy, doesn’t complicate driving and parking, you’re not worried about someone breaking into a trailer while you’re at a motel, etc… And don’t overlook the ease of loading a PODS container - no ramps here - just a one inch or so step to get in. You will come to love that itty-bitty step, especially if you’ve ever loaded a regular rental truck with a deck nearly four feet up on a skinny ramp.

For a smallish three bedroom house, we needed two of the full-size containers. We could have easily done three, and should have, but we were tight on cash, so replacing the piano, table saw, two desks and a china hutch was a deferred cost that exceeded the price of another container.

We did have a fairly modest damage claim for water damage. We don’t know what happened, but the container experienced some sort of trauma along the way where the “PODS” sign was ripped off and water got in. The other container stayed perfectly dry. All we had to do was take some pictures and send them in with some evidence of the items’ value and they paid up reasonably quickly. One thing that probably helped was that I had photos of the loading party showing an undamaged container and at the other end, I took photos showing the side where the sign used to be.

We started living full time in a motor home close to 8 years ago.
This thread might be of interest to you http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=569854

We used a POD when we moved last November. It was perfect.

We got either the smallest or the second smallest and I insisted all our stuff wouldn’t fit. I was wrong. It’s amazing how much you can fit in one of those things.

We had it delivered 1 week or so before we were to move. We filled it gradually and locked it up every night.

We had some problems with getting our stuff delivered but it wasn’t PODS’ fault. We had an arrangement with the executor handling the sale of the house we’re in now, allowing us to move in before the sale was final but lines kept getting crossed after the driver had already picked up our POD. We ended up in a hotel for 2 days and then we slept on the living room floor of our new house for a day before the POD was delivered. BUT, getting our delivery canceled and then rescheduled was very easy and they’re more than pleasant to work with. Our driver was particularly nice.
So, you go online and order the stuff you want. They drop the POD off at the designated place and on the designated day. You fill it up at your leisure. Then they either pick it up and bring it to your new home, or they pick it up and store it for you until you’re ready for it, at which point, they deliver it for you.

For storing, I’d say it’s preferable to a storage unit in that when you’re done traveling, you can call them up, schedule a delivery, and when you arrive at your new place all your stuff will be there waiting to be unpacked. With a storage unit, you have to go through the hassle of getting a truck, unstoring it, bringing it home, and then unpacking it. After an extended time away from home, is that really what you want to deal with?

For some strange reason, I still have the PODS order confirmation in my email. It cost us $277 for 1-12’ POD, with pick up, a short store, and delivery. I believe that price was for a month of total POD usage but we didn’t have it nearly that long. Alas, you don’t get a refund if you don’t keep it the whole time.

All in all, I absolutely will use them again in the horrifying event of me having to move from this house. I will also recommend them to anyone who is planning on moving.

We’ve been using a 16 foot long pod for storage for about 9 months now while we remodel. It’s about $135 month. We used a smaller one for the same purpose several years ago. These things are extremely convenient. It’s on our property, we can get in and out whenever we want. If we ever move I’m sure we’ll do this instead of the rushed packing and unloading we’ve been through in the past. They can also pick up a full pod and put it in long term storage.