The drive from Chicago to St. Louis runs about four and a half hours down I-55, and it’s long enough that Checkmate builds in a real midday stop for the crew rather than pushing straight through. St. Louis neighborhoods like the Central West End and Soulard have their own quirks — brick two-flats with steep interior stairs, alleys too tight for a full-size truck to back all the way in — so the walkthrough in Chicago covers both ends of the job, not just the pickup.
This is still a Checkmate truck door to door, running under the company’s US DOT and MC interstate authority the same as any Illinois-based long-distance mover is required to. Your load isn’t dropped at a terminal outside St. Louis and picked up by a local agent the next morning; the crew that packed the truck on Fulton Street drives it down I-55 and carries everything into the new place themselves.
Because the route runs past four and a half hours, Checkmate plans the load order around where the truck will realistically be able to park in St. Louis — corner unloads and permit spots get worked out before the truck leaves Chicago, not figured out on arrival.
Chicago → St. Louis — Typical Cost By Home Size
| Home Size | Price Range | Estimated Transit Time |
|---|---|---|
| Studio/1BR | $1,200-$1,700 | 1-2 days |
| 2BR | $2,050-$2,900 | 2 days |
| 3BR | $3,250-$4,500 | 2 days |
| 4BR+ | $4,700-$6,400 | 2 days |
Jamal builds these ranges off what a walkthrough actually shows — room count, stairs, a piece or two that's bigger than it looks — so the number reflects this load, not a generic size chart.
Moving Chicago to St. Louis?
Before the truck leaves Chicago, Jamal works out the load plan for this specific run: what goes on first, what has to come off first once it reaches St. Louis, and how access works at both ends of the trip
That planning matters more on a long haul than most movers let on — furniture that needs to come off first at the new place can't be the first thing buried under everything else in the truck. Michelle locks in the crew once that plan is set, and Tomasz runs the load on move day working from it instead of figuring it out in the driveway. The paperwork shifts the moment the truck leaves Illinois, too — from there it's our US DOT and MC authority covering the move, not our Illinois Commerce Commission registration.
Price This Route
