PCS info.

I have a PCS coming up (just not sure where to yet, but have to move in Sep). I'm not sure if we'll use TMO or go the DITY route. Does anyone have experience with a DITY?

We moved here (DC) with around 18K lbs. I've seen info on PODS and ABF's version called U-Pack. I think we could make it fit in a 20-24ft enclosed trailer and have thought about buying one. I'm not sure what/how much we would be reimbursed and figured we might make enough to pay for the trailer.

Ya'lls thoughts?

 

I just PCSed to Scott from Dover, I rented a 26' Uhaul and filled it floor to roof and I only had a 9250lbs. I'm still waiting on my money but I should make at least 4K after I pay for the move.

 

It depends on your rank within how much weight you are allowed. At least it was like that when I got out of the Army. I went over a little bit but I got paid well for it..... Definitely worth it.

 

I used ABF for my last move and it was great and a bit cheaper than PODS. You can haggle them down a bit, then tell them you are military and they'll give you another $50 off, then tell them that you'll handle the weight tickets and I think you'll get another $25-$50 off. It was way more convenient than driving/paying for gas on a rental. If you buy pizza and beer you can usually get a few guys from work to help you load the truck. And you can usually find free moving boxes on craigslist. I made a couple grand if I recall correctly.

 

I made $30,000 doing a DITY move from, Fort Drum, NY to Fort Richardson, AK.
Needless to say, if you want some extra cash in the end, do a DITY.

But all I did was pull a UHAUL behind a truck and did it that way.
Also when you go to the scale, throw a bunch of sand bags, cinder blocks, ect. in there to add weight. Then once you hit the road take them out. Gets you some extra money lol

 

If you get caught cheating the system you can have hell to pay. If suspected, you will be investigated and if found out you will have to pay the money back and surely more whether it be jailtime or more fines. Your carreer could be heavily impacted. That said, ^^. I moved from Tx o Ne and was alotted 12,000lbs and hauled 14,000lbs in a $2,000 Uhaul. I made somewhere around $8,000-$10,000 total with the move and the Airforce dislocation alowance (dependant rate) which was just over $2,000 just for the DLA. It was good money, but I packed it all myself and friends helped me. Kind of a pain in the ass but if I were to do it again I would hire movers to pack and load the truck then just drive. It would probably cost a couple hundred dollars and you make it back when you get there.

 

X2 on cheating the system. Posting about it on an open forum with a large military membership is equally stupid.

It was $250 for two guys and a small box truck for a day to pack all the large/heavy stuff I own and unpack it across town...so getting someone to pack for you shouldn't be too bad if you want to. But DITY all the way. My wife won't let me do it that way...but I would rather it.

 

Not the best thing to buck the system, then post the details.

With that said, back to the details. I am really leaning to the DITY move. Like I said, we are due to PCS in Sep but have to be out of our rental NLT 31 Aug (the owners are coming back early). My fear is since my PCS date is officially Sep, TMO won't allow a pickup date in Aug. If we do a DITY, our gear will most likely sit in the truck/trailer/crate for a few weeks so I think renting a truck might be out of the question. What are your thoughts?

 

i know with the army, as long as you have orders, u can schedule ur pickup at any time if u have the govt move ur stuff. dity move tho, im pretty sure ur on your own

 

I'm coming off a Code 50 (controlled tour) and I'm not sure if they will treat that like a DEROS. That is my biggest concern. I have found that a lot of times those folks don't apply common sense to situations like this. I appreciate all the input from y'all.

If y'all have any other tips for DITY moves, post them here. Maybe folks could use this as a resource.

 

Can you request an earlier RNLTD? I know you can request a later date if you have a reason. I'm not sure with it being a controlled tour and all.

Or you might be able to take leave en route. I did a (60 day) leave en route and tdy en route so I got my orders and DITY advance 60 days early. You might be able to work it from that angle especially with this much notice.

 

Hey, I can't help what I have heard other people say what they have done in the past to get more money. I'm just throwing stuff out there.

 

My wife(Army) and I did a partial dity move. Most of our stuff was handled by movers, but we moved two carloads worth of stuff that we would need when we got to NoVA. We made about 3000 from the dity and didn't have to worry about moving the heavy stuff.

 

If you're still in, do a TMO. The money you make of a DITY at that point is useless, especially if you're just going to put it back into a trailer. I did a DITY move once with just my stuff and it was ok, yeah the little extra cash was nice, but if you have a full house of crap, it'll save a lot of time and headache just doing the TMO move.

And like other people said, it kind of depends on your rank too...doing a DITY as an E-3 wasn't very helpful.

TMO should pick up whenever you tell them to, and I believe with TMO moves you still rate a certain amount of days of free storage at the TMO facility even with a PCS move. And if you're renting a truck or something, that's going to cost a hell of a lot to have the storage just sit there for a couple weeks.