Guitars in Moving truck?

jefferski

jefferski

Fractal Fanatic
I'm about to move from the Salt Lake area to Denver. The movers will pick up on one day, drive the next, and deliver to our new house on the 3rd day. The last time I did a long-distance move I only owned a couple of guitars and brought them in my car. Much GAS in the last 8 years!

I'll take my 4 top axes with me (along with my AFX & AX8, main amp rig, etc). The other 5-6 guitars will be in hard cases and I'll try to watch that everything is packed in the truck carefully. So they'll be in the hot sun in the moving van for at least one full day - will that be an issue? A couple of the cases lock, but those will probably be the ones in my car anyway. I'm thinking of using gaffers tape to make sure they stay closed in the truck... Anything else I should be wary of or that I can do to mitigate?
 
Do more than that. Pack them as if you were going to ship them off somewhere, because you are. The heat is also not going to be kind to you. Leave them in the packing boxes for a day after the move before you crack them open so they can acclimatize. Thick heave oversized boxes with the cases fully suspended inside of that. No foam peanuts or bubble wrap, use foam blocks. Lots and lots of tape.
 
Yea, that's a good idea. I'll head by the local shops and get some extra boxes if they have some that are large enough. Just had the idea to pad a couple of them in a wardrobe box as an alternative but that might be too big.
 
They should be fine. The relative humidity and temps are about the same between SLC and DEN. I'd probably add a damp sponge for a little extra humidity enroute but that's about it. Maybe loosen string tension a 1/2 step but it's not necessary.. Let them acclimate for a couple of hours before opening the case once they go from truck to air conditioned house. Welcome to the Front Range!
 
I have moved with guitars every 2-4 years for the last 25 years thanks to wife's career. The best thing I have found is to use those Wardrobe boxes..I put three or four guitars in one - lots of paper and padding. Yes, it is big and heavy, but you are less likely to lose a guitar that "fell off the cart" or something as well.
 
Thanks @AndyOrr ! Yea, the climate is comparable. I'm actually in the mountains near Park City but unfortunately it's pretty warm here too. Both you and @Musikron mention acclimating, which I'm used to but usually from playing outside or driving when it's cold and then bringing it in. So no worries, I'm sure I'll have enough other boxes to unpack when I get there ;-) I'll send my backup amp (Tech 21 PE) in a box, well padded... I'm not as worried about that but the Atomic cab is coming w/ me.

And @sskkmm - yes on the wardrobes. I just checked and they'll be a great fit except maybe my bass. And the movers are being paid to move big and heavy things ;-) I might be able to do it w/ just one wardrobe and the rest in my car (Toyota 4runner). It just depends on what else needs to come... computers, plants, overnight bag, skis/boots, etc... my wife will have the cat :screamcat::poutingcat:
 
Guitars are shipped all around the world in hardshell cases and you can bet they are roasting on tarmacs, freezing in cargo holds, sitting on docks, delivery trucks, and lord knows. Can’t imagine moving a few days will make any difference, let them acclimate before opening. Probably see more abuse between house, outdoor gigs, and back.
 
+1 to "they should be fine" -- mine sat in a truck, in the dead of winter, for two weeks when we moved from Ontario to California and came out the other side without so much as a check mark in the finish. I let them sit for a day before I opened cases and played them. Even the J-45 shipped just fine.

If the movers are packing them for you, they'll be covered under the mover's insurance. If you're packing them yourself, you should double check that damage caused to them during the move is covered. Most movers won't insure things they don't personally pack.
 
Jeez, that was a long move, especially in winter! We're doing our own packing, other than a few larger mirrors, prints, and the TV (which we don't have the box for any longer). So yea, we'll be sure to look into what their insurance covers, what our renter's insurance covers, and whether we need supplemental...
 
jefferski said:
Jeez, that was a long move, especially in winter! We're doing our own packing, other than a few larger mirrors, prints, and the TV (which we don't have the box for any longer). So yea, we'll be sure to look into what their insurance covers, what our renter's insurance covers, and whether we need supplemental...
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Well we flew so it was a day for us. But it took a few days to clear a house full of stuff to cross the boarder and we were in corporate housing for a few weeks while we found our permanent digs. So our stuff sat in storage someplace until we had them deliver it to our apartment.
 
Fortunately last time I moved I had a good friend who owns a moving company handle the move. Well packed wardrobe boxes and having a friend who knows how I feel about my axes made it a fairly worry free move.
 
They’ll be fine.

When we relocated from Europe to the States we hired a shipping container and loaded all my guitars, furniture, beds, etc in the container and all arrived just fine a month or so later.
 
And obviously be sure to have photos, receipts, serial numbers, and all that.. :)

I use a cool app called Home Inventory on my mac for this...with data saved in Dropbox. Great stuff for insurance.
 
They'll be fine. Put a 'do not stack' on the case itself. But once you loosen strings, wouldn't worry.

Look us up in Denver. We need an Axe-Fest soon.

R
 
Make sure there’s enough packing material inside the case that your guitars can’t knock around in there.

Pack the cases in boxes, with a no-knocking-around amount of padding.

If you have acoustics, consider bringing them with you. Excessive heat can soften the glue that holds one thin edge against another.
 
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If you bought any of your guitars online and had them shipped, it’s likely they saw more abuse than they will from your movers. And the sellers also had them delivered to their stores and who knows what abuse they took on that trip. If your guitars are in good cases you’ll be fine.
 
MarthaMarms said:
Started packing for my move from NYC to Asheville NC. Have the boxes coming in the mail to pack up the guitars in the case The moving company says it can take up to 10 days for them to make the drop off. Seems like a long time. (Leaving around June 28th and I will be doing an 8 day road trip, hence why I don't want them in the car with me) Assuming the guitars are properly packaged....... What's your opinion - put the guitars on the truck (around $25 per box) or ground ship ($100+ per guitar and 3 -5 days in the truck - cost is a guess. Have to get an estimate) I can pay the extra for shipping but it is safer then the moving truck - company has a great reputation and all is insured
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No way to take a trailer with you and put them in there?

Unlike most folks on this thread, I'm paranoid - yes I have shipped tons of guitars.
But when I move, they all come with me, in my vehicle. Fortunately, I've never moved more than 1hr away, but I've done multiple trips with a SUV fill of guitars.
I cringe at ever having to trust a moving company with my babies.
 
BBN said:
No way to take a trailer with you and put them in there?

Unlike most folks on this thread, I'm paranoid - yes I have shipped tons of guitars.
But when I move, they all come with me, in my vehicle. Fortunately, I've never moved more than 1hr away, but I've done multiple trips with a SUV fill of guitars.
I cringe at ever having to trust a moving company with my babies.
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Yep.....We moved about a hundred miles 4 years ago, and I made a special trip in my own vehicle just for guitars, modelers, speakers, and
computer equipment......everything else the movers got.
 
jefferski said:
I'm about to move from the Salt Lake area to Denver. The movers will pick up on one day, drive the next, and deliver to our new house on the 3rd day. The last time I did a long-distance move I only owned a couple of guitars and brought them in my car. Much GAS in the last 8 years!

I'll take my 4 top axes with me (along with my AFX & AX8, main amp rig, etc). The other 5-6 guitars will be in hard cases and I'll try to watch that everything is packed in the truck carefully. So they'll be in the hot sun in the moving van for at least one full day - will that be an issue? A couple of the cases lock, but those will probably be the ones in my car anyway. I'm thinking of using gaffers tape to make sure they stay closed in the truck... Anything else I should be wary of or that I can do to mitigate?
Click to expand...
we're moving from LA to Portland next month and debating what to do about my 9 guitars (most of them are pretty nice, a few 70s Gibsons, recent 335 and 330). Should I ship them to my friend's house there or stick them in the moving truck. I know that there will be at least one transfer of my stuff from the small truck that picks it up to a bigger truck that will take it north. If I do stick them in the truck, I will still box them as if I were going to ship them. What do you guys think?

When I moved to LA from Boston we had a Pod container. I put a few guitars in there and then shipped the rest. But nobody had access to the Pod, the truck would be different.
 
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