Estes SureMove Trailer® Reviews
Everything was fine until I got to the drop off/unload part of the move. They weren't able to drop off the trailer at my new apartment, even though there is a loading dock. I arranged a time to pick up my items from their terminal and they weren't ready until over a half hour after the agreed upon time, so the movers I hired were just waiting (which I had to pay for). The trailer was also excessively dirty and some of my items were water damaged from leaks. I wouldn't recommend.
We like the flexibility of only being charged for the space we used - and being able to add more space at a very reasonable cost, if needed when loading. The trailer is equipped with relocate-able beams that help secure the load, a great feature. Their price was much better than Pods or other options for our move across the state line.
The trailer hit my tree and broke a branch off. No offer to pay for the tree. The movers had to haul the branch into the trailer because it was an obstruction. Also, the ramp was not in the trailer when my movers came. Cabby (the manager) located a ramp and someone to deliver very helpful manager. We waited for 1 hour to get a ramp delivered. My movers were only hired for 4 hours, so they did the move without the ramp for a good amount of time. The Estes driver who dropped off the ramp was very helpful and lent a hand. The trailer is still out front waiting to be picked up today, so cannot comment on this part.
Have the right expectations and you'll have a good experience. Maybe not an excellent one, but a good, cost saving experience. The people on the phones at Estes (all but one...) are incredibly friendly and helpful. Some things seem to get lost on the logistics side. You have three full days to load and unload your trailers. DO NOT try to plan moving help on the delivery days!!! DO NOT put money on getting your trailer within the delivery window they tell you. If you know this going in, your life will be happier. Some terminals are better than others. Apparently, Harrisburg, PA has some issues. We were supposed to have a trailer "swap" one day (take the full, bring an empty), but the driver didn't even know about it. When I called, they didn't even have one scheduled to bring. They did get it out that night, but we had lost that day of packing (because I planned on packing on trailer delivery day... don't do that!). I believe ESTES' main business is freight hauling. The drivers aren't all familiar with the "Sure Move" side of things. They just drop and pick up trailers. You might get wrong information from some folks. You've got to roll with it. We had 3 quotes from moving companies that were $17,000-20,000 to move our 3000 sq (packed) household, garage, and shed. It cost us just over $3000 for two full 28' ESTES trailers (included trailer swap fee). We used hire-a-helper and spent another $1000 on both ends for man power. Big bonus with Sure Move is that storage is available! We had a rather unexpected move and did not have a house yet. We were able to keep our things in storage for up to 90 days. It's a max of $500/mo. per trailer. Considering the cost of storage units, that's VERY reasonable... and you don't have to unload your stuff, then load it up again!
Awesome company. Moved a one bedroom from California to Michigan. It is definitely "DIY" in that you have to figure out where to park the giant semi-truck trailer and load and unload the trailer yourself. You take on the responsibility for your stuff getting to the destination in one piece - I hired people to load the trailer efficiently and securely, and had no major damage. The company transported my stuff ahead of schedule and had GREAT customer service - able to delay the delivery of my trailer by a day without any problem and were generally very flexible. Reps were very professional. One warning - the trailers are pretty filthy. WRAP YOUR FURNITURE CAREFULLY, especially upholstered items. The saran wrap tore on one of my white couches and there are some black marks on it now.
Logistics were excellent - trailer drops and pickups occured on schedule and drivers were helpful and courteous. The ramp for the load was damaged, and driver worked hard to fix it. Not sure was was loaded on the truck with our items, but wife complains the some of our furniture and other items had a gasoline odor on delivery.
Estes was an hour late at original location, but was early at the destination. Time of transport from St. Louis to Phoenix was appropriate. The truck could have been cleaner. The drivers were polite. Using a freight trailor worked great for what we transported. It was a small load with mainly boxes. Some advice for customers with larger loads and delicate items is to have it professionally loaded as items will shift during transport more so that a professional moving company. We booked thru Move America, with Lauren. Everything went well. Lauren was great to work with. Accommodating our every need.