Moving your family into a new home is challenging, no matter if the move is across town or across the country. Moving is harder with each additional family member you have, and moving with kids is exponentially more difficult. One of the essential pieces of moving equipment, the moving truck, can make or break your move. Most people who move from one home to another rent a moving truck. It is important to select a truck rental service that fits your needs.

There are many moving truck rental services to choose from. While it may seem that most companies offer the same services, if you look into the terms of the service and evaluate the ‘extras’ that come along with the truck rental, you will see that not all services are alike. It may take valuable time to assess your moving needs and to identify the right service for you, but it will be time well spent once you begin the moving process. There are three aspect of the moving process to consider.

First, self-service moving companies require that you and your family, friends, and anyone you can get to help, take the lead role in moving your belongings. This includes obtaining your own packing supplies and packing belongings yourself. If you are an organized person, and if you have time to do this, it can be a way to save money as it is less expensive than using a service who packs belongings for you. However, if you have children, packing yourself may not be feasible. Young children may have a hard time seeing their belongings packed away and older children may not be reliable in assisting with packing. Add in the continuing needs of children to use their belongings and this may be a difficult service to use.

Second, the ‘you pack’ method is another form of self-service moving where you pack your belongings into a truck. Sometimes this is a truck that you have rented and will drive yourself, other times this is a truck that will be driven by a moving service. This method also involves unloading your belongings at your new location. This service, while difficult on your back, may be a good service if you have older children who can help with the loading. This service is less expensive than one where you pay people to load belongings, and if you have patience, you can have your children assist with the loading so they feel as if they are an essential part of the moving process.

Third, the rental truck service can vary from one in which you drive yourself or one that is driven by a professional driver. There are various sizes of trucks that are available at different prices. Economic truck rental may seem like a good idea before you begin packing your belongings, however, by the time everything is packed it may seem that belonging have multiplied and you need more space than you originally planned. This is especially true if you have kids’ toys that often take up quite a bit of room on a moving truck. Additionally, driving a large truck to transport your belongings can be difficult and after a stressful packing and loading session, it may be a good idea to give your family a break and let someone else do the driving.

While there are different expenses associated with all three aspect of moving, if you have children it is essential to consider all three phases and identify the best services to maintain family harmony. Moving is a stressful time on children as well, so it is important to keep them involved in the move. Identify the parts of the move where they can help. Overall, with some preplanning the move can be a success for your whole family.