1-800-PACK-RAT

1-800-PACK-RAT is a portable storage and moving company with a location at 191 S Keim St in Pottstown, Pennsylvania. The business operates on a container model: a steel storage unit is delivered by truck to a customer's address, left at ground level for loading, and then either stored at a secure warehouse facility, kept on site, or transported to a new address. The Pottstown site functions as both a delivery hub for the surrounding region and a warehouse where loaded containers are held between pickup and final delivery.

The company was founded in the early 2000s and grew into a national network of storage and moving depots across the United States. In 2019 it combined operations with Zippy Shell, another portable container provider, expanding the number of markets served. Customers in southeastern Pennsylvania book through the national reservation line, but the actual delivery, pickup, and storage work is carried out by the local Pottstown crew.

Services Offered

The core offering is portable container rental, which customers use in several different ways:

• Local moving within the same town, county, or region, where a container is dropped off at one address and redelivered to another.
• Long distance and interstate moving, with the loaded container transported over the road to a destination city and stored at a local warehouse there until the customer is ready to receive it.
• Short term storage during a home renovation, a staging project before a house listing, or a gap between closing dates.
• Longer term warehouse storage in a climate controlled facility, billed monthly.
• On site storage, where the container stays in a driveway or on a property for the duration of a project.
• Business and commercial use, including retail inventory overflow, office relocations, construction site material storage, and seasonal equipment storage.

Because the container stays with a single customer's belongings from loading to final delivery, items are not transferred between vehicles the way they are in a traditional van line move. That single handling step is one of the practical reasons people choose containerized moving over a conventional full service mover.

Containers and Equipment

1-800-PACK-RAT uses all steel containers rather than plastic or wood composite units. The standard sizes are 8, 12, and 16 foot lengths. The 8 foot container is commonly used for studio apartments, single room projects, or partial loads. The 12 foot size suits a small apartment or a two room job. The 16 foot container is the largest and is typically matched to a two or three bedroom household, though many customers renting a larger home use two containers rather than one.

The units sit on the ground during loading, so furniture and boxes can be walked in on a flat surface without a ramp or a lift gate. Each container has a roll up door and weather resistant construction, and customers provide their own lock so they retain sole access to the contents while the unit is in storage. Loaded containers are moved using a hydraulic lift system mounted on the delivery truck, which lowers and raises the unit without tilting it, an important detail for anyone storing furniture, appliances, or stacked boxes.

Local Delivery Operations

The Pottstown branch is staffed by drivers who handle the daily route work of dropping off, repositioning, and retrieving containers across the region. Driveway placement is a large part of the job in this part of Pennsylvania, where many properties have narrow lanes, sloped approaches, mature trees, low utility lines, or street parking that limits the working space around a truck. Drivers typically coordinate the arrival window by phone so a customer can move vehicles or clear a spot in advance, and they confirm the exact placement of the unit before leaving the property.

Customers should be aware that a container needs a reasonably flat, firm surface and clearance overhead and to the sides for the truck to maneuver. Paved driveways, concrete pads, and compacted gravel are all workable. Homeowners in townships or boroughs with permit rules for objects placed on the street should check local requirements before scheduling, since some municipalities regulate how long a container may remain in a public right of way.

Service Area

Pottstown sits at the junction of Montgomery, Chester, and Berks counties along the Schuylkill River, which places the branch within reach of a broad section of southeastern Pennsylvania. Communities commonly served from this location include Pottstown and the surrounding Montgomery County boroughs, Limerick, Royersford, Phoenixville, Collegeville, King of Prussia, Norristown, Boyertown, Gilbertsville, Douglassville, Exeter, Reading, Birdsboro, Spring City, Downingtown, West Chester, and the Route 422 and Route 100 corridors. Because the company operates a national network of depots, moves originating in this area can be routed to destinations in other states, with the container held at a receiving warehouse until the customer schedules final delivery.

Cost and Booking

Quotes are generated based on container size, the number of units, the distance of the move, and the length of storage. Portable container moving usually falls between a do it yourself truck rental and a full service moving company in price, since the customer supplies the labor for loading and unloading while the company handles transport and storage. Month to month storage billing is common, and many customers extend or shorten their storage period as closing dates shift. Reservations and quotes are handled at +1 800-722-5728.

Practical Information

• Address: 191 S Keim St, Pottstown, PA 19464
• Phone: +1 800-722-5728
• Business type: storage facility and portable container moving depot
• Accessibility: wheelchair accessible parking lot
• Service model: containers delivered to the customer's address, with warehouse storage available at the facility

Customers planning a move are generally advised to book delivery well ahead of peak season, which in this region runs from late spring through early fall and clusters around end of month closing dates. It also helps to have moving blankets, straps, and a plan for weight distribution, since containers travel over the road and a well packed load arrives in better condition than a loosely stacked one.