$$$$ Moving your Stuff to USA from Canada

[Hill.ary 54]

Hello!

 

What is the most COST EFFECTIVE way to move your stuff from Canada to USA??

 

We are moving my husbands stuff from Vancouver, BC to Los Angeles, CA. As much as I am excited, I am also dreading this part. We have a tiny 1 bedroom apartment in Vancouver. Most of the stuff will be sold/given away (the furniture: couch, tv, bed etc, kitchen stuff). His clothes, computer, work equipment, and some other things he would like to keep will be coming to Los Angeles. I THINK it might fit in a large SUV or even smaller if we were to drive. I am trying to not spend an arm and a leg here as this whole process has really taken a toll on our pockets. Driving from Vancouver to LA would take 22 hours (with no stops and no traffic). His work equipment can't go on a plane. Too big for a carry-on and has a large battery that can't be checked. 

 

I am worried about the weather and driving as well since it is winter time. Any tips or help would be greatly appreciated.  

[Crazy Cat 41,857]

One-way van rental from a "U-Haul" type company....

[Mevora 11]

I am in the same boat. i got a quote of 3000 USD Toronto to Dallas. There are very limited options when it comes to such long moves. Ideally you should search for movers who're moving stuff from LA to Vancouver since they'll be cheap int aking the stuff back

[AstroCanada 206]

Cross border moves are fairly expensive as there are not many companies that do it.  I'm properly impressed by Mevora's quote, as that seems rather cheap or maybe it's a very small mount of furniture.  

 

If there's any way that you can fit it into a large vehicle and move yourself, I recommend that.  The highway is well-maintained even in winter, and you'll probably want to make one or two overnight stops.

 

Otherwise, full service movers that do US to Canada are Atlas or United.  I recommend looking for a "not to exceed" style quote.  Ensure that the estimator has seen your goods in person.  Internet/phone quotes for movers are a disaster waiting to happen.

[tinerich18 17]

What we did, my fiance flew from Austin to Detroit, then did a car rental in Detroit Airport and drove to Toronto. We drove from Toronto to Austin for 24 hours then drop off the car rental at Austin Airport. It is cheaper for one way car rental. We only spent $367 for 3 days one way rental. Hyundai SUV Tucson  is fine.

[BananaButton5 175]

We are donating everything he owns basically. He lives in a onebedroom. We are fitting everything into four suit cases and two carry ons and flying it home with the exception of his computer which we are mailing. This is most cost efficient if you can find cheap flights (we have some Air Canada discounts). But I realize that getting rid of everything is not an option for everyone. When we got quotes for uhaul, Pods, or shipping everything it was way too expensive. 

Edited January 9, 2019 by BananaButton5

[Hill.ary 54]

Thanks everyone I am thinking renting a car might be our best bet. Renting a UHAUL truck was around $1700 CAD not as bad as the pods etc, but when you add up the cost of gas eeeek. I was even thinking to just drive my car up there and back its about 3000 miles round trip, which I figure I'd fill up in gas maybe 10-12 times. But I really don't want to put the mileage on my car.

[aaron2020 11,651]

2 minutes ago, Hill.ary said:

Thanks everyone I am thinking renting a car might be our best bet. Renting a UHAUL truck was around $1700 CAD not as bad as the pods etc, but when you add up the cost of gas eeeek. I was even thinking to just drive my car up there and back its about 3000 miles round trip, which I figure I'd fill up in gas maybe 10-12 times. But I really don't want to put the mileage on my car.

Be careful.  Most rental companies do not allow their customers to take their rented vehicles into another country.  

[NikLR 13,227]

2 hours ago, aaron2020 said:

Be careful.  Most rental companies do not allow their customers to take their rented vehicles into another country.  

Uhaul is fine  but rental cars are not. 

 

Uhual cost us $1600 plus gas and deposit (about $250) one way from Red Deer AB to Denver. 

[Ontarkie 14,223]

My husband drove up and we rented a large Uhaul trailer. Between his truck, him mom's car (she came too as there were 5 of us to move plus pets) and the trailer we fit just about everything. 

They have small trailers you could do too. 

[d24v 200]

U-Pack from Alberta to Connecticut is quoted at $2,400 (let's assume the quote is in USD).  

 

U-Haul quote (up to 8 days and 4,894km) for a 10' truck is $3,486 (which again, I'm assuming is USD and holy ####### that's criminal considering you still have to fill that thing with gas).

 

A U-Haul U-Box is quoting at $3,290.95.  Again I am assuming this is in USD, but I am super unclear on why anyone would pick them over U-Pack if they come in at nearly a grand more.  

 

I've been intending to go with U-Pack unless there is a cheaper (but not sketchy) option out there that I having considered...

 

 

[Flames9_RN 358]

back in 2004..rented a Uhaul to go from NS to DC, think it was $800 Cdn then......Got a whopping 10 mpg,lol  Not many car rental places such as Hertz/Avis do 1 way rentals to another country.  Uhaul tends to be the cheapest you drive  route. Also factor in in selling/giving away and just buying new stuff.   Personally I like to drive so enjoyed the experience..My wife was suppose to join me, but lucky her had to have emergency dental surgery.  

 

1 thing to keep in mind with U haul.....You may have to drive a bit to pick up the Uhaul..that was the case in 2015 when We moved my dad from Saskatoon to Kamloops.  We booked it online..and expected to pick it up in saskatoon.....nope....had to drive 1.5 hours just to pick it up!!   The lady at the uhaul pick up place stated that happens a fair bit.  All depends on the size of truck you need and where its located.  

Edited January 12, 2019 by Flames9_RN

[NikLR 13,227]

20 hours ago, d24v said:

U-Pack from Alberta to Connecticut is quoted at $2,400 (let's assume the quote is in USD).  

 

U-Haul quote (up to 8 days and 4,894km) for a 10' truck is $3,486 (which again, I'm assuming is USD and holy ####### that's criminal considering you still have to fill that thing with gas).

 

A U-Haul U-Box is quoting at $3,290.95.  Again I am assuming this is in USD, but I am super unclear on why anyone would pick them over U-Pack if they come in at nearly a grand more.  

 

I've been intending to go with U-Pack unless there is a cheaper (but not sketchy) option out there that I having considered...

 

 

Prices are normally quoted in the country in which you obtain the quote.  So when I was in Canada we paid in CDN. 

 

We ordered the 10' truck but it wasn't available for a 1 hour drive so we ended with the next size up for no extra charge.   It was an 18 hour straight drive, including food, gas, and pit stops. 

Edited January 12, 2019 by NikLR

[d24v 200]

3 hours ago, NikLR said:

Prices are normally quoted in the country in which you obtain the quote.  So when I was in Canada we paid in CDN. 

 

We ordered the 10' truck but it wasn't available for a 1 hour drive so we ended with the next size up for no extra charge.   It was an 18 hour straight drive, including food, gas, and pit stops. 

Yeah I’m not 100% sure just because U-Haul and U-Pack are both .coms vs. .cas; if the prices are CDN, that would be a bonus. I always assume anything .com is in USD, even though the rentals originate in Canada. 

 

The prices would at least be comparable if U-Pack was in USD and U-Haul was CAD...

[Mevora 11]

Based on the quote + storage & other fees, I've reconsidered and now selling all my furniture and bigger items & now only taking smaller items. I've an SUV which I want to keep so I'll drive that with a Uhaul trailer. Have to install hitch so I think it'll cost me $1500 for hitch, car + travel + Fuel + hotel etc. Sound a good deal since it'll be a good long trip for us. Will get a storage once we're there and live in Airbnb till we find a place for us