What do good movers do when it snows out?
We’ve got a bunch of trucks up our sleeves:
Bring snow shovels
We bring snow shovels so we can clear snow as needed. Cutting through snow banks is time consuming, but that’s why we have the rubber mats (See below). It’s great if your house driveway/walk/sidewalk is already clear of snow when we get there but if it’s not we’ll take care of it as needed.
Bring a bucket of salt
We bring pet-safe salt. It’s not our favorite solution as it makes a mess and isn’t something we want to track into a house, but there are circumstances (icy outdoor stairs) where it’s really necessary. We typically combine this with a little time and then some shovel work on the weakened ice and can have a clear, clean and ice-free path in half an hour.
Rubber mats
The mats are the secret weapon, we lay them over ice, snow banks and anything else. They’re thick and grippy with holes so that the grime falls down, and we don’t slip. Quicker than snow removal and more resilient to conditions. They also keep our lift-gates from being slippery. They’re a major safety enhancement and we’ve had them for years. I don’t know why everyone doesn’t use them. I even keep one at home.
Neoprene runners
Our red neoprene runners have a protective coating on one side and thin soft foam on the other. They’re meant for keeping hallway floors and carpets clean when dealing with inclement weather.
Floor blankets
Depending on the situation and space needed coverage we’ll also use our moving blankets for this. All moving blankets have a dark side and a light side, the light side goes to the furniture, the dark side goes to the dangerous world out there. We use the same system to protect the floor: light side down, dark side to the shoes.
Truck Claws
These strap onto the drive wheels of a straight truck or semi-truck to provide additional grip. Really we only need these in rural settings or off-road, but we have them so that we’re unstoppable.
Drive carefully
When it’s snowing out we drive a little slower. It’s better to get there late than not at all. The good news is that there are few vehicles better in the snow than 19,500-26,000 gvw box trucks. The next time you’re driving down the highway in a snow storm you’ll notice there’s pickup trucks, SUVs, cars, and semi’s spun off on the shoulder or the median, but rarely larger straight trucks. I don’t have a scientific basis for that statement, but I know from 23 years of experience driving all manner of vehicle from tractor-trailers down to motorcycles and bicycles I’d rather be in a 24′ straight truck than anything else.
Common sense
Always over-rated, often overlooked, snow and ice can cause problems but only if you let them. Most of our crew-chiefs have been movers for over 15 years and all of them grew up in New England. There’s nothing like experience.
