Long-Distance Moving Since 1976
Truckin' Movers has been hauling households across North Carolina, across state lines, and across the ocean since October 1976. We've completed over 20,000 moves in 49 years. Our crews average more than a decade of experience each. On a long-distance haul, that experience shows in how your belongings ride 700 miles, how the truck is loaded to prevent shifting, and how precisely we deliver on the date we promised.
We run three kinds of long-distance moves: NC intrastate (both ends in North Carolina, over 50 miles), interstate (across state lines within the lower 48), and international (ocean freight worldwide). Each has different pricing, regulations, and logistics. Here's how they all work.
How Interstate Pricing Works
Interstate moves are priced by weight and distance under federal regulations. We weigh your shipment, measure the miles, and give you a binding not-to-exceed estimate. That means the price we quote is the ceiling. If the truck weighs in lighter at the destination, you pay less. If it weighs more, you still pay the quoted price. No surprises.
The biggest cost drivers on an interstate move:
- Weight. A 3-bedroom house typically weighs 8,000 to 12,000 pounds. Every piece of furniture, every box, every appliance adds up. Getting rid of items you don't need before the move saves real money.
- Distance. Durham to Charlotte (140 miles) costs a fraction of Durham to Los Angeles (2,700 miles). But the per-mile cost decreases the farther you go, so the relationship isn't linear.
- Access. Walk-up apartments, narrow staircases, long carries from the front door to the truck, freight elevator scheduling. All of these add time to loading and delivery.
- Timing. Summer (May through August) and end-of-month dates are the busiest. Move in January on a mid-month date, and you'll save 10 to 20% on the same job.
A typical interstate move runs $3,000 to $12,000+ for a 2-3 bedroom home. Check our pricing guide for detailed breakdowns by home size.
NC Long-Distance Moves
If both ends of your move are in North Carolina and the distance is over 50 miles, it's classified as an NC long-distance move. These are regulated by the North Carolina Utilities Commission under our permit NCUC #C-2262 and priced by weight and mileage, not by the hour.
Common NC long-distance routes we run from Durham:
- Durham to Charlotte (140 miles, I-85 South). See our Durham to Charlotte page for route details.
- Durham to Asheville (240 miles, I-40 West). Mountain access requires planning for steep grades and smaller roads.
- Durham to Wilmington (165 miles, I-40 East). Coastal moves often involve tight condo and beach-house access.
- Durham to Greensboro (55 miles, I-85/I-40). Just over the 50-mile line, so it shifts from hourly to weight-and-mileage pricing.
- Durham to Winston-Salem (80 miles, I-40 West). A straightforward corridor we know well.
NC long-distance moves typically cost $1,500 to $5,000+ depending on the weight of your household and the distance. We can offer up to a 15% discount under the NC tariff, which is the real cost lever on intrastate moves. No gimmicky "bundle discounts." Just the regulated discount the tariff allows.
For more on NC routes, see our NC long-distance moving hub.
What Drives the Cost of a Long-Distance Move
Long-distance pricing isn't a mystery, but it works differently from local hourly moves. Here's what actually moves the needle:
Weight and volume. This is the single biggest factor. A 1-bedroom apartment might weigh 3,000 to 4,000 pounds. A 4-bedroom house can weigh 14,000+. We estimate weight during the video walkthrough and then verify at a certified scale. If you're on the fence about taking that old sectional, leaving it behind could save you a few hundred dollars.
Distance. Obvious, but worth understanding the math. A 200-mile NC move is in the $1,500 to $3,000 range. A 1,000-mile interstate move is in the $4,000 to $9,000 range. A 2,700-mile cross-country move to California is $6,000 to $12,000+. The per-mile cost drops as the distance increases.
Packing services. If we pack everything for you, that adds $2,000 to $5,000+ depending on your home size. Partial packing (we do the kitchen, china, and artwork; you do the bedrooms and closets) brings that down. Self-packing saves the most but requires good materials and technique.
Storage in transit. If your new home isn't ready when we pick up, your container goes into our Durham warehouse at $75 to $300 per month. Most families in storage in transit are there for 2 to 8 weeks.
Access and logistics. A ranch house with a flat driveway loads faster than a walk-up apartment with a long carry to the truck. High-rise condos require elevator reservations and loading dock scheduling, which can slow the crew down and add time.
One-Touch Containerized Handling
This is the thing that sets us apart on long-distance moves. Most big carriers load your stuff onto a truck at your house, drive it to a warehouse, unload it, sort it, reload it onto a different truck, drive it to another warehouse near your destination, and then put it on a third truck for delivery. That's three or four handlings, multiple warehouses, and a lot of risk.
We do it once.
Your belongings are loaded into a container at your old home. That container goes onto our truck. It drives directly to your new home (or to our warehouse if you need storage). It gets unloaded at your destination. One touch on each end. That's it.
Why does this matter? Every time your furniture gets handled, there's a chance it gets damaged. Every time boxes change trucks, something can go missing. We've been running containerized moves since the early 1980s, and our damage rate is well below the industry average. Our crews average 10+ years of experience, so they know how to load a container that's going to ride 700 miles on the highway.
Delivery Windows vs. Exact Dates
Here's how most national moving companies work: they give you a "delivery window" of 7 to 14 days. Somewhere in that range, your truck will show up. Maybe. You're sitting in an empty house waiting.
Here's how we work: we give you a pickup date and a delivery date. Both are specific days. We've been doing it this way since Doug Carlton founded the company in 1976. It's possible because we run our own trucks and our own crews. We don't subcontract, and we don't broker your load to someone else.
Some realistic timelines for long-distance moves from Durham:
- Durham to Charlotte: Same-day delivery for most loads
- Durham to Florida: 2-3 days
- Durham to New York: 2-3 days
- Durham to Texas: 4-5 days
- Durham to Colorado: 4-5 days
- Durham to California: 5-7 days
You know both dates before you sign anything. Check our popular routes for route-specific details.
USDOT #0233952 and FMCSA #MC159007
Truckin' Movers is a fully licensed interstate carrier. We hold USDOT #0233952, FMCSA operating authority #MC159007, and North Carolina Utilities Commission permit #C-2262.
In 1982, we won a federal case for the right to operate in all 48 contiguous states and set our own rates, amid the broader deregulation of interstate moving. That case gave us the authority we still operate under today, and it opened the door for independent movers nationwide to compete with the big van lines.
You can verify our authority and safety record at safer.fmcsa.dot.gov. We've maintained it continuously for over 40 years.
Storage in Transit
Sometimes the timing doesn't line up. You've sold the old house, but the new one closes three weeks later. Or you're moving across the country and need to wait for a lease to start. Storage in transit covers that gap.
Here's how it works with us:
- Load day. Our crew packs and loads your belongings into a container at your old home.
- Storage. The sealed container goes into our climate-controlled warehouse in Durham. It stays sealed. Nobody opens it, sorts it, or repacks it.
- Delivery. When you're ready, we schedule an exact delivery date. The same container, with the same stuff inside, goes on the truck and comes to your new home.
Storage in transit runs $75 to $300 per month depending on the container size. Most families are in storage for 2 to 8 weeks. There's no long-term contract, and we prorate the first and last months.
For long-term storage needs, visit our storage page.
What Happens on Loading Day
Loading day for a long-distance move is a full production. Here's what to expect:
Before the crew arrives. Disconnect appliances, gather important documents and medications (keep those with you), and make a final sweep for anything you're not shipping. If we're doing the packing, we'll schedule the pack day for the day before loading.
When the crew arrives. They'll do a walkthrough first, confirming the inventory and the loading plan. Everything gets pad-wrapped. Mattresses go into bags. Mirrors and artwork get specialty packing. Furniture is blanket-wrapped and shrink-wrapped. Boxes are stacked by weight.
Loading the container. The crew loads your belongings into the container with long-haul stability in mind. Heavy items on the bottom, lighter boxes on top. Everything strapped tight. On a move that's going 500+ miles, shifting is the enemy. Our crews know how to pack a container that arrives the way it left.
Departure. Once the container is loaded and sealed, the truck rolls. You'll get contact information for your move coordinator and an exact delivery date.
What Happens on Delivery Day
Arrival. The truck arrives at your new address on the date we committed to. If the destination has access requirements (elevator reservations, loading dock scheduling, HOA move-in permits), we coordinate all of that before we show up.
Unloading. The crew opens the container and places furniture where you want it. Beds get reassembled. Boxes go to the rooms they're labeled for. If you booked unpacking, we open everything, place items per your direction, and haul away all packing materials.
Walkthrough. You do a final walkthrough with the crew lead. Check everything against the inventory. Note any issues. Sign off.
NC Intrastate vs. Interstate
The rules are different for NC intrastate moves and interstate moves. Here's the breakdown.
NC Intrastate (both ends in NC, over 50 miles):
- Regulated by the NC Utilities Commission
- Priced by weight and distance under the NC tariff
- Permit: NCUC #C-2262
- Up to 15% tariff discount available
- Cost range: $1,500 to $5,000+
- We provide exact dates on every NC long-distance move
Interstate (crossing a state line):
- Regulated by FMCSA under federal law
- Priced by weight and distance with a binding not-to-exceed estimate
- Authority: USDOT #0233952 / FMCSA #MC159007
- Cost range: $3,000 to $12,000+
- Your Rights and Responsibilities booklet provided (required by federal law). Read it here.
The 50-mile boundary is the dividing line for NC moves. Under 50 miles with both endpoints in NC is a local move, billed hourly. Over 50 miles is NC long-distance, billed by weight and mileage.
International Moves
We also handle overseas relocations by ocean freight. International moves involve customs documentation, professional crating, and containerized shipping to six continents. A full household international move typically runs $5,000 to $15,000+ depending on the destination and shipment size.
We offer shared container (consolidation) and full container service, door-to-door and port-to-port options, and coordination with customs brokers at the destination.
For a full breakdown of our international moving process, visit our international moving hub.
Get Your Long-Distance Moving Estimate
Call us at (919) 682-2300 or fill out the form below. We'll walk through your home by video call, inventory what's going, confirm the destination, and give you a firm price with exact dates. For smaller moves or just a few items, a phone call is usually enough to get you an accurate quote.
We move Monday through Friday. See our packing services if you want us to handle that too.
