Moving Trucks vs Moving Containers: Pros And Cons

You're ready to move out of your house, and paying a moving company to do all the work isn't in the budget. You've decided to DIY it, doing the packing and providing the muscle to haul your stuff out of your old place and move it into the new. If this is the first time you've done a big DIY move, you may be wondering: Should I rent a moving truck or a moving container? Which one is more convenient and the better deal?

What's a moving container?

Pods and other moving containers range in size and style, but a common type is a rectangular, metal shipping vessel or trailer that the company delivers to your home and you pack on your own time. Leading brands include Pods and U Pack. When you're done, the company picks up the container, puts it on a truck and drives it to your destination (or a storage facility, if you need a little time between moving out and moving in). When it arrives at your new home, you unload it.

How do moving trucks work?

A rental moving truck is a commercial-grade box truck with an enclosed storage area for your belongings. They typically range from 10 feet to 26 feet long.

Here's how a rental truck works: You rent a truck that's big enough to hold your belongings, drive it to your old house, load it up, drive it to your new house and unload it.

A moving truck may be the best choice for you if:

• You need to move the contents of a large house.
• You live in an apartment or condo with no place to park a pod.
• You're moving locally, don't have much to pack up, and can load and unload in one day.
• You're on a tight timeline and need to pack up and unload within a few days.
• You will be unloading all of your possessions into your new home.
• You need to move your car.
• You're moving across town, not across the country.

A moving container may be the best choice for you if:

• You're on a longer timeline with your move.
• You're on a tight budget.
• You're moving the contents of a small, single-family home.
• You need to store some or all of your belongings when you arrive at your destination. Some pods come with 30 days of storage included in the rate.
• You don't want to drive a giant truck.

Moving truck vs. portable storage container

Deciding between a moving truck and a portable storage container depends on your circumstances. Consider the benefits and disadvantages and decide what's best for you.

Moving Truck Pros

You control when your stuff arrives.

Portable storage companies usually won't move a container on weekends, and you have to schedule its pickup and delivery a few weeks out. There's no spontaneity. With a moving truck, you are the driver, so you decide when your belongings arrive.

Moving trucks come in many sizes.

Moving trucks generally come in six sizes, ranging from 10 feet long to 26 feet long. Having a huge truck means you can move the contents of a 7-room house in one trip. And if you're moving a 2-room apartment, choosing a small option means you won't be paying for space you don't need. Moving containers tend to come in just three sizes: 7 feet (or 8 feet, depending on the company), 12 feet and 16 feet, with the largest designed to hold four rooms worth of stuff. However, container company U-Pack offers a full-size trailer option designed for 3-4-bedroom homes. 

You can tow your car behind a moving truck on a trailer.

You can rent an auto-transport trailer and take your car with you, all in one trip. Cars won't fit in a pod, so even if you're moving coast-to-coast, you'll have to drive your vehicle all the way or pay a shipping company to move it.

Moving container pros

You can take your time. 

You typically rent moving trucks by the hour or day. That often means moving in a rush to beat the clock and avoid extra charges. Within your brief rental period, you'll need to get the truck to your home, pack it up, move it to the new home, unpack it, and return it to the rental company. Storage containers tend to have much longer rental periods — as much as a month or as little as three days. Picking a moving container company with a longer rental period means you can take your time getting out of your old home and into the new — and avoid those weeks of living among unpacked boxes.

Portable storage companies haul your belongings for you.

You don't need a commercial driver's license to drive a moving truck, but being at the wheel of a 26-foot truck that weighs 13 tons fully loaded is a whole different experience than driving your car. It's not a job for the faint-hearted. Pod companies do the long-hauling for you, which can save on stress.

Avoid certain transport fees.

All moving companies charge for transport. That's their business. But for moving containers, the price tends to be more predictable. You'll get a quote based on a local or long-distance move in a certain mileage range, and that's that.

The cost of renting a truck is based on several factors, including the miles you put on the truck's odometer. Often there's a flat fee for a certain number of miles, and then a per-mile charge after that. If you're moving cross-country, going on a sightseeing jaunt, pulling off the highway to eat several times a day, or just getting lost can add to your mileage bill.

Those variables add to your gas costs, too. A typical moving truck gets 8 to 10 miles per gallon — depending on how heavily it's loaded and whether you're towing a trailer with it. If you're making an 800-mile move, you'll need to buy at least 80 gallons of gas. With gasoline running around $3 a gallon nationwide, that means you'll shell out $240 to $300 for fuel.

Load and unload without ramps.

Moving trucks are 2 to 3 feet off the ground, so you'll have to use a ramp to load it. You'll need burly friends and hired muscle to help you push the refrigerator, sofa and chest freezer up that ramp. Pods sit flat on the ground, so they are much easier to load.

Costs

Moving costs can vary a lot depending on how far you're going and how much you have to move.

Pods

Container companies prefer to give each mover a personalized quote. But PODS says the average cost of a local move with one of their containers ranges from $299 to $499, and long-distance moves can run from $1,237 to $2,999.

Moving trucks

Local moves with a small truck can start as low as $20 per day, plus any additional costs the company charges, like gas, mileage and insurance. But the cost of renting a large moving truck for a week (including fuel, insurance and mileage for a 1,766-mile trip) ranges from $2,800 to $4,100.

Still deciding? Here are 6 tips for preparing your budget when moving.