Tools of the trade
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The tool list for this trade is short and mostly available used. Operators converge on the same kit because the work has not changed in fifty years. Total spend for a complete setup runs $200 to $300 if you shop used, and every item earns its place on the first job.
The core kit
Appliance dolly with straps. The single most important tool you will own. This is the two-wheel stair-climbing dolly with a strap and belt that moves washers, refrigerators, and dressers. Buy used from a moving company or Marketplace; a worn one works as well as a new one. The stair climbers are small rotating wheels on the back that let you walk a refrigerator down a flight one stair at a time, and they are why two people carry what one person dollys.
Furniture dolly. The flat four-wheeled rectangle, ten to twenty dollars used. Anything with a flat bottom and no stairs between here and the truck moves on it. It is also a pry surface, a doorstop, and occasionally a workbench.
Ratchet straps and bungees. A loaded truck that shifts on a highway ramp becomes a hazard and a lawsuit. Two long ratchet straps minimum, plus a bag of bungees for tarp edges. Check strap webbing for fraying monthly and replace without sentiment.
Moving blankets. Six to ten of them. They go between the customer's piano and your truck, around banisters, and over the tailgate. They also pad the load so furniture does not self-destruct in transit, which matters when part of the load is your resale inventory.
Work gloves. Leather-palmed, several pairs, because junk hides screws, glass, and wire ends. This is the cheapest injury prevention in the business.
Pry bar, hammer, drill or screwdriver. Most jobs involve disassembly: bed frames, shelving units, swing sets, hot tubs. A flat pry bar moves furniture away from walls and pops door hinges. A drill with common bits strips furniture bolts four times faster than a hand tool.
Tarps. One under the load to keep the trailer clean, one over it if rain threatens. A wet load weighs more at the scale, which is a direct disposal cost.
Broom and dustpan, or a shop vac. The swept-clean finish is the review generator. Ten minutes of sweeping buys five-star comments that mention it by name.
Flashlight or headlamp. Garage corners, under decks, attic hatches. A headlamp keeps both hands free, which around junk is the only safe posture.
Magnetic door signs. Fifty to a hundred fifty dollars, and every job becomes a billboard parked in a driveway in the exact neighborhood you want more jobs from.
The consensus pattern on buying
Buy the dollies, blankets, and straps used. They are commodity steel and moving companies cycle them constantly. Buy gloves and tarps new, cheap, and in quantity. Buy the drill decent, mid-tier, brand-name, because it is the one powered tool you will use weekly and battery ecosystems lock you in; borrow before you buy to learn which size you actually reach for.
One specialization note: if your market steers toward appliance-heavy work, a refrigerant appliance handling question arises at the dump, since many facilities add fees for Freon-containing units. Some operators learn EPA-compliant refrigerant recovery and charge for it as a service; that is a real lane, it requires certification, and it belongs on your someday list, not your first-month list.
Kit assembled. What separates the operators who last from the ones who quietly quit is quoting: jobs priced so the disposal bill is a cost of goods instead of a surprise.
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