When you hire professional movers for your relocation, you expect them to show up at your doorsteps with an appropriate size moving truck, load your belongings, and drive them to your new home.
Sometimes, however, things may not happen exactly this way. A large moving truck may not be able to get close to your home and the movers may need to use a smaller vehicle (a shuttle truck) to take your items from your residence to the big trailer, then transfer the goods to it so the eighteen-wheeler can transport them to your destination.
This process slows down the move and makes it much more difficult and laborious – and the risk of damage to your items increases as they’re loaded and unloaded twice. Yet, under certain circumstances, it is the only viable option.
Using a shuttle truck to move a customer’s items between their home and the large tractor trailer is known as a moving shuttle service. Read on to find out how it works, when it is required, and how much it costs.
What is a moving company shuttle service?
Moving companies offer a number of extra services that make the relocation process safer, smoother, and more efficient. The moving shuttle service is one of these accessorial services. It is oftentimes required during long-distance moves.
Long distance movers use big tractor trailers to transport their customers’ items across the country – these large trucks can carry a lot of cargo, so the movers can consolidate several shipments going along the same moving route in one trailer. This provides great efficiency – the movers transport several customers’ goods at once, thus saving a lot of time and fuel – and makes moving cheaper for everyone. (See also: Sharing moving truck space means sharing moving expenses)
What’s more, even though the big trailers can carry much more than smaller trucks, they don’t cost much more to operate – so, using tractor trailers allows movers to transport more cargo for almost the same cost. It is easy to understand, then, why moving companies almost never use smaller trucks for long distance moves.
This means that if you hire professional movers for your cross country move, they will transport your belongings in an eighteen-wheeler. Depending on where you live, however, the enormous truck may not be able to get close to your home.
If the movers can’t park the trailer within reasonable distance of your home (no more than 200 feet away from the residence, so the movers can carry your boxes and items to the truck without wasting too much time and getting overly tired), a shuttle service will be required.
Your hired moving helpers will leave the tractor trailer in a convenient safe location and will use a shuttle (a smaller, more maneuverable truck) to take your items from your home to the eighteen-wheeler.
The movers will pull the small truck up to your front door, will load your belongings in it, and will drive them to the waiting trailer. Then, they will transfer the goods to the big truck that will transport them to your new home.
Depending on how many items you have for moving, this process may take several trips with the shuttle truck.
If the big trailer cannot get close to your new home, the same process will be used in reverse.
In what situation are shuttle services required?
Moving shuttle services are required when the customer’s residence is not accessible to the big trailers used for long-distance moves.
Your chosen movers will scope out the areas around the pickup and delivery locations (your old home and your new one) to see if a tractor-trailer will be able to get close enough. If it is determined that the large truck cannot access either homes, the movers will warn you that a shuttle service will be necessary.
There are many different reasons why a residence may be inaccessible to a big truck:
- Narrow roads
- Tight turns
- Steep inclines
- Clearance issues – low overhead structures, overhanging tree limbs, low hanging power lines and wires, etc.
- Local laws or requirements – weight restrictions, apartment complex requirements, city parking laws, etc.
Unpaved roads also make it very difficult for large and heavy trucks to access a home, especially if the ground is wet or too loose. And during a winter move, snow-packed roads can necessitate a truck shuttle service where it wouldn’t have been required otherwise (there may be enough cleared space for a small truck, but not for a big trailer).
Good to know: Generally, shuttle services are not necessary when moving locally, as big tractor trailers are not used for local moves. Local movers use smaller trucks that are allowed everywhere, don’t need a lot of parking space, fit under low bridges and overpasses, and can easily maneuver narrow streets and small spaces.
How much do shuttle services cost?
As all additional moving services, shuttle services incur an additional charge – and it’s easy to understand why:
1) A second truck is required for the job – and it incurs extra costs:
- If the movers don’t have a smaller truck, they will need to rent one and pay the rental fee and the fuel costs;
- If the company has shuttle trucks, there will be no additional rental costs, but the movers will still need to pay for the gas to bring the shuttle to your home and back.
2) Using a shuttle slows down the move, as transferring the shipment from the smaller truck to the big trailer (or vice versa) takes a lot of extra time. The movers spend much longer on the job than they spend on moves where no shuttle services are required. This means that they can take fewer moving jobs – so, they lose potential profit.
3) A shuttle service requires a lot of extra work – the movers need to not only load the shipment on the moving truck (as with regular moves), but also unload everything and load it again onto the big trailer (or the other way around). It’s a lot of additional labor.
4) There is an increased risk of damage due to the double handling of the shipment.
The additional moving shuttle fees help reimburse the movers for these extra expenses, additional labor, and potential losses.
So, how much is the shuttle fee? The charge is based on the weight of the shipment – typically, between $0.08 and $0.12 per pound. Most moving companies have a minimum fee of $200.
If you need a shuttle service at both the pickup and delivery locations, you will most likely have to pay the extra moving company shuttle fee twice. Keep in mind though that there are companies that don’t charge for shuttle services at origin – or at destination. Be sure to ask before choosing a mover to work with – you may be able to save several hundred dollars on the extra service.
Good to know: Shuttle services are always required in big cities (due to the narrow streets, lack of parking space, height limits, and weight restrictions common in metropolitan areas), so they’re built into every quote.
See also: How to get an accurate estimate of your moving costs
