ᐅ Long-Distance Domestic Move – How to Find a Moving Company?

I will write an excuse note for your wife.

Nida35a schrieb:


I will then write an excuse for your wife

I’m afraid she will only accept one written in my blood (whether it’s a full moon or not). But I wanted to avoid that for the next 40 years...

Let's arrange a small forum meetup at Kati's place, and on the way back, everyone from the south can take a few crates with them 😉

kati1337 schrieb:

Besides that, I think we would need a proper truck

From about 40 years old, people usually have a Class 3 license and are allowed to drive up to 7.5 tons (16,500 lbs).

WilderSueden schrieb:

I just looked it up: renting a 7.5-ton truck costs about 200€ per day when returned to the same location. A one-way fee is roughly the same again. But maybe there’s something cheaper out there. You can drive it with a Class 3 driving license—everyone knows someone with one.

Let’s calculate: 1 day loading, 1 day driving there, 1 day unloading, 1 day returning. That’s roughly 800€ for the truck, plus travel expenses and fuel (maybe 200€ each way?). You can definitely save money that way, but it’s probably more stressful.

That said, I’m also wondering how the company makes a profit with a 2500€ moving price. They still need at least 3–4 days and one overnight stay, calculated for 3 people...

200 euros? How many kilometers are included? I’m asking just out of disbelief, because we moved from Bavaria to East Frisia with a Sprinter van and cars, and just the mileage charge for the Sprinter was 263.99 euros. On top of that came fuel costs and a fine from the police for overloading. So, realistically, we would have needed two Sprinter vans.

When moving back to Bavaria, it became clear that the savings compared to hiring a moving company would have been at best 1000 euros. We simply decided to spend that for the convenience, especially since we didn’t have much help (my wife was heavily pregnant, my mother was looking after the baby, and my dad and I did the dismantling). Also, the moving company is liable if something breaks. When you do the loading yourself, something usually ends up broken.

But I also think that the moving company probably didn’t earn much with that price. However, I know they had to go straight to the next move after unloading (Upper Palatinate > North Rhine-Westphalia).

Good point. I just checked again, and it seems only 100 km (62 miles) per day are included, with each additional kilometer costing €0.46. In that case, the one-way option would probably pay off just because of the extra kilometers.

Tolentino schrieb:

But these worries are driving me crazy. I’m about to get into a 3.5-ton (7,700 lbs) truck and drive to you, making three trips back and forth, and the job would be done. Although my wife would probably kill me…

I’ll join you. I can offer a 7.5-ton (16,500 lbs) truck plus a trailer and drive back and forth as many times as needed—and I’ll just bring my wife along ;D

WilderSueden schrieb:

Good point. I just checked again, and only 100 km (62 miles) per day are included, with each additional kilometer costing €0.46. In that case, a one-way trip might be worthwhile just based on the extra kilometers.

It’s worth comparing!
Different providers have different rates, both for included kilometers and additional kilometer charges.
If Kati seriously considers renting a vehicle here—which I don’t expect 🙂, I’d be happy to have a look...

A tip on the side: sometimes it’s cheaper to rent a truck for a full week rather than just two days, which can lower the price per day 😉
You have to experiment with the options. At least three years ago, I booked a 7.5-ton (16,500 lbs) truck for a week including 1200 km (750 miles) for a complete package price of €440. Last year, I rented it for 4–5 days (I don’t remember exactly) because it was cheaper than booking for just two days 🙂