A Few of the Funniest Moving Company Names Ever!

Working for a moving company is a tough job even for the fittest of professional movers. Not only are you moving an entire house-load of furniture, (usually in one day), but you have to protect it all with heavy-duty pads, and then navigate it down narrow hallways, and through doors, out to the truck, up a ramp, and into position. Each piece can be a workout in itself. That being said, it is great to see that even movers can have a sense of humor... even when creating their company name. Here, in no particular order, are a few of my favorites!

1. GTFO Moving Company. The GTFO actually stands for, "Get the Furniture Out", but we all know the true meaning behind that acronym. I'm not sure how the average person would like that name, but it made me chuckle, so here it is!

2. Hernia Movers Inc.  The name is funny because it is so direct, honest and appropriate... and in a weird kind of way, it's even a little icky. The slogan is also a little off the wall "The Potentate of Totin' Freight." I doubt many people know what potentate even means, but it refers to a king or ruler. I guess that would've been too easy, or maybe the guy who started the company had too much time on his hands while waiting for his hernia to heal.

3. El Cheapo Moving & Deliveries. I love the tag line, "Don't be a schmoe, call El Cheapo." I wonder how much thought they put into that name? I'm not sure I would ever want to refer to ourselves as being el cheapo's, but hey, whatever trips your trigger!

4. Movers, Not Shakers! A play of the phrase, "Movers and Shakers," it is truly a great message for a moving company. I'm not sure if everyone will get the double-meaning, but it's a funny play on words for sure.

5. Move-Tastic! It's not the name I find funny, but the slogan is just too awesome not to share. "Chicago's Best Wrappers. Sorry Kanye..." That nearly made me blow my Pepsi out of my nose when I read it!

6. Home Wreckers Divorce Removal Services. Another of my favorites, I mean seriously, how can you not laugh at that? Especially with the tag line, "Get Revenge. Sell His Sh** Cheap!" Depending on the person that reads that sign, they will either be offended, or will laugh out loud! I thought it was awesome!

7. Moosejaw. I'm not sure if this is actually a moving company, but it's worth posting just for the note on the back of the truck, "Driver Carries Less Than $50 Cash and is Fully Naked." It's funny enough to make me smile, and I hope it made you smile too!

If you find anymore professional moving companies with funny names or slogans, Send the picture to me at soonermoving@gmail.com. Just make sure they are at least 400 pixels wide. If I like them, I'll give you credit when I post them! It may not make you famous, but it's still pretty cool!

Accidents Involving Rented Moving Trucks

Q. What do you get when you put an inexperienced driver, (talking large trucks here) behind the wheel of a rented moving truck?
A. An accident waiting to happen.

Congratulations! If you are 18 years old or older and have a valid driver’s license, you can rent a truck! But then again, should you? Many people do, and as the photo's in this article will show, the results are often catastrophic. Unfortunately, driving a large van or truck is much different than a car, and therefore, the chances of being involved in a traffic collision are much higher. The end result can be very costly, both financially, and in human life. By sharing these photo's with you, I am not trying to scare you; I really just want people to think about what could happen if they choose to take that risk. I am a professional mover and I was a commercial driver and truck driver trainer prior to that. I've seen a lot of tragedy on the road during my career, and it sucks every single time. The harsh truth of it is that you risk hurting yourself and others, and you can put yourself in some serious legal trouble as well. If you choose to rent a moving truck, you have got to know the risks, and you have got to be careful.

Legally, accidents involving rented moving trucks can be complicated. The person driving the truck is not a commercially-licensed driver and after an accident, they can be held responsible both criminally and financially, for any loss caused by the wreck - even if they purchased the rental company's insurance plan.

Consider as an example; that most rental truck insurance plans do not cover hitting a low clearance (such as an overpass). Doing so could easily be considered negligence if the bridge is properly marked with it's correct height and the trucks operator makes the decision to drive under it anyways. It may sound inconceivable that anybody would do that, but it is currently the leading cause of serious damage to a rented truck. One mistake in judgment, and you could be left holding the bill for a destroyed truck, and that would likely leave you owing thousands of dollars.

In 2014, just a few miles from my home, a military transport vehicle carry a container full of exercise equipment struck a low bridge. The impact was so great that it ripped the container off the truck. Sadly, the container landed on top of a pickup truck, killing the driver.

When you hit a low-clearance, the results can be catastrophic.

If you do decide to go ahead and rent a truck for a self-move, be sure to know your vehicles height, width, and weight and plan your route accordingly. There are low-clearances, narrow roads and bridges with weight restriction everywhere. One wrong turn can result in the destruction of a truck, all of your possessions, and even worse; it can cost you your life. Along with the low-clearances, trucks are more sensitive to wind, they take longer to stop, they have a wider turning radius, and other drivers react differently around them.

Although low clearances are the biggest cause of damage to a rental truck, they certainly aren't the only thing that can lead to accidents out there. Fatigue, distractions, errors in judgment, being unfamiliar with the vehicle itself and how it has been maintained, tire failure, brake failure, unbalanced loads, and lots of other issues can lead to accidents.

I might mention that not everyone operating the trucks in those pictures survived the accident. I won't say which ones did not... after all, this article is not about shocking you with graphic pictures, (and if you really want to know, it is not difficult to do a quick Google search for yourself).

One last thing. If you do decide to do it yourself - be sure to secure your load properly. Here is what can happen if you simply forget to lock the cargo doors shut. Luckily the only thing destroyed here was their pride and a lot of their personal belongings.

Moving into a new home should be a wonderful time for you, and it can be. It is my highest recommendation that you find a good team of local movers in Oklahoma, or wherever you may be, and let them do what they are trained for. If you live in Oklahoma and are planning a move, call us. You will probably find out that in the end, the out-of-pocket costs between renting a truck and doing it yourself, or hiring a moving company, are nearly the same.

Whatever you decide to do, I wish you the best of luck on your journey and the happiest of times in your new home.

How To Save Money When Hiring a Professional Moving Company

How To Save Money When Hiring a Professional Moving Company

Yes, it can be done, but before I get started, I would like to clarify a couple of things. First of all, this is not a “must-do” list that needs to be done before your movers arrive. This is simply put, a set of recommendations that, if followed, can lead to a much less-expensive move. Secondly, I am a professional mover and am writing this guide primarily for our customers. I can't speak for all moving companies, however, there are standards in the moving industry, and in most cases, these tips should apply to anyone hiring professional packers and/or movers to help them with a relocation.

I work for a professional moving company (Sooner Moving Company in Oklahoma). I am writing this based on my own experiences in the moving industry along with input from our company's founder. Most companies like ours, charge an hourly rate for services. Although, I can't be sure that every moving company out there charges the same way we do, this is the industry standard. The less time it takes us to complete a move, the less money our customer ends up spending. We don't mind doing, (or dealing with), most of the things I will be discussing in this article. In fact, the more time we spend on a job, the more money we make. For that reason, we have no problem spending whatever time it takes to finish the job. However, that being said, our goal is not to milk our customers for every dime we can get. Our primary goal is to end up with clients that are 100% completely satisfied with the service we provide. In doing so, we hope to obtain repeat business, recommendations and a few new friends along the way. We deal with people from virtually every walk of life. For those on a stricter budget, cost can be an issue and if the job takes too long we could end up with an upset customer. We don't want that to happen. So, what I hope to accomplish with this article is to simply put the ball back into our customers hands. If cost is not an issue, and you want us to handle every aspect of your move, by all means, we would love to do so. If cost is an issue, then there are things you can do prior to our arrival that could dramatically decrease the time it takes us to complete the job, and therefore, save you a lot of money off your final bill.So let me talk about a few things you can do.

First and foremost, you must decide if you would like us to handle the packing, the moving, or the entire job.

Packing Services

The main benefit utilizing our packing services is that we are highly experienced and very well-trained. We can pack everything in your home or business in such a way as to ensure that it can make it to the new location in the same condition it is in when loaded onto a truck. Not having to pack yourselves will save you a lot of time; time I'm sure you need to focus on all the other things you need to get done before your moving day arrives. We also cannot guarantee that items we don't personally pack are packaged in such a way as to minimize the possibility of loss or damage. The drawback to us doing the packing is that, although we are very fast and efficient, it does take a significant amount of time to pack a home or business properly, and as they say, “time is money”.

Moving Services

The benefit to us handling the physical moving of your items from one location to another is that we have a well-equipped staff of highly-skilled professional movers that know just what to do to get you to your final destination without loss or damage along the way. We can handle everything from your clothing, to your fine china and even your precious antiques. The drawback again, is that it takes time.

Another important consideration as you make the decision is how many other things you have going on as you prepare to move. Allowing us to handle both the packing, loading and unloading can take a lot of stress off your shoulders, so that you can focus on everything else you have going on.

Here are some other things you can do to save time and money.

Please, if at all possible, secure your pets. It is very common for people to have several dogs and cats running around a home while we are working. In that situation, we have to slow down to avoid tripping over and possibly injuring them or us, or damaging your items. I promise you...that is the last thing we want to do.



Before we arrive, you should consider moving everything you don't want to be packed into a separate room or area, marked as “DO NOT PACK”. We spend a lot of time during every move clarifying what goes and doesn't go. If we know up front that everything gets packed and loaded except those specific items, we can move much more efficiently.

Put a note (post-it notes work great) on the door to every room with what should be marked on the boxes, (i.e. girls room, man-cave, Fred's room, master bedroom, etc.). This is a big help when we enter into new rooms and don't have to find the home or business owner to clarify who's room it is.

Separate out all items we are not allowed to take, (car batteries, ammunition, chemicals, etc. See the FAQ section or our website for more information.

Disconnect appliances/TV’s, and make sure they are clean and ready for transport.

If at all possible, refrigerators, window air conditioning units and freezers should be disconnected at least a couple days ahead of time so they have a chance to completely dry out.

If items are going into storage, remove batteries from electronic devices and consider other things that could be damaged such as oil paintings, crayons, candles, etc.

Quite often we have people that want part of the load to go to storage and part to the home. If that is the case with your move, Please let us know ahead of time so we can load the truck in a way that allows us to unload part at the storage unit, and the other part at your home/business without having to shuffle things around at the destination.

Make sure we have a place to park our truck, extend our ramps and have a clear unobstructed path to the entrance of the home/business.

Consider what you will be doing with aquarium plants and fish as we are unable to transport them. Tanks should be drained and dry prior to our arrival.

Dishes should be clean, dry and ready to be packed.

Clothing will be packed just as you have them stored. Hanging clothes will remain on hangers and packed in wardrobes, ready to be hung up at the new location. Clothing in dressers may be left in dressers. All other clothing will be boxed.

We are happy to disassemble and reassemble your furniture (beds, dressers with mirrors, etc.), however, this can be very time consuming. If possible, have them taken apart before we arrive, and make arrangements to have them put them back together again after we leave your new location.

Items mounted on the wall such as television sets, speakers and pictures should be taken down and be ready for packing.

I hope this guide will help you prepare for your movers. Our goal is to get in, get you packed, loaded and unloaded as carefully and efficiently as possible with no loss or damage along the way.

Whether you choose our moving company or another, we at Sooner Moving hope you enjoy a stress-free move and wish you the best of times in your new home.

Moving Checklist

Two months prior to your move

• Create an inventory of your possessions. If possible, consider creating an album containing photos and receipts.. This will help you in the case that anything becomes damaged or lost during your move.
• Contact a moving company 6 weeks prior to the big day.

One month prior to your move

• Submit a change of address form 2-3 weeks prior to your move.
• If renting, notify your landlord at least 30 days prior to returning the keys.
• Consider setting up a new bank account if you are moving out of town and are currently banking with a regional bank.
• Consider ordering new checks with your change of address in time to receive them prior to moving day.
• Consider gifting, donating, selling, or trashing items that are no longer needed.
• Slow down on grocery shopping as you approach the move, so you are not trying to transport perishable items.
• Eliminate any online purchases that may not arrive prior to your move.
• Be sure to identify what items are not allowed in your shipment. If you are unsure of how to properly dispose of these items, Sooner Moving recommends you visit earth911.com to help you find appropriate recycling centers in your area.
• If you have children, consider letting them have goodbye parties to say farewell to their friends and classmates.
• Schedule an appointment with service technicians and/or crating companies to prepare your appliances/television sets to ensure they can be moved without damage.

One-two weeks prior to your move

• Notify utility services two weeks prior to your move. Schedule them to turn off services at your old home the day after you move, and turn them on at your new home a couple days prior to moving in.
• For your families safety, you might want to call a locksmith and arrange to have door locks changed at the new home on move in day.
• Schedule a cleaning company to clean the new home and steam clean the carpets a couple days prior to moving in.
• Schedule a pest control company to treat your new home a few days prior to your arrival.
• Have records transferred to new schools.
• Research cable/satellite, internet and phone providers in the new area and set up appointments for service installation.
• Change your address with:
• Post office
• Bank & Credit card companies
• Doctors offices
• Insurance providers
• Lawyers
• Magazine Subscriptions
• Schools
• Employers (for W-2 forms, final paychecks, etc.)
• Friends and Family
• Fill and transfer any prescriptions a week before the move.
• Have any vehicles traveling serviced and prepared for your journey.
• Return videos and/or library books.
• Cancel subscriptions for any home delivery items.
• Have each family member prepare a “move kit” consisting of everything they need for the drive and the first night or two in the new home. This would include clothing, toiletries, books, games, electronics (cell phones, iPad or laptop along with their chargers), snacks, etc.
• Empty lockers at clubs or gyms.
• Return anything borrowed from friends or neighbors.

Two days prior to your move

• Withdraw cash for unexpected expenses during the move.
• Properly dispose of flammable items that cannot be transported.
• Unplug, clean and defrost your refrigerator/freezer one-two days before packing it in the truck.
• Empty gas and oil from lawn mowers, weed eaters, etc.
• Back up all computers.
• Take a family photo in your old home before leaving.
• Separate out any valuables, such as cash, jewelry, important paperwork, family heirlooms, etc. and consider moving them yourself if at all possible.

The professional movers at  the Sooner Moving Company in Oklahoma can help save you time and stress -- alleviating you of the need to pack, load and unload so you can focus on the multitude of other things you need to get done prior to your relocation. With an excellent reputation for providing damage-free, worry-free, hassle-free moves, competitive rates and the expertise of over 45 years experience, you can count on them to get the job done right the first time - every time. For more information, call them at 405-314-5361, or visit their website at http://www.soonermoving.com.