Hi,
Just finished the entire landing process in the past few days. Sharing my experience in the hope that it may help someone looking at a similar route.
- Moving with U-Pack Relocube
I was moving from California to BC (Vanc.) Initially thought about going with U-haul's UBox coz I had used them before. One downside of UBox is that the containers are made of wood and hence not weatherproof. Relocube on the other hand is better overall.
I was quoted <3000USD for the move. If you schedule delivery to your origin / destination you will be charged extra. The Relocube container, if chosen for delivery, must sit on a parking spot OVERNIGHT (3 biz days max before they pick up, as they claim) which was a no go for me (both my origin and destination are apartment complexes and only offered street parking.) If you have a dedicated parking spot that allow overnight parking you can definitely consider having the container delivered & picked up later. Thankfully they allow you to load / unload stuff into / from the container at their facilities (both in US and CAN) and that might save you a few hundred bux.
Their customer service is really good and your phone calls to their CS hotline / local facilities are usually picked up very quickly.
US side of things: I made the reservation ~2 months ahead of the actual move (I would suggest you do the same as availability is limited.) Was told that I would only be able to find out the exact time of day for loading ~2 days ahead of the scheduled loading date (you'd have to call the local facility on that day to confirm.) At the same time, their online tracker will tell you when the container has reached the facility, so make sure you check that page daily. In the end I was able to book with the local facility 1 day earlier than were originally told, which is very important if you want to arrange a moving company.
On the day of loading, please have the Goods to Follow form / immigration documents ready as they need a physical copy of everything. From what I saw, the local facility had a clear guidance that one would have to present a physical copy of Goods to Follow form + immigration documents to the driver for the container to be released. I know U-Pack allow you to submit them electronically to a mailbox, but better follow their guidance just to be safe.
I was given an ETA of 5-7 business days of transit time. It ended up taking ~2 weeks to reach Surrey BC.
Crossing the Border on Foot
Make sure you have your Goods Accompanied / Goods to Follow forms ready. Also fill out the pre-landing forms in the ArriveCAN app (I got it done but interestingly was never asked for the receipt.)
I chose to cross the border on foot. In hindsight it's not really a good idea as it's a ~15min walk from the nearest drop-off stop (parking lot @ Peace Arch park) to the CBSA office. If you have a lot of bags it's not gonna be fun
The actual interview was straightforward and didn't take long. It does depend on the time of day and traffic. Expect ~45 mins on less busy days & way longer if traffic is high.
Also - if you purchase roaming data in the States and plan on using that, do your research and be prepared that it would fail on you. I had done so (with Mint Mobile) and never got roaming data. I later figured out it might have to do with incorrect APN setup (there was 2 sets of config - one was the default but MMS would not work in the US; there was another with working MMS but would fail in roaming mode.) The customs office thankfully is equipped with WiFi so you can grab an Uber / get in touch with others there. Also make sure you have a card with no foreign transaction fees. It will make life easier.
Hope this helps and questions are welcome. All the best with your journey!
Just finished the entire landing process in the past few days. Sharing my experience in the hope that it may help someone looking at a similar route.
- Moving with U-Pack Relocube
I was moving from California to BC (Vanc.) Initially thought about going with U-haul's UBox coz I had used them before. One downside of UBox is that the containers are made of wood and hence not weatherproof. Relocube on the other hand is better overall.
I was quoted <3000USD for the move. If you schedule delivery to your origin / destination you will be charged extra. The Relocube container, if chosen for delivery, must sit on a parking spot OVERNIGHT (3 biz days max before they pick up, as they claim) which was a no go for me (both my origin and destination are apartment complexes and only offered street parking.) If you have a dedicated parking spot that allow overnight parking you can definitely consider having the container delivered & picked up later. Thankfully they allow you to load / unload stuff into / from the container at their facilities (both in US and CAN) and that might save you a few hundred bux.
Their customer service is really good and your phone calls to their CS hotline / local facilities are usually picked up very quickly.
US side of things: I made the reservation ~2 months ahead of the actual move (I would suggest you do the same as availability is limited.) Was told that I would only be able to find out the exact time of day for loading ~2 days ahead of the scheduled loading date (you'd have to call the local facility on that day to confirm.) At the same time, their online tracker will tell you when the container has reached the facility, so make sure you check that page daily. In the end I was able to book with the local facility 1 day earlier than were originally told, which is very important if you want to arrange a moving company.
On the day of loading, please have the Goods to Follow form / immigration documents ready as they need a physical copy of everything. From what I saw, the local facility had a clear guidance that one would have to present a physical copy of Goods to Follow form + immigration documents to the driver for the container to be released. I know U-Pack allow you to submit them electronically to a mailbox, but better follow their guidance just to be safe.
I was given an ETA of 5-7 business days of transit time. It ended up taking ~2 weeks to reach Surrey BC.
Crossing the Border on Foot
Make sure you have your Goods Accompanied / Goods to Follow forms ready. Also fill out the pre-landing forms in the ArriveCAN app (I got it done but interestingly was never asked for the receipt.)
I chose to cross the border on foot. In hindsight it's not really a good idea as it's a ~15min walk from the nearest drop-off stop (parking lot @ Peace Arch park) to the CBSA office. If you have a lot of bags it's not gonna be fun
The actual interview was straightforward and didn't take long. It does depend on the time of day and traffic. Expect ~45 mins on less busy days & way longer if traffic is high.
Also - if you purchase roaming data in the States and plan on using that, do your research and be prepared that it would fail on you. I had done so (with Mint Mobile) and never got roaming data. I later figured out it might have to do with incorrect APN setup (there was 2 sets of config - one was the default but MMS would not work in the US; there was another with working MMS but would fail in roaming mode.) The customs office thankfully is equipped with WiFi so you can grab an Uber / get in touch with others there. Also make sure you have a card with no foreign transaction fees. It will make life easier.
Hope this helps and questions are welcome. All the best with your journey!