U-Pack Moving

I recently moved from DC to Southern California. I decided to use Upack (trailer not drop off small containers) instead of PODs for several reasons. Upack trailer service (all metal trailer) drops off and you pay by the ft. The problem with PODs is that they are way smaller than a standard trailer made of plastic and don’t allow add on space. I estimated I need a half trailer, I was way off, I needed all 25ft of trailer. Upack was pretty flexible on dropoff trailer dates and I took a solid week to pack. I also stored my trailer in cali two months while I looked for a house, I liked that it was locked in a metal trailer. Monthly storage was more that pods, I think $ 590 a month but you only have to pay storage fee on one container vs multiple pod containers. There custome service was very good as well. One tip, carefully pack your furniture and boxes tightly so there is little movement. I did a sloppy job and there was some light damage from falling boxes, etc…

U-​Pack was great from start to finish! They were more affordable than any other option for a 3,000 mile cross-​country move from northern Virginia to western Washington. I did a quote online and then got a phone call from their central call center to get everything reserved. The customer service rep who worked with me was very detailed and clear on the terms, including that delivery was not guaranteed and could be anywhere from seven to nine business days, or longer if inclement weather was a factor.
The Manassas dispatcher was pleasant on the phone. The men they sent out to drop off the trailer and then pick it up were both very personable and friendly.
I will absolutely recommend U-​Pack to anyone looking to do a long distance move. Our 27′ trailer was completely full and only cost approximately $ 5,400 total, compared to the $ 1/​lb. that United Van Lines quoted me — and we had 12,300 lbs in our trailer!
U-​Pack uses ABF’s freight terminals and trucks, so it’s not handled the same way as traditional moving companies or storage moving companies like U-​Haul and PODS. Don’t expect the same kind of model — if you leave your shipping containers or trailer at the terminal for any amount of time, keep in mind it’s a freight terminal, not a climate-​controlled consumer storage facility. If you use ABF’s U-​Pack service with the right expectations, you will not be disappointed.

Yes, it was cheap and no, I didn’t have to drive a U-​haul truck across the state. But otherwise, this wasn’t a great idea. Moving cube for a 1-​bedroom apartment was TINY. Luckily I was already leaving behind my sofa, chair, bed frame, desk and entertainment center. If I hadn’t been, there is no chance ANY of it would have fit. My movers said they see this all the time — one guy had to leave behind his entire living room because the «1 bedroom» cube wasn’t big enough. I only took a mattress (no box spring), dresser, 2 nightstands and a dining table and chairs plus boxes and the cube was completely full. Be very careful when they tell you that a 1 bedroom cube will work.
Next, you need to know that you can’t schedule pick up until they actually drop it off — which is a big problem when you are the last drop off on a Friday afternoon and Monday has already filled up. I pushed and pushed and got a Monday pick up but it was a big hassle. The drop-​off on the end is sketchy — you aren’t really sure when it is going to come so scheduling movers is difficult. I ended up scheduling the move later than when the cube arrived so I could plan for movers — and even with that they wouldn’t give me first thing delivery and instead I got a 4 hour window (9a-​1p). At 10a I called to see when they were coming and they said they were on their way. At noon I called and they said they forgot to put my box on the truck and they would be out in 2 hours. I had a small fit and they got it to me by 1p but again, another big hassle.
I relayed all of this to the company and they politely thanked me for my feedback. I’m positive they will do nothing with it since the right size cube would mean a more expensive quote and less booked trips.
Moving is stressful enough without adding all of this to the mix. I wish I had just done the u-​haul so I didn’t have to depend on this company who clearly only cares about getting you to book the move, not making sure it actually goes well.

Great deal, professional and friendly drivers and customer service.
I would use them again for a move.
We moved 3 states away and everything was timely and arrived safe and sound!

My husband and I recently moved from LA to Virginia and we used Upack for the second time. They were great about bringing the truck to the location on schedule and picking up the truck on schedule. They are easy to call and you get a person on the phone rather than an automated service. The only thing that is kind of a negative is that the terminals that the trucks are delivered to first before it comes to your home doesn’t work on weekends so your truck will not be delivered on a weekend. Expect it to be a day or two behind due to weather or like i said. due to the fact they will not deliver on a weekend. Customer service is great as my husband and I were unable to open up our partitions as our furniture had moved and put pressure on the boards. We tried and tried to do it ourselves but we couldn’t and we had no one to help us. So we called Upack and they forwarded us to the person closest to us in Virginia. The main guy actually came out himself with tools to open up the partitions. He was great and we truly appreciated his customer service and him helping us when he really didn’t have to. We would have been stuck if it wasn’t for the Upack customer service. I highly recommend them… just remember to give them a couple extra days in your planning that way you don’t get frustrated when your truck gets stuck in bad weather and doesn’t arrive on time. Overall… great company, very easy to use and affordable!
In response to the previous review. Upack doesn’t pack your stuff for you. if you want that Upack specifically states in the website that they can connect you with another moving company that packs it for you… Upack is strictly a freight system… the previous review should be for the packing service that they used.

I’ve used ABF to move twice now and while the first time was great this second time was really frustrating.
The guys at the depot /​terminal were great. I loaded my stuff there and needed to leave it stored in the trailer for a few weeks while I looked for an apartment at my destination.
However, when I did finally find one and called up ABF UPack to get it moving, it took 6 days from when I called them to actually get it to leave the terminal there. As a result I had to spend those extra 6 days living in an apartment with absolutely nothing in it.
I’d also like to warn people that unlike moving locally, using UPack it’s very easy to unwittingly pack your stuff in such a way that it rubs in transit and suffers significant damage. I had a couch that got messed up the first time and several pieces of wood furniture (that were packed poorly by movers) that were damaged the second time.
You really can’t be too careful in how you pack your stuff.
Besides those issues the prices are pretty good and your stuff does show up. Next time I might just go with a dedicated mover like Mayflower or something though so I can blame them if anything gets damaged in transit.