Projects Moving tips! Need solid suggestions!

This is a great thread....keep them coming, I might be in the same situation in a year.

 

Maybe have your estate agent lay some emphasis on the "car guy/workshop " factor when your house gets advertised. If that actually results in a "car guy"sale the new owner should be happy to fork out extra on the side for your equipment.

 

We downsided our home and my shop five years ago. If none of your cars are projects you can get rid of a lot of stuff. If you still have a project or are thinking of building one your decisions are different. I was 78 when I moved and still able to actively do the building stuff. Not so much now. BE REALISTIC. If you are just maintaining what you have the decisions will be easier.
I went from 2,500 to 1,600 in the new shop I built. I had a lift company move mine (two post). $1,000 but way cheaper than a new one. Put a loft over the part not incombered by the lift. Gave me an extra work area. As indicated earlier, take your time, think it through, keep your age and future in mind.

 

I moved cross country in 2013, did a whole clean out of my stuff, several swap meets to thin it out. Kept primarily what I needed for current project. Three loads of metal to the scrap yard. Sold stuff like my engine hoist, compressor, blast cabinet. No sense paying to move it when you can rebuy it at the same price you sold it for. Now we just bought a new place about 10 miles away with a 40’x50’ shop. Will finally have a true dedicated workspace. Crazy how much stuff I’ve collected since 2013. I’m moving a lot of small stuff in my F150, but will get a mover to take all the bigger household and shop tools. Only one non-drivable car, I’ll have to rent a trailer for that.

 

Don't let your buddies pack the boxes from your workshop. When I moved from Kansas to New Hampshire, some friends helped. Instead of each of the 3 guys taking a box and packing a shelf or drawer, they put one box in the middle and each put stuff in it from 3 different places. I had a temp storage container for 5 yrs before we bought our own place. Never could find anything. Lol

 

My wife and I moved from Wisconsin to Lafayette Louisiana two years ago. I downsized a lot. Sold what I could, gave the rest away. Had the cars shipped and we rented two U hauls. I found a local moving company in Wisconsin to load up everything from the house and shop. My brother in law and I drove the U hauls to Louisiana. I hired a Lafayette moving company to unload everything in Lafayette. The moving company’s made moving so much easier. I will say the whole thing was really stressful and with my tools once I started selling things and giving stuff away it got a little easier.

 

Hello,

Most of us do not or did not have all of that stuff for the garage. Plenty of cool hot rods were made without all of the 4 pole lifts, 8 ft. tall compressor tanks, a lathe, milling machine, etc some or all included. So, there is that. But, as you mentioned, "We’re getting to the ages where it’s becoming harder every year to maintain it all."

Plus, the new house and garage may need to be simplified for just relaxing and enjoying life. Whether it is in Tennessee or inland So Cal. If one sees a continued future in mechanics to the 70-80’s then go for it. Move everything and jam up your new house and garage. I am sure that will go over well with your wife.

A new house is a new beginning. If it is supposed to be a move closer to “family,” then the size and location might dictate what you can bring anyway. But, when you open the garage door of the new house and see it empty, then go ahead, tall closets, easy rolling drawers and eye level cabinets, etc will make the garage another room of the house. But, everything will have its own space and functionality.

We had friends move to another state and found a three car garage perfect for their needs. City/suburb living, space for daily drivers and one to work on a project. Now, the question is, what machinery is necessary for your own needs. My wife has a great outlook on just about anything I want to do. If I haven’t used it in several years, out it goes. So, a nice table saw, drill press, sander, small compressor, bench vise, band saw all went to relatives still in that mode. At least, there is room to walk around the daily drivers and not have to squeeze by or ding the ankle or stub a toe on a rolling wheel.

Our garage is small enough, so those items were taking up space and not being used. Now, all of the drawers hold the necessary weekly, monthly, maintenance tools and equipment for upkeep. It is enjoyable to see a garage, once holding all of the construction equipment, now being used for small projects, daily use tools and a large counter to make or repair anything.

Jnaki

My wife is nice in that she allows me a little leeway for storage of things I used to use from 1960 and they have followed me/us to this day. They are small enough to be in a drawer for instant memory jogs. Enough tools to keep the house repair mode handy. But, the garage is like another room in the house. Finished epoxy floor, easy maintenance, everything behind closed doors/drawers, etc. The counter is empty and smooth, ready for any fun projects or repair of specific items.

So, your choice is if the new house is going to have a new beginning, it is not worth it to drag all of the old stuff and jam pack the new house/garage. Just because you have the stuff, it is not worth making the new house jammed with old stuff just to have in your possession.

Note:

When anyone starts thinking: "We’re getting to the ages where it’s becoming harder every year to maintain it all." Then it is time to thin the herd and make it so you wake up in the morning, enjoy your new house and yard. The yard is somewhere you want to be to relax and enjoy the surroundings.

It is a nice feeling that you can drive out of the finished garage and come back to a clean simple place that stores enough stuff to fix anything and still enjoy the lifestyle you want. Simple and fun to just relax…

It does not matter if anyone had all of the stuff you have or don’t have, it is the same principle. Your house and garage is not a commercial hot rod build facility. So, if you think about it, then it is time to get rid of stuff. YRMV

 

Bill, it's amazing what a man can accumulate over the years, no thought of ever having to move all these treasures, 40 plus years ago we had lots of friends that would work for beer & pizza but sadly all these old friends have gotten much older and most of them have a lot of health problems.

Good luck with the move, maybe one of the hamb haulers can help, do you have a car trailer open or enclosed, if a enclosed you could get started loading up some of the shop, possibly a few of your fellow car club members may help.

Have you found a new residence yet? is there a shop on the property, Bill I can't imagine giving up a beautiful home and land you now own,

Do you have any parts and cars you need to sell. Again good luck my friend. HRP

 

I used ABF back in '08 when I moved states.
They dropped off a semi trailer with ramp. I filled it (FULL) and they pulled to the new place. I was happy with them. Good communication, did what was said. That was almost 2 decades ago, though.

Anyone who has moved a garage of stuff knows the hard part is heavy, fragile, unstackable items. Concentrate on those first, then plywood so lighter boxes can fit on top.
Square rolling trash cans with flat tops can handle quite a bit of weight. New ones for clothes and other bulky fabric.
I moved the 4 post on my open trailer. Took some fiddling and straps at each corner, but beat breaking it down. Raised it up, trailer under, lowered, then jacked each post and strapped.
If you have good help at each end, it's probably better to break it down.

 

I moved CA -> TX during covid... all my parts, 6x project vehicles, tools (everything) came with me, no real help. It took the better part of a year and tens of thousands of dollars... 3 years later Im just about to wrap up the last of it. My situation was unique which cost me a lot of extra money in storage and truck rental fee's.

I recommend using shipping containers if your neighborhood can handle that sort of thing, I believe the max weight for a 40' is 60,000 pounds (should printed on it). You can sell the containers when finished with the move and you'll have dry storage at your new location as you organize. At the time of my move, containers were a hot commodity (cost in CA was $7k for a 40'), it was a bit cheaper to buy one in TX which was really helpful. That's exactly how I'll do things if I ever move my shop again...containers.

PODs had a low weight limit and VERY expensive.

 

Mine is a little different, I have some small equipment (small "2" car garage), the project cars I can deal with. It's all the parts that need to go also........oh yea, plus a small house. I'm looking to get more equipment when I have a shop to put them in. Not looking in a city or out in the sticks....somewhere in-between. I also have a class A but it's intrastate only.

Keep the ideas coming.......

 

We moved to west TN from California 5 years ago. We moved a house and a full fab shop. If you have a forklift, or can rent one, we loaded all of the heavy equipment into ABF U-Pack trailers and had them transport it. We also used a 26 ft. Uhaul and our 30 ft enclosed trailer. We ended up making 3 trips with our trailer. I did get rid of a lot of excess "stuff" but did move the equipment. I would highly recommend ABF U-Pack for heavy stuff.

 

Hire professionals with documented credentials and experience.

Just pay them.

 

I was impressed by this one being a former OTR company driver.
Then it hit me while I can no longer pass the physiccal,,, It is not required as long as I am not working commercially,, Hence CDL means commercial. If one , anybody here, wants to and has the bones and sense to manage a 53 or 48 footer for private purposes, the guys at the scale house just want safe equipment and not over weight, & The truck registered to you. Insured by you.
When the party is over, you sell your equipment.
Just put the notice "Not For Hire" on the door.
A couple lessons from an experienced hauler would work to give you the knack.

 

I'm sure they exist, but the average house mover isn't really equipped to move a hobby garage.
When I worked at a machine shop, they hired a mover for a few big mills and lathes. The special trailer, the equipment and the expertise to move and setup were great, but I'd hate to think what it would run to have them go cross state.
http://www.lislesurplus.com/F/Fadal-4020HT-cnc-vertical-machining-center-mill/

 

If you have the big, heavy lumps like engines, check into a liftgate, pallet jack and pallets. You can get things setup and strapped, even build a 'roof' to stack more stuff on before they arrive. Think like Tetris.

And on that note, pick one box size for the house that will handle loading fully and can still be moved. Too big and they get too heavy. Too small and they won't hold many bigger items. Get as many of the same size as you can. Makes stacking easier. I used t shirts to wrap diecast. Linen for glassware. Use what you have to move anyway to protect delicate stuff.

 

Good point on the box sizes. Use liquor store boxes, not banana boxes.
I made that mistake once when young, even then a banana box full of books was too heavy.

 

Slow is smooth and smooth is fast.


That's all I got.

Good luck with the move!

 

Tow Truck Tom That was what I did . The carriers wanted 20k per load and no guarantees as to what type of damage my stuff would have at the destinations. Not everyone can do this , but with the 20 per load and 6 loads later , I think i minimized my damage and felt that I had saved over 30k moving myself. My truck had Private Carrier Not For Hire on the sides and carried all necessary insurances and DOT filings to keep me legal . It was a great experience and now I have a truck and trailer that is for sale now to help in re cooping my moving cost.
Vic

 

When sorting, look at the items and think, if this had sh*t on it, would I wash it?

 

Haven’t moved yet, but our property is sold (Sept 3 closing)
Found two great places in middle TN that we could afford with a large enough shop, but both failed the home inspection badly,, with crawl space water intrusion and mold issues that the sellers wouldn’t address.
Looked at a lot of detached shops that are 24x24. I need 24x32 minimum with high ceiling.
Last resort is find a house, move, store shop equipment and build one.
We have until October 18 to vacate, so it’s crunch (and stress) time!
Moving company on standby. Cleaning up, giving away and scrapping stuff.
“No country for old men”

 

My father moved from the gas station he owned since 1946 on 2.5 acres took 2 years,he had stuff lots of nos parts, he had 8 cars and the garage shop tons of stuff he built an 8 car garage 260k on his new property. It was 4 cars wide 2 deep plus rooms on the side it's huge .since he past everything is just sitting SMH. He had rented the big roll off containers filled them then called the place picks them up and delivered right to the new place. Worked for him.

 

I do agree absolutely regarding the engine hoist/ cherry picker apparatus. As I have gotten older and considerably
less strong I use my lift in my shop to handle many items. They are quite useful. I would remind anyone utilizing
one of these lifts to recognize and respect the limitations of such devices. They are engineered with motor lifting and minimum repositioning movement while under a load. I would suggest keeping any suspended weight as close to the floor or pavement as possible. When moving a suspended load make the movement slow and deliberate. Also strive to any prevent any side-to-side swing movement off of the centerline of the lift. My lift is most helpful and enables me to handle many items I could not do so without it. Just regard the safe parameter limitations at all times.

 

Good luck on your move.
I am right behind you. Was accepted on an offer on a one story lake home with a good size garage
Our place of twenty years has become too much to maintain both physically and financially. Not only are we downsizing our home size, we also have an antique shop to get rid of and my large garage to move.
it’ll be nice to cut out all the responsibilities and work associated with our old place but am not looking forward to the move.

 

We moved from Nashville area to Chattanooga 20 years ago. I bought a $3000 cartage grade 40' trailer and put all my shop stuff that the new company wouldn't move. They delivered it where I wanted it. Had local friends help load it. I hired a friend to come in his big truck and move it. At the time it cost $350 for a 100 mile trip (It was about a 400 mile round trip for him). He helped me put it in a good spot and it stayed there nice and dry for about 6 months until I was ready to deal with it. Then I unloaded it at my pace and sold the trailer for about $200 less than I paid for it. So all in it cost about $600 for that. I would do it again because everything was done on my schedule and I did not have to rush to unload and it was done in 1 trip. You don't want a storage grade trailer, you want at least a cartage grade.