Driving from San Diego, CA to Madison, ME

Jesse Moody · Apr 2007

So it looks like my family and I are heading out late Monday afternoon or early Tuesday morning to drive from San Diego, CA to Madison, Maine. It's a little over 3200 miles total and should be loads of fun. As long as our car doesn't blow up and all kinds of other factors.

So yeah this move made sense and I have mentioned it to a few people on here already but since I'm doing the freelance thing and it's going really well it will be nice to get the cheap living and get away from the huge city and over crowded areas that I have grown custom to in San Diego over the past 7 years.

So I'll see you guys online and talk to you all soon.

Malekyth · Apr 2007

Whoa! We're moving from San Francisco to the Boston 'burbs next weekend, for merely 3100 miles depending on the weather and possible evasive re-routing. We're leaving the big city for relatively cheap living too ... it's a very compelling argument for migrating east.

Good luck with the drive and the new start! It sounds goood.

bearkub · Apr 2007

But Mal....you just GOT to San Fran! STAY PUT. GEEZ. =]

Good luck with the trip Jesse. Wave when/if you pass through Indiana. ;]

animatr · Apr 2007

make sure you get a check up and oil change before you go. you'll need another one when you get back too

i drove from indiana to seattle. not quite as big of a trip, around 2400 miles, but god damn it was a long one.
good luck!

notman · Apr 2007

Good luck to both of you on your moves.

Ryno · Apr 2007

Yeah, oil changes are good, and pulling a trailer over the Rockies is a pain in the ass. (Averaged 11 miles an hour in my little pickup over that stretch.) Also, if you're pulling a trailer using your own car, get your brakes checked out as well.

Have fun, and keep a camera at hand to get the whacky road photos.

Jesse Moody · Apr 2007

thanks everyone. yeah we are going the southern route through arizona, new mexico, texas and up through oklahoma and whatever else gets in our way. Me and the wife will be swapping out driving and just gonna get there as fast as possible.

We just had our brakes checked, oil changed, tires rotated and balanced, fluids topped off and everything looked at. Should be good to go.

cochtl · Apr 2007

yes, pulling a trailer thru the rockies or any other elevation is not fun. i drove from fairfax, va to irvine, ca all by my lonesome (the woman and the cat were spectators to that particular ordeal) and while it was nice to see so much of the continental united states, i doubt i'd do it again. it will be very nice and scenic, on that i can promise

oh and truckers are my heroes

get a CB radio and listen to the bear reports!

Jesse Moody · Apr 2007

Get this before we even leave San Diego my starter burnt itself up like a monk in protest so after $260 spent on that I was a little pissed but it was better than it happening while on the road.

Anyways i got my trailer all filled up with my stuff and tossed out all the crap i didn't want to bring with me. The wife, our son and I will be heading out tomorrow afternoon on the 8 East into Arizona and then up towards Flagstaff and then on to New Mexico.

Hopefully we can make it pretty close to Texas and chill for the night then on through Oklahoma and start heading North-East towards St. Louis.

Good times ahead I'm sure and my digital camera is ready for the trip. Should get some cool photos and some good reference stuff for my collection.

Lee3dee · Apr 2007

if your swinging thru NJ on rt 95, let me know

or anywhere old bridge/sayrville area.

Josh_Singh · Apr 2007

Good Luck!
Dude, my advice would be, Don't push yourself too hard. I have made this drive twice. The first time me and my brother tried to marathon it like you are planning and I was seriously losing my mind due to sleep deprivation. I would suggest since it's just you and your wife, take it in 10 hour days. you drive five hours and she drives five hours. Start your day out early driving at night/early morning seems to go by quicker. And here is the important bit, once you have driven your goal amount of hours/miles DONT DRIVE ANYMORE!!! Check into a hotel with a jacuzzi around lunchtime and unwind, go to bed at like 6 and wake up at 2a.m. and do it again.
Me and my wife did this exact thing and we made it across the country with two whiny kids and our brains intact.

Jesse Moody · Apr 2007

OK GET THIS. My life couldn't get better. About 40 miles into our trip our cars clutch goes out! So...

Cost of flatbed for Pathfinder and Uhaul trailer. $215.00

Cost to fix destroyed clutch, sensor, and fork. $835.00

Hotel for night because car will need to stay overnight until done. $64.00

So yeah thats over $1,000 and I haven't even made it out of California yet. So to make things better I call Uhaul after finding out the trailer they gave me was too large for my car and that is probably what destroyed my clutch I tell them since this has happened I would like to return the trailer to the nearest location and pay for the days I had it. 2 days only mind you and get my money back. Close to $640 bucks. Oh no problem they tell me. So I get another call back today that says I have to return it to the location I rented it from which is an additional 1 hour or more away to get my refund or I will not get my money back. So yeah after they give me a trailer thats too big. Destroys my clutch and I have to pay a little over $1,000 they want me to hook this fucking thing back up to my car and drive it back to them and even further than what I should be driving it.

Hmmm does anyone know if I have a decent case here to bother with a lawyer and try to get some of my money back? I mean this is a fair amount of money and it was there mistake and they said my car was capable of hauling this thing cross country.

So now we are having to put all of our stuff back into storage and drive without it to maine with whatever we can fit in the car and then in June I have to fly out here and ship everything or drive a Uhaul truck with all of our stuff.

God damn can I ever catch a break.

Striff · Apr 2007

That sucks dude.

At least you weren't out in the middle of nowhere when it happened....

notman · Apr 2007

Geez, that blows. I think the amount you talking about suing for is low enough to qualify for small claims, which wouldn't require a lawyer (and his fees). Problem is, you'd have to show up for court in CA, which will cost you a flight/drive. That's when you have to start balancing out how much the trouble is worth to you.

Personally, I won't use Uhaul anymore. The company gives out franchises with seemingly no requirements. Too many assholes run these things. What I've experienced with them:
*No vehicles available when calling one week ahead (at ANY locations)
*Reserving a vehicle, then having them tell me it wasn't available a day before I needed it.
*Finding one location that actually had a vehicle available... get there, sign the contract, then the guy starts telling me how tricky it is to shift it. Mind you they never mentioned it was a stick (They advertised automatics in every truck). Good thing I knew how to drive a stick.
*The vehicles I've ended up renting are always trashed. The 'protective' strips inside the cargo area are typically pulled loose. One time I had to take measures to make sure it wouldn't tear up my shit.

I'm not sure that anyone else is any better though

There is also Ryder or Budget (at least in my area).

Jesse Moody · Apr 2007

Yeah FUCK UHAUL. So I get my car fixed and it's good to go now. Huge hole in my wallet now. So today after getting my car back I had to rehook this trailer up to my car. Tow it back to my storage. Unload everything that we had just loaded up days before and then filled up our car with what we could bring and cram in. You know the essentials. LCD, Desktop PC, 360, laptop bag,cooler, kids toys, suitcases, etc. Drive the uhaul trailer 45 minutes to the uhaul location we got it from. Then they tell us they can't give us a refund because they don't have enough cash on hand and will mail us a check. No way I said. No fucking way. There is no fucking way I am leaving this town without my cash in hand. So the manager said he will have the cash for me in the morning at 10:00am since I have had so much trouble. Yeah no kidding. You stupid fuckers gave me the wrong size trailer and destroyed my car. Geez it's the least you could do to give me my gas money back.

So bad news and crap aside. The wife, kid and I went out to a nice dinner tonight. Picked up a few things we wanted and are relaxing in our hotel. I'm getting some work done as it is very needed to be done soon and they are relaxing.

So tomorrow after we get that money and gas up we are hitting the road yet again and heading East out of California.

Oh and here are some pictures of what our clutch looked like after they took it out. Hmmm that doesn't look normal.

Jesse Moody · Apr 2007

Ok here I go again. Heading out his morning. Should get to New Mexico by tonight or close to that. Find a hotel and finish up some of my contract work. Ahh life on the road Cage. Life on the road.

notman · Apr 2007

That pic is pretty blurry, but still obvious how fucked that clutch was. I'm surprised it had anything to move the car with. Hope the rest of the travel goes better than this.

Sinistar · Apr 2007

Wow, that sucks about all the problems with your car and Uhaul and stuff.. I hope it all works out for you in the end.

Wells · Apr 2007

You're not doing your Rock Squats, thats the problem!

I hail from Maine, a bit south of Madison, though. Beautiful place to live and cheap as hell. As long as you don't mind not having most of the hallmarks of civilization.

Good luck with the rest of your trip. Stop breaking your car and you'll get there a lot quicker

Jesse Moody · Apr 2007

Ok we are in Grants, New Mexico now. Wife wanted to stop and sleep for the night and I need to finish some work so sounded like a good idea. Driving cross country and working at the same time. Man you can't beat that. Sometimes I don't know what I'm thinking.

Jesse Moody · Apr 2007

Alright it was a nice weekend in Oklahoma with some of my old friends from the military. Back on the road today on the last half of the trip to Maine.

The3DGuy · Apr 2007

sure you didn't forget anything? might want to turn around and make sure. maybe you left the oven on?

Jesse Moody · Apr 2007

SO THIS TRIP IS AWESOME!! Today after getting on the road out of Oklahoma what decides to happen. Tons of Tornado watches like I'm riding in a fucking truck next to Bill Pullman in Twister, severe thunderstorms, rain so god damn heavy it was like sweat-soaked fat chicks were being launched from the heavens on to the road below, and truckers driving like wild god damn machines as featured in the movie Trucks (1997) based upon a short story by Stephen King.

Fuck I just want to get home to Maine already.

animatr · Apr 2007

sweet!!

Jesse Moody · Apr 2007

Ok good weather today and I am only 17 hours away from home now. Good ole Terre Haute, Indiana. Anyone know what is around here? So yeah tomorrow we will be hitting the open road again on through Indianapolis and on through Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York and up the rest of the east coast.

Ahh I can almost see my house...

animatr · Apr 2007

i hate Indiana. it's where Im from.
there should be a large college town around there with lots of little french cafes and what not. nothing special though.

Malekyth · Apr 2007

Wasn't it Indiana that has Wi-Fi at every travel plaza along I-80? Might be Ohio. My girl and I arrived in Boston a couple days ago, not nearly as eventful a drive as you're having, Jesse ... flat-out boring, in fact.

Slum · Apr 2007

Bearkub lives in Indianapolis. Stop by and punch him in the kidney for me.

Grey · Apr 2007

Ooooo goddamn Jessie. Sounds like quite the adventure, what a horrible start. I'll be driving across the country in a couple of weeks also....reeeeeaaaaaallly hope my trip doesnt start like yours.

Jesse Moody · Apr 2007

Ahh taking a rest in Syracuse, New York. Not a bad area. Finishing up some work thats due today and driving the rest of the way tomorrow.

Jesse Moody · Apr 2007

Finally! Without any other problems we have made it to our final destination. Now to rest for the night and tomorrow and get a shit ton of work done and get back to a normal life. THANK GOD....

Driving from San Diego, CA to Madison, ME

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