NAS Kingsville and NAS Corpus Christi PCS Moves: A Winter Booking Timeline

Most PCS advice in the Coastal Bend is written for summer, when NAS Corpus Christi and NAS Kingsville cycle pilots and instructors through and every crew in town books out. Winter orders are a different animal. Crews and trucks are easier to get, but you’re working around the holidays, leave, short days and a long drive to a duty station that may be a lot colder than Corpus.

This is a winter timeline for PCS moves out of either base, built around what actually has to happen and when.

Winter vs. summer PCS in the Coastal Bend

Peak PCS season here runs roughly May 15 through August 31. Off-peak, September through April, is much easier on scheduling. You’ll usually have more choice of dates, and rental trucks are easier to find.

That doesn’t mean you can wait until the last minute. A few things still squeeze a winter move:

• The 1st and 15th. Those are the most common report dates, so the week before and after each one stays busier than the rest of the month, even in winter.
• Holiday weeks. Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s eat into everyone’s calendar, including yours.
• Your leave. If you’re taking leave over the holidays or between commands, the move has to fit around it.
• Seasonal turnover in town. Corpus Christi sees winter residents come and go in the fall and spring, which can tighten crew schedules even outside PCS season.

The timeline

As soon as you have orders

Call or request a free estimate the day your orders are in hand. It’s never too early, and it gives you the most choice of dates.

At this stage, decide how the move is happening:

• Government-arranged move. TMO assigns a carrier. You’ll still want to know your dates early.
• PPM (formerly DITY). You move yourself, usually with a rental truck, POD or container, and file with finance afterward. This is where hired help comes in.
• Partial PPM. The government handles part of the shipment and you move the rest yourself.

If you’re weighing the options, our post on labor-only vs. full-service for a PCS walks through when each one makes sense. Talk to your TMO/PPSO for the official guidance on what your orders allow.

Well ahead of your load date: lock in the truck and the crew

If you’re doing a PPM, reserve your truck or container and book your crew around the same date. A crew can only load what’s in the driveway, so the truck reservation comes first.

For the crew, tell us:

• Pickup address (base housing, Flour Bluff, Padre Island, Kingsville or wherever you’re living)
• What you’re loading into: a U-Haul, a Penske, a POD or another container
• The size of the home, stairs and any big items like a piano or gun safe
• Your load date and your report date

Half Price Movers loads U-Haul and Penske trucks and the major container brands, including PODS, U-Box and SMARTBOX. Pads, dollies, hand trucks, shrink wrap and straps come with the crew, so there’s nothing extra to rent.

Two to three weeks out: plan around the holidays

This is where winter moves get tricky. If your load date lands near Christmas or New Year’s, confirm it now.

Also think about the drive. A lot of moves out of Kingsville and Corpus head north or east, and winter weather on the road is a real factor. Leave a little slack in your travel days so you’re not pushing through a storm to make a report date.

One to two weeks out: paperwork and packing

For a PPM, the paperwork matters as much as the load. Service members consistently tell us they needed:

• Empty and full weight tickets from a certified scale, one before you load and one after
• An itemized invoice from your mover showing labor costs, hours and date of service. We provide this on every job.
• Receipts for the truck rental, fuel, packing materials, tolls and lodging along the route
• Your orders and DD Form 2278, or the current equivalent your TMO/PPSO gives you

Keep digital copies of everything. Your finance office and TMO/PPSO have the current checklist, so confirm with them before you go. If this is your first PPM, our NAS Corpus Christi PPM guide goes deeper.

Start packing the rooms you use least, and set aside what you’ll need for the drive and the first few nights at the new duty station.

Moving day

Get your empty weight ticket before the truck comes to the house. Then the crew loads it the way a long drive needs: heavy on the bottom, weight balanced over the axles and everything strapped tight. That matters more than usual when the route north could include ice or high winds.

In Kingsville, we run jobs to and from town regularly. It’s about 40 miles south of Corpus, so tell us the address up front and we’ll plan the timing. Short winter days mean starting early is worth it, especially if you want to get on the road the same afternoon.

After the load, head to the scale for your full weight ticket.

After you arrive

You file your PPM with finance after the move, using your weight tickets, receipts and authorization paperwork. The process and timeline vary by branch, and your TMO/PPSO can give you the current checklist. Most of it lives in the Defense Personal Property System (DPS).

If you need a crew to unload at the other end and we don’t cover that area, ask. We can usually point you to a reputable crew near your new base.

Who this works for

Half Price Movers handles PCS moves for every branch, not just the Navy. That includes Marines, the Coast Guard (co-located at NAS Corpus Christi), Army personnel at the Corpus Christi Army Depot, Air Force and Space Force members, Guard and Reserve on activation orders, retirees doing a final move and separating service members. The service is the same. The paperwork is what changes.

The crews are full-time, background-checked Half Price Movers employees, and Half Price Movers is licensed and insured in Texas.

Hurricane season is over, mostly

Hurricane season in the Gulf runs June through November, and it overlaps with summer PCS season. For a December through February move, it’s off the table, which is one less thing to plan around. If your move is in early November and a late storm shows up, we’ll talk it through and adjust the load day if we need to.

Common questions about winter PCS moves

Get your winter PCS on the calendar

Got orders? Get a free estimate or call the Corpus Christi office at (361) 937-7615. We’ll ask about your truck or container, the size of your home, stairs, your report date and timing, and quote you straight.