Two crews pull up to the same Sherman Oaks apartment. One brings a 26-foot truck, blankets, straps and a dolly; the other brings four people and nothing else, because you already rented the truck yourself. Same building, same stairs. Very different invoice.
Californians book moves in both shapes every week, and the cheaper-looking option is not always the cheaper one. The choice comes down to three things: who supplies the vehicle, who carries the risk on the road, and how much of your weekend you want back. Trek Movers has run both since 2007.
Quick Summary: Key Takeaways
- The real difference: who supplies the truck, the padding, and the road insurance, not how good the crew is.
- Labor-only fits containers: if a PODS box or rental truck is already in the driveway, you need loading muscle.
- Under 100 miles: that is a local move. Past it, the pricing method changes.
- Add the rental costs: truck, mileage, fuel, damage waiver, and parking permits often erase the labor-only savings.
- Get crew size in writing: any quote without crew count, truck size, and hourly rate on paper is a guess.
Full-service and labor-only split on one question: who supplies the truck
Full-service means the moving company brings the truck, the pads, the dollies and the cargo coverage. Labor-only means you bring the vehicle and hire people to fill it or empty it. That is the whole line between them.
Everything else follows from there. Who drives, who pays for fuel, who is on the hook if a dresser corner meets a doorframe on the way down three flights of stairs in an older Los Angeles walkup. Answer those, and the right option usually picks itself.
→ compare our four core moving services
Labor-only works best when the vehicle is already handled
Pick labor-only when the truck problem is solved. Studio and one-bedroom moves inside Los Angeles are the sweet spot. You reserve a 15-foot rental, a two-person crew loads it in about two hours, and you drive it yourself. Done by noon.
Container moves fit the same way. The PODS box is sitting in the driveway on a Tuesday morning, and what you need is two people who can stack a load so nothing shifts on the 405. Nothing more.
The catch is simple. Whoever drives owns the drive, the mileage, the fuel, and any body damage the rental company finds at return.
→ local moving crews for jobs under 100 miles
Full-service earns its price on stairs, distance and fragile inventory
Full-service pays for itself the moment a move gets complicated. Third-floor walkup, no elevator. A piano, a marble tabletop, a grandmother’s china cabinet. Anything crossing county lines.
The American Moving & Storage Association puts the average interstate household move at roughly 7,400 pounds of goods, which is most of a 26-foot truck once it is packed properly. Weight like that turns the job from lifting into logistics.
Long distance is where we push people hardest toward full-service. A Los Angeles to San Jose run is about 340 miles up I-5, and driving a loaded 26-footer over the Grapevine after a full day of carrying boxes is how furniture gets damaged, and rentals get dented.
→ long-distance movers for cross-California hauls
The costs people miss sit in the gap between the two options
Labor-only quotes look far cheaper until the rental line items land. A 20-foot truck in Los Angeles runs about $40 a day before mileage, and then comes fuel, the damage waiver, the environmental fee and a parking permit if your street needs one. Mileage on a long haul adds up fast. Read the total.
Buildings add their own tax. Plenty of Los Angeles high-rises and HOAs require a certificate of insurance naming the property before the loading dock opens, and a labor-only helper without cargo coverage can get turned away on moving morning.
Elevator reservations matter too. Book the slot early.
→ answers to common moving questions
We scope the inventory before quoting either version
Every quote starts with what you own, not with a square-footage guess. Room by room, we count the heavy items, the fragile ones, and the stairs, and that count is what sets crew size and truck size.
Our rates are hourly and all-inclusive, which is the part brokers usually blur. Ask any mover for the hourly rate, the number of movers, the truck size, and the travel-time policy in writing, and walk away from anyone who will not put crew count on paper. No exceptions.
One more rule. Never book a mover who cannot show a CA PUC number and a US DOT number.
California households book Trek for both versions of the job
We have run local and long-distance moves out of Los Angeles since 2007, and the Bay Area hub covers Santa Clara County. Same crews, same standards. Family-owned, licensed, insured, and regulated by the CA PUC and US DOT.
The reviews are the part we are proudest of. 4.9 stars across more than 1,000 Google ratings, mostly from people who mention punctuality and careful handling. Whether we bring the truck or you do, the crew shows up on the hour, and the price on the quote is the price on the invoice.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Is labor-only moving cheaper than full-service?
A: On the hourly line, yes. Once you add the truck rental, mileage, fuel, the damage waiver, and any parking permit, the gap narrows and sometimes closes. For a studio move across a few Los Angeles neighborhoods, labor-only usually still wins. For a long-distance move, full-service almost always costs less overall.
Q: Will movers load a PODS container or a U-Haul I rented myself?
A: Yes. That is exactly what a labor-only crew does. Tell us the container size and where it is parked, and we bring the pads, straps, and dollies to load or unload it. Just confirm your building allows the container in that spot before delivery day.
Q: What counts as a local move in California?
A: Anything under about 100 miles is treated as a local move and billed hourly. Past that, you are in long-distance territory, where pricing is based on weight, distance, and the delivery window instead of hours on the clock.
Q: Do I need a certificate of insurance for my apartment building?
A: Many high-rises and HOAs require one before a crew can use the freight elevator or loading dock. Ask your building manager for the exact requirements a week out, then send them over so the paperwork is filed before the truck arrives.
Get a real number for your California move
Tell us what is in the rooms and where it is going, and we will price the full-service version and the labor-only version side by side. No broker in the middle, no surprise line items on moving day.
Trek Movers — 1441 Wright St, Los Angeles, CA 90015
Hours: Mon–Sun 8:00am–8:00pm
Website: trekmovers.com