Industry Pioneers

On October 22, 1976, with $300 and a lot of hope, two college friends launched Truckin’ Movers Corporation. Their goal was to produce higher quality moves for a lot less money. They believed that a local, family-owned and operated full service moving company would be better suited to providing personalized customer care than the big name companies which at the time dominated the industry.

Back in the 1970s, the moving industry was heavily regulated by both State and federal government. By limiting the number of business licenses issued to movers and enforcing strict territory boundaries, regulations prevented competition in the moving industry and kept the cost of moving artificially high. Pioneering a unique concept in long distance moving, Truckin’ Movers was able to legally circumvent government regulations.

The new approach was simple: on a long distance move, the customer drove the truck. Truckin’ Movers provided every element of a full service move; and a crew member even rode in the cab of the truck next to the customer. But with the customer at the wheel, transporting their own belongings, the move became unregulated and therefore legal. In its first three years, Truckin’ Movers helped to move some 3,000 families throughout the United States by this method.

Now it took some time for State and Federal governments to get hip to Truckin’s vision. But with the help of a young attorney teaching at Duke Law School, Truckin’ took its dream all the way to our nation’s capital, testifying at a hearing before the Interstate Commerce Commission. The end result was the deregulation of the moving services industry and higher quality, more affordable moves for the American public.

The road wasn’t always easy in those early years, but we knew if we focused on our customers, all the rest would sort itself out. As it has: we even get to drive our own trucks these days!

Doug Carlton, founder and President, is still intimately involved in daily operations and has ensured that Truckin’ Movers has never lost sight of its mission: to operate a full service moving company that provides personalized, stress-free moves of the highest quality at competitive rates. At Truckin’ Movers you are respected as a valued customer, and also as a friend.