PODS, PackRat and U-Pack Container Loading
The container company drops the box, or you hitch up a trailer. We fill it. Packed is labor only, so the rental stays in your own name and you book a crew for the few hours that actually matter: wrapping, stacking to the ceiling, putting the weight where it belongs and strapping each layer so the load arrives the way it left.
Container and trailer loading across Chicago and the suburbs around it
Portable containers and rented trailers are now the most common way people move themselves, and the labor is the part they still need. Packed Moving Solutions loads and unloads PODS, 1-800-PACK-RAT, Zippy Shell, ABF U-Pack ReloCubes, U-Pack trailers and plain rental trailers from a yard, across the city and out through Elmwood Park, Oak Park, Franklin Park, Evanston, Des Plaines, Schaumburg, Elk Grove Village and Addison. The rental stays in your name and the crew comes for the hours it takes to fill or empty it.
How you pack a container is not how you pack a truck. A container is lifted, tilted onto a flatbed, driven, set down again and often stored for weeks, so the load has to hold itself together with no driver watching the mirrors. Crews blanket-wrap the furniture, stand sofas and mattresses on edge along the walls, build a flat wall front to back at full ceiling height, fill every gap with soft goods and run ratchet straps across each layer before starting the next one.
A trailer asks for one more thing on top of that: the weight has to sit right. The heavy pieces go over the axle and a little forward of it, so the tongue stays loaded and the trailer follows you instead of wandering. On a U-Pack trailer, where the bill is the linear feet you use, that same discipline is the difference between paying for your goods and paying for empty air, so the crew packs to the roof and sets the bulkhead tight against the load.
That stacking is what customers write about. One reviewer watched a crew fill roughly a third of a trailer with an entire household and a motorcycle, and the same habit is what keeps a 12-foot container from turning into two. Tell us the brand, the size, the rooms involved and the access at the driveway, and you get a crew size and an hourly quote back. Call (773) 837-6739 or send the form for a free quote.
What we offer
Every containers and trailers job is run by the same small group of movers, the ones customers keep naming in the reviews, working out of Elmwood Park.
PODS Loading
The 7, 12 and 16 foot PODS containers loaded in your driveway, with the heavy pieces set over the floor rails and the doorway left clear for the lift.
PACK-RAT & Zippy Shell Loading
1-800-PACK-RAT and Zippy Shell containers handled the same way. Tell us the brand and the size and the crew brings the right amount of strapping for it.
ABF U-Pack ReloCube & Trailer Loading
A U-Pack ReloCube in the driveway, or a U-Pack trailer where you pay by the linear foot and the bulkhead decides the bill. Crews stack to the roof and set the bulkhead tight so you are not paying for air.
Rental Trailer Loading
Cargo and utility trailers, small or large, whether the rental yard is U-Haul, Penske or a local one. The heavy pieces ride over the axle and slightly forward so the tongue stays weighted and the trailer tracks straight behind you.
Container Unloading
A container landing at the new address, emptied room by room, furniture rebuilt and boxes carried to the rooms they are labeled for.
Storage In and Out
Containers being packed for months in storage need more wrap and better weight distribution than a two-day move. We pack them for the wait, not just the drive.
Why choose Packed Moving Solutions
An owner-operated crew covering Chicago and the suburbs around it, and a quote built around the real access at both doors instead of a guess.
Tight packing is what the reviews are about
Customers name it more than anything else: crews fill the box to the roof instead of the shoulder line. A container billed by the month and the unit, or a U-Pack trailer billed by the linear foot, is the one rental where careful stacking shows up on your invoice.
We do not sell you the container
Packed has no rental to push, so the advice about sizes is free of a motive. If your list fits in one 12-foot box we will say so, and if it genuinely needs two we will say that too.
A container is a long, slow shake
Containers get lifted onto a truck, driven, set down and sometimes stored for months. Everything gets wrapped, weight goes low, gaps get filled and each layer is strapped before the next starts.
Containers and trailers across Chicago and the suburbs
Dispatched from our Elmwood Park base.
Our process
Straightforward, easy to follow, and built so you always know exactly where things stand in the containers and trailers process.
- 1Step 1
Book the container or trailer with PODS, PACK-RAT, U-Pack or a rental yard
- 2Step 2
Send us the size, the room list and the drop or pickup date
- 3Step 3
Crew arrives at the driveway or curb with wrap, straps and dollies
- 4Step 4
Load built as a flat wall, ceiling height, weight set over the axle, strapped in layers
- 5Step 5
Doors closed and photographed, ready for pickup, storage or the road
Ready to get started?
Book online in under a minute, or call us with any questions.
PODS, PackRat and U-Pack Container Loading near you
Packed Moving Solutions works out of Elmwood Park and covers Chicago and the suburbs around it from there. Call for a free quote, or send the form and we will come back to you.
PODS, PackRat and U-Pack Container Loading across Chicago and the suburbs
Packed Moving Solutions Elmwood Park
Elmwood Park, IL · Serving Chicago and the suburbs around it
Monday to Saturday 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM · Sunday 8:00 AM to 2:00 PM
Packed Moving Solutions works out of Elmwood Park and covers Chicago and the suburbs around it from there. That takes in the city neighbourhoods, Logan Square and Wicker Park through Hyde Park and Rogers Park; the near west around Oak Park and Franklin Park; Evanston and Skokie to the north; Berwyn and Cicero to the south; the northwest suburbs out to Schaumburg; and Naperville and Elgin past the DuPage edge. We are a service-area business, so there is no showroom to visit: our crews come to you for loading and unloading, U-Box, PODS, PackRat and U-Pack container and trailer work, and full or partial packing.
What we do
PODS, PackRat and U-Pack Container Loading: frequently asked questions
Do you work with PODS and 1-800-PACK-RAT containers?⌄
Yes, PODS, 1-800-PACK-RAT, Zippy Shell and the smaller regional container brands are all everyday work. You rent the container directly and we bring the crew that loads or unloads it.
Can you load an ABF U-Pack ReloCube or U-Pack trailer?⌄
Yes, both. A ReloCube is packed like any other container. A U-Pack trailer is billed by the linear feet you use, so the crew stacks it to the roof front to back and sets the bulkhead tight against the load rather than leaving a gap you would be paying for.
Will you load a trailer I rented myself?⌄
Yes. A small cargo trailer or a large enclosed one, and it makes no difference whether the rental came from U-Haul, Penske or a local yard. Tell us the length and whether it has a ramp, and we bring the dollies to match.
How do you load a trailer so it tows properly?⌄
Weight over the axle and a little forward of it, heaviest pieces on the floor, nothing loaded so far back that the tongue goes light. A trailer packed tail-heavy sways behind you at highway speed, so the crew builds the load front to back and straps it in layers.
How do you fit everything into one container?⌄
By using the height. Furniture is wrapped and stood on edge, a flat wall is built front to back at ceiling height, gaps are filled with soft goods and each layer is strapped before the next one starts. Most of the wasted space in a container is above shoulder height.
Will my things shift while the container is moved?⌄
That is what the strapping is for. Containers get lifted, tilted and set back down, so the crew straps layer by layer rather than loading loose and closing the door. Photos of the finished load are available on request.
Can you load a container that is going into storage for months?⌄
Yes, and tell us that when you book, because it changes the packing. Long storage needs more wrap, weight kept low and mattresses bagged rather than blanket-wrapped.
What size container should I rent?⌄
Read us your room list on the phone. As a rough guide a 12-foot container handles a small two-bedroom and a 16-foot handles a three-bedroom, but heavy furniture and appliances move that line. We have no container to sell you, so the answer is just the answer.
Where does the container have to sit?⌄
The container company needs a flat, clear spot roughly the length of the box plus room for the delivery truck, usually a driveway. On a city block where that is not going to happen, ask them about a nearby lot and we will work from there.
More ways we can help you move
Most customers book more than one of these on the same job. Here is the rest of what we do.
Need Containers and trailers?
Movers to load or unload a PODS, PackRat, Zippy Shell, U-Pack ReloCube, U-Pack trailer or a rented trailer, across Chicago and the suburbs around it.