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Moving labour in Olympia, WA: loading and unloading help for your rental truck or container.
Caravan Moving LLC provides loading and unloading help in Olympia, WA: you rent the truck or have a container dropped in the driveway, and our crew loads it tight and straps it so nothing shifts on the road. You drive and keep the savings. The crew comes up I-5 from our base in Rochester, about 20 miles south, and works across Olympia, Lacey, Thurston County and the South Sound. Every job gets a free written estimate before any work starts.
Labour only
What moving labour covers.
Our crew does loading and unloading for your truck, trailer, container or storage unit, anywhere from Downtown Olympia and the Westside to Hawks Prairie in Lacey.
Rental trucks and trailers
You collect the truck and park it as close to the door as you legally can. We load it from the front wall back and strap it section by section, so it's ready to drive when the door comes down.
Portable containers
A portable container is lifted onto the delivery truck with everything still inside, so the heavy pieces have to be spread evenly front to back and side to side. We load it that way and strap it before you lock it.
Storage units
Out of a storage unit and into your truck, or off the truck and into the unit. If some of it shouldn't go back into storage at all, ask about junk removal on the same call, with the price agreed before anything goes on the truck.
One end or both
Loading at the old place, unloading at the new one, or both. Give us both addresses and both dates when you call, so the estimate covers the whole job.
How the crew loads a truck or container
A load with room to move shifts every time you brake or take an I-5 on-ramp, and that is when furniture scrapes and boxes crush.
The list here follows the basics in the loading guides that truck rental and container companies publish, U-Haul and PODS among them, so it holds whichever company you rented from.
- Refrigerator, washer, dresser and sofa in first, against the wall nearest the cab
- Tiers built up with the heavy pieces at the bottom and light boxes on top
- Mattresses stood on edge against a side wall
- Each section strapped before the next one starts
- Gaps filled with furniture pads, pillows or bags of linens to limit shifting
- In a container, the heavy pieces spread across the whole floor
Straight answers
When labour-only is the wrong fit.
Renting a truck doesn't suit every move. These are the cases where another service usually works out better.
A gun safe or heavy appliance
A rental truck usually loads up a ramp, so anything heavy gets muscled up an incline. Our 24-foot truck has a hydraulic lift gate that raises it level, which is why gun safes and appliances are usually better off on ours.
A long drive
Driving a loaded truck across Washington or out of state is a bigger job than a run across Olympia. A long-distance move keeps your things on our truck with our crew the whole way.
You'd rather not drive at all
A full move in Olympia is loaded, driven and unloaded by the same crew of two to four, with no warehouse and no hand-off.
Nothing is boxed yet
Loading goes quickest when everything is packed and taped. If the cupboards are still full, packing services cover the whole house or just the kitchen.
From first call to strapped load
How loading help works.
Tell us what you rented
The truck, trailer or container, where it will be parked, what's going in, and whether we're loading, unloading or both.
We look at what's going in
In person, or by video for smaller jobs, so the estimate is built on your things and your stairs.
Free written estimate
You get it in writing before the crew lifts anything. If the job grows past it, we write a supplemental estimate for you to sign first.
Loading day, and unloading day if you booked both
The crew loads and straps each section. Before you drive off, you look in the back of the truck with us and walk the rooms.
Loading help questions
What people ask before the truck arrives.
Does moving labour include a truck?
No. With moving labour you rent the truck, trailer or container, and our crew loads it and straps it. If you'd rather not rent anything, a full Olympia move puts everything on our truck.
What size rental truck should I get?
The truck-fit guide shows how our own 24-foot truck fills, from a studio to four bedrooms and more, which gives you a starting point before you book the rental. If you're between sizes, tell us what's going in when you call and we'll talk it through first.
What should be ready when the crew arrives?
The truck collected and parked close to the door, and the boxes packed and taped. Cash, jewellery and important documents ride with you. Propane tanks, fuel and solvent-based paint stay out of the load, and PODS, for example, prohibits all three in its containers.
How far ahead should I book loading help?
Usually the same week, sooner in slower months. Month-end dates are the busiest for movers generally, because most leases turn over then, so if the rental is booked for the 30th or the 1st, call as soon as it's confirmed.
How much does loading and unloading help cost?
It depends on what you own, how much is boxed, the stairs at each end, and whether we're loading, unloading or both. We'd rather see your things, in person or by video, than guess over the phone, and the estimate is free and in writing. If you decide on a full move instead, how pricing works explains how Washington sets those rates.
Truck booked, crew needed
Get the loading priced in writing first.
Tell us where the truck or container will be parked and what's going in it. The estimate is free and comes in writing.
WA UTC Permit THG072095 · USDOT 4476646 · MC 1781177