The Delivery Spread
When relocating with a moving company, you’ll be provided with a range of pick-up and delivery dates. We understand the desire for precise scheduling in your moving plans. However, due to transportation laws and unforeseeable circumstances, it’s impossible to guarantee the exact arrival time of a National Van Lines driver.
This flexibility allows our drivers to navigate various factors, such as weather and traffic, ensuring the safest and most efficient delivery of your belongings. Rest assured, our team is committed to keeping you informed every step of the way and will work diligently to accommodate your schedule as closely as possible. Knowledgeable about the delivery spread? Here are some additional tips on what to expect with your long distance move.
Understanding the delivery spread
While some moving companies may promise an exact delivery date to secure your business, it’s important to note that they are bound by the same laws and face the same unforeseen circumstances as others in the industry. This means that even if a company provides a specific date, there’s no guarantee they can meet it.
Professional moving companies are more likely to offer a delivery range rather than a specific date due to these factors. They must comply with transportation laws that regulate driver hours and rest periods, as well as other regulations affecting delivery timing. Additionally, unforeseen circumstances like weather, traffic, and other delays can impact the delivery schedule.
Choosing a moving company with a wider delivery spread may save you money. Companies with narrower delivery windows may charge higher prices to cover potential costs of delays or other issues during the move.
When planning your move, it’s crucial to work with a reputable moving company transparent about their delivery estimates and policies. This ensures a smoother move and helps you avoid unexpected delays.
You are more likely to save money with movers with a wider deliver spread.
Legal Driving Limits
All drivers and van lines must comply with the regulations of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administrations, or FMCSA. These regulations limit the number of consecutive hours a driver can be on the road and how many total hours they can work each week. While it may technically be possible to drive across the country in a few days’ time, being on the road for 40 – 60 straight hours isn’t safe for the driver, other motorists on the road or your household goods.
While that may not seem like much of a scheduling hurdle, there are a lot of unpredictable elements on the road. All it takes is one minor accident during rush hour to slow traffic down. There is no way to predict such an event and no way to measure how long a driver may be stuck in traffic. A driver may drive five or 500 miles in a day, but the only thing that matters is how many hours he or she spent behind the wheel.
Additional Deliveries
The capacity of a moving van varies based on the size of the home and the weight of the shipment. On average, a moving van can accommodate approximately four households. However, unless you have a particularly large home or opt for exclusive use of a van, your driver will likely have more than just your items to deliver.
Similar to driving limits, scheduling the delivery may seem straightforward, but unexpected events can arise. For example, a poorly parked car could block access to the van, or an agent or driver may experience a sudden emergency, disrupting the unloading schedule for the day. Acknowledging these uncertainties, we believe it would be misleading to promise an exact delivery date that we cannot ultimately guarantee. Instead, we offer a delivery range for when we anticipate your shipment will arrive.
Weather Hazards
Nothing is quite as unpredictable and malicious as the wrath of Mother Nature, especially when driving across the country. Putting traffic aside, weather can make driving dangerous. Our drivers are experts at their craft and know how to navigate these conditions, but that often means driving slower, taking different routes or waiting for the weather to pass.
These three elements of a driver’s job are only some of the things we must consider when scheduling a move. We do all we can to fit your needs and timeline, but we also have to be sure we give you a delivery spread we can realistically achieve.
Do you still have questions about moving pickup and delivery dates? Call us today at 877-590-2810 to talk about the services we can provide! Want to learn more about our long distance moving services.
