PCS season concentrates an enormous amount of moving into a few months, and if you're reading this you're probably somewhere in the middle of it. Orders come with a report date that isn't negotiable, and everything else has to be built backward from it.
If you're doing a Personally Procured Move, the vehicles are usually the piece that gets figured out last. Here's how to handle that part without it becoming the thing that eats your week.
What a DITY or PPM Move Actually Means
A Permanent Change of Station move relocates a service member from one duty station to another, or from a final duty station to a home of record ahead of separation or retirement. There are a lot of sub-categories, but they all mean the same thing in practice: pack up and go, on a fixed timeline.
Rather than using a government-contracted mover, many families opt for a Personally Procured Move — still commonly called a DITY move. You handle the move yourself and get reimbursed, often at a rate that leaves money in your pocket if you're efficient about it. Depending on your orders and circumstances, you may also be entitled to travel allowances and mileage.
Start at your installation's transportation office. Before you book anything, go in with questions: what's authorized under your orders, what the reimbursement rate is, whether vehicle shipping is covered or partially covered, and what documentation you'll need to submit afterward. Entitlements vary by circumstance, and the transportation office is the only authoritative source on yours. Anything you read online, including this page, is background.
The Vehicle Problem
Most families have two vehicles and, at best, two drivers. Add a rental truck, kids, and pets, and the math stops working fast.
The options are usually: caravan two vehicles across the country and coordinate every stop, make two separate trips, or have someone drive one while the family flies. None of those are great when you're already managing a housing search, school enrollment, and a report date.
Shipping a vehicle removes it from the list. You fly, the car arrives, and you're not putting two thousand miles on it during a week you can't spare.
How the Process Works
Straightforward, and it takes a few minutes.
- Get your quote. We need the origin and destination ZIP codes, your target dates, and basic details about the vehicle — year, make, model, and whether it runs.
- We assign a carrier. Once a specific truck is booked for your vehicle, you'll have a pickup window. No deposit before that point.
- Pickup and inspection. The driver documents the vehicle's condition on the bill of lading with you present. You get a copy.
- Delivery. The vehicle arrives at your destination address. You inspect it against the same report and sign off.
Build the schedule backward from your report date. That's the number that matters, and it's the one we plan around. Tell us when you need to be there and we'll work out when the vehicle has to leave.
Timing and Lead Time
PCS season runs heaviest from roughly May through August, and it compresses capacity nationwide — every installation is doing this at once.
Three to four weeks of lead time during that window is the difference between choosing your pickup window and taking whatever's available. Outside peak season, two weeks is usually enough.
If your orders change — and they do — call us. The earlier you tell us, the more room we have to rework the schedule.
Getting the Vehicle Ready
- Wash it first. You'll be documenting existing damage at pickup, and you can't record what road grime is hiding.
- Photograph it yourself. All four corners, the roof, the wheels, and any existing chips or dents, timestamped.
- Leave about a quarter tank of fuel. Enough to load and unload, not enough to add unnecessary weight.
- Empty it out. Cargo insurance covers the vehicle, not household goods. Loading up also adds regulated weight and risks interior damage from items shifting in transit. A small amount in the trunk may be acceptable — confirm the limit when you book.
- Remove toll transponders so they don't rack up charges while the car rides on a truck.
- Mention any quirks. A weak battery, a sensitive alarm, a slow leak, aftermarket suspension. The driver needs to know before they're loading at dawn.
Other Vehicles
Moving trucks are built for boxes and furniture. Motorcycles, ATVs, boats, and RVs need proper equipment and securement — we handle those too. Mention what you have when you get a quote so we assign the right carrier the first time.
Shipping more than one vehicle? Ask about multi-vehicle pricing. It's common with PCS moves and it's usually better than booking each separately.
What You Can Expect From Us
You'll talk to the same person. We don't sell your information to a list of carriers, so you're not going to get twelve calls after requesting a quote — and when you call back, you can ask for whoever you spoke with.
The quote is the price. No hidden fees, no deposit until a carrier is actually assigned, and no charge if you decide to cancel before that point.
Check It Off Your List
Get a free quote in about a minute — no phone call required. Or call us at (800) 994-1208 and we'll walk through your timeline with you.
You can also see pickup details and transit times for any state we serve. States with major installations tend to be our highest-volume PCS lanes — Texas, Virginia, North Carolina, California, and Georgia among them.