#88 of the 100 largest licensed interstate movers
Zippy Shell Review
Independent carrier based in Wake Forest, NC, on the federal register since 2015. This is a review of the public record, what the company is and what a move with it should cost. We collect no customer reviews, have not used the company, and it has not paid to be here.
- USDOT
- 2574332
- Fleet · drivers
- 35 · 18
- Safety rating
- Not rated
- Licensed
- 11 years
Is Zippy Shell licensed for interstate moves?
Yes. Zippy Shell holds active interstate operating authority (MC935064, status active) on USDOT 2574332, declares household goods as cargo, and has not been assigned a safety rating, which means no compliance review has been completed; that is the position of most carriers on the register and is not a mark against it.
As an independent carrier, Zippy Shell is the company that quotes, loads, drives and delivers under its own number. The USDOT on your bill of lading should be 2574332; a different number means another carrier has been brought in, which is something to ask about before loading day rather than after.
Record pulled 2026-09-24. The register changes daily: confirm on the SAFER snapshot for USDOT 2574332 before you sign, and read the insurance and complaint pages there that we do not reproduce.
The federal record
Every line below is what Zippy Shell filed with the FMCSA, unedited. Power units and drivers are self-reported on the MCS-150 form the carrier must update at least every two years; the safety rating is assigned by the FMCSA after a compliance review and stays until the next one.
- Legal name
- Forward Moving LLC
- Doing business as
- Zippy Shell
- USDOT number
- 2574332issued 2015
- Operating authority
- MC935064 · activeMC = motor carrier, FF = freight forwarder
- Operation
- Interstatecarrier_operation A on the filing
- Cargo declared
- Household goods, general freight
- Physical address
- 11640 Northpark Dr Suite 300, Wake Forest, NC 27587
- Phone on file
- (702) 418-3321
- Power units
- 35trucks and tractors on the MCS-150
- Drivers
- 18 (18 interstate)
- Annual miles filed
- 278,720 for 2025
- Safety rating
- Not ratedno compliance review completed
- Filing last updated
- 2026-01-29MCS-150 date
Who Zippy Shell is
This registration is Forward Moving LLC doing business as Zippy Shell, filed at the Wake Forest, North Carolina address that 1-800-PACK-RAT, LLC gives as its own; the USDOT number was issued in 2015. 1-800-PACK-RAT lists Zippy Shell as one of its divisions, alongside Storage Squad, and says it merged with Zippy Shell Incorporated in 2018 through Virgo Investment Group, a middle-market private equity firm. The parent traces its start to a 2001 portable container design and its first locations in North Carolina in 2003, and describes a corporate rather than franchised operating model. Zippy Shell's own site could not be read, so the services described are the parent's.
Structure
- Type
- Independent carrier
- Headquarters
- Wake Forest, NC
- Part of
- 1-800-PACK-RAT, LLC
- Ownership
- private equity: Virgo Investment Group
Services the company advertises
- local moving
- long-distance moving
- portable containers
- storage
- military moves
On the record
- 1-800-PACK-RAT lists Zippy Shell as one of its divisions, alongside Storage Squad, describing Zippy Shell as 'specializing in moving and storage solutions'. [source]
- According to 1-800-PACK-RAT, in 2018 it merged with Zippy Shell Incorporated through Virgo Investment Group, a middle-market private equity firm. [source]
- 1-800-PACK-RAT says its story began in 2001 with an all-steel portable storage container design, it launched its first three locations in North Carolina in 2003, and within two years expanded to more than 50 locations nationwide. [source]
- 1-800-PACK-RAT, LLC gives its mailing address as 11640 Northpark Dr. Suite 300, Wake Forest, NC 27587, which is the street address on this registration. [source]
- 1-800-PACK-RAT describes its service model as a corporate operating model rather than a franchised one, offering local moving, long-distance moving, military moving and portable storage containers. [source]
Company facts are taken from Zippy Shell's own website and public filings as of 2026-09-24; the sources are linked. Nothing here is a judgement of service quality, and the logo is shown only to identify the company.
How Zippy Shell compares
Zippy Shell is the 88th largest of the 100 eligible carriers by registered fleet and the 58th largest of the 67 independent carriers among them. Its fleet is 1 percent of United Van Lines's, below the median of 55. It files more trucks than drivers, which is common where part of the fleet is seasonal or used for local and short-haul work.
| Zippy Shell | Median of 100 | Largest (United Van Lines) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Power units | 35 | 55 | 4,731 |
| Drivers | 18 | 52 | 3,424 |
| Licensed since | 2015 | 20 of 100 since 1974 | 1974 |
| Safety rating | Not rated | 55 of 100 Satisfactory | Satisfactory |
What a move with Zippy Shell should cost
Zippy Shell does not publish prices, and no large carrier does: an interstate quote is built from the weight of your shipment, the distance, the date and how the survey was done. What we can give you is the range a quote should land in, from our published model, so that a number well outside it reads as what it is. Full-service movers, transport only.
| Distance | 2 bedrooms | 3 bedrooms | 4 bedrooms |
|---|---|---|---|
| 500 miles | $2,250 – $3,000 | $2,588 – $3,450 | $2,925 – $3,900 |
| 1,000 miles | $4,500 – $6,000 | $5,175 – $6,900 | $5,850 – $7,800 |
| 2,000 miles | $9,000 – $12,000 | $10,350 – $13,800 | $11,700 – $15,600 |
| 2,800 miles | $12,600 – $16,800 | $14,490 – $19,320 | $16,380 – $21,840 |
Priced routes out of Charlotte, NC
Zippy Shell is based in Wake Forest; these are the busiest interstate corridors out of Charlotte, the nearest metro we price, each with distance, drive time and a cost range for every home size.
| Route | Distance | 3 bedrooms, movers |
|---|---|---|
| Charlotte to Olympia, WA | about 2,685 miles | $13,895 – $18,526 |
| Charlotte to Eugene, OR | about 2,684 miles | $13,890 – $18,520 |
| Charlotte to San Francisco, CA | about 2,677 miles | $13,853 – $18,471 |
| Charlotte to Oakland, CA | about 2,669 miles | $13,812 – $18,416 |
| Charlotte to Portland, OR | about 2,664 miles | $13,786 – $18,382 |
| Charlotte to Tacoma, WA | about 2,662 miles | $13,776 – $18,368 |
Price your own route with the moving cost calculator, then get a surveyed, binding not-to-exceed estimate from Zippy Shell and two other carriers. Three comparable numbers beat one, whoever is at the top of a list.
Before you book Zippy Shell: six questions
Ask these on the first call. The answers matter more than the ranking, and an established carrier answers all six without hesitation.
- Will your own employees load, drive and deliver, or is the far end subcontracted?
- Will my shipment be consolidated with other households, and how does that change the delivery window?
- Is the estimate binding, non-binding or binding not-to-exceed, and was it based on a video or in-home survey?
- What is the delivery window in writing, and what do you pay if you miss it?
- What does full-value protection cost on my shipment, and what is the deductible?
- Is USDOT 2574332 the number that will appear on my bill of lading?
Then run the six checks in how to check a moving company, and read the nine red flags so you recognise the ones that do not apply here.
Verify Zippy Shell yourself
Two minutes on the federal sites tells you more than any ranking. Each link opens the official record; none of them is ours.
SAFER company snapshot ↗
Authority status, cargo, insurance on file, inspections, crashes and the safety rating for USDOT 2574332, live.
Licensing & insurance ↗
The L&I system shows the authority history for docket MC935064, the insurance carrier and the BOC-3 process agent.
Protect Your Move ↗
The FMCSA's mover search and complaint history, plus your rights and responsibilities booklet, which the carrier must give you.
Licensed movers in North Carolina
Every active household-goods carrier based in North Carolina on the register, largest first, with the same fields.
Compare with other large carriers
Also based in North Carolina
Other independent carriers on the list
- #7 Piece of Cake Moving & StorageNew York, NY · 340 trucks · Satisfactory
- #11 Ford Storage & Moving CompanyOmaha, NE · 240 trucks · Satisfactory
- #12 Covan World-Wide MovingMidland City, AL · 208 trucks · Satisfactory
- #13 New World Van LinesChicago, IL · 204 trucks · Satisfactory
- #15 Roadway MovingNew York, NY · 190 trucks · Not rated
- #16 Apple MovingAustin, TX · 185 trucks · Not rated
Zippy Shell FAQ
Is Zippy Shell a licensed interstate moving company?
Yes. Zippy Shell holds active interstate operating authority (MC935064, status active) on USDOT 2574332, declares household goods as cargo, and has not been assigned a safety rating, which means no compliance review has been completed; that is the position of most carriers on the register and is not a mark against it. As an independent carrier, Zippy Shell is the company that quotes, loads, drives and delivers under its own number. The USDOT on your bill of lading should be 2574332; a different number means another carrier has been brought in, which is something to ask about before loading day rather than after.
What is Zippy Shell's USDOT number?
2574332. Its operating authority docket is MC935064 and its legal name on the register is Forward Moving LLC. Look the number up on the FMCSA's SAFER system to see authority status, insurance on file, the safety rating and the inspection and crash record; the record on this page was pulled on 2026-09-24.
How big is Zippy Shell?
Zippy Shell filed 35 power units and 18 drivers on its latest MCS-150, which makes it the 88th largest of the 100 eligible interstate household-goods carriers on the register and the 58th largest of the 67 independent carriers among them. The largest, United Van Lines, files 4,731 power units; the median for the 100 is 55.
Does Zippy Shell have a good safety rating?
Zippy Shell is unrated: the FMCSA has not completed a compliance review of it. That is the position of most carriers on the register and is not a negative mark; the ratings to avoid are Conditional and Unsatisfactory, and carriers holding either are excluded from our list. The inspection and crash figures on SAFER show the current picture.
Is Zippy Shell a van line, an agent or an independent mover?
An independent carrier. Zippy Shell moves households under its own authority with its own trucks and crews rather than through a van-line network, so the company you book is the company that turns up. Ask how it handles the far end of a long move: its own crew, a partner carrier, or consolidation with other shipments.
How much does Zippy Shell charge for a long-distance move?
Zippy Shell does not publish a rate card and we do not hold its quotes; every long-distance price is set by weight, distance, date and the survey. From our published model a three-bedroom home over 1,000 miles should quote near $5,175 – $6,900 for full-service movers, transport only, and $14,490 – $19,320 over 2,800 miles. Get a surveyed, binding not-to-exceed estimate from Zippy Shell and two other carriers and compare them against that range.
Who owns Zippy Shell?
Zippy Shell is part of 1-800-PACK-RAT, LLC. The company describes itself as private equity: Virgo Investment Group. Its founding date is not stated and is headquartered in Wake Forest, NC; the USDOT number was issued in 2015.