The Truckin' Movers Pricing Guide
Our actual rates, what they cover, and what makes a move cost more. No teaser numbers.
Pricing Guide
Here's what a move actually costs.
Most moving companies won't put a number on a webpage. We've been quoting Durham moves since 1976, so we already know what yours is likely to run, and hiding it doesn't help anybody.
Below are our hourly rates, realistic totals by home size, what packing and storage add, and the handful of things that move the number up or down. Read it, do the math on your own place, then call us and we'll get you an exact figure.
One thing worth saying up front. A price that looks too low usually is. The section on why some quotes come in cheaper is the most useful part of this page.
Typical price ranges around Durham
These are real ranges from real jobs, not the number a lead broker puts in an ad. Where you land inside a range comes down to volume, access, and time of year.
| Move type | Typical range | How it works |
|---|---|---|
| Local move (under 50 miles) | $700 – $6,000+ | Billed hourly, Mon–Fri. Driven by home size and crew size. |
| Long distance within NC (over 50 miles) | $1,500 – $5,000+ | Weight and mileage under the NC tariff, with up to a 15% discount. |
| Interstate | $3,000 – $12,000+ | Binding not-to-exceed estimate. You know the ceiling before we load. |
| International | $5,000 – $15,000+ | Ocean or air freight, customs, and destination handling add cost. |
Rates current as of April 2026 and filed with the North Carolina Utilities Commission. They change roughly once a year.
Our hourly rates for local moves
Anything under 50 miles bills by the hour. The rate covers the crew, the truck, furniture blankets, shrink wrap, dollies, and basic liability coverage. The low end of each range is winter pricing, the high end is peak summer.
| Crew | Rate | Usually right for |
|---|---|---|
| 2 movers and a truck | $165 – $195 / hour | Studios, 1-bedroom apartments, partial loads |
| 3 movers and a truck | $215 – $245 / hour | 2-bedroom homes, most townhouses |
| 4 movers and a truck | $265 – $295 / hour | 3-bedroom homes, houses with stairs |
| Each additional mover | +$50 / hour | 4+ bedroom homes, tight timelines |
The travel fee
One hour of crew time per 50 miles of round-trip drive, shop to your origin and your destination back to the shop. It's the one line people don't expect, so we say it early.
The minimum
Three to four hours, depending on the job. With the travel fee, the realistic floor for any local move is around $660.
Monday through Friday
We schedule weekdays only. That keeps our crews rested and our rates flat. There's no weekend surcharge because there are no weekend moves.
What a local move costs by home size
Hourly rates are only half the answer. Here's what those hours usually add up to for a move across Durham or over to Chapel Hill, with packing done by you and normal access at both ends.
| Home size | Typical total | Crew | Time on site |
|---|---|---|---|
| Studio or 1 bedroom | $700 – $1,200 | 2 movers | 3 to 5 hours |
| 2 bedrooms | $1,000 – $2,000 | 2 to 3 movers | 4 to 7 hours |
| 3 bedrooms | $1,800 – $3,500 | 3 to 4 movers | 6 to 9 hours |
| 4+ bedrooms | $3,000 – $6,000+ | 4+ movers | 8 hours to two days |
Add packing, a piano, or a third-floor walkup and you move up inside the range. For a deeper breakdown by city, read our Durham moving cost guide.
What actually drives the price
Four things decide where you land. Three of them you have some control over.
How much you own
Volume is the biggest lever, and it's the one you control. Every box you donate before move day is a box nobody carries and nobody bills you for. Two families in identical 3-bedroom houses can be $1,000 apart on volume alone.
Access at both ends
Stairs, elevators, long walks from the door to the truck, and streets a 26-foot truck can't get down all add time. Third-floor walkup to a house with a driveway is a different day than ranch to ranch.
When you move
Summer is our busiest stretch. Rates run about 10 to 20 percent higher May through August than they do January through March. If your dates are flexible, winter is the cheapest time to move in the Triangle.
How much packing you want
Doing your own packing is the fastest way to bring the number down. Handing us the kitchen and the artwork and doing the rest yourself is the middle path most families pick.
Local, long distance, and interstate are priced differently
The line is 50 miles. Under it, you're paying for time. Over it, you're paying for weight and distance. That single difference explains most of the confusion people run into when they compare quotes.
Local moves, under 50 miles
Billed hourly from the moment the crew starts to the moment they finish, plus the travel fee. You're paying for time, so anything that costs time costs money, and anything that saves it saves money. Have things boxed and ready and you'll see it on the invoice.
Long distance inside North Carolina, over 50 miles
Priced off the North Carolina tariff by weight and mileage, not by the hour. We can apply up to a 15 percent discount off tariff. That discount is the real lever on an in-state long-distance move, and it's worth asking about on any quote you get, from us or anyone else.
Interstate moves
Weight and distance again, under federal rules, and quoted as a binding not-to-exceed estimate. If your shipment weighs less than we figured, the price drops. It cannot go above the number on the paperwork. You also get exact pickup and delivery dates, not a window.
International moves
Ocean or air freight, customs clearance, destination port fees, and delivery on the far end. More moving parts, so the range is wider. We've been licensed for this work for decades and we'll walk you through the paperwork line by line.
Hourly versus binding not-to-exceed
Two different promises. Know which one you're being given, because they're not comparable on price alone.
Local moves
Hourly, against an estimated range
We tell you the rate, the crew size, and the hours we expect. You pay for the time it takes. Finish early and you pay less.
The honest tradeoff: a bad day at the loading dock costs you more. We size the crew to keep that from happening, and we tell you when a fourth mover will actually save you money.
Interstate moves
Binding not-to-exceed
A ceiling in writing before we load a thing. The price can come down if the shipment weighs less than estimated. It cannot go up.
This is the protection that matters most on a long move. Federal rules give you specific rights here, which we lay out on our rights when you move page.
What packing adds
Packing is the biggest optional line on most estimates, and it's the one with the most room to choose. Materials are included in these numbers and go on at our cost, no markup.
| Home size | Partial packing | Full packing |
|---|---|---|
| Small (studio to 1 bedroom) | $500 – $900 | $1,000 – $1,800 |
| Medium (2 to 3 bedrooms) | $800 – $1,500 | $2,000 – $3,000 |
| Large (4+ bedrooms) | $1,200 – $2,500 | $3,000 – $5,000+ |
Partial packing means we take the kitchen, the artwork, and the fragile things while you handle clothes and books. That's the option most families pick. For how it's done and what to buy if you're packing yourself, see our packing guide or our packing services.
Specialty items and storage
Some things need equipment and a crew that's handled one before. These are handled as separate line items so you can see exactly what they cost.
- Piano (upright or grand)$400 – $900
- Pool table (disassembly and setup)$300 – $600
- Gun safe$300 – $700
- Storage, per month$75 – $300
Antiques, marble, grandfather clocks, and fine art usually need a custom crate. We quote those after we see them. See specialty moving.
A word on storage
Storage runs $75 to $300 a month depending on how much you have. What matters more than the monthly rate is how many times your furniture gets handled.
With our containerized storage, your things are loaded into a vault once and stay there until they're delivered. Most companies unload into a warehouse and reload later, which means two extra rounds of handling and two extra chances for something to get scratched.
More on how that works on our storage page.
Valuation coverage
Every move includes Released Value coverage at no charge. That's the federal baseline, 60 cents per pound per item. It's real coverage, but understand what it means: a 40-pound television is covered for $24, not for what you paid.
Full Value Protection costs extra and covers repair or replacement at current market value. If you own things you'd actually be upset to lose, buy it. It's the cheapest peace of mind on the whole estimate.
Our crews average more than ten years with us, so claims are well below industry average. The coverage is there anyway. If something does go wrong, tell us within nine months of delivery and we'll make it right.
What we don't charge for
Half of what makes a moving bill feel unfair is the fees nobody mentioned. Here's our list of things that will never show up on your invoice.
- Fuel surcharges. Not a line on our invoice.
- Stair fees. Stairs take time, and time is already what you're paying for.
- Long-carry fees. Same reason.
- Weekend premiums. We move Monday through Friday, so there's nothing to upcharge.
- Materials markup. Boxes, paper, tape, and wardrobe boxes go on at our cost.
- Basic liability coverage. Released Value comes with every move.
The travel fee is the only line that isn't the hourly rate, and it's on the estimate from the start.
Why some quotes come in lower
If a quote comes in well under the ranges on this page, something is different. Usually one of these four things.
It was quoted sight unseen
A number produced from a two-minute phone call and no inventory isn't an estimate, it's a guess. It goes up on move day when the guess turns out to be wrong.
It's non-binding
Non-binding means the final price is whatever the move ends up costing. The low number gets you to sign. The real number arrives later.
The fees are somewhere else
Fuel surcharges, stair fees, long-carry fees, heavy-item fees, and materials at three times cost. The hourly rate looks great until you read the rest of the paperwork.
It's a broker, not a mover
Plenty of the cheapest quotes online come from companies that don't own trucks. They sell your job to whoever will take it. You find out who's actually moving you when they show up in your driveway.
Ask any mover for their USDOT number and look them up. Ours is on every page of this site. The federal rights you have when you move are worth ten minutes of reading before you sign anything.
Getting your actual number
Ranges get you in the neighborhood. An estimate gets you the address. Start with the calculator below for a ballpark, then let's do a walkthrough.
Loading move calculator...
Step one
A video walkthrough
About 20 minutes on a video call. You carry your phone through the house, we see the real furniture and the real stairs. No cleaning up first. This is how most of our estimates happen now, and it's as accurate as walking the house ourselves.
Step two
Tell us the annoying parts
The narrow street. The elevator that needs reserving. The gun safe in the basement. The stuff going to storage instead of the new place. Every one of those changes the number, and we'd all rather know now than at 8 a.m. on move day.
Step three
Get it in writing
Rate, crew size, hours, travel fee, and every add-on, itemized. Compare it line by line against any other quote you have. If something on ours doesn't make sense, call and ask. We'll explain it.
Small jobs we can often quote right over the phone. Call (919) 682-2300 and ask for Jeff.
Get a free estimatePricing Questions
Want a real number for your move?
Twenty minutes on a video call and you'll have an itemized estimate. No pressure, no sales script.