What will the weather be like on moving day? Great question. Take a look at the forecast.
Weather.com – Monthly Weather Report
The Weather Network – Lake City Weather
The Weather Underground – Lake City 10 Day Forecast
National Weather Service – Lake City Weather.gov
Accuweather – Lake City Weather
In Florida, we don’t deal with sleet or snow, thankfully, but we do deal with rain. Therefore, we will primarily focus on how Lake City Mover handles moving when it rains.
Do you move furniture in the rain?
You should always schedule your move on a day where the sun is shining and there is little to no chance of rain, sleet or snow. This is the ideal situation, but it is not always possible.
Moving during rain is not a safe idea for your furniture nor the safety of your movers. Driving a moving truck in the rain is dangerous and therefore our drivers are trained to handle our trucks with extra precaution and travel at slower speeds. This also can affect the duration of your travel time significantly.
We will always take the most effective precautions to protect our top three concerns:
1. Our Movers and Customers
2. Your Furniture and Goods
3. Our Equipment and Trucks
Protecting Our Movers During The Rain
In the State of Florida, it is nearly impossible to avoid the rain for an entire Summer. On top of that, Summer happens to be the busiest season for the moving industry. Therefore, the rain is a constant obstacle we face at Lake City Mover and we are prepared for the possibility of rain on moving day.
That said, we are constantly moving furniture in the rain.
However, we will only continue a move in the rain, if the rain is light and there is no thunder and lightning. The ground will undoubtedly become wet during the rain. This causes concrete, wood, asphalt, and other ground to become a slip hazard.
Protecting Our Customer During The Rain
If the weather changes for the worst during your move, we have policies in place to handle the weather changes as follows:
Our Customer May Choose To Reschedule Their Move
Immediately following any extreme weather warnings or sudden weather changes our team leader will inform the homeowner or customer of the incoming weather changes. You may feel it is necessary to evacuate in extreme weather or change locations. We will always respect your decision.
Our team leader will present the customer with your options.
- The customer always has the right to reschedule their move. You will be billed the minimum hours for your contract and the remaining work will be completed on a different day of your choosing
- The customer may put the move on a temporary hold, but the billable hours will continue to add up during this time. Our movers will continue to work indoors, packing, wrapping, staging, and moving furniture in a safe area.
- Our movers are authorized to continue moving in the rain, depending upon the customer’s approval and the absence of thunder and lightning. Each mover is authorized to use their own discretion regarding the intensity of the rain and wind. Using ramps is not authorized during any rain.
If a thunderstorm forms and the skies are full of lightning, then moving furniture outdoors is no longer authorized.
Keeping Your Furniture Safe During Rain
Keeping your furniture safe during your move is the top priority of Lake City Mover. You hire us to make sure of that. We will not let you down.
Our Moving Procedures Change During The Rain
Our professional drivers will attempt to reduce the distance between the truck and the receiving or shipping area. This means we will attempt to get the moving truck as close to your home, office, storage, etc.. as possible.
All furniture, boxes and goods will be hoisted or carried into the truck, unless the truck has a ramp door, which is an authorized method of loading regardless of rain.
We Will Make Sure Your Furniture Stays Dry During Your Move.
All furniture should remain wrapped as we normally do, but we may find it necessary to shrink-wrap additional layers of plastic depending on the intensity of the rain.
Boxes also must be completely sealed and free of any openings to avoid the potential of rain wetting your personal effects. Boxes may also need to be shrink-wrapped to avoid the cardboard soaking and transferring the water into the contents of the box.
Protecting Our Equipment During The Rain
Moving pads will get wet and absorb water in the rain…
One of the first changes to our moving process in the rain is to designate a few pads for covering while passing through areas where rain is falling. This means an extra pad will be wrapped or blanketed over any item being loaded or unloaded, then taken off and used again, and again. This process ensures that all of the pads and furniture do not get wet. It also ensures the fewest amount of pads get wet in the process.
We will not leave wet moving pads on your furniture…
If we simply move your furniture through the rain, even if it is padded, the pads will absorb water and that water will pass through to your furniture. This is not a good idea and could damage your furniture. This is especially a bad choice if it is raining during the loading process because your furniture could remain wrapped in wet moving pads for hours, or even days, if you are moving long-distance.
Our dollies and hand trucks in the rain…
Our equipment is made of steel and other metals which can become slick and cause slipping if wet. Hand trucking heavy items through the rain can become dangerous and should be avoided completely if possible.
The tires and wheels on our equipment will also attract water which can cause rusting over time. We may choose to carry furniture if necessary to avoid tracking mud, water, etc.. into our trucks and into your home.
Our moving trucks in the rain…
Some of our moving trucks have steep ramps and they become extremely slick during rain. Using ramps is prohibited per company policy during the rain. These different rules all aid in the safety of our movers and your goods during the moving process if it is raining.
Lift gates also will become wet and retain water on the metal platform. This area can become an extreme hazard in the rain. For safety purposes, lift gates will
During transport, our trucks will take extra precautions due to any weather changes that involve rain. The roads are of course wet and visibility is lowered. This means our trucks will move slower while driving and it will take longer to arrive at the drop-off location than usual.
Driving is perhaps the most dangerous part of your move in the rain. It is very important that your goods and your movers both arrive safely at the destination. If our drivers feel that the weather is too bad for safe travel we may decide to put a temporary hold on the move. If this happens, there will be a later drop off time. There is no change in your billing for this time because transport is billed by a ‘cost per mile’ as usual.
If you, the customer, is uncomfortable driving in the weather, you will have to reschedule your drop off time or pay for any wait time we may incur waiting for your arrival. If you are comfortable allowing our movers to begin unloading before you arrive, we will absolutely begin unloading, staging and assembling if the weather permits.