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I purchased my retirement home earlier this year and have been working on it - with very little furniture - to get it all painted and done up the way I want before starting to haul some of my own things down there. The main part of my house move will be done by a moving company (Mid-Atlantic region to Florida), but there are some things I’d rather bring personally. I thought about doing an Autotrain with my SUV, but once I looked at the cost and compared it to a U-Haul 12’ or 15’ truck with an attached auto trailer, I started thinking I could bring way more stuff that way for around the same cost or just a little more. The comparison was based on a private cabin with private bath on the train. Wouldn’t feel too comfortable in an open seating scenario at this time.
I’ve driven up and down a couple of times to the new house already with my SUV. I do an overnight stop since it’s otherwise a pretty long drive. It had me wondering - are there special places to do an overnight when hauling an auto trailer with a truck? I’m thinking of the hotels I’ve stayed at - I can’t imagine it being too easy to get something like that parked in a regular hotel parking lot. So has anyone else done this? Where do you typically do an overnight stay when driving like this? If there are preferred places off I-95 I’d appreciate hearing about them.
What type of vehicle are you bringing? Is it a real SUV or really a CUV? The size and weight will make a difference.
I would suggest going with Penske instead of U-Haul, the Penske fleet is much newer and appears they're better taken care of. You don't want to go cheap on a vehicle while driving through multiple states because the company is too cheap to maintain the vehicles.
It sounds like you've never done this before. Here's my honest take:
-drive at night if you can, much less traffic on the road for you to deal with
-do not put yourself in a situation where you have to back the truck/trailer up
I moved 2,100+ miles cross-country twice. Me pulling my stock trailer with three horses.
And a couple of Ryder trucks to move all the stuff and tow my old Chevy Caprice Classic - you know those Chevys bigger than some New York apartments?
The move out west was in 1998. At that time, Ryder was not only the best price but they also were the only ones with a car hauler big enough to carry that old Caprice.
Coming back east for retirement, in 2003, we still used Ryder trucks but we had our own car trailer by then.
What type of vehicle are you bringing? Is it a real SUV or really a CUV? The size and weight will make a difference.
I would suggest going with Penske instead of U-Haul, the Penske fleet is much newer and appears they're better taken care of. You don't want to go cheap on a vehicle while driving through multiple states because the company is too cheap to maintain the vehicles.
It sounds like you've never done this before. Here's my honest take:
-drive at night if you can, much less traffic on the road for you to deal with
-do not put yourself in a situation where you have to back the truck/trailer up
Good point - it’s a Honda CRV. So not really a full size SUV. As to Penske, that’s interesting as I saw a lot more Penske rental trucks down the Southern part of I-95 into Florida, come to think of it.
Yeah, I figured backing up is not something I’d want to get into. That’s part of what gets me wondering where to stay for a break in driving and getting some sleep.
I moved 2,100+ miles cross-country twice. Me pulling my stock trailer with three horses.
And a couple of Ryder trucks to move all the stuff and tow my old Chevy Caprice Classic - you know those Chevys bigger than some New York apartments?
The move out west was in 1998. At that time, Ryder was not only the best price but they also were the only ones with a car hauler big enough to carry that old Caprice.
Coming back east for retirement, in 2003, we still used Ryder trucks but we had our own car trailer by then.
Hope this helps
So Normashirley, where did you set yourself down for the night hauling that load?
My son did that when he moved from Miami to Seattle. He towed a mid size VW on a dolly and all his household belongings were in the truck. He had no problems.
Five years ago my husband and I moved from Denver to Southeast Kansas. We used a UHaul truck and towed our Forester on a trolley behind it. Our two cats rode in the cab with us (in a carrier), and everything we owned fit in the truck and in our car.
We decided where we wanted to stop for the night, and I made a reservation with a place that would welcome our cats, and they gave us a place to park where we could see our vehicles from our room. We never had to back-up.
If you plan ahead I am sure you will have no difficulty finding what you need to make your trip.
I used a Penske truck and car trailer to move my father from FL to CA some years ago. He had a Ranger pickup. One of the tires on the car trailer was flat and they had to air it up before I could leave. We had to air up that tire at every fuel stop and I worried about it all the way cross country. When you pick up your truck and trailer- if any tire is low or flat- make them repair or replace it instead of just airing it up. Other than that, no problems.
Bruceski44, did you plan out your major stops in advance? What sorts of places did you stay at for sleeping?
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