Long Distance Moving Tips & Tricks

[framing fowl]

What are your tips and tricks for making moving more economical or easier?

We're packing up and leaving here the first part of July. We have two trucks, two trailers and two dogs. Moving about 1700 miles.

Some of what we've thought about already:
-watched craigslist for really good deals on trailers rather than renting a u-haul. With the price we bought them at, when we get to ID, we should be able to sell them for enough profit to cover gas & hotels.

-planning on using price line for hotel rentals each day in advance for that night. That way if we run into road trouble, we're not out $ for the whole planned trip.

-avoiding large metro areas during rush hour.

-geting a set of long-range walkie-talkies for communication between the two vehicles on the road

-coolers for food so we're not doing convenience food on the way.

-less than 400 miles per day to prevent fatigue

-full size spares for each vehicle and trailer

-emergency tool kit

 

[BarredBuff]

Maybe basic first aid?

 

[Wannabefree]

IME travel just stinks anyway, but it makes it easier if you map out restroom and fuel stops ahead of time if possible. Take a cushion for your back, and wear the most comfortable clothes and shoes you own for driving. Night driving is MUCH better if you can stand it. I used to get a late start on purpose, time the rush hour to be in small towns outside the city, and drive until bedtime.

 

[snapshot]

We always take bypasses around metro areas. Just easier driving. Try to hit metro type areas on Sunday morning or Sat. morning real early. We always make our own trail mix so we know what is in it. We have dogs also and use Motel 6 since they are dog friendly. At the first Motel 6 I will get a booklet with info on all Motel 6's in the lower 48. Or go online.

Put an extra shot of patience in your coffee each morning!

 

[pinkfox]

ell things i learnt/did for my long distnce trip:

make sure you have a "when i get their" bag, when you arrive the last thing you want to do is start ging through boxes so make sure those essentials are easily avilable (ie if you cant function wihtout your coffee, make sure the coffe pot, coffee, filters, mugs sugar stirers, creamer ect are all in one box at the top of the pile, same for your pillow bedding and pajamas...this way when you arrive you dont have to go unpacking that first moment, you can insted stop, take a breather, stretch the legs and congratulate yourslef for getting there!

for the dogs:
make a doggy emergency kit, first aid supplies, (rest stops re often riddled with bits of broken glass ect), anti nausea meds (even the most seasoned travler can get a little car sick on longer journeys especilly if theres anxiety surrounding the trip) a copy of thier shot recored and some reacent pictures (heaven forbid but in an emergency clear reacent pictures are a huge help)
Extr leashes and if you havent already have new tags made up with your CELLPHONE number and somehting along the lines of "needs medication" (if the dog gets loose during a rest stop or a car accident, your cellphone number is much more helpfull than anything else and "needs medication" generally puts off even the most well meaning "rescuer" in terms of the idea of keeping the dog.
PLenyt of extra treats, mabe a favorite toy or chewey to keep them busy in the car, and extra food and bottled water (dogs like people, sometimes dont do well with a change to localwater so best to go slow. (its also handy for the likes of traffic jams, rest stops ect.
My dogs never ride loose so a good harness and clips for belting them in if they dont ride in crates.
Extra beding/towles/blankets incse of car sickness and to give them somewhere "familiar" to sleep in the hotel and at the new place...(my dogs travel well but the hotel room realy freekend them out because you can still hear/see cars pulling in people arriving and leaving at all kinds of hours soask for a room neer the back or out of the way. motel 6 is one of the most dog frinedly places which cn be a chllenge finding hotels that accept dogs.
(i was traveling with 2 dogs, 2 cats macaw and parakeets so VERY pet frinedly took presidence over "continental breakfast" or "newly renovated" lol (even pet frinedly hotels sometimes have number of animals per room limits, weight limits ect...the motel 6 i stayed in just wanted to know if thered be pets in the room and didnt ask questions beyond that lol.

otheriwse, just go with the flow, avoid major metros during peek times, tke plenty of rest stops if you need them, if the weather gets bad pull over and take a break (driving is tiring, driving with a railer is even more tiring, driving in heavy rain...even more so!
add gass stations and potty stops to your iteinerary, if using a gps make sure you set it up to show gas stations (this way if you miss a stop or such you have an idea if theres one close by.)

 

[Flytyer24]

Well, Having moved across country twice... I would say no more than 400 miles a day is a bit low... I did 3200 miles in 4 days... but I am a little nutty. I don't know what needs you guys "must" have but camp out a night saves you a hotel and can be fun. Since you will have more than one driver making the passengers seats the comfortable so good sleep can be had (I have thrown a mattress in the bed of my truck when I have been on road trips). I say save as much money as you can because whenever you move you end up going out to by this that and the other thing.

Also if you have such a thing called AAA call them they will send you a road map and regional tourist guides for the areas you will be in. I am a morning person so I would wake up and be on the road by 4... the few hours when it is colder the engine seems to eat less gas and runs smoother. Then you can get an early lunch and be 600 miles in by mid afternoon... relax and take a stroll then a little unwind time.

 

[pinkfox]

my move was a little over 1000 miles and i did it in 2 days (a little over 500 miles per day) i took a rest stop every 2 hours (i get fatiqued easily) and stopped at a motel for the one night at the 1/2 way point.
ive never ever ever done a road trip before so it was a huge undertaking for me, i dont think i personally could have done much more than 500miles in 1 day though.

 

[framing fowl]

Thanks for all of the great ideas. This will be our 4th cross country move but it seems every time we learn a little bit of something or get a bit different perspective on making things smoother.

First aid kit, as simple as it seems, we've not had one on any of our other moves and I never thought of it. I don't know why but first aid kits just aren't the kind of thing that pop into my mind very much. I need to get one put together.

Pink Fox, thanks for the heads up at Motel 6. That's really good to know. Last time we moved in April and the dogs just slept in the truck with the windows barely cracked. This will be a bit hotter so having them in the motel would be nice. Extra towels and pet vet kit are great ideas too.

Flytyer24, The first time we moved from B'ham, AL to Spokane, WA, we camped the whole way and took 11 days. It was just the two of us so that made it a bit easier. However, with the two dogs and the heat, our main concern is not to fatigue. When we arrive we have to dive right into some home repairs before we can really start to unpack. So even though 400 miles a day is low, when we go cross country, we have found that we are much less cross and irritable when we arrive. It makes it easier to jump right into decisions and projects when we get there.

We actually don't have extra drivers on this trip. We're each driving a truck and pulling a trailer. This is another reason to take it a bit easy. For whatever reason, it seems to take longer when we drive tandem. Every time we stop, by the time you pull off of the interstate, get to the gas station, get DH's wheel chair unloaded, get the dogs unleashed and pottied, get ourselves sorted out, fuel up two vehicles, load the dogs back up and get the wheelchair back in, we're doing good to get back on the road in 45 minutes.

 

[Gregpowell]

While moving, make sure that you carry only the required possessions. It can save a lot of area in your carriage and also it reduces your stress. Another tip to look on is to label your most important and "must unpack first" boxes with a red tape. This way you have a visual cue that a box is important to your day-to-day life, and you open it first. If you lack a short time storage place, you have the options of security storage units. They can well preserve your belongings. It is the guys of security storage, Toronto who helped me while I lack a space to hold my stuffs.

 

[Hinotori]

Last big move we did (3150 miles), we cleaned out a lot of the accumulated years of stuff that we didn't use anymore. A lot of it was cheaper to replace later on if needed than to haul it. We have found that moves are the best excuse to clean out stuff.

It does seem like a long trip across country if you can't trade off and nap. I also found as I've gotten older that it's gotten harder to do that trip. When I was young driving from my parents house in Oregon to Virginia Beach, VA wasn't such a big deal. 3.5 days was my best time, but I was very angry with my now ex-husband and his inability to drive the speed limit (not 10 mph under) and not run people off the road or try and hit them. His driving lasted 30 minutes before I had enough.

The walkie talkies are very nice. We used them on the last trip, as well as when we helped some friends move to Maine.

It sounds like you've got it planned out very well. I hope you have a very safe and uneventful trip.