Moving with guitars-advice?

[jimmybee]

Hello y’all,

We are going to be moving next month from South Florida to New Hampshire and I am trying to figure out how to move the guitars. I have 3 acoustics, not including the Travel Air , a banjo and a Telecaster, plus a couple,of amps.

Have hard cases for the acoustics but not sure I can hand transport all of them.
I was thinking of maybe building a plywood box which I could fill with peanuts or something and put them all inside.


Looking for ideas. Humidity issues are another concern but will deal with that separately.

Any ideas?
Much thanks.
Jim

[Steadfastly]

The box is a good idea. I would fill it with foam chips rather than peanuts.

Don't worry about the humidity levels. It won't be a problem where you are going at that time of year.

[perttime]

How are you going, and all the other stuff?

I think there will be a change in temps and humidity, so taking your time before unpacking the guitars might make sense.

[Pachowder]

We moved from PA to CA and then a few years later CA to MA. Didn't worry much about the humidity due to the times of year but kept the usual fresh humidipacks in the cases. We had professional movers each time but I just put the hard shell case in the box it shipped with, had the movers label them as high value and then on the truck they went. Asked them to make sure not to crush them anyway and had no problem with any acoustic or electric. I had a beat up Tacoma guitar I let the kids play and the movers packed it in a closet box without any case at all and it made it without a scratch.

If movers are handling them, your best bet is to pack them in guitar boxes as if you were shipping them. Make sure the movers know not to stack things on the guitar boxes and to prevent them from falling while in the truck.

http://www.bryankimsey.com/shipping/

[jfitz81]

I've had good experience with movers and valuable items, although I've always been able to transport my guitars in my own vehicle. I agree with others: pack them for shipping, let the movers know exactly what they are (and their value), and then tip the movers well after your instruments arrive safely!

[dneal]

With 30+ years in the Army, I've moved a lot. As long as you have a good quality hard case, just loosen the strings and pack the front and back of the headstock. Make sure the rest of the case is empty (to include the storage compartment).

The packers will normally wrap the case. There's little probability of impact damage. Temp and humidity are always a concern, but guitars are more sturdy than you would be led to believe. My guitars have crossed the Atlantic by boat, and the continental US by truck.

Damage to shipments usually occurs when household goods enter/exit the warehouse. If you schedule a door to door move, you eliminate that risk.

--edit--

Saw the comment about tipping the movers. We buy them lunch. Everybody gets them pizza or burgers, and they get tired of that. We've done rotisserie chickens (1/2 a chicken per bubba) and sides, BBQ, Subway (have the team lead collect the orders), etc... The packers / loaders are the most important end of the move.

[Cypress Knee]

When I moved from the East Coast to the West Coast a couple of years ago I took a guitar with me on the preliminary scouting trips. It was a non-stop flight on Southwest. When we actually moved, I had hand-carried my guitars to a pre-positioned storage area and didn't have to worry about the movers or fitting them into a car along with two cats, a dog, my wife, and various bits of travel baggage.