My wife and I have decided to move from Montana. We loved the 3 months of summer but not the rest of the year. We’ve been wintering in Destin Florida but rents there are double of where we were. So, we sold our home of 20 years and are buying a nice place in a 55 community near Tucson. We sold our old place furnished and bought a place that was also furnished so all we had left were tools, personal items and a few assorted furniture pieces that will work in the new place. Even this small load filled the truck.

We packed it all into Lowes moving boxes and 8 friends helped us load the truck on Wednesday. On Friday we drove from Kalispell to Salt Lake City. Today we drove to Tucson. So, 12 hours yesterday and 15 hours today to cover 1,400 miles. We’ve spent $920 on diesel. Thanks Brandon.

The Penske truck was the second one we picked up. The first needed front end work with 131,000 miles on it. It was dangerous. I took it back and insisted on a better truck. The second truck was a 2 year old with 81,000 on it. Much better but still loose with a full load. The truck is grossly underpowered. It was governed at 70 but would slow waaaay down going the slightest hill. A couple of hills in Arizona had us down to 26 mph.

The cheapest professional mover I could find was right at $10,000. We paid just over $2,000 for the truck for 6 days including their insurance. We converted our home owners to a renters policy until our new places closed later this week. Figuring in the diesel, we saved $7,000. Would I do it again? Sure but I’d try a uhaul with a V-10 for more power. I did save a lot because I have AAA and I’m a veteran.
Mike

Sounds great! See our majestic land. Imbibe local brews. Sample local flavors. Experience regional hospitality. Enjoy a couple dozen audio books. I’d be interested in places to visited along the way. And if you happen to have found awesome key lime pie, doubly so.

I know in reality you were on a tedious A to B trip. But I’d really like to drive across country like that some day. I’ve only lived in the coasts and I feel like America is really the area in between.

I'm happy to hear that the move went smoothly. The weather in Tuscon is a lot milder than that in Phoenix, but it will get a lot hotter in the summer than you would see in Montana. (Not sure about Florida.)

Since this is a permanent move and not just a visit, you'll have a lot of time to explore the sights of the region. Mt. Lemmon (winter skiing, vistas in summer) is nice. The Amerind Museum and Texas Canyon are worth a visit. Several places in the Dragoon Mountains east of Tucson. Old Tucson is a popular movie set. Mission San Xavier del Bac is gorgeous. Saguaro Cactus National Monument. All of those are quite close to Tucson.

flashguy

Glad you made it safely. Doesn’t sound like it was a fun trip at all.

Green Valley?

That's the 55+ community I'm looking at for a winter home or most likely a year around home.

Cleanest town I've ever seen.
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One of my brothers lives in Green Valley and loves it.

Born and raised in Michigan, spent his working life there and HATES cold and snow, moved to AZ as soon as he retired.

Spends a lot of time in the mountains of New Mexico in the heat of Summer.

Hoping for less than 15 hours, but we're only moving 15 miles or so. But, with 3 kids & a dog's worth of stuff.

My folks lived in Saddlebrooke for several years after retiring. They loved it.

You'll get a little snow there once in a while, hardly enough to stop the golfers!

Welcome to Southern Arizona!

Congrats on the safe move.

quote:

Originally posted by mcrimm:
The cheapest professional mover I could find was right at $10,000. We paid just over $2,000 for the truck for 6 days including their insurance.

Over four years ago, we did multiple trips from CA to TX to get our stuff here, the moving company quotes were much more than yours.
First trip was a 26' Uhaul that I did myself, had college guys help off load into a large storage unit, then flew back. A couple of weeks later, 2nd trip was driving my pickup truck with a Uhaul 8' box trailer for my long guns and ammo/reload stuff, driven non stop with my son. Stored in my friend's garage. I flew back, my son stayed. Our 3rd and final trip was a 15' Uhaul with our apartment items (after selling our house we rented a small apt. for 8 months) and a car trailer for my wife's car. We did the entire move for less than half the moving quotes. And nothing went missing or damaged.

The 26' truck was about $2100. Today, for the same exact trip, it is $7000 to rent the same truck from CA to TX. Crazy.

A few years ago, A friend and I drove a big Penske from Illinois to Florida. No hills to speak of and we did it in two and a half days. Major fog cost us several hours in Alabama on the second morning.

I had never driven anything that big and was unable to see out of one eye at the time. What surprised and scared me the most was cars who refused to yield when entering the interstate. I couldn't just slam on the brakes or turn that thing like a sport's car.

Another friend paid us to do this for him. He gave me his credit card and a thousand in cash when we left Illinois. He put us up for 3 days in a resort hotel in Florida and flew us home. In retrospect, it was a great trip.

We have traveled a lot since retiring 7 years ago. We generally travel in a late model SUV with all of the safety features. I drive at or near the posted speed limit.

While driving this big truck, I was generally well under the speed limit. I was absolutely amazed at the aggressiveness of so many drivers. We didn’t see any wrecks but sure saw some close calls.

I grew up in Libby, MT and lived in Superior for 3.5 years. Needing to make a living, I moved to West Seattle in '76. After 18 years there, the Seattle area became less attractive. We moved our family to Helena 25 years ago and have no regrets.

Winter...it does become a bit tedious...but I hate the heat even worse in Arizona. Best to you and yours in your new home. Weather in MT is like a angry tantrum, could change at any given day. What else does a retired guy do but shovel snow...mow lawn...repeat as nature dictates

quote:

Originally posted by mcrimm:

I was absolutely amazed at the aggressiveness of so many drivers.

Aggressive driving has become the norm around here, to the point where I a pleasantly surprised when I encounter a courteous driver.

Mike, be honest. You moved south because you simply want to be able to drive your S2000 year round!

As an aside I'm not sure I could acclimate to the heat down there.

There is not a world in which I would imagine a V-10 having more power. If by some miracle it did the 3mpg fuel economy would erase any joy in arriving an hour earlier.

Big trucks with heavy loads are slow. Penske could spec better power but for an occasional driver less is better. It does come with a certain satisfaction having done it yourself and saving a ton of cash doing it.

Well done

When I moved from VA to AZ, I had a pro mover load up a truck. A friend in MD who had frequent business trips to Phoenix (a pilot who hates to fly commercial) drove my BMW 330i full of my long guns. I drove my Porsche 993 loaded up with my handguns. I left Fairfax late afternoon, spent the night in Bristol, VA, then made it to OK City before stopping for dinner and a motel. Got to Phoenix the next afternoon. I hauled ass on I-40, well over 100mph for hours on end. It was a great trip and I was so happy to be out of NoVA and in AZ. Never leaving.

Five years ago wife and I sold our house in NH and became permanent Florida residents. At the time I looked at U Haul and at PODS. Price of using a U Haul truck and having a POD delivered to our house in Florida was about $200 cheaper with U Haul but then had to figure in fuel costs the driving hassles. Went with a POD. Enjoyed a peaceful ride in the wife’s car and the POD was delivered with no damage to anything, my brother and I did a careful pack. Out of moving nine times in my career this was the best as it’s the last.

When I moved from NH to Tucson I had loaded about half of my stuff in a PODS unit that I could store for six months and not miss anything.

My actual move required a Mayflower full sized trailer. I ended up packing most of my immediate needed items in my Audi and I drove cross country - it took me five days of hard driving, three of which were through torrential rains that never met up until I was half way between Little Rock and Oak City.

Driving I40 was not pleasant - truckers, particularly the cattle and hog trucks, assumed they owned the roads and I was almost forced off the road twice by them.

However all that said I enjoyed the drive across the country for the most part. I drove until I got tired and then crashed out in wherever I could find a hotel. No plans and no reservations.

I arrived in Tucson on November 1 2015 and I don’t ever plan to leave. I will take the 3 months of heat over 6 months of crappy east coast weather and winter any day.

quote:

Originally posted by bald1:
Mike, be honest. You moved south because you simply want to be able to drive your S2000 year round!

As an aside I'm not sure I could acclimate to the heat down there.

When we put our S2000 on the trailer, it was the first time I saw it since November. Way toooooo long. It comes off the trailer in about an hour. We’ll see about the heat. Tucson is cooler than Phoenix and our new home is 1,000’ above Tucson. Time will tell. We ate breakfast outdoors by the hotel pool.

The last time I rented a big UHaul truck I took off with it and then discovered it didn't have cruised control. I made a couple phone calls, and visited a UHaul dealer along the way, they all told me that UHaul didn't have cruise control because they thought it was safer for the driver to not have it.

It was a real bitch driving OKC to Durango CO. One moment you're going 65 or so, then 50, and back and forth and all in between.

IF you are anywhere near Sahuarita/Green Valley you MUST go to the Titan Missile Museum. It's really good. about 20 miles or so south of the Tucson airport.

BTW a bit of trivia. Interstate 19 runs from Tucson to Nogales. It's only 63 miles long.

However, it's the only Interstate Highway that is not marked in miles. All the signs and exits are marked in Kilometers.

Yeah, go figure.
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