what do you guys think my odds are?

Hi RVers,
I need some insight.  I'm planning a cross country move from Northern California to the NY area.  I need to tow my honda civic, and besides the civic i don't have a huge amount of stuff.  I priced out Penske and UHaul and I'm looking at pretty hefty pricetags..  over 1500 before gas.  Meanwhile, here I am in california, land of more-rvs-than-i-have-ever-seen-in-my-life, and I got to thinking:  what if there is someone out there , perhaps on the east coast, who wants to buy an RV from the west coast (especially seeing as there's no salt on the roads here, and cars and rvs and everything else seems to disentigrate much more slowly..)  ..  but they don't want to drive it cross country?  What if I could find this person, and offer to pay them, instead of Penske, to drive their RV cross country?  I'd a million times rather it - I could tow my car, avoid paying for hotels, etc.  the towing would be some wear and tear for sure on the transmission of the RV (part of the reason I would be offering to pay the RV owner.. or seller..)  but.. i don't know enough to know if this wear and tear would be prohibitive / make this idea a dumb one. 

so.. penny for your thoughts?  what do you think? 
anyone need an rv moved east?  anybody back east got their eye on some craigslist beauty in sunny california but just don't know how to get it home?    I have references. 

I don't know.. it's a long shot.. we'd have to work out the details and figure out how to put it all in writing I imagine.  But, hey, got nothing to lose.. figure it can't hurt to try : ) 

thanks for reading
safe travels, all

Welcome to the Forum!

On the face of it, not a bad conversation starter. Can you do it? Maybe.

But a couple of pitfalls early could be finding someone who would trust unknown you to drive their rig, assuming you even found someone who even had the need. What size is the rig and would you be qualified to drive it with a trailer? Would insurance from a private party cover you? Are you going to trailer tow the Civic, dolly tow it, flat tow it? What are the considerations for the tow set up? Where are you going to put the stuff you would have put in the U Haul? How much fuel are you going to have to buy for the RV? Your responsibility or the owner? Where will you stay on the road with it?

Kind of a long shot, but again, an interesting exercise in identifying the challenges! Anything is possible!

Best of luck vetting the process.

Kim

I think this would truly benefit you. Not so sure about the owner. What stops a person from walking away when things go sour ?

I believe I once saw a add from a fully insured bonded company that will move units risk free anywhere in North America. What guarantees could a person expect from you? Not that I am disputing character, but it is something I would consider.

If the owner assumes all the risk,it is really not a good proposition.

I have a good friend who buys and sells airplanes. He first finds a plane he is interested in than buys a return ticket. If he doesn't like the deal he uses the return ticked to get back home.
If the deal works he buys the aircraft flys home and rips up the return ticket.
A ticket is cheap compared to a coach broke down half way between destinations and responsibility put on the owner as the person who was moving it is no where to be found.
Just my opinion.

Laureng:

Sorry.... the odds are POOR in my opinion. But, anything is possible. Good luck.

I'm thinking the liability would be a bit more than any RVer would want to take a chance with. Too many things could go wrong in a cross country trip.
How about having a trusted friend or family member drive the Honda for you and buy that person a plane/bus ticket home? Gotta be cheaper than $1500 bucks.

BTW, Northern CA is beautiful country. Why would you want to move to the NY area? Just curious.

Buy an RV and sell it in NY. You may make money on your move, you might break even, you may lose your shirt, if you have a catastrophic failure

Bill

The odds of ever finding a person with that need are slim. The odds they would be willing to gamble on an uninsured, non-professional stranger, let that person sleep in their bed, and hopefully deliver the RV unscathed and in reasonable time, seem too small to contemplate. But Hey, it doesn't hurt to ask around. Stranger things have happened.

thanks for the feedback all.  well, clearly i'd have some homework to do re: insurance and contracts.  the time and possible legal fees involved in getting a contract written up that both parties felt secure with, plus the fee I would expect to pay the owner, could exceed the cost of the penske scenario.  Someone asked about the stuff that would have gone in the back of the moving truck..  I have only been here a year - i'm from the east coast and moving back, so I don't have very much stuff.  I had a friend who was going to split the cost of the truck with me but they decided against moving their stuff back east, so with the truck scenario I'm back to the drawing board in terms of that.  even with the two of us the truck would have been half full..  just needed a large one in order to tow the civic. 

But maybe Bill (i think it was bill..)  had the right idea about buying something out here  and reselling it out there...  bit of a risk, though : )  wish i had more general knowledge about rvs.  With my background a purchase would mean much research..  and then no guarantee that it would sell back east. 

maybe i could advertise this locally and have better odds of coming across someone who might have a need for this who knows someone who knows me...

well, again, thanks all for your thoughts ! 

Should not need a large truck to tow a Civic. A pick-up truck would handle it. Or a full-size van (not  minivan) or big SUV. But if you have to rent it and drive coast-to-coast, it's still gonna be expensive.

How were you going to tow the Civic? A 4-down towing set-up isn't cheap either, nor is a tow dolly (even rented).

I would imagine a better proposition is to search for someone who would be willing to drive your civic for you. 

laureng said:

I have only been here a year - i'm from the east coast and moving back, so I don't have very much stuff.

Click to expand...

Ok, how about my suggestion in reverse? Any one at "home" who might be able to fly/bus out to CA and bring your Honda back to NY? As far as splitting the cost of a truck with a friend, get a smaller truck. You mentioned you have only been in CA a year. Unless furniture is involved, maybe a Sprinter type van, or a regular cargo van would suffice. Less rental cost and better on fuel mileage. Your friend decided not to move belongings to NY. Is your friend still moving to NY regardless? If so, could your friend drive the Honda?

Do what the young people do, sell everything but your clothes and a couple things that will fit in the civic and drive back in the Civic.

Bill