Moving the shop using pods

[Nathan Callender]

So my wife has found a new job and we are currently in a the manic stage of getting our house packed and staged for selling and moving. We will most likely use upack cubes since we need to store part of our belongings now to stage the house. We will get two cubes now to declutter. So I'm thinking I might as well pack up the shop too now just to make the final move easier. These cubes will sit in storage for several months before our move.

So any tips from those who have used pods in the past to move tools? I don't have anything fancy, contractor saw, band saw, dc, j/p, dp, and portable tools.

Will I need to take machines off of mobile bases?

How do you secure a drill press properly?

Is a bench going to survive two+ month storage that's not climate controlled or should I save that for the final move?

Thanks for any thoughts. Lots of logistics in any move so this one is like all others. Totally consuming until it's done.

[Thomas Bank]

I helped friends move using a couple PODS® a couple years ago. Seeing them up close, I was amazed at how flimsy they were. I’m somewhat surprised that they don’t have more cases of them spilling their loads everywhere. I’d go and take a good look at the specific ones you’re going to be using - you mention UPack instead of PODS®, maybe they’re different. Also, where will they be stored? In a warehouse, I hope? If outside, there is no way I’d store tools in one.

[roger wiegand]

I used portable containers (can't remember which company, not PODS), and I was impressed with the quality of the container-- I was expecting flimsy, and these weren't. If you don't need their maneuverability you can just get a regular shipping container. The advantage of the PODS=like systems is their ability to load and unload them in small spaces.

My entire shop was packed in two of them for about 9 months, roughly June through April, in MA, so they saw both the summer heat and the typical Boston winter. I had no problems with anything that had been packed in them, no rust films, really no issues at all. The doors were gasketed and the container actually seemed to seal pretty thoroughly. The only problem was that the one that held my lumber stash was considerably overweight, it was only an understanding driver and the fact that we were moving less than a mile that saved me unpacking and re-packing the container.

In terms of packing, I had it packed so tight that nothing could move, so it really wasn't an issue. They don't give you a lot of tie-down points in the ones I was using.

I was very pleased with the whole process, and happy to have my stuff in my driveway, not in some unknown remote location.

[Bob Reeve]

I just moved in January and packed my complete shop in one 16x16x8' POD. I took the mobile bases out from under everything and used rachet straps to hold them to the rails in the POD walls. The POD stayed in storage several months in a warehouse and everything came through perfect. Highly recommend moving that way.

[Jay Larson]

How do you secure a drill press properly?

Not sure of the model you have, but my Delta comes apart. Take off the motor. Lift the head unit off of the post, may need help with that. Remove the table. Unbolt the column from the base. Pack up.

[Charles Taylor]

How do you secure a drill press properly?

Not sure of the model you have, but my Delta comes apart. Take off the motor. Lift the head unit off of the post, may need help with that. Remove the table. Unbolt the column from the base. Pack up.

If the head and table can slide all the way down the post, then that will lower the center of mass so it won't be tippy, and you can keep it together.

[Rollie Kelly]

When we moved last summer, I looked into Pods to move my shop. No go, Pods have a 5000# gross limit. It doesn't take very much "arn" to exceed that. I finally bought 2 used shipping containers. Storage is no problem, weather proof and vermin proof. Well maybe not 2 legged vermin.
Rollie

[roger wiegand]

No go, Pods have a 5000# gross limit.

The ones I used had a 10,000 lb limit. Filled with a mix of lumber and tools the heavy one I had went 11,500. Fortunately the driver moved it anyway.

[Jim Finn]

I moved my entire shop by myself three years ago using PODS. I was younger then (70) I built two plywood ramps just high enough to roll everything into the PODS and out again. (3 1/2" high) I secured the equipment with ropes and straps and all went well. I moved my 14" band saw with riser by laying it down in the PODS container. You could do the same with a drill press I think. My move was only four miles ,,,,,,,,,,,your mileage may vary.

[Marc Burt]

I used PODS when I moved in 2014/2015. I had to put everything in storage while our new house was built and we moved into a temporary 2 bed apartment. I went with PODS for 3 reasons:
1. A quote for moving and storage from the pro's was over $6000 (it was a local move, less than 5 miles)
2. PODS were stored indoors, here at least.
3. I could load at my leisure.

I agree that the skin was flimsy but the structure was sound. Solid floor, 4x4 posts etc. I made a ramp wheel/handtruck everything I could in. I left machines on mobile bases and just tied them off. The only thing I had trouble with was my bandsaw as it was too tall to roll into the pod. I had to get some help to tilt it down and under (19" saw).

Overall I had a good experience. They showed up when they said they would. Drivers were friendly and competent. There was no rust anywhere and just loading up a 3" incline vs going up and down a truck ramp was SO much easier!

I'd recommend it. My cost back then was about $650 total for 2 units for 4 months. Search the Internet, there's plenty of coupons if you go with PODS themselves.

Edit: I should mention that for top heavy or tall tools I used a ton of tie down straps. My units had numerous eye screws to tie to. My only complaint was that there are no lights. It gets dark around 6:30 in the fall here so I had to park my car and shine the headlights in order to see.

[Daniel O'Neill]

FWIW Woodworkers Journal's new issue comments on this in the Q&A section. The author asks for advice on moving the shop and the response is, in short. Pay a lot of money for movers or use a POD. The Author said that he put his machines on pallets that he built and then loaded up a POD. I'm not sure I'd go with the oversized pallets like he mentioned but some of the guys have talked about laying some machines down etc. I think if you consider those ideas then you'd make more efficient use of your space. But again as mentioned watch the weight limits.

[Chris Stolicky]

When we moved about a year and a half ago, I went with the Mayflower equivalent to PODS. They said that the weight limit was ~7,000 lbs, and I packed it full. It was pretty solid and I roped everything down/against the walls very well. Only nervous part was that I realized when it was dropped off, it was actually a roll-off box, not the POD style vertical lift system. It worked, and was cheaper than PODS, but a bit scary when it was tilted. Everything worked out though. Good luck.

[Thomas Canfield]

I moved my shop 4 years back using a POD. I made a spreadsheet with estimated weight (came within 5% of actual) and also LxWxH for items to help keep track of total weight and also help with the loading to pack the box tight. I did use some rachet tie downs, ropes, and tried to fill void spaces with objects. I took my Powermatic 3520B lathe apart to load, but had the headstock on the bed during shipment. My floor drill press and 14" bandsaw were packed upright with tie straps and lots of boxes packed around them for stability. I had a walk path from front to rear that kept being shortened with packing, and was able to load some longer lumber on the floor. My POD was picked up and taken to a storage area for 2+months while I had a shop built. It took me 2 weeks to load the POD and only a day to unload with the empty new shop and some additional garage space for temporary storage. It did take a couple of weeks to get the shop into a useable condition, but definitely better than having movers do the packing, unload at a storage unit, and then pick up and move again.