Moving Austin to Portland...questions (El Paso, West: truck rental, rental, movers)

[six2211]

In two weeks I will be moving to Portland. Last year when I moved to Austin, we drove a 3 leg trip in a UHAUL to get here, and I am just looking for other ideas for the trip back to Oregon.
Has anyone made this move that could help? I would prefer Penske (seems to be much more reliable) over Uhaul, and we have a Ford F150 that we will need to haul back. Does a deisel haul better and get better mpg? Also, is Uhaul the only truck rental company that rents trailers big enough for an F150? and lastly, we drove PDX-Salt Lake, Salt Lake-Albuquerque, Albuquerque-Austin. Each about 12 hour days, and stayed the night in Utah and NM. As it will be the end of October, Would you recommend a different route due to road conditions and winding, mountain passes? Thanks For Any Help

[Adamson865]

Having done that move twice, I can most definitely recommend not to use U-Haul. Their one-way trucks are shoddy. Their dirty little secret is that they keep the good trucks for the local moves, and dump the awful trucks on each other for the long-distance moves.

If you haven't reserved a truck, do it NOW, as you're moving at the end of the month which is a busy time for moving truck companies - that's when everyone does their in-town moves, so you're going to pay more.

[CptnRn]

Just out of curiosity I checked Google maps. If you drove Austin - Phoenix - LA - Portland, it would add only 4 hours to the 35 hour trip, it would be interstate highways almost the entire way and you would bypass all the mountain driving.

Diesel engines do haul better, especially towing and get better gas mileage. That is why most semi-tractor trailer rigs have diesel engines.

[Adamson865]

Originally Posted by CptnRn

Just out of curiosity I checked Google maps. If you drove Austin - Phoenix - LA - Portland, it would add only 4 hours to the 35 hour trip, it would be interstate highways almost the entire way and you would bypass all the mountain driving.

Not quite all. There's a stretch of I-10 east of Tucson @ around 5000', and a climb up and over the Siskiyous on I-5 just north of the OR/CA border with some seriously steep grades.

BTW - you might want to avoid CA at this time due to the insane price of gas. At the station near me, unleaded is going for $4.819 and super is $5.019. We have hope prices will drop in the next few weeks, but CA is a place to avoid at the moment because of the shortage of the state's special-blend gas. If you're driving a moving truck and towing a car, you'll be getting horrid gas mileage - best to travel where gasoline is cheaper by a dollar or more per gallon.

[Idlewile]

I will add that Uhaul trailers are decent and what we towed one on our truck to move out here. It was the first time we used a trailer and not a big truck (always Penske) - primarily because we had movers as well - and the trailer worked out well and was cheap.

[10scoachrick]

Wow, our neighbor is moving in the same time frame as the OP...to Portland! Lucky for them it's a company-paid move. Dad's already 'up there' and Mom and the in-laws are taking care of the prep and the two kiddos. One vehicle was already shipped(probably already there for Dad's use) and the second car will be carried by the movers. Biggest problem they face is finding a place half as nice/roomy for the same money up there.

They got an offer and contract on the first day their house was listed...some folks have all the luck!

[CptnRn]

Originally Posted by rah62

Not quite all. There's a stretch of I-10 east of Tucson @ around 5000', and a climb up and over the Siskiyous on I-5 just north of the OR/CA border with some seriously steep grades.

BTW - you might want to avoid CA at this time due to the insane price of gas. At the station near me, unleaded is going for $4.819 and super is $5.019. We have hope prices will drop in the next few weeks, but CA is a place to avoid at the moment because of the shortage of the state's special-blend gas. If you're driving a moving truck and towing a car, you'll be getting horrid gas mileage - best to travel where gasoline is cheaper by a dollar or more per gallon.

The OP was concerned about winter driving. There is no other less mountainous route available and you are not likely to encounter much snow and ice as far south as El Paso and Arizona in Oct.

[SIZE=2]US Elevation Map (green = lowest elevations; brown = highest elevations)[/SIZE]

[CptnRn]

It is also worth noting that the West bound IH leaving Austin has legal speed limits as high as 85 mph for most of the trip.

Speed limits in the United States - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[Adamson865]

Originally Posted by CptnRn

The OP was concerned about winter driving. There is no other less mountainous route available and you are not likely to encounter much snow and ice as far south as El Paso and Arizona in Oct.

Just for the record, though, your original comment about the CA route was:

"Just out of curiosity I checked Google maps. If you drove Austin - Phoenix - LA - Portland, it would add only 4 hours to the 35 hour trip, it would be interstate highways almost the entire way and you would bypass all the mountain driving."

(underlining by me)

My comment was to point out that there was some mountain driving on the route you recommended, so it would not bypass all the mountain driving.

[MallieF]

I was just looking at Portland to Austin because I'm doing the opposite in about a year and a half. Pods are what I'm going to do. If you add up the gas, it isn't that much more, if not less and you can fly or drive in your comfy car. Depending on how much stuff you have, if may be worth it. I got quotes for about $2,000-3,000 for a 5 person household.