In need of a creative way to move to the country

Tracy Rimmer · #21 09/23/12, 01:54 PM

Stef is right -- having moved (long distance) something like 14 times in our 24 years together, DH and I learned (the hard way) to PARE DOWN TO AS LITTLE AS POSSIBLE. The moves that were least expensive and went the smoothest were those where we had the least to move.

backwoodsdream · #22 09/23/12, 02:02 PM

Appreciate the feedback.

I am quite the bargain hunter and would not be able to replace all of my furniture for price paid. I will unload a whole lot.... but we are going to need the workshops worth of tools and saws.

Funny little update... my sister went on an allday/allnight (gasp) date last night with an otr owner operator. I told her to talk to him about it... but she said it didn't come up. I am totally not above pimping out my sister for a backhaul! I mean if the universe wants to set it up for me, who am I to argue? (Btw theygraduated from high-school together, she's his one that got away)

FarmboyBill · #23 09/23/12, 02:14 PM

yeah, butt, IF hes a horn dawg driver, He may want way more than she wants to pay

Sunbee · #24 09/23/12, 02:49 PM

I've moved in and out of N. Idaho a few times. You'd do best to find out what's actually available on the off load end before you try a pod or a Penske or something else unusual. Some of those sorts of things aren't available for a hundred miles, depending on where you're going to be. Uhaul's pretty ubiquitous.
Are you prepared for winter driving? If you can--if this isn't super urgent, I'd strongly suggest waiting til next May. I've moved in 3'+ of snow before and it's ugly.
Moving with kids: helps if you've regularly taken long car trips with them. Yours are too young to read the whole way--but young enough to nap. Plan on stopping a lot. Have old familiar toys, the lovies, and some new exciting toys. Whatever you drive, plan out what you're going to do on a two lane road with no shoulders and with 20 mph turns when the nearest rest stop is 80 miles away cause someone has to go RIGHT NOW!!! Oh, and there are logging semis and possibly, that time of year, exhausted post-final-exams college students going the other direction.

backwoodsdream · #25 09/23/12, 04:00 PM

Sunbee- I hear you on it all. Have made the road trip several times with kid #1, but always vowed never to do it again. I have driven from here to there 27 times. 4 times in the winter. I do NOT want to do it again. I certainly don't want to do it in a truck full of my lifes posessions. I am pretty sure I am buying sone oneway cheap spirit airline tix for me and kids...even if I have to fly back to help haul. I am really glad I started this thread. I need to re-think my timeline.

mrs whodunit · #26 09/23/12, 04:16 PM

Be careful about purging. It was one dumbest things we have done as now we have had to replace stuff and had to pay a lot more than what we paid originally or not been able to find what we needed and once had.

Traveling long distance with kids and animals was easy. Leave early in the morning so the kids go back to sleep works well. Bags of toys they haven't seen before and snacks all helps for a pleasant trip.

PD-Riverman · #27 09/23/12, 05:53 PM

How many miles is this move----one way?

backwoodsdream · #28 09/23/12, 11:18 PM

1300 miles... but the last 500 ar.e 2 lane windy river canyon road. There are three passes between here and there. Oh.. and for some reason we always get waylayed only 5 hours into the trip by Vegas. I have druven straight through (about 24 hours) and I have taken 4 days to get there.

featherbottoms · #29 09/24/12, 08:01 AM

Have you looked at the site http://www.uship.com?

It's a site that brings together people with stuff to ship - anything you can think of - and people willing to do the hauling.

We used them to have a Jeep picked up in LA and brought to NC a few years ago. I don't remember exactly but we got 3 or 4 bids and picked the one we felt most comfortable with. That particular person mostly dealt with things that would fit on a flat bed trailer.

There are people that specialize in household items and have box trucks, or even independent truckers needing a backhaul, so it might be worth looking into.

You put in your shipping dates, we were flexible, and the items you have to ship, and then put it out for bids. You might be surprised at what bids you get back.

If you do decide to do this how about coming back and letting us know how things work out - even if you get bids and decide not to use the service.

backwoodsdream · #30 09/24/12, 10:31 AM

I was looking at the loadboards like uship. Glad to hear from somebody who actually did move something from there. If I have to resort to a load board I will, but on those boards there is sometimes a broker fee taken out. Definately checking into it, though.

I think I found a semi-trailer... possibly for free! Hubby's boss has 4 sitting empty in his storage hanger. We will have to see how generous he is feeling once he learns that he is loosing his best moneymaker workman. Hopefully he will see the value in coming to visit for a steelhead fishing trip, or elk hunting. Boys are motivated in such odd ways!

featherbottoms · #31 09/24/12, 10:43 AM

When we used uship the bid we accepted for hauling the Jeep from LA to GA was $525. We paid $28 to uship as a fee - that worked out to less than 6% for approximately 900 miles. Was good for us as we didn't have to worry about anything. This was in March, 2010.

edited to add: If you are considering a semi-trailer I assume you have a tractor to pull it and one of you have a cdl? Or would you need the boss or one of his drivers? Trading a few years worth of fishing trips for the use of the trailer sounds like it might be a great trade!

dsljim · #32 09/24/12, 12:24 PM

Yesterday's Tractor has a. " hauling schedule " for people to use, lottsa times people looking to put something on their trailer.
There's a local guy that takes his bee's to Florida every fall and runs back to here with an empty 48' drop deck every fall, so you never know.

PhilJohnson · #33 09/24/12, 03:39 PM

Buy an old school bus. Where I am from they go for 1500-2500 for a good road worthy one. In Wisconsin one can tear out all the seats and register it as a motorhome without needing a CDL. I'd put a hitch on the back of the puppy and either rent a tow dolly or car trailer from U-haul to haul up the hobby truck on that. You could sell the bus later or keep it for storage. Good luck

cindilu · #34 09/24/12, 08:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by oregon woodsmok

OK. A couple of options. If you want to keep a 40 ft shipping container for storage on your new place, then buy the 40 ft container. Lease a tilt bed trailer for it. Park it, on the trailer, at your house and build a ramp to load it.

Have it hauled to the new place and unloaded from the trailer where you want it. You don't need a crane to off-load it. There is a specialized trailer for shipping containers that tilts up and they slide off.

You will have to contract with a freight carrier to haul the cargo trailer for you. If you do not want to keep the shipping container, then lease a container for the move and they will take it away again and you won't have to deal with it.

If you can fill a 40 foot cargo container, you are not going to make the move with just a U-Haul.

My son priced a U-Haul plus a car dolly, for his last move and it came to very close to the same price as a good 14 ft enclosed cargo trailer. So he bought the trailer and pulled it with his blazer. We use that trailer all the time. It was a good investment.

If you have enough stuff to fill a 40 ft container, and you don't get the shipping container, you are going to have to thin your stuff out considerably, or else make multiple trips.

I agree with what Woodsmoke said.

My x family had a shipping container brought to them just for storage and it did not take a crane to bring it in. They just tilted and dumped it off, easy to do from what my unfamily said. I was there right after it got unloaded and sorda helped with the cleaning up process afterwards. Again, no crane involved.

fantasymaker · #35 09/25/12, 09:13 AM

Phil Got It right !
Im surprized it took 33 posts for someone to think of that.
Another option is to do a drive-a-way.
There are car moving companies that move cars from place to place and find people to drive them. Find a pickup that someone needs up where you are going.
Another Option is there is a Company Called Morgan Body out in Ehrinburg(last westbound exit in AZ on I-10) that builds truck bodies They ship them everywhere. You might be able to find one of the drivers leaving there that would haul a load for you.

jennigrey · #36 09/25/12, 01:52 PM

We've had a 40-footer for about 7 years now and we have huge condensation problems with it. I run a dehumidifier in it almost all the time, which eats a ton of electricity, and stuff still gets mildew on it.

Sunbee · #37 09/25/12, 01:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by backwoodsdream

Sunbee- I hear you on it all. Have made the road trip several times with kid #1, but always vowed never to do it again. I have driven from here to there 27 times. 4 times in the winter. I do NOT want to do it again. I certainly don't want to do it in a truck full of my lifes posessions. I am pretty sure I am buying sone oneway cheap spirit airline tix for me and kids...even if I have to fly back to help haul. I am really glad I started this thread. I need to re-think my timeline.

Where's the airport in relationship to where you'll be living? You may have a two hour drive on top of your flight, you know. I've never heard of that airline, maybe they fly into Spokane

lamoncha lover · #38 09/25/12, 09:32 PM

when we moved from northeastern Mn to middle TN..hubby drove the biggest u haul pulling a big stock trailer with my 2 horses and I followed driving with the 2 kids aged 4, 6 and the rottweiler and german shephard. Good luck and God bless you

MississippiSlim · #39 09/26/12, 07:36 AM

Sell everything you can. You would be surprised how much stuff you don't need to replace. Tools, etc you keep but if you are like most you have alot of things that you probably never use. Having moved several times I found traveling light decreases costs and stress.

Seeria · #40 09/27/12, 08:53 AM

Check into used buys on moving trucks and school buses. Get one with a decent tranny, ready to pull. We moved everything we had into a school bus slightly converted to a living space (retitled to motorhome) and drove from Wisc to Oregon. Bus is still kicking. Not sure it is the cheaper route for you, but worked for us. A lot of buses can be bought for under $2k, especially in AZ and Texas. Look for auctions online.

Luck with the move!