Trucking

[rebeccmeister]

Also, returned the rental truck. It's a relief to not be responsible for it anymore. I drove fewer than the total number of miles provided in the truck rental, so no additional mileage fees (1146 miles driven). It was hard to get it into the driveway at the new house. I would have liked to have backed it in, but I parked it at 3 in the morning and was tired enough that I didn't want to do anything fancy to get it parked. After that, well, let's just say I did not relish the thought of trying to re-park it. Parking giant vehicles is the worst part of driving them, and I had to park that truck too many times already in the course of trying and failing to find places to park it.

Next time, I will rent a 10-foot truck. The 16-foot truck was too large, and I'd expect at least a bit better gas mileage from a smaller truck. I'll look into pricing for Uhaul and Penske as well, just to see what the options are. The truck I rented was on a van chassis, which was also kind of terrifying.

I did manage to unload everything from the truck by myself. I am going to stick with a personal rule-of-thumb for the near future, that if I purchase anything, it should be small enough that I can lift it by myself. Things that are next on the acquisition list: 2 doors (or equivalent), one for a desk and one for a table. Another 2-drawer filing cabinet (second half of the desk). More Gorms or other similar shelving units.

So, the total cost for renting the truck was: $838.24 (base rate: $457.28 plus insurance - limited damage waiver, supplemental liability insurance, roadside safety net [I don't recommend this, I don't think, thought it was only $30], personal accident and cargo insurance, and taxes). I filled it with 109.231 gallons of gas, spending $367.28 total on fuel (that's 10.5 mpg, higher than Budget advertised, actually). So the total cost for getting me and all of my worldly belongings to Texas was $1205.52. Oh, plus that $67.12 sleep stop at the Super8 Motel in Van Horn. I did not eat out at all the entire drive over - peanut butter, banana and honey sandwiches, grapefruit juice, pita chips, and a couple of avocado/cheese/tomato sandwiches held me over pretty darned well.

Comments

[elmocho.livejournal.com]

Oh, plus that $67.12 sleep stop at the Super8 Motel in Van Horn.

But the cost to your soul will be far more...

(I am convinced that Van Horn and Sierra Blanca only still exist because they are at a logical stopping point assuming someone leaves Phoenix at dawn and drives at a certain MPH, they will arrive there. Last time, I made it as far as Ozona or so, just because I didn't want to end up in Van Horn.)

[rebeccmeister.livejournal.com]

You know, that was the first time in my life that I have ever been grateful for a motel and feel like I got my money's worth!

If it weren't for the giant moving van, I would have found a place to camp instead. :-)

And you could very well be right about Van Horn and Sierra Blanca. I got to Sierra Blanca, though, and decided I should keep going...

[elmocho.livejournal.com]

On one trip we decided to do Van Horn the second time, because Sierra Blanca looked sort of sketchy. I think I ended up in Van Horn in one crazy blitz home one Thanksgiving.

My Uncle is a fairly avid cyclist-- or was, he's had health problems-- and lives about 60 miles north of Austin. He may have some suggestions about different groups, if you're interested.

(I finally got the Paramount he bought for me up and running, now I just have to find my helmet again.)

[annikusrex.livejournal.com]

Epic move! At least the terrifying part is over--now you just have to deal with the low-grade stress of looking for friends. My move is going sort of in slow motion, since my furniture is being delivered by a truck that is who knows where at this point. My bike gets here tomorrow. My stand mixer gets here Friday (don't ask!). Also: I read this article that you might find amusing and/or terrifying--about Rick Perry as the ultimate Aggie: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203405504576600741483085196.html.

[rebeccmeister.livejournal.com]

Ugh, it's the low-grade stress of looking for friends, PLUS the stress of figuring out my finances. The move definitely drained whatever existed of my wallet, and THEN I found out that my health insurance benefits don't kick in until February. So I think I'm going to have to add looking for a roommate to the list of things to do...