Small Moves Portland

What a Small Move From Portland Usually Involves

Most of the small moves we price out of Portland come from people changing one part of their lives rather than relocating a full household. They keep the pieces that are hard to replace and sell or give away the rest before they go.

Students and Campus Neighbors

Portland State sits downtown, the University of Portland is on the bluff above the Willamette in North Portland, and Reed College and Lewis and Clark are in the southeast and southwest corners of the city. A student leaving at the end of spring term usually has a desk, a mattress, a lamp and a stack of boxes, which weighs well under a studio’s worth. With no minimum weight, a load that size is priced on its own rather than as a share of a full truck.

Tech Jobs in Hillsboro and Contract Work on Marquam Hill

The Silicon Forest campuses in Hillsboro and the hospitals on Marquam Hill bring a steady stream of engineers, travel nurses and residents who arrive with a carload and leave a year or two later with more: a sit-stand desk, two monitors, a sofa bought here. The crew packs electronics at pickup, so you do not need the original cartons; just list each item in the estimator.

Downsizing on the East Side and in the Suburbs

In Gresham, Milwaukie and the ranch-house blocks of Montavilla and Centennial, many small moves are parents moving closer to their children. The pieces that go are the ones with a story: a glass-front curio cabinet, a rocking chair, a few boxes of quilts and photo albums. Glass and other fragile pieces can travel in a custom crate built for them.

Small Moves State to State and Cross Country: What They Cost

Price comes from packed weight, the space on the truck, the distance and the delivery level you choose. These are the published rates on our Portland routes:

• On the I-5 lane from California, a few pieces with boxes (about 500 lbs) runs $800 to $1,300, and a studio’s contents (about 1,000 lbs) runs $1,300 to $2,100.
• A medium load of about 1,200 lbs runs $1,500 to $2,400 on that lane and up to $3,050 on the coast to coast lanes.
• A one-bedroom household (about 1,500 lbs) tops out at $3,100 on the longest published lanes.

Those figures are for routes into Portland. Loads leaving the city are priced by the same method, and the online estimator gives the exact number for your list and destination.

Planning Your Pickup With Small Movers in Portland

Every estimate includes white glove pickup from the first floor of your home or business. How smoothly that goes depends on the building, the curb and the bridge traffic, so these are the details to send us when you book.

Newer Apartment Buildings on Division, Williams and Interstate

The mixed-use buildings of four to six stories along SE Division in Richmond, N Williams Avenue in Boise-Eliot and N Interstate Avenue near Overlook usually have a garage entrance, a loading space and a move calendar run by the leasing office. Reserve the elevator and the loading space first, then book the pickup, and send us the building’s rules. Many of these streets have bike lanes or bus lanes along the curb where a truck cannot stop, so ask the office where movers are expected to park.

Older Walk-Ups in Goose Hollow, Buckman and Kerns

Brick courtyard apartments from the early 1900s fill these blocks, and most have no elevator. Call (866) 333-8018 to check access at your building before you book.

Plexes, ADUs and Backyard Cottages

Portland’s infill rules have added duplexes, fourplexes and backyard accessory dwelling units to many lots in Brooklyn, Creston-Kenilworth and Foster-Powell. If you live in the back unit, the path to the street may be a side yard, a narrow gate or a shared driveway. Measure the gate and the tightest turn, and tell us if a neighbor’s car usually sits in the drive.

Street Parking in North Portland

St. Johns, Portsmouth and Kenton have narrow residential streets lined with parked cars, so space near your door is easier to find early in the day.

Across the River and Out in Washington County

A pickup in Vancouver, WA depends on one of two crossings, the I-5 Interstate Bridge or the I-205 Glenn Jackson Bridge, and both back up at rush hour. Apartment communities around Orenco Station and Tanasbourne in Hillsboro often ask for a reservation with the leasing office and limit move hours. Put your address in the estimator and we will line the pickup up with a local partner near you.

Picking a Date

Pickup is scheduled 2 to 10 business days after booking. June through August is the busy stretch, when school terms end and many Portland leases turn over, so book at least 10 days ahead if your move-out date is fixed. A same-week pickup is often possible, though extra fees may apply.

Partial Load Movers in Portland Compared With the Other Options

There are three usual ways to get a small load out of Portland. Most movers in Portland work by the hour with a local truck and crew, which fits a move across town but means paying for a dedicated truck and driver for every mile of a long trip. A rental truck puts you behind the wheel over the Siskiyou Pass on I-5 or through the Columbia River Gorge on I-84, and both routes can see snow and ice in winter. Parcel carriers will take boxes, but not a sofa or a bed.

Partial load moving sits between those choices. A Ship Smart crew packs everything at pickup, your load rides with other shipments heading the same direction, and you pay for the weight and space you use. Local partners at both ends, part of a network of more than 300 locations nationwide, handle the pickup and the delivery.

Before you hand your belongings to any small moving company in Portland, check its credentials. Ship Smart is licensed, bonded and insured (MC-381032, DOT 2226241), holds an A+ rating with the BBB and keeps its damage rate below 2%. Basic valuation coverage comes with every shipment, and you can add more for valuable pieces.

Coming to Portland instead? At this end you pick Will-Call, where you collect the shipment at the destination terminal for the lowest cost, Curbside Delivery, which brings it to the closest point the truck can reach, or Full Service, with white glove delivery inside your new home.

Small Moves Between Los Angeles and Portland

Shipping a small load between Portland and LA? See our Los Angeles to Portland route page for pricing, transit times and what to expect.