Our First PPM (DIY) Move

1. We chose DIY move, because we

a. feel comfortable with everything mentioned above

b. prefer to handle our household goods (HHG) ourselves

c. prefer for our belongings to move with us

d. know that with our HHG weight, we will earn some money from this move, as the government pays everyone 95% of their cost minus (20%+) tax if your HHG weight did not exceed your rank limit. You can find out how much you will get paid pre-tax on https://www.move.mil/resources/ppm-estimator.

2. We already knew where our PCS destination was in December 2019, which was 5 month prior to receiving the order, so we had plenty of time looking into housing options. As soon as we received the official orders, we signed a lease. DO NOT SIGN UP FOR ANY FINANCIAL OBLIGATIONS UNTIL YOU RECEIVE YOUR OFFICIAL ORDER. At the same time, we started decluttering, donating, selling our furnitures, clothes, and other belongings.

I found three critical things which helped me stay organized:

a. to get a big binder/file-organizer-binder for all the reservation paperwork, orders, receipts from along the way, etc;

b. to box up things up by ROOMS IN YOUR NEW HOUSE and mark the boxes in multiple corners. That way, at the destination, movers (or you) know exactly where that box go in which room. Here is an excellent moving checklist on https://www.katehorrell.com/the-ultimate-pcs-guide-to-packing-out/.

c. make a packing list - number the boxes by rooms, and write down the major items in each box.

Don't forget to communicate with your new apartment for their moving rules: e.g. you may have to reserve the freight elevator and loading docks, maybe you cannot move in a piano, you will have to pay for parking or reserve a spot, etc.

3. We were able to sign up at move.mil after receiving our orders. We also contacted our local PPM Office (can be located on move.mil) and got assigned a consultant. Move.mil will generate the required forms automatically at the end of registering. However, I found there is conflicting information, and we need to use our best judgement. For example:

a. Different versions of the PPM Checklist (a required form) have inconsistent information. The new PPM Checklist (generated from move.mil after registering the move on the website) requests US Navy personnel to have an empty AND a full weight ticket at origination, plus a full weight ticket at destination; however, the old version of the PPM Checklist sent by our PPM consultant only specifies an empty weight and a full weight ticket at EITHER origination OR destination. -- the result was that we used the old version of the form with an empty weight ticket at destination and a full weight ticket at origination, and PPM reimbursement office at destination accepted it.

b. move.mil has a link to CAT Scale Locator, however, Navy also accepts weight tickets from other locations. You can ask your origination and destination PPM Offices for a list of local weight stations.

4. Meanwhile, decide if you are going to drive, ship, or tow your personal vehicle. If you want to tow your personal vehicle, then reserve a rental truck (and tow trailer/dolly) ASAP. We reserved our truck with Budget Truck Rental Company. The earlier you reserve the cheaper. Don't forget to ask for military/first time renter discount! Make sure you rent an appropriately sized truck (not too small for the amount of rooms you have).

5. Both of our destination and origination neighborhoods have narrow streets, so we arranged with both local Budget Truck Rental offices to park the truck there if we did not finish loading/unloading that day, and to pick up our tow trailer after loading at origination, and drop it off before unloading at destination. This apparently is not normal, but it made loading/unloading easier so ask them in advance if you can do that.

6. After reserving the truck, Budget also provided reference websites to local moving companies with hourly rates and customer ratings. That was how we selected our moving company (labor only) at both origination and destination. Please keep in mind that moving company may or may now show up on a specific time (they will give a range of arrival time). In addition, due to the nature of work, they may call you and ask if they can come early, because they finished their last job earlier than expected.

Please keep in mind that no one cares as much about your belongings as you. So pack your things well, and you may find yourself asking movers to wrap some furniture and to secure them in the truck.

7. Plan a good route and safe stops for lodging options along the way. I look up crime maps for lodging areas, and check on Google Map Satellite to see if it is convenient for big trucks. If you are driving long distance, try not to drive more than 10 hours a day, and preferably, arrive at your hotel before sunset. It took us four days to move from south Texas to Maryland (3 overnight hotel stays). We left Friday afternoon, and arrived Monday morning. A 26ft Truck drives much slower than a sedan, and it may require frequent stops. Look for TRUCK STOPS, not Diesel gas stations. Also, it may not be a good idea to go sightseeing along the way with a moving truck.