How to find reliable long distance movers without getting scammed
First-time long distance movers struggle to identify trustworthy companies and avoid deceptive lowball quotes that spike after collecting a deposit. This leaves people vulnerable to unexpected price hikes or trapped with high full-service rates when trying to relocate households or ship cars across state lines.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
Found another way around this?
Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.
- 1Reaching out to multiple moving companies for price comparisonsDid this help you?
- 2Checking company credentials and truck counts on the FMCSA licensing and insurance systemDid this help you?
- 3Packing belongings independently into moving pods like U-Pack or 1800-PackratDid this help you?
- 4Hiring local moving labor separately on each end to load and unloadDid this help you?
- 5calling multiple places to compare prices and feel out the companiesDid this help you?
- 6paying more for companies that provide better peace of mindDid this help you?
- 7reading reviews and avoiding moving brokersDid this help you?
- 8Shipping containers to a nearby city and renting a truck locally to complete the final leg of the moveDid this help you?
- 9Using alternative freight services like U-Pack by ABF Freight that cover rural areasDid this help you?
- 10Looking into cargo van rentals from companies like EnterpriseDid this help you?
- 11Considering standard truck rental companies like U-Haul and PenskeDid this help you?
- 12comparing quotes across multiple rental companiesDid this help you?
- 13asking for personal recommendations and reviews from othersDid this help you?
- 14Asking online forums for price comparisons and reliability recommendationsDid this help you?
- 15Using U-Haul U-Boxes as a cheaper alternativeDid this help you?
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“I’ve looked at quotes for PODS and UPACK. PODS was almost 4,000 and UPACK was around 1200.”source ↗
“Since it was such a major difference I wanted to come here and ask for people’s advice or experiences with portable containers and any recommendations for what company is more reliable or any other companies I should look into!”source ↗
“Hello! I am in the process of planning my first big move and I am struggling with identifying good movers.”source ↗
“I had an appointment with Mayflower and decided to go against it because we didn’t feel like we needed full service movers because the prices were through the roof.”source ↗
“What are some good reliable state to state vehicle transportation companies to use? This is my first time needing a vehicle transported from state to state, so any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! (:”source ↗
“That nice low price they quote you will be a nice high price the next thing you know. They lowball you to get your deposit, then run the price up after that when they have you trapped.”source ↗
“I’m looking for recommendations of transport service/ companies with reasonable pricing that can transport personal belongings from Barcelona to, let’s say, Bilbao?”source ↗
“It’s 5 big suitcases and a chair - I’ve come across information that it might cost 1200+ euro, and I am shocked.”source ↗
“Is it the normal range of pricing for such a service?”source ↗
“Moving cross country to a small town with no PODS or U-Haul services within 50 miles.”source ↗
“We could have it shipped to the city then rent a U-Haul to move our stuff but that seems like a lot of extra steps.”source ↗
“I'm following this conversation...I need to ship a car from MD to Texas.”source ↗
“Hey i am moving from Vienna to Tyrol and i need someone who can help me with moving furniture.”source ↗
“I have an emergency move coming up for a family member from across the country.”source ↗
“We were looking at cargo vans from Enterprise but it’s for a local move only.”source ↗
“Uhaul and Penske are out of budget, what do you all recommend for just moving all clothes/a few personal items, with this person not having their car to do it?”source ↗
“Anyone have suggestions and/or recommendations on moving trucks from personal experience. Have quotes from Penske, U-Haul and Budget. Just looking to see if anyone has had issues with any of these or if you liked whichever one you chose.”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 4How do you plan a first-time long distance move?
- 7Are full service moving quotes really this expensive?
- 20How to do a long distance road trip with a cat and dog
- 6Is it cheaper to ship a TV or buy a new one?
- 5How to move long distance without a trailer or a month-long wait
- 4How to figure out what size moving truck or trailer you need