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Two Men and a Truck has been around since the 1980s and has a fleet of more than 3,000 trucks. It got top scores for customer satisfaction, but its pricing policies and relatively limited moving service offerings make it less attractive than most of the other companies we reviewed.
Two Men and a Truck is a fixture of the U.S. moving industry. Headquartered in Lansing, Michigan, it is a full-service mover, meaning it does more than load, drive and unload the truck. Of note is that Two Men and a Truck is a franchisor, which we think can complicate the consumer experience because the franchisees, which are independently run businesses, essentially set their own prices and decide which services they do and don’t offer. As a result, what you get from one Two Men and a Truck location might not be what you get at another. Nonetheless, here are some of the company’s major offerings and what we think you should know.
Two Men and a Truck is owned by ServiceMaster Brands, Inc., which is the same corporation that owns ServiceMaster Clean, Merry Maids and other brands.
Two Men and a Truck loads, transports and unloads moves people doing cross-town, interstate and cross-country moves. For long-distance, there are two options:
Expedited service. What we like most about this option is that in most cases the crew that loads the truck is the same crew that drives the truck to the new destination and unloads the truck on the other end. Also, you get day-certain delivery, meaning you’ll know exactly what day your stuff will arrive (instead of having to make do with a multiday “delivery window”).
Value Flex crated moving service. This is basically a moving crate that holds up to 1,000 pounds, so it’s only an option for people who have few items to move (perhaps one room, according to the company). The crate measures 89” L x 89” H x 47” W. The company gives the crate to a third party to transport, and then a Two Men and a Truck team unloads it once it gets to its destination. The transit time is longer than the expedited service, and your stuff could show up anytime within a five-day delivery window. The upside is that this method is cheaper than the first one.
You can also hire Two Men and a Truck to do one-off tasks that may have nothing to do with moving but do involve heavy objects, such as:
Furniture moving and rearranging.
Cleanouts and junk removal.
Pickup and delivery of large items, such fetching new appliances from the store or getting a large object out of storage for you.
Two Men and a Truck does not do international moves.
Two Men and a Truck offers storage, which can be really helpful if you need extra time to find or prepare a new home. Storage costs extra, though, so be sure to tell the mover what you need so you get an accurate quote.
Usually, there are two ways to go about managing storage with a mover: either have the mover take some or all of your stuff to a storage unit that you’ve rented, or have the mover store some or all of your stuff at one of its own storage facilities.
Some Two Men and a Truck franchisees offer wooden warehouse storage vaults that are 5 ft. long x 7 ft. wide x 7ft. tall and hold up to 2,500 pounds. You can rent them on a monthly basis.
Some Two Men and a Truck franchisees also offer wood and/or metal portable storage containers (the wood ones are 5 ft. long x 8 ft. wide x 7.5 ft tall; the metal ones are 16 ft. long). The company delivers them to your home and picks them up when you’re done. You can rent them monthly (or sometimes weekly, depending on the franchisee).
Some Two Men and a Truck franchisees may also own their own storage facilities. Those that don’t may be able to hook you up with a decent third-party storage company.
This can be one of the worst parts of the moving process, so if you can afford to pay extra for some help here, it’s worth considering.
When you have the movers pack, they show up with the boxes and packing materials, wrap and pack everything and then label the boxes.
Unpacking involves opening the boxes, removing the packing materials, arranging your things according to your instructions and then taking away the packing materials and empty boxes.
Each Two Men and a Truck franchisee sets its own packing rates and costs of packing supplies. Generally, packing services are charged at an hourly rate, according to the company.
Two Men and a Truck does not offer car and vehicle shipping.
It’s hard to like Two Men and a Truck in this area. First, it requires an upfront deposit, which is unusual in the moving industry (the company told us “most” deposits are refundable but didn’t disclose the conditions in which the deposits aren’t refunded). The company told us deposits for local moves vary by market and range from $50 to $100; deposits for long-distance moves are typically a percentage of the estimated cost.
Also, whether you pay a fee to pay with a credit card is up to the specific franchisee.
Like most moving companies, Two Men and a Truck also doesn’t provide price quotes online. And like most moving companies, the reason is that the quote depends on several specific-to-you factors, such as:
How much stuff you have.
What kind of stuff you have.
Where your stuff is going.
How accessible the locations are.
When you want to move.
Another reason is the law. The U.S. Department of Transportation requires movers to do a “physical survey of your goods” if the mover has a place of business within 50 miles of your house. You can waive this requirement if you want, but you have to do it in writing before the mover loads your shipment.
In general, the company provides two kinds of price quotes for moving.
Nonbinding estimates give you an approximate cost. They can be great for getting a quick, ballpark sense of cost, but the downside is that they can change by a lot. The final cost comes when the mover weighs the shipment.
Binding quotes guarantee you won’t be changed more than the estimate. They can be great for giving you certainty and peace of mind, but the downside is that the quote process might take longer and the mover can charge for a binding quote.
The company told us it provides binding quotes for its Value Flex service, but franchisees provide binding quotes for interstate moves only if they choose to do so. It doesn’t provide binding quotes for local moves because the majority of those moves are billed at an hourly rate.
Getting a quote from Two Men and a Truck typically starts with providing your contact information and providing detailed information about your household items or setting up an appointment for a walkthrough in your home so the company can see what you’re moving and how hard it will be to get out.
Beware of websites that claim to tell you how much your move is going to cost. None of the full-service moving companies we reviewed provide price quotes online. Virtually every moving company requires contact with a salesperson and a visual survey of your belongings in order to provide a reliable cost estimate.
Two Men and a Truck will pack and ship most things (including pianos!), but not:
Pets or animals.
Medication and prescription drugs.
Anything containing gasoline.
Antifreeze.
Car batteries.
Ammunition.
Propane.
Paint.
Household cleaners.
Weed killer.
Cash.
Insurance papers.
Birth certificates.
Jewelry.
Sentimental items.
Two Men and a Truck doesn’t provide any way for customers to track the real-time location of their shipments. This can be a problem for people who need confirmation that their delivery is arriving, need to be sure they arrive at the destination before the moving truck does or who just want to keep tabs on their things.
Moving companies are liable for loss or damage to your stuff during transportation. But the extent of that liability depends on which kind of liability coverage you choose. Federal law requires movers to offer you two liability options:
Released Value. This protection is free but only pays 60 cents per pound. So if the movers ruin your 300-pound couch, you only get $180, even if the couch was expensive.
Full Value Protection. Under this option, the mover is liable for the replacement value of items that it loses, damages or destroys. You have to pay extra for this option, but unless you explicitly choose the Released Value option, movers must automatically move your stuff under the Full Value Protection level of liability. In this scenario, if the movers ruin your 300-pound couch, they have to repair the couch or pay the replacement value of the couch.
Another option is to get third-party insurance for your move. Your homeowners insurance might (or might not) provide some coverage.
Liability coverage isn’t the same thing as insurance, so state insurance laws don’t apply to the coverage movers provide.
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