Month: October 2026

Every household mover has a list of things they can’t legally put on the truck, and that list surprises many people. It’s not a company preference. Federal regulations, insurance rules, and simple safety keep certain items off interstate moving trucks, and a single overlooked propane tank or open paint can throw off the whole day. A little planning upfront saves the crew time and keeps your belongings safe on the road.

Why the Rules Exist

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration regulates interstate household moves through the Protect Your Move program, and its rules exist for a reason. A trailer packed with your kitchen, your books, and your kids’ bedroom furniture is not a controlled environment. Temperatures inside a closed truck can swing 40 degrees in a single afternoon, boxes shift, and pressure changes as the trailer climbs and drops in elevation between Texas and Colorado. Items that are perfectly stable in your garage can leak, ignite, or spoil in transit, and one bad item can damage everything around it.

Movers aren’t trying to be difficult when they refuse something. They follow federal law and protect the rest of your shipment.

Hazardous and Flammable Items

This is the biggest category and the one that catches people off guard. Anything that can ignite, explode, corrode, or release pressure stays behind. That includes:

• Gasoline, kerosene, lighter fluid, and any fuel cans (even empty ones with residue)
• Propane tanks of any size, including the small grill-top canisters
• Paint, paint thinner, turpentine, and solvents
• Aerosol cans (spray paint, hairspray, cooking spray, cleaning sprays)
• Pool chemicals, pesticides, and fertilizers
• Motor oil, antifreeze, and automotive fluids
• Fireworks, ammunition, matches, and lighters
• Charcoal, lighter fluid, and grill starter
• Nail polish and nail polish remover
• Bleach and ammonia-based cleaners

The EPA classifies most of these as household hazardous waste and provides guidance on proper disposal. Don’t put them in the regular trash and don’t pour them down a drain. Both Colorado Springs, CO, and San Antonio, TX, have programs built for exactly this situation.

Pro Tip: Drain gas from lawn mowers, weed trimmers, and any small engines a week before your move. Run the equipment until the tank is empty rather than trying to store or transfer fuel. Empty tanks with the caps left off to vent are acceptable; full or partial tanks are not.

Perishables, Plants, and Live Animals

Anything that can spoil, rot, or attract pests stays off the truck. That means frozen food, refrigerated items, produce, and opened dry goods that could draw insects. Houseplants are a separate issue. Some states restrict interstate plant transport to prevent moving pests and diseases across borders, and even where it’s allowed, plants rarely survive days in a dark trailer.

Live animals don’t ride in the moving truck. Pets travel with you or with a dedicated pet transport service. Fish, reptiles, and birds all need their own arrangements.

Personal, Irreplaceable, and High-Value Items

Movers can legally transport these, but you shouldn’t let them. Your passport, birth certificates, tax records, jewelry, cash, prescription medications, family photos, and hard drives with irreplaceable data all belong in your own vehicle. If something is truly irreplaceable, or if losing it would be more than an inconvenience, keep it with you.

The same goes for the “essentials box” you’ll need on night one: phone chargers, a change of clothes, toiletries, and any daily medications. That box travels with you, not with the crew.

Where to Dispose of What You Can’t Take

Colorado Springs residents have a permanent option through the El Paso County Household Hazardous Waste Facility at 3255 Akers Drive, open Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. Bring photo ID and proof of El Paso or Teller County residency.

San Antonio residents have a permanent Household Hazardous Waste drop-off plus monthly Saturday events. You’ll need a recent CPS Energy bill showing the environmental fee and a photo ID. Both cities accept paints, cleaners, batteries, pool chemicals, and automotive fluids for free.

Pro Tip: Start clearing hazardous items two to three weeks before your move date. Facilities have limited hours and daily volume caps, and you don’t want to be stuck the night before your move with a garage full of half-empty paint cans and nowhere to take them.

Let’s Get Your Move on the Road, the Right Way

Arrow Moving is a Mayflower agent serving Colorado Springs and San Antonio, and our teams walk you through what can and can’t ride the truck well before moving day. Whether you’re planning a local move or a long-distance move between our two markets or beyond, we help you sort, prep, and load with the federal rules and your timeline both in mind. Contact us today for a free estimate.

Weather is one of the biggest variables a mover can’t control, and it plays out very differently at either end of an Arrow Moving route. A Colorado Springs, CO, move in November looks nothing like a San Antonio, TX, move in July. Both can go smoothly, but only if you plan around the conditions instead of hoping the day cooperates. Here’s what to think about before your moving date.

Know What You’re Actually Signing Up For

Colorado Springs sits at roughly 6,000 feet, with dry air, big morning-to-afternoon temperature swings, and real winter from November through April. According to the National Weather Service climate record for Colorado Springs, average snowfall runs around 40 inches a year, and a single storm can shut down neighborhoods for a full day. San Antonio has the opposite problem. The City of San Antonio’s hot weather page notes that dangerous heat regularly stretches from June into September, with heat index values that create real health risks for anyone doing manual work outside.

Neither city is unmovable in its off-peak weather. But if you’re planning around a specific week, check the forecast, check the historical norms, and give yourself a plan B date if the calendar allows.

Colorado Springs: Plan for Cold and Elevation

If your move falls between late October and early May, snow and ice are on the table. Roads clear at 7 a.m. can be slick by noon. When conditions warrant, the Colorado Department of Transportation activates the passenger vehicle Traction Law, which requires all-wheel drive, snow tires, or chains on affected highways. Commercial moving trucks operate under stricter rules, and heavy snow along I-25 can push a delivery window by a day.

Cold also affects what’s inside the truck. Water-based paints, canned goods, wine, houseplants, and some electronics can freeze or crack in an unheated trailer overnight. Pack those items in your own vehicle. Elevation is worth respecting too. If you’re arriving from a lower altitude, slow down, drink more water than you think you need, and don’t schedule a full-day unpacking marathon on your first day at 6,000 feet.

Pro Tip: For a winter Colorado Springs move, have your driveway and walkway shoveled and salted before the crew arrives. Even a light dusting turns a ramp into a hazard, and delays caused by clearing snow at the destination cut into your moving window.

San Antonio: Plan for Heat and Sudden Storms

From late May through early October, San Antonio moves happen in serious heat. Start times matter more than in any other market Arrow Moving serves. A 7 a.m. start gets most of the loading done before the worst of the afternoon, when temperatures often push past 95, and the heat index climbs higher. A noon start puts your crew and your belongings in the hardest part of the day for hours.

Hydration isn’t optional. If the crew is working at your home, offer bottled water and shaded breaks. It keeps everyone safer and the pace steady. Sun exposure also affects your things. Leather, vinyl, wax candles, and certain electronics can warp or melt in a truck parked in direct Texas sun, so load heat-sensitive items last. Summer thunderstorms, tropical remnants, and occasional severe weather also pop up on short notice, so watch the forecast and plan a covered staging area at both ends if rain is likely.

Plan Your Move Date Around the Season, Not Against It

If your calendar has flexibility, use it. Late September through mid-October is often the best window in San Antonio: heat is easing, hurricane season is winding down, and demand has dropped from the summer peak. In Colorado Springs, late April through May is usually favorable, with lower snow risk, mild temperatures, and no summer rush yet.

If your dates are fixed by a closing, a lease, or a job start, work with your mover on start time and route timing instead of trying to shift the whole day. Early morning beats late morning in both markets, for different reasons.

Let’s Get You There, Whatever the Sky’s Doing

Arrow Moving and Storage plans around the weather on both ends of every move. As a Mayflower agent serving Colorado Springs and San Antonio, our teams handle summer heat in Texas and winter storms in Colorado all season long. Whether you’re staying local or booking a long-distance move between our two markets or beyond, we time the day, load the truck, and route the trip with the forecast in mind. Contact us today for a free estimate, and let’s build a moving plan that works with the weather instead of fighting it.