Towing 1500 miles VS Paying for Shipment

I plan on towing my caprice to Florida soon with my wagon. I know it's not ideal but I don't have much choice. Ill be using my 94 RMW with class 3 hitch. It's a non tow pack. Ill be using the Uhaul full car trailer. Once you get out of NYC area it's mostly smooth sailing. My question is, would it be worth it to purchase a weight distribution system for the one time trip? I towed a 9c1 with a 92 rms through the nh mountains. While it was a little sketchy, I made it and didn't have anything go wrong, thank god. I'm sure ill be ok just want to be somewhat comfortable on the way down.

Might want to PM Nab Guffey or Chris Mallory on the big board as they towed their B body race cars with wagons...

Tim

If I were you, I think I would run the numbers. The cost of renting the trailer, gas, food and hotel, may be more than having it flat bedded by a car hauler. Your gas mileage will probably be half what you normally get.

As you probably noticed on your Daytona trip, there were a lot of cars on car carriers heading up north from FL with snowbird cars. They head back down empty; so you may be able to get a real good price going down.

I have pulled big travel trailers all over the US, I would never pull that car, that distance without a equalizing hitch and sway bar. When those big trucks go by at 80 MPH you will be whipped side to side.

My 2 cents


Tom

I have 3 cars to bring with me so I may look into getting a deal on shipping 2 cars down. I'll look into it.

Are you coming back or is it a one way trip?

Tom

1 way

Call this guy, tell him I sent you. 100% positive reviews, and great prices.

http://transporttime.com/http://transporttime.com/

Whats your last name Jay? So I can let them know who referred me.

Gastt wrote:

Whats your last name Jay? So I can let them know who referred me.

It's "Oldschool".... Crazy, right?

toomanytoyz wrote:

Gastt wrote:

Whats your last name Jay? So I can let them know who referred me.

It's "Oldschool".... Crazy, right?

Got a quote from Agape Transport, $1130 for 2 cars.

That's not bad, actually.

Smart man, btw. Moving down there. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little jealous. Good luck. We'll miss ya up here.

Go that route,let the pros do the hauling,much safer and less worrys for you!All it would take is one 80 year old stomping their brakes in front of you and you're going to jail.Your wagon would be close to overloaded as soon as you hooked up that full length trailer WITHOUT your car!

It's better for my new family. We have nobody up here, literally. I'll be leaving behind a damn good job but I gotta do what I gotta do.

Have you found a job in fla yet,I would keep the good job until then.Maybe move the family down first and get them all settled before leaving this job.All your family is in fla,right?

Not an option, Jim. I have a lease on a house expiring. I'm going to stay with family there until I find work. There are a few positions available there I am interested in. I don't have a problem making money anywhere I go.

Sounds like you have everything under control,best of luck to you and your young family.Cant beat the weather except during hurricane season.

Gastt wrote:

1 way

I take it you won't have a long drive to WF FL next year and also don't have to worry about breaking down.


Tom

silverfox103 wrote:

Gastt wrote:

1 way

I take it you won't have a long drive to WF FL next year and also don't have to worry about breaking down.


Tom

My wife and I have a rule that if we ever move to a different city/state, we will craigslist pretty much everything but our clothes, move, then buy stuff off the local craigslist when we get there.

Tim, have you thought about selling some of your cars and just transporting the money? Sprocket's always finding rust-free cars down south. Effectively you are raising the cost of your vehicles by $615 apiece, whether you towed them or shipped them. So if you sold your car(s) for as much as $600 less than what it would cost you to buy replacements down in FL, you haven't lost anything. For example: if you sold the Fleetwood for $3000 and then spent $3600 to acquire a fleetwood in Florida, you haven't lost anything.

While that is true and is a good point, I have sentimental ties to my Fleetwood and Caprice. While it might seem foolish I'd rather spend the money to ship them down there. If money was an issue, I would be selling them. The only one I'd sell is the wagon, but, I need the cargo room to move my stuff down there.

When it's all said and done I can sell them and buy new ones, and then have to redo everything I've done to them. Or, spend the same amount of money and still have my cars.

While you are still young you can pretty easily make this move. The older you get and more roots you set down all make it tougher to make that move. It a great decision to be with family and to raise that little one right.

Good luck your move Tim. I think Tom and Joel are giving your sage advise. Good luck with your decisions. I hope we can meet up again one day.

sherlock9c1 wrote:

My wife and I have a rule that if we ever move to a different city/state, we will craigslist pretty much everything but our clothes, move, then buy stuff off the local craigslist when we get there.

That is a great rule! I'm not moving, but I sure need to CL some stuff. Make that a lot of stuff. I could probably start with the "rare" going to be worth a lot of money someday Roadmaster parts. The bigger the house = more junk.


Tom

silverfox103 wrote:

The bigger the house = more junk.


Tom

Amen to that. I'm in my house 20 years and now I have a storage unit full of crap I don't need (except all the car parts, lol)

Glad to see ya moving into the area. Ship them, it's a good deal.

Shipping them at that quoted price sounds like a winner!
Good luck with the move.

I paid about a buck-a-mile to get my wagon back from JAX, and I owned the tow vehicle.

Shipping both vehicles that distance for that price is a deal.

Look at it this way, for around $1500 (all 3 cars) you get all of your cars down south without the liability headaches, slow running, parking issues, and maintenance.

As others can attest, I offer free coffee to everyone on the forum that stops by....

He speaks the truth

I have to drive one down. I need to take my stuff and my wife and daughter too. The wagon has the most cargo area. I might need that coffee lol.

When are you moving? If it's after May 5th, I offer services as a second hand to unload the wagon or whatever, since I'm right up US1.

Ill be heading down sometime around June 9th.

How about if you shipped 2 vehicles loaded to the max with personal property and drove the most economical dpwn with wife and daughter?

I don't have much personal property. Clothes, some baby stuff a TV and an Xbox. Whatever car parts I have I'll probably load into the trunks of my Caprice and Fleetwood and drive the wagon down. It's going to have the best ride.

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't jealous of you leaving the cold north. Personally I would get a transport service to take 2 down there. It would be less stressful not having to worry about something going wrong on the way, several times.

That's what I'm gonna do. It's worth it to me to get them there safely. If I tow one, I still have to worry about a plane ticket and another trip on the road paying for gas to get it down there.

Can you guys in the USA write that off as a moving expense ?

Write what off, the shipping of vehicles? Yes. You can, along with the fuel, hotel, food and such to get from a to b.

Superior Finish wrote:

Write what off, the shipping of vehicles? Yes. You can, along with the fuel, hotel, food and such to get from a to b.

I was wondering about all moving expenses, like you mentioned. It seems similar to here in Canada. OP should factor that into the equation

I didn't know that. I'll have to keep good track of my expenses.