As you prepare to move, you know that it will cost you to move. At the very least, it will cost you the price of a moving truck to use for one or two days. At most, well, that is another story altogether. Here are some typical and atypical moving charges and what you can expect from your local moving services.

Typical Moving Charges

The Charge for the Truck

No matter what type of move or which moving company you use, there is always the charge for the truck. You are either paying for its use, or paying for its gas and mileage. Either way, it comes out about the same financially.

Hand Truck Rental

A hand truck, or dolly, is going to be necessary at some point to help you get something really heavy out the door, onto the truck, and then out of the truck and into your new place. The charge for using the hand truck/dolly usually is not very much, maybe ten to fifty dollars per day, depending on which moving company you hire. Still, it beats the enormous medical bill you would have to pay if someone got hurt moving your stuff.

Box Charge

You can beg and plead with grocery stores and retailers for months in advance to save boxes for you, but you may still not have enough when the time comes. Then you will have to buy boxes from the moving company. It is very difficult to estimate this cost, as you may have to keep buying several batches of boxes until everything is packed and on the truck. Budget for boxes, depending on how many boxes you managed to get and pack before the movers arrived.

Atypical Charges

Charges for the Truck, Mileage AND Gas

Usually moving companies only charge for the truck. Sometimes they will charge for the truck and each mile traveled, or they will charge for the truck and a full tank of gas when the truck returns to the company lot. It is unusual for local movers to charge for all three.

Piano Dollies

Not everyone has a piano. Not everyone has to move something enormous or exceedingly heavy. Even if you do not have a piano, you might own something that is just as heavy. In that case, the movers would have to use a piano dolly or two to get this object out of your old place and into the new residence. If you do not have anything like a piano, or as large or as heavy as a piano, then you do not have to worry about this charge.

Hourly Wages for Two or More Movers

Most people attempt to load a truck on their own and either drive a rental truck or follow the movers to the next location. If the movers assist with loading, unloading, packing, or labeling, they are working for pay. You will have to pay their hourly wages, which could be as high as fourty dollars or more an hour for two movers. If you need more than two movers because friends and/or family backed out of helping you move, you could be looking at a hundred dollars or more per hour for the movers' wages.

Get Everything in Writing and READ the Contract

The only surprises with hiring a moving company are those that occur because customers did not read their contracts and are surprised by the final bill. Know what you are paying for before you sign the work order. 

For additional information and advice on moving, contact a moving company like Fairfax  Transfer and Storage Inc.