Nobody chooses to move in July. Lease dates, school terms and job start dates do not care about the weather, so a good number of moves happen in the middle of it.
The real risk is not the drive
It is the twenty metres between your door and the truck, repeated two hundred times. Water gets into cartons at the loading point far more often than on the highway.
What to insist on
- A covered vehicle with an intact tarpaulin, checked before loading - not a canvas with a tear in it.
- Plastic wrapping over cartons, not just around furniture. Stretch film over the carton, not instead of the carton.
- A loading canopy or at minimum an umbrella detail. Ask whether the crew carries one.
- Elevated loading - nothing sits on wet ground, even briefly. Pallets or sheets at the loading point.
Pack differently
Double-walled cartons hold up in humidity where single-walled ones go soft. Line the base of any carton holding electronics or paper with a plastic sheet. Silica gel sachets in anything sensitive. And keep mattresses and upholstery in sealed plastic covers, not cloth - cloth wicks water.
Timing
Watch the forecast and be willing to shift by a few hours rather than a few days. Most monsoon days have a dry window; a good coordinator will move the slot to catch it. Early morning is usually the safest bet.
At the destination
Unpack electronics and anything wooden first and let them acclimatise before use - a television that has been in a humid truck for six hours should sit for a couple of hours before it is switched on. Check cartons for damp on arrival and open any that feel heavy or soft immediately rather than leaving them sealed for a week.
