The short version
If you read nothing else, this is the whole offer:
- Our own uniformed W-2 employees on every local and commercial job, background-checked and trained in-house. Never day labor.
- Pads, shrink wrap, floor and doorway protection, and disassembly and reassembly included, not billed separately.
- Free use of wardrobe boxes on local moves.
- Hourly pricing with every charge itemized up front and fuel on its own line.
- A binding Not-to-Exceed price available after a free on-site survey.
- Licensed CAL T-192729 and USDOT 3801918, with $1M/$2M general liability plus a $3M umbrella.
- Certificates of insurance issued the same day you ask, including additional-insured naming.
- A written quote within one business hour.
- $5 of every move goes to the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund.
Who actually shows up
Local and commercial moves are done by our own uniformed W-2 employees rather than day labor. That is not a slogan, it is a staffing model, and it is the reason the same crew that loads your home is the one that unloads it.
Crews are background-checked and trained in-house on pad-wrap technique, elevator and COI protocols, lab and office handling, and load planning. There are no mystery crews and no crew you have not been told about.
What is included, with no extra line item
These are not upsells and they are not conditional on the size of the job. They are in the hourly rate.
- Furniture pads and shrink wrap. Every piece wrapped before it moves an inch.
- Floor and doorway protection. Runners, corner guards, and door jamb covers, standard.
- Disassembly and reassembly. Beds, sectionals, desks: apart and back together.
- Free wardrobe boxes on your local move.
- Trucks, dollies, and equipment, plus crews trained to use them.
How the price works
Local moves run on a clear hourly rate with every charge itemized up front, fuel on its own line, and no stair fees invented on move day. California's double drive time is a Maximum Rate Tariff provision administered by the Bureau of Household Goods and Services, and we state it in the quote rather than burying it.
If you want a number that cannot move, book the free on-site survey. Your binding quote is a Not-to-Exceed price: you pay for the real work, less if we finish early, and never a dollar over the number you approved.
Anything that could change the total is on the estimate before you book. That is the entire reason the walkthrough exists.
Licensing and insurance, with the actual numbers
Gorilla Movers is a licensed and regulated California household goods carrier: CAL T-192729 and USDOT 3801918.
We carry $1,000,000 commercial general liability with a $2,000,000 aggregate, a $3,000,000 umbrella, $1,000,000 auto liability, and workers' compensation. Certificates of insurance, including additional-insured naming, are issued the same day a building asks. That combination meets what San Diego high-rises, labs, and property managers typically specify.
If something gets damaged
Every California move includes basic released-value protection by default. It pays 60 cents per pound per item, which means a damaged 20-pound item pays $12 whether it was a toaster or a flat-screen. That is the statutory default for every mover in the state, not a Gorilla policy, and on its own it is rarely enough.
Added protection and genuine third-party insurance policies are both available, and we explain the real difference between valuation and insurance in plain English rather than hoping you never ask. Under California rules you have up to nine months to file, though sooner is always cleaner.
Why we publish this
Moving is an industry where the quote and the invoice routinely disagree, and the usual defense is to keep the terms vague. We would rather lose a job to a cheaper bid than win one by being unclear about what the number covers.
Gorilla Movers has moved San Diego since 2008 out of the 92121 corridor. $5 of every move goes to the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund, which is a small thing, but it has been true for every move we have ever done.