2,642 Mile One-Way Road Trip!

[Vindingo]

I have taken 4 road trips across the country over the last 5 years.  2 of them have been 4 day Ca to NJ runs.  It starts to get hard on the 4th day IMO.  Doing the trip in 5 days 8hrs a day shouldn't be too bad.  The only problem is that 8hrs of driving is really a 10-12 hour day when you figure in random stops, gas, food, pee breaks*, naps       

*Since you are driving solo, keep your empty bottles in the car. 

Hydroxycut (berry flavor that you mix into water) was my savior.  It is like speed and will keep you awake and attentive.  It does make you have to piss like crazy. 

Good luck with the trip!

[il d00d]

Congrats to the wife on the new job, you on an extended riding season   

Just one specific recommendation:  Harry Potter books on tape.  Here's the part where I go "No, really..."
I haven't read any of the books with my eyes and I am not an especially big fan of tween fantasy as a genre.  But, on a 10-hour death march drive to El Paso from Houston, we listened to the last couple books and the miles evaporated.  Be sure to get the US version narrated by Jim Dale - the guy's amazing.

Other ideas:  check out the world's largest ball of twine.  All four of them. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biggest_ball_of_twine

If you are cinematically inclined, maybe video the road trip, reflect on your life change, make a video for the friends back home.  So, maybe you get footage of you crying at all four world's largest balls I twine, I dunno.  Or, maybe you get footage of "fetishes" (ask for five  - "five assorted fetishes, please") for the education/amusement of your fellow board members.  In any case best of luck on the adjustment and be safe on the drive.

[DoubleEagle]

You will get home sick.

How to deal w, it...I'm not sure.

Riding will probably help.

If you can hook up w, someone from the Forum to show you some good rides that would be nice.

May be take route 66 instead of the Interstate through some of the Western States.

Course I don't know if you are taking the Northern , middle or Southern route.

Don't forget Map Quest.

Good luck and let us hear about your journey.

Dolph     

[IZ]

Yes, what route are you taking?  What size truck also..12', 16' 25'?  IIRC..in my MANY moves and comparing all the rental companies..I've had the best luck with Penske.  Get on that right away too for competitive pricing if you haven't already!  Try to get quotes from each one and play them against each other for the best deal.  If you have a car to tow..put it up on a flat bed trailer.  It's a PITA to drive for the first couple hours but after that..you won't even know it's there.  

Going back to FL (GA) from WA..I took:
90-Spokane, Missoula, Billings, Rapid City, Souix Falls
29-Omaha, Kansas City
70-St. Louis
64
57
24-Nashville, Chattanooga
75 to Atlanta.  

It's a relatively flat, boring trip but makes good driving when you're in a moving truck.  The gorge was the only time consuming part (seems like it took forever to drive out of it) and when I drove out of the way to see Mt. Rushmore.  Had to go though!              

As for the aforementioned..I would NOT suggest Route 66..my old street address in Flagstaff btw.     That would be a long azz drive out of the way from the PNW!  If you're driving anywhere between CA/AZ up to IL/MI..it can be cool!  I've driven it many times.  
I don't think he has a month to make this trip DoubleE?!

*Disregard a few of my questions/comments.  I just reread the OP.  Looks like you already have a U-Haul for this weekend.

Best of luck with the move GH!!

[LMT]

Rent a Penske moving truck, stay away from U-haul.  The Penske place is on first, just past the Starbucks HQ.

They are all new and clean.

[sno_duc]

If possible get a diesel truck. The fuel mileage difference (diesel vs gasoline) will cut your costs.
Ever seen a gasoline powered 18 wheeler??

Might consider a GPS, both for the move and to help you get around your new hometown.

[badgalbetty]

I drove truck for many years...........you say you will be doing this in summer when its gonna be hot. Drive at night. Cooler, less traffic . Avoid eating crappy food and drink as much water as possible. IF YOU GET TIRED ----S T O P ----- get out take a break. walk around your vehicle every couple of hours check the tires. they heat up and can blow out. That is also a good way to take a break from the road. Drive with one window slightly open as there will be fumes in the cab , all trucks no matter what have exhaust leaks and a bit of the old fresh air will keep you alert. Do not take any meds to keep you awake at all. Take your camera as you will see many cool things along the way.Document your trip with a blog....Make it fun, and interesting, hit places along the way you have always wanted to see ,even if its a bit out of your way as this may be your only chance.
Make sure you have all of your paperwork with you at all times. Lock the back of the truck with a master padlock that has the ring protected so it cannot be sawn through. When you park for sleep see if you can park with the back of the truck an inch away from a wall,makes it impossible for someone to get into the back door and steal your stuff.
so recap.
===S T O P   I F   T I R E D===
      Plenty of water
      Documents
      Night drives
      Check tires every couple of hours
      Be safe
      No Narcotics
      Enjoy your trip.

[Goat_Herder]

Awesome inputs, guys.  I really appreciate it.  IZ, I think that's the same route I am going with.  Might be boring and flat.  but with a truck and trailer, that's what I would prefer. 

I will make sure I get myself situated, as you all have suggested - entertainment, hydrations (I prefer juice and moutain dew), open window/fresh air, frequent pit stop to stretch out legs, etc.  If I break up the 8 hr day into managable pieces with lunch and potty breaks in between, it's really not that bad...  although by day 3-4, cabin fever might set in.

DoubleE, I think you are right...  I will be more home sick than I would ever imagine, after being in one place for so long...

[CairnsDuc]

The wife and I did a trip to move from the Top of Australia to the very bottom of Australia. Cairns in North Queensland to Tasmania about 4000k's including an overnight ferry ride to get to Tasmania. I broke the drive up into about 9 hours of driving each day, 5 days on the Road in a tiny little Hyundai Getz loaded to the gills with stuff! You would get a few odd looks when cruising through outback Australia in a tiny little Korean buzz box passing huge Sedans and Trucks all doing the Highway grind.  

The thing that saved my Sanity was my iPod Touch, I loaded that up with lots of music Podcasts that I downloaded (Trance around the world from Above and Beyond, Tiesto's Club life) the best part is they are free, and I have about 20 hours worth of music that cost me nothing, I also loaded on some old favorites like Pink Floyd and a random collection of favorites from my Playlist. I kept a back up MP3 player I got from Sony, that was loaded with some Comedy Podcasts, (120 of them at about 45 minutes each)
so pretty much whatever my listening mood was, I had something to listen to, but listening to the comedy stuff was probably the best thing to burn up the time.

But the iPod touch came in Handy as every time I reached a stopping point for the night I would pop into a local Mcdonalds, buy a hot chocolate and use the free WiFi, send a quick Email to Family and friends giving them an update on how the trip was going, and how much of a shock it was to go from the high heat and humidity of the Tropics to the freezing cold in central Australia (I traveled at the end of Winter) and the even colder climate in Tasmania! I had never seen -2(C) in my life. and now I was going to be living in it!

The wife came down about 2 weeks after I did, I had so much fun doing that drive, I was ready to hop on a Plane, fly back to Cairns and drive down again. I had a blast! She hated every second of it, and she had the better car! a new Toyota Corolla sedan.

I also carried a small box of Bits and pieces, Chargers for Mobile Phone, iPod, Sat Nav, a map in case the Sat Nav pooped itself, chewing gum, a couple of big bottles of water, spare Oil for the car, assorted Tools. and each night when I stopped everything got charged and the Car got a good going over to make sure it was all going well.

But that trip was a blast, I would love to do it again!  

[sno_duc]

Somethings I missed.
Keep a roll of paper towels, scrubbing pad (bug guts), and a spray bottle of window cleaner in the cab with you.
If you keep the windshield, side windows, headlights (if driving after dark) and side mirrors spotless clean, it will add hours to how long you can drive before fatigue starts kicking in.
A small trash can with matching trash sacks is nice to have on the passenger side floor.
Nothing in your back pockets, a wallet distorts your spine enough that after a day or two your back will start aching before lunch.

[IZ]

Btw...don't worry about a map or navigation. You can drive across country using road signs easily.  I forgot to mention that the drive got me big time!  My feet were swollen like mad!  I had never experienced that on my drives from MI to AZ. Pay attention to that "nothing in your back pocket" advice. That really does help! Keep a pillow, shorts, hat and sweatshirt/jacket handy. An extra blanket as well. I always push it and end up sleeping in the truck. Partially cuz I'm in a hurry and also cuz I don't want anyone stealing my truck with everything I own. We had a truck break down on us here in Phoenix after our last move. Within 5 min, there was aleady someone trying to break in!  Be careful out there.  If you do happen to stay in truck, bring a sun visor and towels to block the sunrise for catching extra zzz's.

[MendoDave]

I have been doing some long trips lately. One of the things that helps me is a GPS on the trip. It ends up being something to do to help keep my mind occupied. It will show ETA, average speed, miles to destination and so on. Then you can do calculations on fuel mileage as you go, and I like to listen to NPR, especially Car talk.

Last fall, the wife and I did a trip from southern Oregon to Houston and back. We would take turn sleeping and driving which worked out really well.  So if you are going to drive a bare bones U haul or something try and get as much of that kind of stuff to keep your mind occupied as you can.

[Lor]

I also drove big trucks for a time and offer these suggestions.

If the option is available rent a diesel, pick up one of those hand held cb's, range isn't that great but better than nothing and has the potential to add to the entertainment factor.

If it's in the budget a quality wrap around blue tooth headset.

If you drive thru the night beware the witching hour, the hour just before and including twilight.

If a big truck flashes you over say thank you, throw the hazards on for a couple blinks.

Pay attention to the scales, some require rental trucks to enter some do not.

Stay away from an over abundance of sugar, sugar crash sucks, I favored sugar free red-bull and a 50/50 mix of coffee and hot chocolate.

When stopped be mindful of your surroundings.

Gatorade makes the best pee bottle. I would empty these whenever I stopped at a rest area.

A roll of quality toilet paper, one ply sand paper crap in rest areas and most truck stops suxxorz.

You might consider picking up a driver's reward card from say Pilot or T/A, depending on the size of the fuel tanks on the rental truck they typically give you a free shower with the purchase of 50 gallons.

You won't be traveling thru Texas, Florida, Virginia or Slohio so your good to there.

Be safe, keep us apprised of your adventure if you can. 

[wbeck257]

Where in Atlanta are you moving? The "metro-Atlanta" area covers about 7 counties.. and each side of town is very diferent.

-Anyways, it's hot. People from here don't call it hotlanta anymore, so please stop if you do.
-Traffic sucks. Don't buy a place off of 75 and work off 85 and think that you can use the perimeter. You can't.
-If your into the hippy lovefest, guys wearing girl jeans, and sad music Little 5 is the place for you. If that is too cool just head down to East Atlanta Village and get a little more trendy.
-If your gonna live in Kennesaw, buy a gun, it is the law.

There is more -- but it all depends on what side of town your looking to head towards...

[akmnstr]

I did a big move a year and half ago.  I'm still in culture shock.  I've spent some time in Atlanta and it is a cool (hot in temp) town.  The new South.  Much of our culture comes from the south.  Most, if not all, forms of American music originated in the south (Blues, Country, Rock and Roll, Jazz).  There is long list of great southern writers too.  So you have much to look forward to in your new home.

But as you know the best coffee and beer in the country come from Seattle .  So bring a huge supply of both and before you leave establish a system of resupply for both.  You can adapt to the new culture, but you can't be expected to give up life's essentials.