Any household movers in the forum?

Glad someone enjoys this line of work. Probably not for everyone. Especially those that are in the older age group that are just getting started with trucking cause they took a hit with the economy. You definitively SHOULD be paid way better than most of us just cause of the nature of the job. I've moved three times in the past two years. The idea of packing my crap up again for another move, NO THANKS

 

well, i know you will deal with a lot of miserable people, ex cons, drunks and drug addicts. i worked for a couple moving companies. terrible decision i hated every minute of it. if you're only going to drive OTR then i would imagine its not bad, you dont load or unload the truck if you dont want to, and take my advice, dont. pay a few guys to do it and get some sleep not worth the hassle.

 

You can p.m. me.I gave bed bugging more than 3/4 of my life. Local,regional,water to water . I still dabble in it in the summer season. I got out when $20-$40,000 line hauls turned into $12,000-$17,000 going all the way across. If you knew what we used to make and what their making now,you'd cry,bc the labor involved has not changed. It's still very physical work,just less pay.

As far as "not loading yourself"... That's not happening,you load or you lose,bc most of the labor want $, but are worthless. You are responsible for everything..i.e. the equipment,the house in its entirety ,the furniture,the labor and everything they,say and do!!! You'll gain "contacts" in each town that the company supplies,( not the bums that the old moving horror stories tell) they are background checked and so on,but "most are still lazy and argumentative" so you end up doing 97%yourself. But you'll find really good ones and place them in your black book for next time. They're rare these days,but when you DO get one,PAY EXTRA for next time. One day you'll have to crawl to your truck bc you're so tired,other days when you get to that city with good "rare" labor you'll feel we'll enough to do what truck drivers do and DRIVE! Lol driving is the easy part!!!

 

I used to take popcorn out to LA from Boston.They paid us to go out of route and drop to the bottom because the popcorn would explode in the high elevations...

Once there i had a ''ramp'' installed to the trailer i had and would spend 3 days picking up household for the military moves..It was paying 29,000 from Cali to KY to NJ and finish out in NH...

I remember those days when it was paying well.Then all of the sudden people were doing it for 12,000..

 

Yup the military moves were good in the 80's,90's were horrible then they picked up speed around 2004,and back to nothing now.

Thats funny about the popcorn...hee hee never thought of that.

 

$12,000? is that for a load?

I make that a year

 

Thats AFTER your expenses and time.

 

Find a company that has a military contract just to get a feel for it. You can learn a lot that way if you're not to sure about HHG. I liked it, I did local and long haul. RED BALL , GLOBOL, WEATION, UNITED. Started as a helper and moved up to lead driver. Lots of tips and food. Had a lot of cash handouts as a helper from OTR drivers, that means you might have to due a 1099 for tax. Did it for about three years in the mid 80s. Do not really know what it is like now. Good Luck.

 

True, back in the days were lotta of $$$, still today, all depends who you work for, experience and how HARD you want work, i've been doin this long time and it worths, i've never been a company driver 0r drived for somebody else, and i'll never do it, i prefer work in construction 0r anything, i hear a lot of horrible stories about how companies treat their drivers, **** that, se all do mistakes, but does not make sense to me, put My life at risk 0r somebody else just to make a couple extra $$$$, *****'em,

 

I know this is an old thread, but I would be happy to answer any questions that you have. I've own a moving company and am an agent for a van line, and I still drive because I like to get away. I know the money isn't what it was, but that's trucking now days. As far a drunks and druggies, get help from the local companies that your affiliated with, if not one go to the largest company in that town. I never pick up "street labor". I run alone a lot, but at times I'll take one of my top guys with me. I've never done freight other than little stuff here and there. I think moving is easier. Tons of money can be made, drive less than in freight drivers, no waiting at terminals. Plus the updated tech has helped. We have planners, dispatchers and can also log into the company load board for reloads. Not much sitting around as there use to be.
Personally I stay away when I can from military. It you to pay 100% of the tariffs, last one I hauled was discounted 67%, and had to do a full unpack and debris removal on the same day as unloading, this makes you have to hire more labor than you normally wild. Plus now you have to place items in the cupboards and closets.