Finding a cheap moving company to help you move cross country, doesn’t always need to be that stressful. Making sure you find not only cheap long distance moving companies that you can rely on, but ones you can also trust is extremely important. Making sure your items get from your current home to your new home, is extremely important. Our company is dedicated to helping consumers move long distance at a cheap rate. If our company is unable to assist in your move, our goal is to help you find reliable moving companies to help you relocate at the cheapest rate possible. When it comes to moving cross country, getting not only a cheap rate but a reliable moving company is very important. We hope that the tips we’re about to break down will help you relocate without any possible problems arising.

When looking for moving help, it’s important to always check the license status of the cheap moving company you decide to hire. Hiring just anyone could result in problems later down the road. Many of the movers we encounter are notorious for theft, misplacing items and damaging your personal belongings. It’s important to make sure that the moving companies you consider to help you on moving day, have a valid license, and carry insurance. We strongly recommend staying away from classified ad sites, as they often give you the cheapest rates possible just to lock you in. Once the move has started, it’s very common for the moving companies to increase the cost and use your property as ransom. Again, stay away from classified ad websites when wanting a cheap moving company to help you on the day you move. See below our ten cheap ways to long distance moving, what to look out for, and possible tips to help you when relocating.

Check online reviews

Online reviews have become extremely important in recent years and for a good reason. It gives consumers a peek of how a business may operate. If the business is popular, it will show both the positive and negative experiences previous customers might have had. The online reviews you would read for a moving company would give you a general idea on what to expect should you decide to hire them. When trying to find cheap long distance movers in your area, it’s always a good idea to start by reading their online reviews.

Are they licensed, bonded, and insured?

Individual movers and overnight type companies won’t have this. Make sure the moving company has its business license, bonded, and is insured. Being licensed means the business is legally allowed to conduct business and provide moving services. Being insured is equally important because should something happen to your personal property, you’d want to make sure that the company insures the damaged items. Do not hire any long distance moving companies without first making sure all this is in order. It’s also a good idea to ask what type of insurance the company may have, most cheap movers will insure on a per pound basis. To give you insight on this, a box of rocks would be valued more than say a diamond ring. Make sure that the insurance the movers have, cover the type of property you have.

Do they have a reliable website and customer service?

Having a nice website is a must. Individual providers and smaller companies will not have this, and you should avoid companies that don’t have a website. The site should provide the phone number of the moving company, along with photos of their business and trucks. Sometimes cheap movers you might find online won’t have a website and it’s important to stay away from these companies. It would also be a good idea to make sure they answer their customer support phone numbers and respond to emails before hiring them.

Do they have a real location?

Having a real location shows that the companies are both successful and reliable. If something happens, you can also go down to their location to get answers. The last thing you want to do is hire something from a classified ad type website, only to hand over all your belongings only to not hear from them again. Before you consider hiring one of these cheap long distance moving companies to help you with your move, make sure that they have a real location through Google Maps.

Do they have reliable trucks?

It’s also important to see if they have their fleet of trucks, newer ones too! The last thing you want to do is prepare for long distance moving only to have a problem happen halfway across the country because of outdated trucks used by the moving company. Worse, we’ve seen some trucks catch on fire resulting in people’s personal belongings go up in flames. Long story short, make sure the company you use has reliable trucks for that long-distance move.

Rent your own truck?

If you’re up for the hard labor, the best thing you can do to keep your long distance move as cheap as possible is by renting your own truck. There’s a lot of cheap companies that provide rental trucks at a very low rate. This would require that you do all the hard labor on your own and could easily save you several thousand dollars. If you have a significant other, family or friends that you feel could help you on moving day, going the rental truck option might be your best bet.

Find free moving boxes and supplies

All long distance movers need supplies, whether it’s boxes or tape. Making sure you have these supplies before you start packing is very important. If you go to a moving company or a big box store, most of these places easily charge a few dollars per box. Tape can easily run upwards of ten dollars depending on the type. If you’re moving an average-sized house, you could easily spend a great deal of money on just supplies. We always recommend consumers to go to local retailers or grocery stores and ask if they have any boxes available that they could part with. By doing this, you would get boxes for free and this would give you the cheapest option when it came to supplies.

Choose a better moving date

Whether you decide to hire long distance moving companies or decide to do this on your own, the best way to ensure a cheap move is to pick a better date. Moving on say a weekend or holiday, would result in more traffic and longer moving time. If you decide to go the route of hiring a company, expect increased costs when they drop off your belongings. To get the cheapest rate when hiring a mover, try to move in the colder months, during weekdays and away from holidays. By moving on these dates it will provide the cheapest rate possible when compared to days that might not be so busy.

Reduce how much stuff you have

Most people don’t need most of the things they have. We always recommend that people have yard sales before they move. By doing this, the person will be able to go through all the things they own and get rid of the things they no longer need. You’d be quite shocked at the amount of things you could get rid of by having a yard sale. It’s always recommended to have a sale to make your long distance move as cheap as possible.

Enlist family and friends

Whether you decide to do the move on your own or you decide to hire a moving company, it’s always a good idea to have family and friends help you. This will ensure that the moving companies you hire give you a cheap rate for the long distance move. Most companies will try and upsell you and increase your overall cost if they have to bring in more labor to move your belongings. Having yourself, family or friends help load the truck would significantly reduce the cost.