I Moved from Michigan to Kansas Using Labor-Only Movers: Here’s What I Learned
Fact Checked by: 
Kalamazoo, MI → Manhattan, KS
$596
Labor only, both ends
$631
$35 over, in unquoted tax
749 mi
I drove it myself
- One full-service company quoted over $6,000 for my Michigan to Kansas move. I drove my dad’s truck and trailer and hired loading and unloading crews instead.
- The labor came to $631 against a $596 quote, plus $452.20 in gas and $115.44 on lodging for the drive.
- I shared all of it, my quotes, my bills, and my ratings, as part of moveBuddha’s Better Moves Project.
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This account is based on a conversation with Tessa, who moved from Kalamazoo, Michigan, to Manhattan, Kansas, in spring 2022 using College Hunks and Flint Hills Moving. The conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
My move from Michigan to Kansas
I had a specialty veterinary internship starting on short notice 749 miles away, which is stressful enough on its own. Add multiple pets to manage and a tight budget, and I needed this to go right.
What sharpened my thinking was my younger sister’s move a few weeks before mine. Her crew was so inefficient that she ended up paying three times her original quote. I was determined not to repeat that.
So I built a hybrid move: I’d drive my dad’s truck and trailer myself and hire labor-only crews at each end to load and unload. That keeps the biggest variable, transit, entirely under my control, and it caps what anyone can charge me.
I found both companies through moveBuddha’s moving cost calculator. According to moveBuddha, users who compare movers this way save more than 30% versus taking the first quote they get.
My experience at a glance
Here’s how both companies performed in the areas that mattered most to me.
- Communication: Adequate from both overall. I did run into some unprofessional interactions with staff at Flint Hills Moving.
- Punctuality: The College Hunks crew arrived right on time. The Flint Hills crew showed up 10 minutes early.
- Move day performance: Both crews were professional and efficient, and both finished ahead of schedule.
- Pricing accuracy and transparency: College Hunks hit their quote exactly. Flint Hills came in about $35 over, because taxes hadn’t been factored into the estimate.
- Delays: None. I did the driving, so there was nothing to wait on.
- Loss and damage: Some wheels broke off my desk in transit, and I don’t think that one is on the movers.
- Would I use them again? College Hunks, without hesitating. Flint Hills I’d think twice about, given the communication and the surprise at the end.
over my original moving labor quotes
Find out what a move from Michigan → Kansas actually costs before a mover tells you.
Why I chose these companies
Keeping the cost down mattered, and skimping on service wasn’t an option. Of the companies I contacted, two didn’t service my area, several never called me back, and one full-service mover quoted more than $6,000. That number is what pushed me toward driving myself.
My Google searches weren’t much help, so I built a candidate list off U-Pack‘s and U-Haul‘s websites, then cross-referenced every name against Yelp reviews in both Kalamazoo and Manhattan. Checking a company in the city it actually operates in is worth the extra step, because a national brand’s reputation tells you very little about the specific crew who’ll show up.
I was happy with the quotes and the communication from both College Hunks and Flint Hills Moving during screening. I already knew College Hunks from local advertising, and their representatives came across as friendlier and more professional than anyone else I spoke to.
My move at a glance
Here are the basics of my relocation, including what I was quoted and what I actually paid for my Michigan to Kansas move.
| Moved from | Kalamazoo, Michigan |
|---|---|
| Moved to | Manhattan, Kansas |
| Distance | 749 miles |
| Move date | Spring 2022 |
| Move type | Truck and trailer I drove myself, labor-only crews at both ends |
| Moving companies | College Hunks (loading) and Flint Hills Moving (unloading) |
| Moving quote | $596 ($250 College Hunks, $346 Flint Hills Moving) |
| Actual cost | $631 ($250 College Hunks, $381 Flint Hills Moving) |
We found that when you use moveBuddha’s moving cost calculator, you can save 30% on moving costs compared to customers who go with the first quote they receive.
What my move actually cost
The $631 in labor is only part of the picture, and I want to lay the whole thing out because a hybrid move is easy to underestimate.
| Cost | Amount |
|---|---|
| College Hunks, loading in Kalamazoo | $250 |
| Flint Hills Moving, unloading in Manhattan | $381 |
| Gas for the 749-mile drive | $452.20 |
| Lodging on the road | $115.44 |
| Total | $1,198.64 |
Even with the fuel and the hotel, that’s a fraction of the $6,000-plus I was quoted for full service, and I had my dad’s truck and trailer for free. If you’d be renting the vehicle, add that before you decide this is the cheaper route. The trade is money for effort, and I did all the driving.
Pickup day
I’m not a procrastinator. In the weeks beforehand I stayed on top of organizing, decluttering, and packing at least one box a day. I also wrote a move day checklist that covered draining and packing my fish tank and disassembling my Ikea bed frame.
The College Hunks crew arrived right on time at 8:45 a.m. and got straight to work, shrink-wrapping loose items and loading everything into the truck and trailer. They were personable and efficient from the first minute.
The one thing that caught me off guard was learning that shrink-wrapping had been included in my quote the whole time. Had I known, I’d have saved myself the hours and the expense of wrapping so much of it myself. I was glad to have the extra protection, and it’s a reminder to ask what materials are covered rather than assuming.
They’d estimated two hours for loading and finished 30 minutes early. While they worked I dealt with the fish tank and looked after my pets.
When I got to Kansas I found some of the wheels on my desk had broken in transit. I’m not convinced College Hunks was at fault. They did everything they could to protect my things and I may have been partly responsible myself. If you’re moving furniture with wheels or casters, take them off before loading. It’s a small step that prevents exactly this.
Delivery day
The Flint Hills Moving crew arrived 10 minutes early. A few of them were young and a bit forgetful, and the unload went quickly regardless. Six people had everything inside and placed where I wanted it in 15 minutes. As far as I could tell, nothing was mishandled or damaged.
My frustration with Flint Hills was the pricing. I’d been told unloading would run approximately $350 with a $300 deposit required. What nobody told me was how many people were coming, how long it would take, or how the final charge would be calculated. Not knowing made it hard to budget or to plan the rest of my day, and the final bill came in $35 above the estimate because tax hadn’t been included.
If you’re booking labor-only movers, ask upfront how the charge is broken down and confirm that tax is in the number you’ve been given. A written estimate that spells all of it out is the way to avoid this.
Final thoughts
A few things didn’t go as smoothly as I’d have liked. Several companies I contacted never responded at all. And I had no idea moving insurance was worth asking about until I filled out moveBuddha’s questionnaire afterward. Because I hired labor only, valuation coverage probably wasn’t available to me anyway, and I’d still have liked the chance to raise it.
Overall this went better than I expected. College Hunks was excellent start to finish: friendly and professional on the phone, efficient and courteous on the day, and done ahead of schedule. I’d use them again in a heartbeat.
Flint Hills Moving got the job done and I came away with reservations. The pricing wasn’t transparent, tax wasn’t in the estimate, and a few of the staff interactions felt unprofessional. If I had a cheaper and clearer option next time I needed movers in Kansas, I’d take it.
The bigger lesson is about the structure rather than either company. Watching my sister pay three times her quote is what made me split the move up, and splitting it up is why my overage was $35 instead of thousands. When you drive it yourself, the only thing anyone can bill you for is the hours they’re standing in your house.
Considering a hybrid move? Use moveBuddha’s moving cost calculator to price full service on your route first, so you know what driving it yourself is actually saving you.
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Tips for future movers
These are the practical steps we recommend based on Tessa’s experience:
- Confirm tax is in the estimate: Tessa’s $346 unloading quote became $381 because tax hadn’t been added. Ask whether the number you’ve been given is the number you’ll pay.
- Ask how a labor-only charge is calculated: Tessa was never told the crew size, the expected hours, or how her final bill would be worked out. Get the rate per crew member, the minimum, and any travel or fuel charge in writing before you book.
- Ask what materials are included: Shrink-wrap was in Tessa’s College Hunks quote the whole time and she found out on move day, after wrapping much of it herself. Quilted furniture pads are usually a full-service inclusion rather than a labor-only one, so check.
- Remove wheels and casters before loading: Tessa’s desk wheels broke in transit, and damage like that often isn’t covered on a labor-only move. Take them off and pack them separately.
- Raise valuation coverage even on a labor-only job: Neither company brought it up with Tessa. It typically isn’t available when you’re hiring labor only, and asking tells you where you stand before anything gets carried.
- Check reviews in both cities, not just the brand: Tessa cross-referenced every candidate against Yelp in Kalamazoo and in Manhattan. A national name tells you nothing about the local crew who’ll actually turn up.
- Price the whole hybrid move, not just the labor: Tessa’s crews cost $631 and her gas and lodging added $567.64. It was still far below a $6,000 full-service quote, and only because the truck and trailer were free.
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