Loading and unloading help for your truck, POD or container
Hourly movers to load or unload your rental truck, POD or container in the Bay Area. 3 movers $175/hr, 3-hour minimum. Call 1-877-417-6060.
How to get the most out of the hours
5 items- Tell us what you are loading into. A rental truck, a POD, a shipping container, and its size. Let us know if everything goes in or only some of it.
- Have it parked and open before the team arrives, with keys if it is locked.
- Box all small items. We do not move items packed in plastic bags. TVs, lamps and mirrors must be in boxes.
- Empty the drawers of dressers and filing cabinets.
- Group the items that are not going in one room so nothing is loaded by mistake.
Common labor-only jobs we do
4 items- Loading a POD or portable container parked in your driveway
- Loading a rental truck you will drive yourself, local or out of state
- Loading into your own trailer
- Unloading a container or truck at your new home and setting up the furniture
A team of 3 is our standard crew for labor-only work, the same as on a full move. For a large home we may send 4 movers at $235 per hour; we tell you the crew size with the quote.
You have the truck. We bring the crew.
Some moves do not need our truck. You may have rented a truck, ordered a portable container, or have a POD sitting in the driveway, and what you need is three people who know how to load it tight and safe. Spartan Moving does labor-only loading and unloading across the Bay Area, billed by the hour, with the same crew we send on full moves.
Rate and minimum
A team of 3 movers is $175 per hour, with a 3-hour minimum and 15-minute increments after that, so the minimum charge is $525. The rate is the same every day of the week. Because the job is at one address, there is no double drive time on a loading-only or unloading-only job.
Packing supplies are on the truck and charged as used. Payment is at the end of the job by cash, money order, Visa or Mastercard, with a 3% fee on cards.
What is different from a full move
On a full move, moving blankets and wardrobe boxes come with the service, because we load, drive and unload and take them back at the end. On a labor-only job we cannot collect them, so they are not included. The crew still takes furniture apart, and puts it back together when we unload, as part of the hourly work.
We recommend having your own moving pads ready for the furniture, or buying pads and other materials from the crew, charged as used. Mattress covers are $15 each.
One more difference: since we are not driving or unloading your truck or container, we do not take liability for damage that happens in transit or at the delivery location.
Is labor only really cheaper?
Often it is not, once everything is counted. With a labor-only job you still pay for the truck rental or container, the fuel, and your own day driving, and you buy the blankets that a full move includes. A full local move with us includes the 26 ft truck, the driving, blankets, tape, wardrobe boxes and floor protection in one hourly rate, and we unload at the other end. If you are comparing, send us both addresses and we will quote both ways so you can see the difference. See our local moving page for how the full service works.
Unloading at the other end
We also unload. If your container has been delivered to your new Bay Area home, or you drove a rental truck in from out of the area, we can meet it, unload and set the furniture up in the rooms you choose. Same rate, same 3-hour minimum. We serve the whole Bay Area, from San Jose and the Peninsula to San Francisco, the East Bay and Marin. Our arrival window is 8 to 10 AM in the South Bay and Peninsula, and 9 to 11 AM in San Francisco and the East Bay; the team calls 30 minutes ahead.
Questions and answers
How much is loading help?
3 movers are $175 per hour with a 3-hour minimum ($525), then 15-minute increments.
Are moving blankets included?
Not on a labor-only job. Blankets and wardrobe boxes come with a full move because we take them back at the end. Have your own pads, or buy materials from the crew, charged as used.
Do you load PODs and shipping containers?
Yes. Loading a POD or container is charged by the hour. Tell us its size and whether everything is going in.
Is there double drive time?
No. A loading-only or unloading-only job is at one address, so double drive time does not apply.
Are you responsible for damage in transit?
No. Since we are not driving the truck or container, we do not take liability for damage that happens in transit or at the delivery location.
Can you also unload at the new place?
Yes, at the same hourly rate and minimum, including furniture reassembly.
Do I tip the crew?
Tips are not included in the rate and are never required. If you tip, it goes directly to the movers, in cash or added to the card payment.
We also move people in Local Moving, Small Moves, Furniture Assembly TV Moving, Long Distance, Storage Solutions and Get Quote.