PCS orders and PPM timelines rarely cooperate with a moving company’s schedule. Go Mini's of Northern Illinois delivers portable storage containers directly to your door in Elgin, Illinois, so you load on your schedule, and we handle the rest. Whether we’re transporting your container to your next duty station or holding it in our secure off-site storage facility until your new place is ready, the move works around your orders, not the other way around.
We’re locally owned and operated, which means you’re working with people who know this community and are available when you need them. The process is straightforward: we deliver the container, you pack at your pace, and we pick it up and move it or store it until you need it back.
Flexible Rental Periods Built for Military Timelines
One of the biggest challenges of a military move is that nothing is final until it is. Orders change, housing availability shifts, and closing dates slip. We don’t charge by the hour or by the day, so your container stays on your property until you’re actually ready for pickup. No pressure, no rushed packing, and no fees stacking up while you wait on paperwork.
Our containers are secured with advanced security features to keep your household goods protected throughout the rental period. Competitive pricing makes this approach accessible whether you’re covering costs out of pocket or working within a reimbursement allowance.
How a PPM Move Works
A Personally Procured Move (PPM), sometimes still called a DITY move, lets a service member manage packing and transportation independently rather than using a government-contracted mover. The government may reimburse based on what it would have cost to run a standard Household Goods (HHG) move, where a contracted transportation service provider handles everything. If your actual costs come in below that estimate, you may keep the difference.
When you use a portable storage container for a PPM, weight tickets are part of the process. The container gets weighed empty before delivery and weighed again full before pickup. Those tickets document the shipment weight for your reimbursement claim, so keep them organized. A partial PPM is also worth knowing about: some service members handle a portion of their belongings independently while a government shipment covers the rest, which can make the math work out favorably depending on what you’re moving.
Get a Free Quote for Your Military Move
We supply the container and handle delivery, transportation, and redelivery. You handle the packing on your own timeline.
Elgin is home to the Illinois Army National Guard’s Elgin Armory, where Company B, 1st Battalion, 178th Infantry Regiment is based. Naval Station Great Lakes, the Navy’s only boot camp and the largest military installation in Illinois, is roughly 36 miles away. Military households in this corridor have real and recurring moving needs, and we’re here to support them.
Our containers sit at ground level, which matters when you’re loading heavy furniture and appliances without a crew. No ramps, no steep lifts. Padded wheels mean the container rests on your driveway without leaving marks or damage.
Ventilation is built into the container design to reduce the moisture and humidity buildup that leads to mold and mildew. We offer a variety of container sizes so you can match capacity to what you’re actually moving rather than paying for more space than you need.
Bridging the Gap Between Move-Out & Move-In
PCS moves frequently involve a stretch of time where move-out happens before a new home is available. That gap can last days or weeks. Our secure off-site storage facilities hold your loaded container off your property for as long as you need, and we can redeliver it when you give us the word.
We handle pickup, storage, and redelivery of the container. What we don’t do is pack, load, or transport your belongings. Go Mini's of Northern Illinois is a portable storage container provider, not a full-service mover, and that distinction matters for how you plan your PPM. If you’re doing a partial PPM, handling some items independently while a government shipment covers the rest, a container works well for the portion you’re managing yourself. Keeping the container as long as you need it, without daily fees accumulating, can make storage-in-transit less stressful to coordinate.
"Professional, on time, delivers what is promised!"
Diann Beaulieu
B"A smooth, affordable process!"
"Professional, friendly, on time, a smooth, affordable process."
Belinda Fornarelli
M"Placed with such care!"
"The employee used wood planks under all the wheels when unloading it so as not to damage the blacktop area."
Mary Englum
R"Awesome System, Reasonably Priced"
"Awesome system, reasonably priced."
Ray Diehl
M"Reasonable Price and Great Customer Service"
"Reasonable price and great customer service."
Mary Chiappetta
A"Go Mini was perfect for storing"
"Go Mini was perfect for storing all the items during a renovation of my garage."
Andrea Ciarniello
A"She Is a Huge Help"
"She is a huge help and always gets us what we need fast."
Abigail Brown
T"Tracy was careful and took her time"
"Tracy was careful and took her time to place exactly where it needed it to go in 12 in of snow!"
Theresa Scott
M"Excellent experience with Go Mini's in DeKalb."
"Jennifer was fantastic during the entire process and worked tirelessly to address a few hiccups we had during the move."
Mike Oxbig
S"Very Responsive, Reasonable, and Prompt"
"Very responsive, reasonable, and prompt."
Sharon
I"Good experience"
"Drivers and dispatch were easy to work with."
IV STREAM
T"It was very clean and ready to use."
"It showed up within the hour of the scheduled time."
Theresa Fernbaugh
B"Highly recommend—big thanks to Jennifer Taylor"
"Thanks, you guys—you were great. Highly recommend. Big thanks to Jennifer Taylor—you were great."
Brian Twait
M"It was simple and easy storage."
"It helped us move 2 houses into one and go through our stuff at our own pace."
Melissa Stanton
D"Highly recommend using them"
"Highly recommend using them for storage or your next move. They were flexible and transparent and were always available."
David Strickland
K"Always Prompt Service"
"Always prompt service and a pleasure to work with Jennifer and Eli!"
Keith White
Awesome people to work with!
Awesome people to work with! Professional, on time, delivers what is promised!
Diann Beaulieu
A smooth, affordable process!
Professional, friendly, on time, a smooth, affordable process. So happy!
Belinda Fornarelli
Placed with such care!
The Go Mini's was placed in our designated spot with such care! The employee used wood planks under all the wheels when unloading it so as not to damage the blacktop area. It was placed exactly where we wanted it.
Mary Englum
Awesome System, Reasonably Priced
Awesome system, reasonably priced. Pick up and delivery was timely.
Ray Diehl
Reasonable Price and Great Customer Service
Reasonable price and great customer service. A very easy company to work with, and container was in good condition. Highly recommend this company.
Mary Chiappetta
Go Mini was perfect for storing
Go Mini was perfect for storing all the items during a renovation of my garage. The driver was very respectful of my property when placing the pod. Customer service was great!!
Andrea Ciarniello
She Is a Huge Help
Jennifer always helps Paul Davis with all of our storage needs. She is a huge help and always gets us what we need fast.
Abigail Brown
Tracy was careful and took her time
Tracy was careful and took her time to place exactly where it needed it to go in 12 in of snow!
Theresa Scott
Excellent experience with Go Mini's in DeKalb.
Excellent experience with Go Mini's in DeKalb. Jennifer was fantastic during the entire process and worked tirelessly to address a few hiccups we had during the move. Would recommend with no reservations or regrets.
Mike Oxbig
Very Responsive, Reasonable, and Prompt
Very responsive, reasonable, and prompt. I will definitely call them again.
Sharon
Good experience
Good experience, drivers and dispatch were easy to work with.
IV STREAM
It was very clean and ready to use.
Rented a mini for a month. It showed up within the hour of the scheduled time. It was very clean and ready to use.
Theresa Fernbaugh
Highly recommend—big thanks to Jennifer Taylor
Thanks, you guys—you were great. Highly recommend. Big thanks to Jennifer Taylor—you were great.
Brian Twait
It was simple and easy storage.
It was simple and easy storage. They brought the container and then picked it up. It helped us move 2 houses into one and go through our stuff at our own pace. It was wonderful to have. We had one for a whole year (longer than we expected, lol).
Melissa Stanton
Highly recommend using them
Team was excellent and professional to deal with. Easy to use app and communication. Highly recommend using them for storage or your next move. They were flexible and transparent and were always available. Thank you Jennifer and team.
David Strickland
Always Prompt Service
Always prompt service and a pleasure to work with Jennifer and Eli!
