ABF UPack® Reviews
If you are moving to a major metro area, ABF will probably work fine. If you are moving to a rural area (like me), be prepared for the possibility of delays. My trailer sat at their terminal for 5 days before ABF finally decided it was at the wrong one and trucked it to a different one to handle the delivery.
The trailer was old and allowed water into the freight space. The barriers supplied were old, ragged, and full of splinters. The ramps were damaged with holes that that would catch the wheels of the dollies. Perhaps that is the cost of going cheap. The bright spot was the cost and the speed at which the trailer arrived at the destination.
Upack did everything they said they would do when they said they would do it. Their customer service was very good. We did see hints of a rough ride when we unloaded the trailer. Snow at the destination forced us to park the trailer at an inconvenient location. Loading and unloading help cost more than we planned. Had we anticipated those issues we would have selected a different moving method.
They did not estimate my apartment correctly for the size of container I would need and on the very last moment when I was desperate, I had to order more containers which was double the cost. BE VERYCAREFUL AND MAKE SURE THE CONTAINER WILL FIT THE SIZE OF CARGO YOU WILL NEED. I FEEL THEY PURPOSELY PUT ME IN A DESPERATE SITUATION TO MAKE ME BUY TWICE THE CARGO SPACE AT LAST MINUTE. had I known I would need twice as much, I could have hired a moving company to come in and do all the work for almost the same price. I had a two bedroom apartment and they sent over two containers 6 x 7 x 8 and of course I needed 4 of these for a total of $3200.00. I could of hired a moving company for $4000.00
I recently rented an ABF Trailer to move my items from Portland, OR to Tampa, FL. I also stored my items for approximately 6 weeks awaiting the completing of my home. All went well with the move and communication from ABF. The only problem was with the trailer itself and the time it sat in storage. The front area of the trailer floor was a mix of wood and metal. The metal area of the trailer rusted and bled through to some of my boxes and furniture. The damage was minimal. I subsequently rented a second trailer to move the rest of my items and purchased tarps for the floor area. I'm expecting this second trailer to arrive soon and hoping the tarps will keep the rust at bay.
Everything excellent except the barn doors were difficult to manage and on both ends of the move there were problems with the barn doors, outbound had a very difficult time closing them, inbound the bar was bent and had to unbolt the bar from the door thereby incuring more time with movers hence more cost with movers. Aside from that very happy.
We had a complicated move where we had some things in storage, some things at our house. We were downsizing and had to figure where stuff was going even after many sales and give-aways. So, flexibility in timing and scheduling days was very important. We had the ABF trailer moved around twice, each at both ends of our move. We changed dates and times all of which were accommodated easily. This eliminated a lot of stress.
Their Customer Service was the best part of the experience. Very friendly and explained everything well. My 28’ trailer was packed high and tight. However things still shifted and a few furniture items wrapped well in moving blankets were brused or broken. Their trailers aren’t on air ride so pretty sure my belongings banging around for 1000+ miles down the highway. Most everything in the trailer smelled like smoke. Either the driver smoked or my trailer was parked in the smoking section of the yard. Definitely for the budget minded but next time - I’m paying the extra money.
Slow slow slow, had 2 trailers took them 3+ hours to bring 2nd trailer from 14 miles away, WTF???? I had already prior coordinated it and was promised 1 hour turnaround by Vanessa, she wouldn't take my calls that day, WHY??? Spoke to dispatcher Calvin who just gave me more excuses then finally Craig Cruz, terminal manager with more excuses!!!!! I did my survey was promised 24 hour turn around on my survey, no response after a week, went to the CEO, Asses rolled, Money Refunded, LOL, you have to go the the CEO to make things correct, WTF?????? REALLY SAD!!!!!!!!!
Simply amazing!!! I am so impressed by this service. The absolute best way for us to move long distance and save huge money. I honestly didn't think it was going to work. I got quotes with moving companies though, for a Boston, MA to Greenville, SC move and they were $9,500 and $10,000. Next, PODS gave me a quote of $6,500. Holy smokes!! I kept looking and found ABF UPack. Professional customer service, regular alerts along the way to mobile phone, pick up and delivery on time. Smooth!! I was so afraid my furnishings would be lost, stolen or broken too. This was not the case. What did break was one wine glass, a lamp shade, a computer monitor got dinged and my bedroom foot board took a gouge that can be repaired. For the $7,000 I saved, I can go on a cruise with my husband. So worth it. There are horror stories out there about not using freight trailers. Just be careful when you pack up and you'll be totally pleased. You have to do some work yourselves to pack and load/unload the trailer, but overall, it was a great experience. Check "Hire-A-Mover" or others and you'll find the help you need. Good luck!!
ABF Upack was a great alternative to hiring a moving company for my move from Rhode Island to Ohio. I got several quotes from moving companies, which ranged from $5,700-$11,000. These quotes did not include packing. I did all the packing on my own. I then looked into using ABF Upack, and it seemed like a much more cost effective option. Both drivers who dropped off the trailer in RI and OH were very courteous and personable. They showed me exactly what I had to do and made sure I didn't have any other questions before they left.
ABF in Loveland, Colorado, was most accommodating, and our trailer drivers were very helpful, However, contacting dispatch in the Phoenix area was ALWAYS a very long delay and wait on the phone before we could be helped by anyone, and then were often promised times and materials that never were fulfilled. That part was very frustrating. Our drivers were always helpful; dispatch seemed to be the issue.
Freight company worked hard to accommodate my city ordinance issue; drivers at both locations were extremely personable, polite, and helpful. Scheduling the delivery was simple and again company was patient and professional while I sorted through financial snag. Would recommend for long distance move. Consider using an experienced loading crew.
Some advice: 1) Get quotes from many freight-shipping companies and use those quotes to negotiate your final price. 2) Be sure to pack your stuff really well; the trailers are very tall so the stuff on the bottom has a lot of weight on it. 3) Use ratchet straps to secure your stuff; they're very valuable to keep all your stacked-up stuff from collapsing. 4) Get a long shackle padlock to lock the truck.