Garage Shop Movers?

[Derek Arita]

Well, the time has finally come. I'll be moving soon and I have a garage full of machines. I've read here and on other forums that your standard home movers can move machines as well. Has anyone had a good experience they'd like to share? Can anyone recommend a particular mover? I'm moving from Orange County, CA, to Sacramento area.

[Jay Knepper]

I had a great move from the Chicago area to eastern Tennessee. There's no point in naming the movers since it all depends on the crews you get, especially the driver. My recollection of similar threads is that people have more often than not had good results from professional movers.

Make sure that the crew understands not to pick up stationary machines by their tables. I would also remove any fences and the like from your machines.

There were some amusing monents during my move. I had a 2' x 8' x 6' high wood rack on casters that was fairly well loaded. The crew was grousing about how to manage it. The driver came in, glanced at the rack, and came up with a solution on the spot. They wrapped the whole thing in plastic wrap and rolled it on the truck. It took all of 3 minutes!

[Steven DeMars]

I would look at ATLAS & ALLIED . . . they tend to get all the contracts to move commercial operations that typically have heavy equipment. Don't be fooled by the "WE CAN MOVE PIANOS" & Specialize in Antiques Guys. Anyone can move a piano . . . .

Take pictures & more pictures prior to loading with a digital camera . . .Also, it may sound corny, but a friend of mine who has moved a good bit in his life used to really treat his movers well. Have food & drink available from start to finish. Also gather the crew for a group picture, let them know this move is important to you and they are part of it . . . . Cash tips are really helpful for the crew, and I don't mean a folded five in someones pocket . . . .

Remember document, document . . . . the hardest collection you will ever pursue will be from a moving company for damage that is not obvious to "just anyone", . . . a tweaked table or stressed cabinet does not show up on a picture . . . .

[daniel lane]

Derek, forgive me for intruding on your thread, but I am also in the process of packing up the house to move cross-country, and I have a question for everyone that might be relevant:

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Is there a reference somewhere that summarizes what I should do with my equipment in terms of preparation and packing? I've not been so successful searching the forum with the term "moving"...
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As for your question, Derek, I've not had to move much woodworking equipment in the past (accumulated much of it here), but my wife and I both had separate good experiences with North American moving large, heavy items without damage. That said, I believe what Jay said - the crew is the most important part of the equation. I would consider requesting from whatever company you use someone on the crew that has packed large, heavy tools before. The crew that showed up for my move before the NA move was so clueless that I don't think they'd even packed *dishes* before. I would have sent them home before I'd let them touch my tools. (Remember, didn't have them then...)


daniel

[Mike McCann]

I worked for a moving company during college. My suggestion is to remove anything and everyhting off the machines that you can and box them seperately. IE cranks/knobs/ports anything that could be caught on something. When movers pack a van they put everything in very tight so there is no movement of goods in the trailer. I would alos go over with the driver all the tools before movign and make any notes on where scratches are or aren't on the machines. They put this down on a check list and then you both inspect them when you unload/unpack. If is is hot make sure you have plenty of drinks for the movers and if it is an all day move provide b'fast and lunch. Bagels and deli sandwiches work great. Remeber no beer till after they are done.

[Mark Patoka]

Having made several military moves over the years, I don't know if there is a better company than another. The largest factor seems to be in the truck driver when it's loaded and the warehouse if it has to be unloaded and stored before final delivery. If possible get a door-to-door move where everything is only handled once.

If possible, be present when the crew is packing out your house. If you establish a good rapport with them for the few days they are there, they may be extra cautious or more attentive and work with you when it comes time to pack the shop.

The truck driver controls what goes on the truck and how it is loaded, particularly the large tools. Talk with them about any concerns as they are loading the big/bulky tools because stuff will get stacked on top of them. I've never had problems with the drivers or the loading crews.

We had the most problems with broken furniture because it had to be stored in a warehouse for a few months and the warehouse crew that made the delivery was terrible. My tools were fine, it was just a few furniture pieces that were broken. The stuff in boxes was always fine.

Take pictures of everything for insurance reasons. And if something is broken, the driver will blame the packers, the packers will blame the warehouse, the warehouse will blame the driver, etc.

[Don Bullock]

I'm already planning a move that I hope to do in the next few years from Venture County, California to the San Diego area. The shop equipment will be transported in a friends trailer, not by a mover. His trailer has a low bed with a strong ramp and plenty of rails on the sides to tie down the machines. Have you considered renting a similar trailer for your machines? Sacramento is less than an eight hour drive (at 55 - speed limit for trailers) from Orange County.

[jason lambert]

I just moved and I simply took the machines apart a little to reduce weight and size (like the table off the band saw etc, made sure nothing was loose or sticking out, took lots of moving blankets and lashing straps from harbor freight and wrapped many blankets around them then packed them onthe truck. Alot easer than crates and boxes and everything made it fine. You could also cut cardboard aound them and tape it on forming a box we did that with some things.

[Jim Becker]

When we moved from our prior residence to our current one in late November 1999, we used a local franchise of a brand-name mover. All my "stationary" machines went on one of the two trucks. Boxes that I packed with smaller stuff also went on the trucks but they were pre-packed by me and not stored in the shop. There was also no indication that they contained tools or stuff like that. I used a code system to label the boxes and contents.

[Ed Falis]

That kind of reminds me of the case of red wine I'd had stored that "got broken" when we moved from CA to MA a long time ago. It was insufficiently coded.