Finally retiring and moving across the country......but how?

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turkeydriver

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My DW and I are finally retiring and moving to Green Valley, AZ (just south of Tucson) this summer. We are selling most of our "stuff" and replacing it with new "stuff" when we get there. We think we can get by with a 16' Penske truck pulling one car and the 35' Winnebago Adventurer pulling the other car.  Its a real nice theory anyhow!  ???
DW won't drive the coach.....yet. Little does she know that she's gonna have to learn. ::) So the 16' Penske will be hers. We will probably try to make the 2000 mile trip from WV to AZ in 4 or 5 days. We are looking for the easiest driving route: hills, wind, traffic, Walmarts and campgrounds, etc. Any advice? 
 
Turkeydriver,

Since no one else has offered any suggestions, I'll venture into the fray and offer a few thoughts.  If you want to just get there, interstates will offer the easiest and fastest route.  The grades and turns through hilly country are as good as they can get and if you go the southern route you'll avoid crossing the highest routes through the Rockies.  Time the trip to avoid rush hour in major cities like St. Louis and Oklahoma City to make it easier.  There are always Walmarts and camp grounds close to the Interstates so stopping for the night will be easier as well.

Whatever you decide, have a safe trip and enjoy retirement!
 
56Safari has given you some good advise. Since you will both be in separate vehicles, you may want to consider a pair of walkie-talkie or other communications to provide each other heads ups during the trip, such as gasoline, food or rest stops. Don't push it, take a break every several hours so you don't feel pushed or extremely tired. Once you get there, you can convince your DW that since she handled a moving truck and car, the coach and car won't be that different. Plan you trip so each of you know what route you'll be taking, as well as a plan if you get separated for some reason. Just don't ask us how we know... LOL

Jim and Nancy
A Pair of pups and parakeets
Newmar Mountain Air
 
i would suggest you rent a truck and get her some experience driving it without a toad.
just throwing her to the wolves may back fire and then you will have a mess,
 
In 1997 when we retired and moved we already had our new place for over a year and when we made trips there we took extra vehicles over and left them there so when we moved we had everything there except for one car to drive and had a moving van company do the rest.  Is this a possibility for you?  Dick
 
Hey guys,

Thanks for the info. We've been beating this "how to move" thing around for two years. One concern has been the route. The other is who drives what and when. Google maps gives about three ways to get there.
I-75 to I-40 and across, I-64 and then I-44 and I-40, and even I-70 to Kansas and then south. Not sure I see any advantage to Kansas unless it would just be flatter. An '03 Winnie Adventurer can really crawl up a hill sometimes!  :) I'm leaning on the middle route just to avoid the mountains on I-75 in Kentucky and Tennessee.

The real concern is the DW driving a Penske; even a 16' with a toad came be a chore for 5 days. I've thought about driving the truck and towing a car myself, flying back to WV and then have a more leisurely trip back out to AZ in the RV pulling the other car. Two cross country trips in two weeks? Wow!

My "really" good plan is to have my grandson drive the Penske and follow us out in the RV. After we get there I can have him help unload the truck.  :)  The next day I can take him to the airport and fly him home.  He's just adventurous enough ( fireman and EMT) that he would think that is fun! Ahhh, youth!

Any better suggestions? Would rather have a moving company do it but I like the money in my bank account better than theirs.  Actually we are going to sell most of our household furniture and just replace it in AZ.

Thanks for the help.

Scott and Connie
 
Scott,

I've had the RV down I-75 and across I-64 several times.  Neither are bad, but I-64 is less traveled and you would avoid both Knoxville (lived there for 15 years ans traffic can be really bad at times) as well as Nashville.  I also have found I-64 a little more scenic. 

If the grandson can't help make the trip, you might consider shipping one car so your wife won't have to deal with a trailer on the rental truck.  Shipped in an open car carrier, it probably won't be much more than a one way airline ticket.

Good luck!

Jim
 
My "really" good plan is to have my grandson drive the Penske and follow us out in the RV. After we get there I can have him help unload the truck.  :)  The next day I can take him to the airport and fly him home.  He's just adventurous enough ( fireman and EMT) that he would think that is fun! Ahhh, youth!


I was going to suggest the flying - IF your grandson is willing then I would take him up on it.
Could be a bonding time with the Grandparents for him.  You too.

Look over the flight costs - sometimes it's cheaper to get a round trip ticket and just not use the other half vs. getting
a one-way ticket alone.

Hope it works out for you.
 
Consider renting a POD. Have it delivered to your driveway, fill it at your leisure and have it stored until you are ready for its delivery at the other end.

Without the extra truck, your wife can just follow you in the car to your destination.
 
turkeydriver said:
My DW and I are finally retiring and moving to Green Valley, AZ (just south of Tucson) this summer. 

...

We will probably try to make the 2000 mile trip from WV to AZ in 4 or 5 days. We are looking for the easiest driving route: hills, wind, traffic, Walmarts and campgrounds, etc. Any advice?

You're retiring, why do you have to make the trip in "4 to 5 days"?  That's a full time job, driving 8 hours a day for an entire work week.

Why not take your time and let the trip be a vacation in itself?  There's lots to see and do between one side of the country and the other.

For example, you say you don't see any reason to visit Kansas.  One of the places where an overnight stop on a cross-country trip turned into an unscheduled 3 day visit was in Hutchinson, KS.  Between the Cosmosphere (a stunning, world class space museum), the Stratica underground salt mine museum and a couple of great restaurants, I just couldn't tear myself away.

www.tripadvisor.com/Attractions has lots of ideas for things to see in almost any location.

If the truck rental determines the timing, leave the DW in West Virginia and do the chore by yourself, or with your grandson.  Race, race, race from one side of the country to the other, unload the truck and fly back.

Then rejoin your wife and use the motorhome the way it was intended - seeing the country, not just driving through it.

If it was me, I'd plan on the motorhome portion of the trip taking 2-3 weeks, driving no more than half a day during the cool morning hours.  Then spend the rest of the day relaxing under the cool a/c or exploring the local area.  Who knows, you may even decide to stay a second night before pushing on.
 
Quillback 424 said:
Consider renting a POD. Have it delivered to your driveway, fill it at your leisure and have it stored until you are ready for its delivery at the other end.

Without the extra truck, your wife can just follow you in the car to your destination.

This sounds like a great idea.  Dick
 
Appreciate all the input. I would love to take the truck out, fly back,  and then spend a couple of weeks driving the RV out there but a few "buying a house things" will necessitate getting there pretty quickly. Connie is a big photography fan so I am sure there will be many trips around the western US and maybe British Columbia where we can take our time. Seems to be a myriad of places to see out there.

One of our big concerns on the drive ( or drives ) out there is avoiding hilly terrain as much as possible. The Winnie is a pig in the mountains. And maybe a bigger concern is trying to pick a route where the winds may not be quite as bad. Winnie really handles much better than the Holiday Rambler Vacationer I used to have (lower center of gravity with basement air?) but the wind can really tire you out. I like to drive and can drive fairly long distances but the wind really kicks my butt. Any advice on a calmer route?
Maybe some of you old truckers have an opinion on that?   
 
turkeydriver said:
Appreciate all the input. I would love to take the truck out, fly back,  and then spend a couple of weeks driving the RV out there but a few "buying a house things" will necessitate getting there pretty quickly. Connie is a big photography fan so I am sure there will be many trips around the western US and maybe British Columbia where we can take our time. Seems to be a myriad of places to see out there.

One of our big concerns on the drive ( or drives ) out there is avoiding hilly terrain as much as possible. The Winnie is a pig in the mountains. And maybe a bigger concern is trying to pick a route where the winds may not be quite as bad. Winnie really handles much better than the Holiday Rambler Vacationer I used to have (lower center of gravity with basement air?) but the wind can really tire you out. I like to drive and can drive fairly long distances but the wind really kicks my butt. Any advice on a calmer route?
Maybe some of you old truckers have an opinion on that? 

First off is "This Summer" is pretty open to give you advice on weather and best routes.  Care to narrow it down to the week of the year?

a few "buying a house things" will necessitate getting there pretty quickly.

OK I'm going to suggest some things and you can take them or leave them.  Sorry if I'm way off base.....

I'm not sure what 'buying a house things" means.  But IF you both have to be somewhere to sign papers etc. then is there anyway
you both can fly out do your business and then fly back and then drive to AZ and take as much time as you want?
Is the Grandson still an option?  Thing is, if he works, he probably can't take 10 days to get there and you don't want to be
rushed because he has to get back to work.

As far as winds they are usually much lighter and there is usually much less traffic at night time.  But I know some people don't
like to drive at night.  You have to use your best judgement and if the winds are strong - next exit pull off, wait it out or lookup
the closest CG, Walmart or Rest Stop and wait there.  Usually winds die down an hour or two before Sunset so if you won't drive at night
you could still carry on for a few hours with less wind, usually.

As far as tire you out - many people (if they plan the time) only travel 200-300 miles a day.  If you did that, it should be a piece of cake
if you are use to long distance drives. Besides your wife might not like longer drives if she is not use to driving a truck.

Not sure what else to tell you other then Usually I10 is south enough to have the least amount of mountains but that would
certainly be more miles from WV then going a much straighter route.

 
Thanks for the advice Red and Silver,

Take it or leave it suggestions generally have a lot of kernels of wisdom in them.  :) Can't really narrow down a time frame. We are putting our house for sale here in WV on May 1. As soon as the house sells we are gone.  Not going to buy a house before we get to AZ. We tried that once and even though the home inspection turned out relatively good there were a lot of " No TLC" issues after we got there to close.

So we really need to get to AZ fairly quickly as we will be homeless with a Penske truck full of "stuff".  I'm really hoping grandson will be available. If so, we will drive it in 4 days: 500 per day. If we get truck loaded and RV ready to go early in the day we will probably leave noon or so and drive 200 miles to Louisvile, KY and then go 4 days from there. That would cut it down to about 450 per day. I'm hoping that the midwest states will be flat and straight so we can make a little better time. At this point I am thinking I-64 to St. Louis, I-44 to OK City, I-40 to Albuquerque, I-25 south to I-10, I-10 to Tucson and then I-19 to Green Valley, AZ.  There are a couple of shortcuts in NM which may save an hour or so but I hesitate to stray to far off the interstates in an '03 Winnebago in the desert.
 
Take it for what it's worth but I think the Shipping POD  makes perfect sense , they will pick it up and store it either locally or at the destination  and then deliver it when you want it.  You are retired , take your time going across this great country  and  enjoy the trip. You have the RV so you won't really be homeless when you get  there, that would take the time "crunch" out of the equation and let you enjoy  the house hunting as well when you finally get there.

Driving one of those moving trucks is no picnic  for that distance  and stuff does go wrong , my best friend just did that with his son cross country and they had a tire issue and and a problem with the engine with the rental truck
 
I had a 26' U-Haul truck blow a rear air bag.I pulled off the road onto the shoulder and called them up. The only thing they would do was send another truck and I would have to unload the broke down truck and load it on the replacement. I wasn't real happy with U-Haul that day.
 
A while back, I drove from Washington D.C. to Las Vegas to take a new job. I took the I-64 to I-44 to I-40 route you describe. As you know the WV portion of the route is pretty hilly. Once you get to I-44 you lose the big mountains until you get out west. But Missouri is pretty hilly and west of Texas, there are some pretty big hills (Albq. is at 5000, most of Ariz and NM is above 4000 and up and down somewhat). I-70 is very busy with truck traffic and the grade once you hit Denver is stupendous for RVs.

My suggestion would be to take I-64 to I-44 and then down to OK City. Then turn south on I-35 to I-20 at Dallas. Take I-20 west to I-10 and then straight into Tucson. You'll hit some hills around El Paso on west, but the rest of the trip is pretty flat. It will also be pretty hot that way, but then Tucson is pretty hot in the summer anyway, might as well get used to it!

And I would go with your suggestion of the grandson driving the rental truck. Either that or using PODS.

Good luck!
 
Oh, and if you're not locked into Green Valley, a friend of mine who lives in Tucson and is trying to get me and my wife to move when we retire, says to look at Sonoita. It's just about the same distance from central Tucson and is south on 83.
 

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