Need help: Florida to Washington State

[Farmer_Jane]

Hello, I am new to Open Roads Forum and am looking for assistance, ideas in transporting a 28' travel trailer across country. I will be moving from Florida to Washington State sometime this coming summer (2016) and would love to be able to have my TT moved. I don't have a tow vehicle and don't know anyone who has one I could rent. Also, I will need to drive my own vehicle across country so that I have transportation when I arrive. I'm not sure if it's even feasible to make this happen, but thought I would ask. Any suggestions, comments would be appreciated.

[Farmer_Jane]

rockhillmanor wrote:

Farmer Jane wrote:
Hello, I am new to Open Roads Forum and am looking for assistance, ideas in transporting a 28' travel trailer across country. I will be moving from Florida to Washington State sometime this coming summer (2016) and would love to be able to have my TT moved. I don't have a tow vehicle and don't know anyone who has one I could rent. Also, I will need to drive my own vehicle across country so that I have transportation when I arrive. I'm not sure if it's even feasible to make this happen, but thought I would ask. Any suggestions, comments would be appreciated.

No problem it is done all the time. And you are in luck.
You are in Florida and as Ocala is called the Horse Capital of the World and THE racing, breeding state.

Look up 'horse transportation' in your area. Or call one of the big horse racing farms near you. They will give you referrals.

They all also offer trailer transportation. They go back and forth from Florida up North several times a month running those huge LQ horse trailers. The will have ample and correct tow vehicles also.

Their rates are WAAY lower than so called 'RV' transporters and IMHO they are far more experienced and trusted.

You even might luck out on one of them dead heading and will give you an even better price.

They are the ones I used to move my RV from Wisconsin to Florida. Was half the price the 'RV' transporters wanted.

Wow, that sounds very interesting. And I never would have thought of that as an option. You are correct that there are lots of horse people in Florida, most in Ocala. I will look into that. Thanks!

[rockhillmanor]

Farmer Jane wrote:
Hello, I am new to Open Roads Forum and am looking for assistance, ideas in transporting a 28' travel trailer across country. I will be moving from Florida to Washington State sometime this coming summer (2016) and would love to be able to have my TT moved. I don't have a tow vehicle and don't know anyone who has one I could rent. Also, I will need to drive my own vehicle across country so that I have transportation when I arrive. I'm not sure if it's even feasible to make this happen, but thought I would ask. Any suggestions, comments would be appreciated.

No problem it is done all the time. And you are in luck.
You are in Florida and as Ocala is called the Horse Capital of the World and THE racing, breeding state.

Look up 'horse transportation' in your area. Or call one of the big horse racing farms near you. They will give you referrals.

They all also offer trailer transportation. They go back and forth from Florida up North several times a month running those huge LQ horse trailers. The will have ample and correct tow vehicles also.

Their rates are WAAY lower than so called 'RV' transporters and IMHO they are far more experienced and trusted.

You even might luck out on one of them dead heading and will give you an even better price.

They are the ones I used to move my RV from Wisconsin to Florida. Was half the price the 'RV' transporters wanted.

[carringb]

DownTheAvenue wrote:
To all the U-Haul suggestions: U-Haul will not allow you to pull any trailer with any of their vehicles except their own trailers. So......the U-Haul option is off the table.

That was not the case as of last spring. The only exclusion I can find on their website is this:

U-HAUL wrote:
If you plan to tow your own trailer, check with a U-Haul representative to determine the maximum trailer weight you can tow.

NOTE: Many of the older trucks are restricted to towing U-haul's trailers because they have welded balls which are an oddball 2-1/8" ball. However, the 2008+ E450 based U-Hauls have a 2" receiver, and are rated for 10,000 pounds trailer towing or 7,500 on the 20-foot model.

[TomBoy_and_Intr]

You might consider selling your trailer in Florida, then use the money to buy a new trailer when you get to Washington.

[Farmer_Jane]

Sounds like it's possible, but with many challenges to overcome first. I will keep looking into these options.
Do people ever loan their RV to others who want to travel (in my case cross country) but don't have an RV? Maybe that's not realistic, but what do you think. I would pay for fuel and camping sites and they would have a nice trip for cheap?

[Farmer_Jane]

carringb wrote:
Also... how long has it been since your trailer was last moved? Be sure its roadworthy before taking such a long trip. Wheel bearing service and tire age/condition are two things I would definitely check into before the trip.

The trailer would need to be completely gone over to get ready to tow. While it is in really good shape structurally, it has not been moved in 3 years so I know it would need a lot of work before it is road ready.

[Farmer_Jane]

donn0128 wrote:
Another option. Pay to have your car hauled, rent a truck and tow your trailer.

That's a good suggestion. So, I could find a truck to rent that allows towing and send my car out separately.

[DownTheAvenue]

To all the U-Haul suggestions: U-Haul will not allow you to pull any trailer with any of their vehicles except their own trailers. So......the U-Haul option is off the table.

[Trackrig]

Before getting too excited about the U-Haul truck, call them. It's probably still you're cheapest way to go, but here, on top of the daily fee, they charge $0.59 per mile and a $1.00 per day environmental fee. I didn't look up how far it is from Florida to Washington, but let's use 3,000 miles times $0.59 makes it $1,770, plus fuel.

Rather than flying back it get your car, maybe you could rent a van, put the car inside, pack some household goods around it, hook up the RV and make it all in one trip.

Someone reported earlier that U-Haul will only allow you to tow trailers with surge brakes because they don't have electronic brake controllers on their trucks. That may be the case and then it's up to you to decide what you want to do.

Bill

[carringb]

Also... how long has it been since your trailer was last moved? Be sure its roadworthy before taking such a long trip. Wheel bearing service and tire age/condition are two things I would definitely check into before the trip.

[carringb]

Farmer Jane wrote:

Never thought of renting a truck to tow and for sure didn't realize that it's possible to transport a vehicle in a rental truck. Seems like that would be a lot of weight, but I guess there are trucks with plenty of hp to do the job.

U-Haul trucks 14' or larger have at least 6,000 pounds payload, except the 20' which is rated for hauling 5,600 pounds. Move up to a Penske truck and you can haul 12,000 pounds or more inside. Just don't try to build your own ramps to load the car. A transfer fee should cost $70 or less at each end. Plenty of fail videos on you tube of folks trying to load their cars themselves.

[donn0128]

Another option. Pay to have your car hauled, rent a truck and tow your trailer.

[Farmer_Jane]

carringb wrote:

Tom/Barb wrote:

I'd simply drive my car up, fly back, rent a "U-Haul van and tow the trailer up. U-Haul vans are $29.00 per day its a 4-5 day trip.

OR

***Link Removed***

Another alternative: Rent a truck with enough payload for your car, then pay a towing service to do a "load-transfer". Basically, they'll use a roll-back truck to load your car into the U-haul. You'd have to buy your own tie-down straps, with the rear straps going under the door to the bumper. And they need to be vehicle transport straps, not home depot ratchet straps. Then, you can tow the trailer with the U-haul. All of the newer 14'-20' U-hauls have 2" hitch receivers and 7-way wiring.

Never thought of renting a truck to tow and for sure didn't realize that it's possible to transport a vehicle in a rental truck. Seems like that would be a lot of weight, but I guess there are trucks with plenty of hp to do the job.

[Farmer_Jane]

westend wrote:
Cheapest is to rent a truck and pull it yourself. You can hire it out to be delivered but it will be costly. Contact RV dealers in your area for pricing.

What do you plan to do with the trailer once you are in WA?

I will use it to live in for at least a few months maybe more.