So when the day of the move finally arrives, you’ll want to take care of your goods with Tampa, Florida-based Red Rover, a “new breed” of “pickup” moving and storage company.
There’s no question… moving house can be one of the most stressful activities anyone can deal with, and making sure to safely transport the treasured items you’ve collected throughout your life – pictures, furniture, clothes, art, even household knick-knacks – Always a nerve-wracking experience.
Road Rover first opened its doors three years ago and now operates in 15 markets across the US, including local branches in Brooklyn, Syosset and Central Islip.
Red Rover CEO Pete Warhurst is also the founder and CEO of PODS. He was born and raised in Huntington, New York, and now lives in Orlando.
“Red Rover is the next step in portable storage,” Warhurst said. “It’s a similar concept to PODS, but we can do it better in a lot of ways by giving customers more choice. We have two main services. The first is Red Rover delivering the container to the customer’s location – for this We use our “Retriever” trucks. The container is placed on the ground and the customer can slowly load it. They can then use the container for temporary storage at their location, or they can store it in our climate controlled storage center or send it to Shipping to their new location. This process is great for people who want convenient delivery and want more time to load. Aside from moving, a popular use of the system is temporary storage at their location while customers are renovating.”
The second is a “ramp” truck for customers to come and pick up our pre-loaded containers. This enables consumers to pick up trucks and containers anytime, anywhere. What we do is give the customer 14 hours to use the truck absolutely free, they can load it up and ship it back, and we save them all the delivery and handling fees. “
“So it’s a win-win proposition, we reduce logistics costs, consumers can save $200 to $500.”
For their ramp trucks, customers pick up their trucks and storage containers at one of Red Rover’s enclosed facilities. Customers will be given a special code that unlocks the gates and lets them into their truck, which Warhurst noted has cutting-edge technology to ensure a smooth and safe journey for customers.
“Ramp trucks are very easy for consumers to drive … very, very high-tech. They have lane departures, they have emergency braking, backup cameras, everything,” he said. “And the ramp is patented and actually goes automatically across the entire truck bed.”
The advantage of the system, Warhurst said, is that customers can lower the ramp at the push of a button, which can be done through the container’s rear or side entry, making it easier to load and transport unload storage containers, rather than the single rear door offered by other companies Model.
“A lot of people really like that in urban areas like Manhattan, Queens or Brooklyn, where it’s hard to find a place to put the container on the ground,” he said. “You can load an 8-foot container on one of our trucks, pull it out onto the sidewalk, then pivot the ramp to one of the side doors, and load that container sideways very conveniently.”
But for those who prefer to be hands-off when it comes to moving and storing, Warhurst says Red Rover handles everything while customers sit back and watch.
“We actually do more than any other company. We enable consumers to do the work 100% themselves, but if they want it all done for them, we can do that too. Or, we can be an intermediary Anything in between … If you want to do most of the work, but you want the crew to do the heavy lifting, we’re going to have the professionals do that part of the job. No one else can do that.”
Red Rover currently operates in 15 U.S. markets, including Los Angeles, San Diego, Las Vegas, Denver, Chicago, New York, Boston, and more. Warhurst said the response to the new company has been so positive that plans for continued expansion are now well underway.
“There are hundreds of additional markets and we’ve just launched a franchise program that I’m very excited about. For the company to reach its full potential, we need Red Rover locations in both origin and destination markets for mobile people . Our franchisees will fully benefit from the network we are building,” he said. “We fully intend to operate nationally in the near future.
For a company that offers such a unique, forward-thinking concept, Red Rover’s service is surprisingly affordable, Warhurst said.
“Our goal is to use technology to provide customers with a great experience while reducing our costs. We pass these savings on to consumers, so they pay in nominal terms compared to competitors,” he said . “We’re intentionally trying to keep our prices lower than any long distance mover and any local storage operation. As I said, it’s all about empowering the consumer.”
