A 2,400 Mile Interstate Move From Marietta to Santa Rosa, Loaded on a Monday and Delivered That Saturday

A four bedroom house, eight movers, three trucks, and a binding interstate estimate. One line on the invoice moved. Here is the whole thing.

The job

A four bedroom house in Marietta moving to Santa Rosa, California. Roughly 2,400 miles, 3,190 cubic feet, and an estimated 22,333 pounds of household goods.

The estimate was signed on May 9 for a June 8 load. Two items needed crating: a 48 by 48 granite table out of a gazebo, and a 38 by 38 marble coffee table top.

How it was scoped

Eight movers and three trucks, quoted as a binding interstate estimate at $33,481.86.

On an interstate move, binding means the price is set at booking from the estimated weight and inventory. The transportation charge was priced against 21,983.5 pounds. The long distance fuel surcharge was calculated as a fixed 52 percent of that transportation charge, so it was locked at booking too.

The estimate also set the boundaries plainly, which is worth repeating because it is where most interstate disputes start. The quote covered 250 boxes, with every 10 additional boxes beyond that adding $50. Items disassembled would be reassembled, cribs excepted. The crew would not unmount wall mounts bolted into walls and would not disconnect or connect utility lines for washers, fridges, or other appliances. The customer was responsible for transporting chemicals, cleaners, liquids, aerosols, paint, gas, oil, propane tanks, fire extinguishers, firearms, ammunition, live plants, jewelry, cash, and prescription medication.

A $100 reservation fee, which is not a deposit, locked the date.

What happened

The crew loaded on Monday, June 8. The load day ran 7 hours 15 minutes.

The shipment then moved across seven job legs: the load, four travel days, the unload, and the truck's return leg. Delivery was June 13.

Five days from loaded to delivered, on a 2,400 mile lane. Industry standard delivery windows on a cross country move of this size commonly run 10 to 21 days, because most carriers consolidate several shipments onto one trailer and route it to fill the truck. This shipment went direct on dedicated equipment, which is why the dates are what they are.

What it cost

The $80.04

One line moved. Materials went from $40.80 to $120.84, a difference of $80.04, which is four mirror cartons at $20.01 each.

Everything else held. Transportation, fuel, both crating charges, packing by container, and the valuation premium all billed exactly as quoted.

Packing materials are the one component of a binding interstate move that is not binding, and the reason is straightforward. Nobody can know in advance exactly what will need packing. Everyone's belongings fit differently, and when a customer packs some of it themselves it is harder still to predict what the crew will need on the day.

That works in both directions. The estimate states it directly: material is estimated, and the customer does not pay for material that is not used. On this job it ran four cartons over. On another it runs under, and the customer pays less.

For scale, the overage was 0.24 percent of the total. Fifteen mirror cartons on this job were provided at no charge. Four more were needed and those four were billed.

A note on the weight

The shipment was estimated at 22,333.5 pounds and the transportation charge was priced against an actual 21,983.5 pounds. It came in roughly 350 pounds light, about 1.57 percent under.

The price did not change. That is what binding means, and it is worth being clear that it cuts both ways. A binding price does not rise when the shipment weighs more than estimated, and it does not fall when the shipment weighs less. The customer trades the chance of a refund for the certainty of a number. On a non-binding interstate move priced by actual scaled weight, that same 350 pounds would have moved the bill in one direction or the other, and the customer would not have known which until the truck was weighed.

What the coverage cost

This customer bought up. Georgia requires every licensed mover to offer valuation coverage, selected and signed before the crew touches anything, and the included option is Basic at 60 cents per pound by weight. On a 22,000 pound shipment that sounds like real protection and is not. A 200 pound dresser is covered at $120 no matter what it cost.

Instead the customer declared a total value of $132,000 and selected Interstate Full Value Protection, Option A, which carries no deductible. The premium was $924.

The premium is based on declared value. On this move, $924 against $132,000 declared works out to $7.00 per $1,000 of coverage, with no deductible if a claim is filed. Options B through D carry lower premiums in exchange for a deductible.

On an interstate move the minimum declared value is calculated at $6.00 per pound of estimated cargo weight. For a 22,333 pound shipment that floor is roughly $134,000, so the $132,000 declared here sits at about the minimum rather than above it.

Worth separating out: damage to a building or a lawn is not a valuation question. That falls under general liability and Wirks repairs it regardless of which valuation option was selected.

For the other side of this decision, see the Cumming local move, where the customer stayed with the included basic coverage at no charge.

Why this move is a useful example

Two things are worth taking from this one.

The first is the calendar. Loaded Monday, delivered Saturday, 2,400 miles. When a long distance carrier quotes a 10 to 21 day delivery window, that window exists because the shipment is waiting for other shipments to fill the trailer. A dedicated truck costs more per pound and the delivery date is a date rather than a range.

The second is what binding actually protects. The shipment weighed 350 pounds less than estimated and the price did not change. One line, the packing materials, moved by $80.04 on a $33,000 move, and it moved because it is the one component nobody can scope exactly in advance. Everything that could be fixed in advance was fixed in advance.

That is the trade. A binding interstate price is not the cheapest number a mover can quote. It is the number you will actually pay.