Better to sell everything or pay $$$$

[John Hicks]

we may be moving back to the East Coast. I'm trying to decide of 9 thousand dollars is worth it to move two bedrooms and a shop full of machinery from Washington state, to Western Virginia? I have the following..

1. Harvey T60-S lathe and at least 100 different tools, chucks, and other things that are needed. Cost $4900; I can probably get 3200, even though it's like new and only a year old.

2. Jet 16" planer that would be 1500 to replace, used price 750

3. Powermatic 8" long bed jointer (the bigger one) Cost 2300, can sell for around 1800

4. Jet cabinet style tablesaw with 50" fence system; cost is around 2400 and I can sell for about 800

5. Delta 20" bandsaw (from the 90's) Cost is around 2000 to replace, or I can sell for about 600

6. Two old delta radial arm drill presses. Who knows??

7. Grinders and sorby proedge system

8. Jet single stage dust collector with 5 micron canister. Cost 750 to replace and I can get around 450

9. Old rockwell 12" disc sander (restored) I'm not sure what it's worth, but the baldor motor I put on it was 700.00 a year ago

10 60 gallon upright Quincy air compressor, cost around 1200, can sell for about 700

10 various random orbital sanders (bosch, dewalt, ect.

11. antique hand tools (mostly planes)

12. Around 200 bowl blanks (big leaf maple, walnut, poplar, sycamore etc.


So I don't know if it's worth it to sell the whole lot, or just have it moved. Any experience with this dilemma ?

 

[Karl Best]

I'll be facing the same sort of question in a couple of years as we're planning to move to Maine when I'm closer to retirement. We're closer, just a day's drive away, than you are since you're moving cross country, so I'm sure that I'll move everything. But perhaps you could consider just moving the stuff you can fit into boxes (tools and fixtures, etc.) and selling the large pieces.

 

[Roger Chandler]

John, I'm in the western part of Virginia. May I inquire the location of your relocation? Who knows, maybe you could get involved in one of our turning clubs here...

 

[russ stanton]

John you have about 1/2 of your answer in your message, take the replacement price minus the estimated proceeds from sale of same item then get an estimate to move that item there is your result. Of course that does not factor in the idea of getting new toys (er tools).

 

[Richard Coers]

Don't forget you will be paying tax and often shipping on the new machinery. Also remember that availability of a lot of machinery is very limited right now. Could easily have a 6 month wait for some things. Furniture is easy to replace, I'd pay to have the machinery shipped. Did you price those small container shippers? You'll loose a ton of money if you try to sell in one lot. It's a rare sale to make good money that way.

 

[John Torchick]

Move it, IMHO. You won't be able to replace the large items for what you would get for them. I understand that you have already got prices on moving. Could you box the small light items and have them shipped by UPS or FedEx? My parents moved from IL to Los Angeles. Mover drove their car into the van, boxed it in with 2x4s and plywood then stacked around and on top of the car. Good luck as this is a major decision. BTW, I've been in western Virginia. Nice!

 

[Timothy Allen]

I am in the process of moving 4 hours away. I take truckload every week or so (I'm going over there any way for business). Soon will have a cargo trailer, too (designed for moving my wife's pottery kiln among other things). Still have about ~3 months till the closing date on the house we are leaving here (tied to the schedule at the job here that I am leaving).

 

[Mark Jundanian]

John, I ponder the same question as I would like to move sometime, too. I would consider a hybrid approach. Some things I'd sell if I thought in replacing the machine I could do better. For example I might part with the compressor so I could replace it with a much quieter unit from California Air System, or that 90's vintage Delta bandsaw.

 

[Ron Solfest]

I’d recommend moving the items you really like, and some accessories (like lathe gouges, chucks, etc) that you won’t get a lot for. And take the opportunity to upgrade or change some of bigger items (ie if you want a SawStop).

You could probably save a little on freight if you ship the bowl blanks to me in aTN

 

[john lucas]

You could sell.the large.items and it might save the cost of the move. I would.not sell.all.the little.stuff you spent years collecting and possibly modifying to fit your personal needs.

 

[Kirk Amidon]

Funny I was thinking that the 90's 20" BS would be a keeper for sure.

I'd think long and hard about moving all this stuff, and not liquidating it. Unless there are machines you simply just don't like.

 

[Roger Wiegand]

If you like what you have move it. They will be a PITA to replace, and you will be busy with lots of other stuff involved in relocating.
If you want (and can afford) new tools, sell them and start over.

 

[Robert D Evans]

I'd look into the rental cost of a U-Haul truck. I bet you could get most of your tools wedged into one of the big ones. Then it would just be a couple of long days driving. It took me a long time to accumulate my tools. I'd hate to sell them and have to start over. If you've got a couple that you want to upgrade or replace, sell them before you go. I'd do a lot of driving to save 9K. Especially if I was retired and time was cheap.

 

[Lou Jacobs]

If it were me, and I could afford the move, I would bite the bullet and move everything that I love. I know that with most major expenditures that I’ve agonized over, I rarely remember, or at least still feel, the dollars a year later, but I feel good (or in a few cases, bad) about the decision the acquire (or relinquish) something.

 

[John Hicks]

I just got a estimate on moving everything. $27,560.00
Hmmm....time for a garage sale. That includes storage and a solid gold lathe!

 

[Lou Jacobs]

Was $9 K a guess?

 

[Glenn Lefley]

I just got a estimate on moving everything. $27,560.00
Hmmm....time for a garage sale. That includes storage and a solid gold lathe!

Keep the keep sakes sell everything else. Get a uhaul and drive across the country.

 

[hockenbery]

consider buying a car hauler trailer.
If you have a big truck to tow it, you can buy a an enclosed car trailor for $4,000-$7,000
These are 24x8.5 inside hold about 7,000 pounds. You will be able to sell it for most of what you pay for it.
There are tags and title fees too.

the advantage of buying is you can take a week or two loading it and the same on the other end for unloading.

 

[Dean Center]

Then it would just be a couple of long days driving.

ROFL The drive would be 4 long days at a minimum, and in a Uhaul truck probably at least 6. 2 days gets him to the middle of North Dakota.

 

[Karl Loeblein]

Wonder if you could palletize some of it, and then ship those pallets via LTL (Less-than Truck Load)? Find woodworker friends on either end to help carry the pallets to/from trucking terminal if you don’t have a trailer.

 

[Roger Wiegand]

Wonder if you could palletize some of it, and then ship those pallets via LTL (Less-than Truck Load)? Find woodworker friends on either end to help carry the pallets to/from trucking terminal if you don’t have a trailer.

This is a good idea. You might take it a step further and price a shipping container. When I shipped my organ back and forth to Europe a few years ago it was about $6000 each way for a full small container with basically no weight limit. They delivered it to my house, I packed the instrument, and they picked it up and delivered it at the other end. If you're not ready to move in when it gets there the monthly cost for keeping the container is pretty cheap. Buying an ocean marine insurance policy cost a significant fraction of the shipping charge.

 

[Doug Freeman]

For shop stuff price a U-haul truck, or trailer if you have a vehicle that can tow. Pay local movers to load the heavy stuff and unload it on other end.

 

[DON FRANK]

When family moved from Kansas city to Delaware they used one of the truck lines that offers this service. They park a trailer at your place for several days. You pay for the part of the truck you use. You self load the truck and unload it on the other end. It saved them thousands of dollars. They hired a couple guys to do the heavy lifting on each end.

 

[Glenn Lefley]

ROFL The drive would be 4 long days at a minimum, and in a Uhaul truck probably at least 6. 2 days gets him to the middle of North Dakota.

Cmon it’s two days. That’s 48 hours straight driving on two full bottles of wake ups and a good ol 8 track tape in loop!

 

[Robert D Evans]

ROFL The drive would be 4 long days at a minimum, and in a Uhaul truck probably at least 6. 2 days gets him to the middle of North Dakota.

I forgot to mention that you would need to have East Bound and Down cranked up loud.

 

[John Hicks]

Was $9 K a guess?

9k was from a rip off company.

 

[John Hicks]

I’m disabled so loading myself isn’t an option. I think I’ll sell the heavy stuff and box up the rest.

 

[Mark Jundanian]

If you do go with a professional moving company for your equipment/household be sure to purchase insurance. Under the law the trucking company has little responsibility for damages incurred in the move without the added policy. There's an unfortunate reason I know this.

Part of what you're paying a moving company for is packing up equipment at one end and getting it out of your shop, then reversing the process at the other end. The packing and unpacking part is important in it's own right, but If you have to get your equipment up or down ten steps, that could be the most arduous part of the journey. As someone else suggested it may be possible to hire local movers (who don't do long haul) to do the load/unload at each end. But your move isn't over when your machine is in your shop, if it's sitting on a pallet and you can't lift it off.

I'd also consider whether something I was considering moving was up to the move. Thing that comes to mind is my Laguna DC. The thing is shipped disassembled and I don't think the frame is strong enough to go across country without being disassembled again. I'd rather sell that here and help the buyer with moving it than hope I could reassemble it after a long haul.

Incidentally if you sell off the old equipment and buy new equipment you still have to get the new piece into your shop, so be sure to consider that cost as part of the purchase expense, when comparing.

John, if in the end you change your mind and go with movers, please keep us up to date on how that goes. I think there is more than one interested party here.

 

[John Torchick]

An option to loading would be a high school club or college students. Many groups do things as a public service to the community.

 

[Timothy Allen]

Cmon it’s two days. That’s 48 hours straight driving on two full bottles of wake ups and a good ol 8 track tape in loop!

Helps to have help. And helps to be young still. Five of us drove from Reno, NV to Keene, NH in 48 hours once; two of us drove from Salt Lake City (Snowbird) to New York City (JFK airport) in 36 hours once; and I drove solo from Keene, NH to Chippewa Falls, WI in 24 hours once. All decades ago...

 

[Forrest Forschmiedt]

Hoodsport is a nice spot. I've stopped for lunch there more than once when out on my motorcycle.

Was that estimate through a full-service moving company or...?
If so, I would look into other options. We moved from Seattle to Greensboro a few years ago and the costs of moving methods varied by a huge amount.
Full service movers were the most expensive by a huge margin. The moving pods (there were at least two different pod-type companies in Seattle then with different pod options) were much cheaper and having a trucking company drop a trailer was the least expensive of all per cubic foot.
We ended up getting a freight company to drop a trailer on our parking strip and hiring local casual labor to load it. We bought a bunch of moving blankets but they were easy to sell when we got to NC. Just make sure the guys loading the truck use the blankets. If I do it again, I will stand in the truck and make sure every item is secured and protected to my satisfaction.

Note that we weren't moving shop equipment. That makes you a commercial or business move and throws you into a totally different cost level. If you let a service company treat you as a business, they will likely triple the charge. Full service moving companies especially have to charge more to cover the cost of multiple layers of management, marketing, sales commissions, etc.
For a potential savings of 20k, I would be on the phone to TNT Reddaway and a few other freight companies and talking to the local industrial businesses and warehouses about borrowing or renting a forklift.

 

[robo hippy]

Well, if they are tools you were going to upgrade soon or eventually, I would sell them and buy new. Problem with buying new to replace what you had, is that all the prices have gone up. Way up in some cases...... U Haul trucks are 'energy efficient' which means that they put a tiny motor in them for 'efficiency'. This means they get excellent mileage down hill with a tail wind, unloaded. For driving any other way, they are terribly slow and gas guzzlers. At my age, 70, if I was to move, I would have to have a moving company take care of it. Not going to worry about that though, I am in my forever home...

robo hippy

 

[Larry Mitchell]

Friends used cheapest quote from Las Vegas to N Arkansas, $18,000. 5 week delay in delivery because company unloaded the trailer and put contents in storage. Then they had to find someone to reload and attempt delivery...driver couldn’t get to delivery address so they had to rent a flatbed truck, unload van contents onto flatbed and make smaller loads....CLUSTER F**K. $22,000 total. Wishing you well.

 

[Forrest Forschmiedt]

I would not use U-haul for anything but maybe trailers and short hops. I've heard too many horror stories, some from U-haul employees, about lack of repairs and maintenance. Since drivers are legally responsible for their rigs, some resulted in customers getting expensive tickets for driving trucks that weren't road safe.

 

[Timothy Allen]

Penske rents real trucks, as opposed to U-Haul's toy trucks... just saying.

Last summer we rented a 16' box truck for a day to move some stuff. The regular 16' truck that was scheduled for us hadn't been returned on time, so they gave us the commercial version (with a lift gate) instead. Man, that lift gate was nice to have!

 

[Charlie Knighton]

+ 1 penske

 

[Dean Center]

Cmon it’s two days. That’s 48 hours straight driving on two full bottles of wake ups and a good ol 8 track tape in loop!

Who are you? Smokey the Bandit with a catheter? "Just a good ol' boy, never meanin' no harm....."

 

[John Walls]

ROFL The drive would be 4 long days at a minimum, and in a Uhaul truck probably at least 6. 2 days gets him to the middle of North Dakota.

WHERE, at that point, you could pull into my driveway and leave all those blanks with me for disposal! The tools I don't need... LOL

Do you have a pick-up truck? If so, I would opt for buying a trailer big enough/good weight rating with electric brakes to haul my equipment. That way you don't have to worry about getting it unloaded alone at your destination. It can sit locked up a couple months until you can find some young man wanting to unload if for you for a couple $$s. I've done that as I've moved all over, kept the trailer in family's barn while over-seas for a stint. I would not want to try to replace the tools I have, many I've had since I was a kid. The new stuff is just not made like it used to be. All the wood-working tools I've purchased in the last year... I would not want to try to replace since my wife is now retired.... just sayin.

Honestly, I would love to move to a warmer climate but every time I think about it, I look at the toys.. er... tools I have and realize I could never rebuild the ... collection I have again. I would also have to move a large collection of antique tractors... not going to happen in my lifetime. Furniture/household goods, easily replaced unless you have family connections to it. I know, we've done it several times in 40 years. I'll just stay warm best I can. Good luck with your move!

 

[Rusty Nesmith]

I just got a estimate on moving everything. $27,560.00
Hmmm....time for a garage sale. That includes storage and a solid gold lathe!

Wow the cost of moving has gone up a little since I moved. I moved from California to West Virginia in 1996 and it cost around $8,500. We took up 75% of the trailer because they also put one of our cars in there too.

 

[Mike Johnson]

You could check with UShip.com website, they use independent truckers that will bid for your load going from point A to point B. You will get a competitive price for moving a partial load or an entire trailer load. Your main concern is the loading and unloading of big items into a semi trailer, flat bed trailer or 5th wheel trailer at your current location and the coordination of having someone at the end of the trip to receive and unload the big items. These independent haulers will bid for these services if you spell it out in the bid package. They would need to hire people to load equipment at your current location or you would do the loading. You would then need someone at the other end of the trip to receive the shipment and pay the hauler after he unloads or you unload the truck. Big items need man power or equipment to off load, unless you have a 5th wheel trailer with a ramp or a moving truck with ramp or lift gate. You could do your house move separate from your equipment move, load all of the equipment in a shipping container and have it delivered to your new location after you arrive. You could purchase the shipping container at your location load it with your equipment and supplies have it delivered to your new location and then sell the container after you unload it. Shipping containers are available all across the country for reasonable costs.