Cannonball in a rental truck?

[numbnuts240]

my aunts and grandma are moving from somewhere in st. petersburg, fl to somewhere else in st. petersburg, fl. they will be downsizing and there is a bedroom set that used to belong to my deceased uncle and my grandma would like to "keep in the family". before you say it, i already have, it's furniture. kind of a silly thing to put sentimental value on furniture. but that's beside the point. i won't even go into how much a waste of money this all is, but grandma is adamant and is even footing the bill.

so my buddy convinced his gf to not be pissed at him for flying down to florida next friday and driving straight back to ct in a budget truck. the plan is to leave as early as is sane saturday morning and act like maniacs up the majority of the east coast.

tips, comments, concerns, suggestions for good eats, etc are all welcome.

[Dattebayo]

I've personally done it in less than 24 hours, but not in a box truck and only as far as Baltimore...

...and we had three drivers. I don't know how that would compare now that I say it, actually.

[numbnuts240]

i did the exact drive in 22 hours. that included getting lost in baltimore, and then again in new jersey. sure there were two other legal drivers, but my dad scares me with how oblivious he is to his surroundings behind the wheel, and my mother is the stubborn turtle who just won't get out the way of faster traffic.

sure i broke more than a few speed limits, but after a week in florida, in december, christmas day in the not so magic kingdom, with parents and a 9-year old niece, i wanted to get the f*** home. screw the palm trees and 50-60 degree weather, i'll take my bleak, snow covered misery over hordes of tourists experiencing life through the screen of an ipad, not watching where the f*** they're walking, and just being general thorns in my back side, any day of the week.

what was this thread about again?

[frapjap]

Its a loooooooong drive. I did it in 24 hours with a rental truck when I first moved up north. Get good rest, don't speed in WV, try to hit DC after 8pm, and you should be golden. Or, since it doesn't usually matter what time you return the truck on the day its due, stop in DC and party with Dave.

[numbnuts240]

we're estimating 27-30 hours since the rentals are usually governed. budget allots 5 days for the trip with unlimited miles, so we're also trying to think of ways to use the hell out of a box truck while we have use of it.

[frapjap]

5 days!? Easy! There is a bedroom set in the back. Set that b**** up with some tea light candles from the Dollar Tree and cruise for ladies to ask back to "your place."
Report back with your successes.

[PapaSmurf2k3]

I've done the Florida to Rhode Island trip a few times. I don't recall anything noteworthy to check out, other than some friends places.
Maybe load the truck up with fireworks and sell them once you get up there? Cheap cigarettes?

[Jesda]

Don't bother with Carolina BBQ. It's weird.

[Dattebayo]

since it doesn't usually matter what time you return the truck on the day its due, stop in DC and party with Dave.

LOL!

5 days!? Easy! There is a bedroom set in the back. Set that b**** up with some tea light candles from the Dollar Tree and cruise for ladies to ask back to "your place."
Report back with your successes.

This.

[numbnuts240]

neither of us can stretch the trip out to fully utilize the 5 days because of work and all. plus we are more than willing to accept the challenge of a non-stop run in a box truck.

[frapjap]

FWIW, U Haul has MUCH better service response if you break down than Ryder. U Haul had a new truck to me in an hour. Ryder took nearly a full day!

[numbnuts240]

we're going with budget. i was going to originally go with u-haul, but that would have turned this trip into an >$1k adventure, which is crazy talk.

[OriginalWheelman]

The thing you have to watch with Budget is insurance. They seem cheaper but they don't include basic insurance. If your policy doesn't' cover you to rent a TRUCK, which is different than renting a car, you're looking at hundreds of dollars to buy insurance through Budget. Uhaul is self insured and lets you buy insurance like a rental car company.

[Bubba1]

my aunts and grandma are moving from somewhere in st. petersburg, fl to somewhere else in st. petersburg, fl. they will be downsizing and there is a bedroom set that used to belong to my deceased uncle and my grandma would like to "keep in the family". before you say it, i already have, it's furniture. kind of a silly thing to put sentimental value on furniture. but that's beside the point. i won't even go into how much a waste of money this all is, but grandma is adamant and is even footing the bill.

so my buddy convinced his gf to not be pissed at him for flying down to florida next friday and driving straight back to ct in a budget truck. the plan is to leave as early as is sane saturday morning and act like maniacs up the majority of the east coast.

tips, comments, concerns, suggestions for good eats, etc are all welcome.

I just did the trip this summer, from Ft. Lauderdale to central NJ moving the elderly parents of a good friend . I used a 20' U-Haul. Good experience overall

A few tips off the top of my head.

1. do not skip the weigh/inspection stations if your truck is 5T (as in tons GVW) or higher. I-95 northbound is a famous drug corridor and northbound rental trucks are common targets for troopers. It's a pricey ticket if you get caught bypassing. It's more likely to happen in GA or FL. I never had an issue but as an old fart, I was less likely to get profiled, not that any cops do that (ahem). Most of the FL ones are open. North of the Mason-Dixon, most are closed. The cops don't kid around.
2. Even with a co-driver, you might want to think about breaking up the trip into 2 legs and have a nice dinner and stay at a cheapie national chain motel overnight. If you don't, those last few hours will be tough with a combo of both of you being tired, more traffic, more aggressive jerks, and deteriorating (less smooth) roads in the northeast.
3. You're gonna find most major rental company trucks do NOT have cruise control. U-Haul eliminated them long ago due to passengers falling asleep on long runs.
4. Those advertised MPG claims the truck rental company assume you cruise at 55. Don't expect that mileage if you're cruising 70-75 with traffic.
5. EZpass is recommended once you get above the Mason-Dixon line. It'll save a lotta time.
6. Bring a nice padlock. Sucks if you forget it and have to scramble to buy one at the last second.
7. Think about music. You're gonna have just an AM-FM, which means finding new stations every hour or two. Satellite radio comes in handy on trips like this.
8. If you're lucky you'll have a power plug plus a cig lighter. Not all rentals will have 2. You might think about going to pep boys and get one of those cigarette lighter socket splitters . They're like $6.99 and that way you can plug in two things instead of one.
9. Unless you want to punish your co-driver, avoid Taco Bell meals. The noxious fumes after it burns it's way thru your digestive system are lethal. And with cold weather coming, opening that window to clear the air comes with a trade off.
10. You want to try to avoid the WashDC beltway during rush hour. It can get downright ugly. Make sure your bladder is empty before getting close to DC.
11. Enjoy.

[numbnuts240]

1. do not skip the weigh/inspection stations if your truck is 5T (as in tons GVW) or higher. I-95 northbound is a famous drug corridor and northbound rental trucks are common targets for troopers. It's a pricey ticket if you get caught bypassing. It's more likely to happen in GA or FL. I never had an issue but as an old fart, I was less likely to get profiled, not that any cops do that (ahem). Most of the FL ones are open. North of the Mason-Dixon, most are closed. The cops don't kid around.

the truck is a 12 footer, i don't think it'll be required to stop and weigh in, but i will definitely make sure of that beforehand. also, my buddy is a big, teddy bear looking white boy. if anything, they'll assume i'm his hired help.

2. Even with a co-driver, you might want to think about breaking up the trip into 2 legs and have a nice dinner and stay at a cheapie national chain motel overnight. If you don't, those last few hours will be tough with a combo of both of you being tired, more traffic, more aggressive jerks, and deteriorating (less smooth) roads in the northeast.

dinner is going to be the long stop. aside from that, it's all about the challenge. like i said, i did the exact drive almost 2 years ago as the sole driver, and it wasn't too bad.

3. You're gonna find most major rental company trucks do NOT have cruise control. U-Haul eliminated them long ago due to passengers falling asleep on long runs.

neither of us use cruise control, even though both our vehicles have the option.

4. Those advertised MPG claims the truck rental company assume you cruise at 55. Don't expect that mileage if you're cruising 70-75 with traffic.

mpg is the furthest thing on my list of concerns. i EXCPECT to get terrible mileage.

5. EZpass is recommended once you get above the Mason-Dixon line. It'll save a lotta time.

we already have one that we will be bringing.

6. Bring a nice padlock. Sucks if you forget it and have to scramble to buy one at the last second.

not a terrible idea.

7. Think about music. You're gonna have just an AM-FM, which means finding new stations every hour or two. Satellite radio comes in handy on trips like this.

i have pandora on my phone, as well as loads of mp3's. but we'll probably spend the majority of the trip condescending the occupants of the surrounding vehicles. we're d!ck.

8. If you're lucky you'll have a power plug plus a cig lighter. Not all rentals will have 2. You might think about going to pep boys and get one of those cigarette lighter socket splitters . They're like $6.99 and that way you can plug in two things instead of one.

the only thing we'll need to plug in will be a phone charger, and only one phone needs to be plugged in at a time.

9. Unless you want to punish your co-driver, avoid Taco Bell meals. The noxious fumes after it burns it's way thru your digestive system are lethal. And with cold weather coming, opening that window to clear the air comes with a trade off.

i don't eat taco bell anyway, so not an issue. although hot-boxing him would be pretty funny. hmmm

10. You want to try to avoid the WashDC beltway during rush hour. It can get downright ugly. Make sure your bladder is empty before getting close to DC.

duly noted. he knows that area better than i do since he travels to maryland a couple times a year for work.

11. Enjoy.

we will. it's been the major point of conversation for a couple of weeks.

[numbnuts240]

just looked up the truck specs. it's 10' and the gvw is 8,600lb, so we shouldn't have to weigh in.

[Desert Rat]

Penske trucks aren't goverened...least the one I had a few years ago wasn't. Drove that thing 85-90MPH from Denver to Phoenix....made it in about 14 hours, loaded to the hilt. All interstate.

Yes, we flogged it.

[Dattebayo]

Hey, by the way, when he means "avoid the WashDC beltway during rush hour", that means anywhere from 8AM to 10 AM, 3 PM till 7PM. Seriously, 495 usually sucks, but now it has major construction going on as well, shutting down at least one lane for some reason...

[numbnuts240]

how bad is it on the weekends at night? because of the time we are leaving (later than we wanted) we should be hitting the dc area a bit after midnight. so long as all goes well between florida and dc.

[Bubba1]

how bad is it on the weekends at night? because of the time we are leaving (later than we wanted) we should be hitting the dc area a bit after midnight. so long as all goes well between florida and dc.

You should be fine that time of night. Just beware of MD troopers, they can be pretty sneaky with unmarked cars.

[numbnuts240]

drive was a success. the end got a bit rough, but we made it in 22 hours. break down later, i'm still feeling very zombie-like.

[PapaSmurf2k3]

CONGRATS!!!

[numbnuts240]

ok, here we go.

friday:
met my friend at his job. he works a few miles from the airport, so he arranged for his coworker to give us a lift while we left our vehicles at his job to avoid parking fees. we arrive at the airport about 515. since our flight wasn't until 7, we breezed through security and sat down at a bar for a couple beers.
first, the waitress was smoking hot, and since i was drinking hoegaarden, i asked her to call me her hoe while we were there. we ended up striking up a conversation with the middle aged woman next to us. turns out she's close personal friends with steve saleen, used to help the race team with her husband who now runs a saleen locating business. very cool.
flight to our layover in charlotte was uneventful, as was the final flight to tampa. we arrived at our final destination just before midnight and made it to bed at my aunt's house about 1.

saturday:
we both woke up around 4, but didn't get up until 6. we were told that there would be three guys coming to help with the packing of trucks and moving, but that never happened. so my friend and i were guilted into packing up both trucks, driving them to the new place, then unloading. we weren't happy. finally got to hit the road at 11.

the truck:
we got a 10' gmc box truck. looked a lot like this



except ours was in a little worse shape. interior had a nice funk to it, and the cel was on. we were told it was because of the gas cap, we didn't have much time, so we decided to take our chances. the radio actually had a cd player and an aux input so radio surfing was kept at a minimum. it was governed at 75mph. at first i was a bit disappointed. being from ct, 75mph is painfully slow. it was even more heartbreaking when we realized that the majority of i-95 south of jersey has a 70mph speed limit. in the end, it didn't matter, because it seems everyone who lives south of jersey and drives on i-95 drives painfully slow anyway.

we decided to stop for lunch and top off the tank an hour into the drive. mainly because we wanted to stop for a quality dinner at a decent time and not have to resort to fast food. we were still in flirida and hadn't hit 95 yet, so i asked the girl behind the counter at wendy's about how much further to i-95. she looked at me like i had 6 eyes. she had no idea, all she knew was that it was far. finally got an answer from the manager, we were about an hour and a half out. not far.

the ride between then and dinner was pretty uneventful. we were closing in on the savannah area just before 5, so i had my buddy do a google search of the best bbq in savannah. we had a couple of good options based upon google star ratings, but this one review sold us on Wiley's Championship BBQ:

"Oh my, my, my! What can I say about this bbq?! This is probably the best I've had hands down. This is not a tourist trap or anything of the sorts, it is a place of good cooking and eating! Man, what didn't we have? Ok, let's start...the redneck nachos..good goodness, what isn't good about BBQ and cheese and pulled pork together on house chips? Then we had the sampler plate which was enough to feed about 3 people. It consisted of ribs, pulled pork, chicken, and brisket! Now let me tell you, I know a thing or two about brisket and this was incredible but that's not all! I read a previous review before we walked in and just thought for sure it had to be a typo "burnt ends"? O...M...G!!!!!! You have NEVER tasted goodness like this. I couldn't stop eating!!! The sides were great too, mac and cheese, baked beans and collards? Come on!!!! Good times! We also had the bread pudding with praline sauce AND the banana pudding and bless my soul it was great too! My boyfriend met Wiley, the general in Atlanta who invited us down and it was our last stop before heading back home. Let me just say, he earned his title...he is the BBQ General!!! Thank you so much for your hospitality and food. We even had enough to take home and guess what? The food was great re-heated too! I can taste those burnt ends right now! I wish I could order them online!! Try Wiley's and you'll definitely understand why he's the champion! Sir, we salute you!"

-loretta walker.

she wasn't wrong.

to be continued.

[PapaSmurf2k3]

Now I want BBQ.

[JB'sTitanXD]

any more details?

[frapjap]

[numbnuts240]

hahahaha, i totally forgot to summarize the rest.

ok, forgot one tidbit about leaving ct. while taxiing in the aeroplane, we spotted the ny jets. why they were in ct is beyond us, but there their plane was. chilling on the runway.

ok, where was i? ah yes, bbq. allow me to recap. A-f***-MAZING.

moving on. the night drive from savannah to dc was mostly uneventful. two males, cruising along the highway, in a rental truck, singing alanis morissette at the top of our lungs. nothing to see here.

dc. this is where we decide to add a bit of spice. i've never been to dc before. my friend has never been to dc before. we're both patriotic americans and agree that we would both enjoy seeing our glorious nation's capitol. i set the route for a little cruise through the capitol area instead of the beltway (it actually saved us 10 minutes). a fat white kid driving a rough around the edges budget truck, with his short, fat, brown passenger excitedly looking our the window, creeping past the pentagon, washington memorial, lincoln memorial, fbi headquarters, and finally the white house. at 3am in the morning. no snipers on rooftops, not red dots on our chests, not even curtains moving along to the side. just a few drunk stragglers waling out of bars. weaksauce.

back on the road, nothing else happened until we switched off on driving duties for the last leg: jersey to home. this is where it got really tough. first, i've never made it through jersey and across the gwb so quickly. second, i've never wanted to close my eyes for longer than a blink so bad. a/c on, windows cracked, and we still felt like falling into a hypothermia induced coma. we took just as many breaks in that last leg as we did the entire trip prior.

finally made it home at 9am and crashed for two hours. why not longer? we still had to trek back up north 45 minutes to pick up our cars. it took me about 2 days to mostly recover.

would i do it again? probably, although i'd make sure there was no physically draining work to be done right before hitting the big road. we actually already talked about maybe flying out to texas, renting something entertaining to drive, and doing a bbq tour on the way back. stretched out over a week or so, though.

[PapaSmurf2k3]

Gimme a call when you're on the BBQ tour. I've got a hole in the wall gas station slash bait shop slash general store slash restaurant that makes a dynamite everything....

[numbnuts240]

Somehow that sounds right up our alley