Sponsored by U-Pack¹

If you’re a military family searching for a U-Pack military discount for your next PCS, you’re not alone. While the military does offer to move you, DITY or PPM moves are always worth exploring. Many families choose to do a Personally Procured Move, previously known as a Do It Yourself Move, for the potential of making money, having more control over the timeline and quality of the move. Our family has opted to do a PPM three times. While it is a lot of work, we have always made a sizeable profit and have yet to break or loose any of our belongings. If you’re a PPM pro or are being voluntold for your first one with the changes to the Global Housing Contract, let me share with you why U-Pack has been a key part of our strategy & consistently perform above expectations.

U-Pack PPM Process

Estimate

When you do a PPM you can arrange any type of move you’d like, from a full service to do everything yourself . U-Pack is designed to be somewhere in the middle. This is how it works. You can call or go online to get an estimate. You’ll share where you’re moving from and where you’re moving to. Don’t fret if you don’t have an exact address for delivery at your gaining location. You can get an accurate estimate with just the city. You will estimate how much space on their truck you’ll need based on the size of your home. Again, U-Pack is incredibly flexible and if you need more or less space, they will adjust the charges according to actual use.

U-Pack Military Discount

During your estimate, is when you’ll add your U-Pack military discount. If you’re booking online you can use code “Dity10” for Actively Serving families or “Mil50” for Veterans. To save even more, use code “CAMO50” to save an additional $50 off the U-Pack military discount. Be sure to indicate you need weight tickets if you’re doing a PPM.

Pick up

You can save your estimate until you’re ready to book. Once you do, a moving specialist will confirm all your details for you and create a dashboard where you can manage your move. If you need to change dates of trailer drop off or later track your shipment, it is all located there! You’ll receive a detailed welcome packet that will answer any questions you have. Then you’ll pack all of your belongings, they’ll drop off your trailer, you’ll load it up and call when you’re done. A driver will pick up the truck after you lock off the portion of the truck you used. The rest will be filled with freight that is traveling in the same direction as your shipment.

Delivery

They will take care of getting your belongings to the new location, which is my favorite part. We like to turn our military moves into a road trip where we can visit family and friends or National Parks along the way. Not hauling a trailer behind us makes exploring new places easier, not to mention we can don’t have to drive the slower truck speed limits and can maintain better miles per gallon saving on fuel.

You will be able to see on the tracker and receive a phone call when your trailer arrives to the new location. You receive up 5 days of free storage in case you take leave en route. You’ll schedule the trailer to be dropped off just as before. Unpack everything and then call for the pick up when you’re done unpacking.

Most Asked Questions About Using U-Pack for a Military Move

Will I get reimbursed for using U-Pack during a PPM?
No, not directly. For PPM moves you are paid by the pound, not based on what you spend. You can get an estimate from TMO that will be specific to your weight allowance and the time/distance of your move. You will pay for the U-Pack and turn in your receipts to reduce your taxable profit. Ideally, you will make more money than spent on the U-Pack but it isn’t a direct reimbursement or any additional allowance they give you.

How do I estimate the cost and compare it to my PPM allowance?
U-Pack has an easy to use estimate tool that will give you an recommended size of truck. Use code “CAMO50” to save an additional $50 on top of the U-Pack military discount. I would suggest estimating on the high end for the sake of your budget. With U-Pack you only pay for the space that you actually use. So if the day of you need less, you will be charged less. Their pricing also includes fuel, taxes and the driver which makes budgeting easier!

Is U-Pack available at my duty station or destination?
If you’re in America, Yes! Even Alaska & Hawaii? Yes! You can find their coverage specific to your state here. They also cover Puerto Rico and Canada, just in case.

Will they provide weigh tickets?

You can request weight tickets at the time of your reservation for an additional $150. They promptly emailed a digital version of ours the day they picked up our trailer at the losing duty station and provided a paper copy when they delivered the truck at our gaining station.

Will I have to do all the lifting myself?
That’s up to you! With U-Pack you can arrange loaders/unloaders separately which allows you to hand pick the best ones for you. You could also tackle it yourself or with the help of friends, neighbors or even family.

What happens if our housing isn’t ready?
– U-Pack offers storage options. If your shipment simply beats you there, you can delay your delivery up to 5 days without charge. If you need to store the trailer, they have options up to 120 days.

What Held Me Back at First

When it was just my husband and I moving a small apartment, we opted to tow a trailer behind his truck thinking, without verifying that this was the best and most profitable option. As our family and the amount of stuff we had to move grew beyond our capacity to haul, we really looked into all of our options. It’s normal to assumer that U-Pack would be more expensive than a company that doesn’t provide a driver. When we factored in the number of days we needed for packing/unpacking, leave along the way and flying someone out to help us drive a car, U-Pack was clearly the winner.

If you’re used to full-service movers like the military movers, you might be wondering about how their claims process works. The good or bad news, is that since you are doing the packing & the loading, it’s your responsibility to make sure everything is secured properly so it won’t break during the move. This may sound scary but with some moving blankets and a lot of ratchet straps, you’ll be surprised how easy it is to make sure everything arrives in one piece. We did call our home insurance to verify that our belongings were covered during the move. So you aren’t alone if there is loss. U-Pack does include coverage for negligence or catastrophic loss incase the trailer catches on fire or overturns, anything crazy like that. You also won’t have to worry about an inconvenience claim if your delivery is delayed with U-Packs delivery guarantee.

Our Experience Using U-Pack for a PPM

What impressed me the most about U-Pack for our military move was their excellent customer service. This was such a stark difference between using chatbots or waiting for information from the military. Our moving specialist gave us her direct line in case we had any troubles or questions. They were also very flexible adjusting dates with the military and explaining the process.

We also had a fantastic delivery driver who showed the boys the connections between the trailer and cab. They were obsessed and loved learning up close. He also made sure we knew how the doors, locks and interior hooks worked. A true “10/10” moving experience and will definitely continue to use them in the future.

Pro Tips for Military Families Doing a PPM with U-Pack

We picked up a few tips that might be helpful! You are given 3 business days with the trailer to load and unload everything. If you schedule the trailer to be dropped off on a Thursday or Friday, you’ll also get it for the weekend for free. We can confirm if it’s over a holiday, you’ll also get that day (so up to 6 days to pack the trailer). If you’re loading the trailer yourself, these extra days can be so helpful.

There is no need to hide airtags in a U-Pack because they provide up to date tracking during the shipment! This was such a fun surprise & our kiddos loved asking where the trailer was at in case we might pass it on our road trip. Anytime they saw a U-Pack trailer they’d ask if it was ours.

Before the truck arrives, be sure you have the right size lock. U-Pack sends a detailed welcome packet that outlines the measurements needed. We had so many locks at our house that I thought one would work but if you gravitate towards buying the strongest locks, they will be too thick to fit. Along those same lines, the truck uses connection points called E-Tracks. We used these E-Track rings that connected the S-hooks on our regular straps to the E-Track.

In the same welcome packet they will remind you to check if leaving a trailer overnight is approved by the HOA or city ordinances. They will try to work with you if this is an issue. I got several messages emphasizing the importance of this from the community on Instagram. Nothing will rain on your moving parade like being yelled at or fined while you’re trying to leave.

Final Thoughts

If you want to have control over your move, make some money & not have to worry about driving a moving truck, U-Pack is definitely the way to go for your upcoming PCS. Get an estimate today and don’t forget to add your U-Pack military discount.

1. We partnered with U-Pack to share about their services with the military community because we believe they are the best. We were compensated for sharing but everything is our own honest opinions and truly hope this information is helpful when planning your PPM. ↩︎