Delivery in Miami
In a Miami condo or apartment tower, the building sets the delivery-day rules. Once your lease or closing date is set, ask the manager which hours movers may use the elevator or the loading dock, whether a Certificate of Insurance is required, and the exact wording it must carry. Send us that wording and we issue the certificate. Booking the elevator, the dock and any curb space is your part. We advise on it, but we do not file permits or post signs.
The road from Austin to Miami
The truck leaves Austin on TX 71 for 154 miles, then takes I-10 east through Houston. At Baton Rouge it switches to I-12 for 86 miles north of Lake Pontchartrain, rejoins I-10 and crosses Mississippi, Alabama and the Florida Panhandle, 716 miles on I-10 in all. I-75 carries it 107 miles south, Florida's Turnpike the next 264, and I-95 the last stretch into Miami. That is 1,350 miles by road.
The Turnpike is a toll road run by Florida's Turnpike Enterprise, part of the Florida Department of Transportation, and its tolls are collected electronically. Those tolls are already inside the flat rate set from your inventory, so no toll bill follows you to Miami.
Where the clock changes
Federal rules draw the line between Central and Eastern time down the middle of the Apalachicola River in the Florida Panhandle (49 CFR 71.5), and I-10 crosses it. From there the truck runs on Miami time, one hour ahead of Austin. Count that hour when you plan who meets the crew with the keys.
How the days add up
About 20 hours of driving, at no more than 11 hours a day under federal rules, makes two driving days. The loading day, the delivery appointment and some room for weather or a late elevator slot fill out the window, so plan on delivery 3 to 6 days after loading.
- Austin, loading day: the crew pads the furniture, breaks down the pieces that need it and loads the truck.
- On the road: two driving days, about 20 hours at the wheel in all.
- Miami, delivery day: pieces go into the rooms you point to, and anything taken apart in Austin is put back together.
Plants that cannot come
Florida makes it unlawful to bring any kind of citrus tree, or part of one, into the state without a special permit from its Department of Agriculture (FDACS plant import rules). A potted lemon, lime or orange tree from an Austin patio should go to a friend before moving day. Citrus fruit needs no permit. Ask us before you pack any other plant. Gasoline, propane, other flammable liquids, explosives and firearms cannot ride on our truck at all.
After you arrive in Florida
Two Florida deadlines start the day your residency does: 10 days to get Florida insurance and to title and register your car, and 30 days to get a Florida driver license (FLHSMV new resident page). Residency can start with a Florida job, a child enrolled in a Florida public school, or registering to vote.
