moving yourself when PCS'd

[Tiankum]

I was recently told that you can actually make money when moving yourself during a PCS. Is this true? How much has anyone on here actually come out on top when you moved yourself?

I'm just trying to figure out how much my family will be looking at if I have 5 dependents and we're moving from CA to MD as an O-3. Does anyone know where I can find info on how much we'll be looking at? I've been doing google searches and have found this:

http://www.transcom.mil/dtr/part-iv/dtr_part_iv_app_k_1.pdf


Thanks in advance!

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[krmower]

I was recently told that you can actually make money when moving yourself during a PCS. Is this true? How much has anyone on here actually come out on top when you moved yourself?

I'm just trying to figure out how much my family will be looking at if I have 5 dependents and we're moving from CA to MD as an O-3. Does anyone know where I can find info on how much we'll be looking at? I've been doing google searches and have found this:

http://www.transcom.mil/dtr/part-iv/dtr_part_iv_app_k_1.pdf


Thanks in advance!

The amount you make is based on the weight, mileage, etc... You can make money, but if anything is broken the government will not reimburse you. The other thing to consider is what to do with the stuff if you don't get into an apartment right away. If the government moves you, they store it. Also you will be taxed on the money they pay you. I made several thousand just on a partial move where they moved the majority of my stuff and I moved several other car loads.

 

[Tiankum]

The amount you make is based on the weight, mileage, etc... You can make money, but if anything is broken the government will not reimburse you. The other thing to consider is what to do with the stuff if you don't get into an apartment right away. If the government moves you, they store it. Also you will be taxed on the money they pay you. I made several thousand just on a partial move where they moved the majority of my stuff and I moved several other car loads.

Good points. Thank you for the info!

 

[Tooth]

I moved myself and made about 3 grand. I have 4 dependents. I moved from CA to FL. I don't think you make all that much more moving yourself considering the amount of work and risk you have to put into it. I mean, even if you have the Navy move you you're still going to get a dislocation allowance of a couple grand tax free. That being said, it's nice to not have to wait for your stuff to arrive a week after you get to your destination.

If your really want to move yourself, I suggest you do what's known as a partial dity or these days as a partial personally procured move. Here, you let the Navy move anything you would likely break like a china cabinet or your plasma TV. If they damage it you can make a claim. I got $300 bucks for some dents in the wood of my china cabinet. Then you move all the bulky more sturdy items like your couch and bed yourself.

If I could go back, I would have had the Navy move me. But I just had to see it for myself.

 

[AirborneDentist]

I did 2 moves that were on my own. The first was 100% on my own, the second, I just had them move the furniture...ie, anything I could not carry by myself. I made 7k and 4.5k on them...but they are taxed.

Benefits: Less gets broken...you know where the items are in your boxes, you don't have to wait on your stuff

Cons: Lots of work.

Tips: Get boxes from Craigslist and resell them when you unpack. People will buy them. Use a huge rental truck. Make as few trips as possible.

I think it is worth it...If I was moving across the country...no way.

 

[Tiankum]

You guys rock! Thanks for all the information.

 

[vellnueve]

I've always moved a good part of my stuff myself, but that's because the regs don't let them move that stuff because it's hazmat. Next move I may try a partial DITY.

 

[Tiankum]

How much time do they giv eyou to move if you're doing DITY? and how much time to you usually have to go to your new PCS base?

 

[AirborneDentist]

How much time do they give you to move if you're doing DITY? and how much time to you usually have to go to your new PCS base?

Hello,

You can take as much time as you need...with a catch. You are required to submit a leave form when you PCS. If you leave on a Thursday, and arrive on a Friday to sign in, you are not charged. If you are traveling a long distance, you are given so many days to travel. You are expected to pack all your stuff, or if you are using the military to pack you, to use work time to get this done. This is NOT done between you leaving and arriving. Typically, you are looking at a couple weeks for your things to arrive at your next duty station.

If you have more questions, please ask!

 

[Tiankum]

Hello,

You can take as much time as you need...with a catch. You are required to submit a leave form when you PCS. If you leave on a Thursday, and arrive on a Friday to sign in, you are not charged. If you are traveling a long distance, you are given so many days to travel. You are expected to pack all your stuff, or if you are using the military to pack you, to use work time to get this done. This is NOT done between you leaving and arriving. Typically, you are looking at a couple weeks for your things to arrive at your next duty station.

If you have more questions, please ask!

What do you mean when you say "If I leave on Thursday and arrive on Friday I am not charged?" I would be charged money if I got there early?

 

[AirborneDentist]

What do you mean when you say "If I leave on Thursday and arrive on Friday I am not charged?" I would be charged money if I got there early?

Hello,

You are not charged for leave...IE..your leave balance stays the same...

 

[Nat426]

Do they tell you ahead of time how much you would get for a DIY move so you can decide if it's worth the hassle?

 

[krmower]

No. They pay you based on mileage and weight . You would need to know those things in order to get any type of estimation.

 

[AirborneDentist]

and also...the rate fluctuates...you will not know exactly how much you will get until you turn in the paperwork after the move..

 

[ysrebob]

In the past, moving yourself (aka "full DITY move") was quite lucrative. This is no longer the case, although the rumor persists. I have done two full DITYs recently, and each time made maybe $3K to 5K after expenses for packing and moving an entire house worth of stuff cross-country -- this doesn't work out to be a good use of your time. Makes sense only if you are die-hard do-it-yourselfer and cheapskate who would rather RotoRoot your own sewer pipes than pay a plumber to do it. That's me. Most rational people choose to pack only their most valuable/fragile stuff themselves and move whetever they can fit in their car trunk that way (not to make any significant extra cash but just to avoid loss/breakage), and let the military movers haul the rest.

 

[Maka]

In the past, moving yourself (aka "full DITY move") was quite lucrative. This is no longer the case, although the rumor persists. I have done two full DITYs recently, and each time made maybe $3K to 5K after expenses for packing and moving an entire house worth of stuff cross-country -- this doesn't work out to be a good use of your time. Makes sense only if you are die-hard do-it-yourselfer and cheapskate who would rather RotoRoot your own sewer pipes than pay a plumber to do it. That's me. Most rational people choose to pack only their most valuable/fragile stuff themselves and move whetever they can fit in their car trunk that way (not to make any significant extra cash but just to avoid loss/breakage), and let the military movers haul the rest.

I can second this. I PCS'd last June, and barely broke even. They totally slashed the reimbursement rate for a DITY move. I hired a 3rd party company that dropped off a shipping container which I filled with my goods, they picked it up, moved it, and stored it. I then drove my car full of stuff to my base, and made sure to get weight slips on that. I used the 3rd party shipping company because it was actually cheaper than using a UHAUL truck and towing my car after you factored in gas, etc. The gov paid for the storage (which was quite expensive), however I think I ended up making about $500 after packing supplies, etc were all factored in. It was a truly miserable process too, and a good amount of my furniture was damaged. I will NOT do it again.

 

[Tiankum]

Hello,

You are not charged for leave...IE..your leave balance stays the same...

Thank you for clarifying that. I apologize, I haven't been to ODS/BOLC yet and am not familiar with everything yet. Thanks again for your help!

 

[Tiankum]

I can second this. I PCS'd last June, and barely broke even. They totally slashed the reimbursement rate for a DITY move. I hired a 3rd party company that dropped off a shipping container which I filled with my goods, they picked it up, moved it, and stored it. I then drove my car full of stuff to my base, and made sure to get weight slips on that. I used the 3rd party shipping company because it was actually cheaper than using a UHAUL truck and towing my car after you factored in gas, etc. The gov paid for the storage (which was quite expensive), however I think I ended up making about $500 after packing supplies, etc were all factored in. It was a truly miserable process too, and a good amount of my furniture was damaged. I will NOT do it again.

Doesn't that depend on your situation though? I mean, my sister and her husband moved from texas to California on a full DITY move (just a few months ago) and they made, after everything was said and done, a little over 7k. So if you're married, have kids, and are an officer (O-3) I'm sure it would be worth your time, right?

 

[Maka]

Doesn't that depend on your situation though? I mean, my sister and her husband moved from texas to California on a full DITY move (just a few months ago) and they made, after everything was said and done, a little over 7k. So if you're married, have kids, and are an officer (O-3) I'm sure it would be worth your time, right?

So the factors that go into how much you get are A) Distance and B) Weight. I moved from the DC area to Texas, as an O-3, and my compensation came out to be about $1/pound moved. If I moved to Cali, I imagine that amount would maybe double or more. That said, I'm a single guy without a ton of stuff, I think my stuff weighed a little more than 2000 lbs. I imagine if I rented some big moving truck, and had 10000 lbs of stuff, I would have made a profit, but I just didn't have the weight. Really analyze how much your stuff weighs, there's even a calculator on the move.mil site you can get access to. Some people try to come up with all sorts of schemes to add weight to their move (water barrels, concrete bags, etc), however that's considered fraud and I wasn't ready to sacrifice my integrity/potentially a career for a few grand.