So I'm Going To Drive Across The Country By Myself And I'm Going To Die

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

Am too.

On Thursday, I’m driving a 12-foot moving truck from Tucson, Arizona, to Asheville, NC. I have been wanting to move back east for a while now, and even made a couple of threads about it which I can’t be arsed to link to right now. Now it’s finally happening, and I am scared shitless. I’m scared shitless about moving there in general- even though I have lived there before, know the area, and have family there- but I’m even more scared shitless about driving across the country.

I have an atlas, and a brand new, lovely GPS. The moving truck supposedly “drives like a van” according to Penske’s website. (Did you know Penske can be way cheaper than UHaul?) I’m fairly intelligent, and, if I do say so myself, an excellent driver. But I’m still going to die, I just know it, or at least, my nervous system knows it and is constantly trying to convince my brain.

Does anybody want to buy an airplane ticket for themselves to come to Tucson on Thursday to help me drive out there? ::crickets chirping:: No? Okay, then, do you have any advice, encouragement, “You’re a dumbass” opinions to share?

I’m scared.

2

OK, first question: do you have a specific arrival date/time? If so, how flexible is it? If your date/time is flexible, you may be able to soothe yourself with the idea of being able to take a break whenever you need one!

Second question: do you have adequate entertainment? If the vehicle you’re driving doesn’t have CD capabilities, you may want your mp3 player, so you can have music (that you like!), audio books, etc.

Third question: are you planning on bringing some munchies? Drinks? A cooler? You should. For one thing, if you’re feeling road-weary (not necessarily tired or sleepy, just freakin’ tired of driving), having something to chew on can help. Munchies and beverages are a necessity because some places, you may not be able to get anything, or at least anything you want.

Best of luck!

3

Keep south of the current snow storm and you should be fine. Take frequent breaks. Don’t try to drive too many miles in one day. Don’t pick up hitchhikers.

4

Thanks!

I don’t have a specific arrival date, so I can take my time, and I plan on it. I get really nervous in heavy traffic, especially in an unfamiliar/difficult to navigate vehicle, so I plan on being very slow. My 12 year-old son will be with me, so I guess I won’t really be by myself, but his driving really sucks so technically I’ll be alone but with a whole 'nother life hanging by a thread, too. Yay!

Snacks- yes, I will have to bring a cooler. I know some of those stretches, especially in godforsaken areas of Texas, which itself takes what, like 2 DAYS to get through?? can be very isolated. Yep, going to die.

5

I’ve been trying to weigh the dangers of driving by myself all that way vs the dangers of being axe-murdered by a hitchhiker. :stuck_out_tongue:

6

I got some great advice in this thread. ETA: When you’re in Texas, keep your eyes peeled for anywhere that sells fried pies. ::lip-smacking smiley::

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Relax a bit, not that big a deal. With the atlas and GPS you’ll have maybe a dozen turns in the whole trip other than gas, rest, and food stops.

Drives like a car? No, but not a big difference. The van will respond slower in every phase of driving - acceleration, braking, turning - so allow for it. Don’t follow too close, leave about double what you would in a car. You will not outdrag too many vehicles so chose discretion instead of valor. When the exit ramp says 25mph, they are talking to you even though you could do 40 in a car.

Take plenty of breaks. It’s a multi-day trip. Don’t sweat small delays or if your average speed isn’t great.

AND, and, park further away from the stores, rest stops, buildings. Make it so you don’t have to back up or maneuver between vehicles. Check vehicle height for any drive-thrus.

8

Good on ya for going with Penske instead of U-Haul. We used Penske for our cross-country move even though for us it was actually more expensive than U-Haul, but it was worth every penny. Penske’s reservation system actually works, unlike U-Haul’s “Your reserved truck will be available two days from now in a different city” system.

Anyway.

I recommend that you have plenty of good music to listen to, or even better (well, if you like this sort of thing), books on tape. There are vast swaths of this country in which there isn’t much to listen to on the radio. I also recommend that if possible you make some sightseeing stops. It’ll make the trip more fun and will help break up the driving quite a bit. And don’t be afraid to knock off early for the day and spend your evening watching cable TV in a motel room. That’s one of the joys of not being on a tight schedule.

Good luck!

9

The sun is riz
The sun is set
And we are still
In Texas yet

In some of those “God forsaken” areas of Texas, stop at night (if the sky is clear) and be amazed that the stars you can see.

You will need to check the weather and probably plan on taking a more southern route. Nashville has high temps around 40 and lows in the upper 20’s with rain and snow showers later this week.

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I read the whole thing- lots of good advice, and I’m glad you didn’t die (like I’m going to).

11

You’re not gonna die!

I assume you’ll be taking 40E for a bit of the way, it’s an easy road and even at this time of the year it’s pretty good driving.

I’ve driven between Ohio and Las Vegas a couple of times by myself (well, with a cat!) and it’s not as bad as you might think. I was only 22 when I did it the first time!

Glad you’re taking a cooler. I always had a bigger one in the back seat for drinks and I had a pretty small one in the front seat for snacks. I would always get a really small ham or turkey breast and bake it the day before I’d leave and then cube it up along with cubes of cheese and put it in my cooler for munching. I’d also cut up fruits and veggies to crunch along the way. With all of that stuff you can pass right by fast food.

Avoid roadside rests. IMHO they’re creepy! McDonald’s has the cleanest restrooms by far so if you have to go I’d suggest looking for signs for one. If not, the bigger gas stations (where they sell snacks and stuff) usually have good restrooms, too. Don’t forget about truck stops, people there are generally super friendly and helpful.

Do you have AAA in case you have road trouble? Make sure you keep the number for Penske’s road people handy in case you have any trouble with the truck.

Do you have a smartphone? I only ask because there are a lot of applications to help with travel.

Do you have a preferred hotel/motel chain? If so you might visit their website to get ideas of where they’re located on your way. I don’t know if you have a pet but Motel 6 allows pets to stay and they’ve honestly made great improvements to their chain IMHO and are usually clean and safe. If I had no particular arrival date/time in mind I would always just wait until I started to feel like I wanted to stop and then look at what locations were upcoming and call them from the road to secure a room. Make sure you take anything that you wouldn’t want to replace with you into the room at night.

Do you have a handsfree set for your phone?

Make a point to avoid big cities during their rush hour times. Oh man, I hit the bridge at St Louis during rush hour once and it suuuuu uuuu uuuucked. A couple of major highways merge there at the Mississippi River and the outerbelt and then for extra fun that’s right where they put the St Louis Arch for all the rubberneckers to look at while everyone’s trying to merge.

It really will do you a world of good to stop and stretch your legs every few hours. Make your son get out too and do it. It also helps to make your eyes focus on different things when you’re taking those breaks. Look at something up close and then really far away. Do it over and over again to “stretch” your eyes too.

Medications you guys normally take? Keep that in your bag you keep with you in the cab of the truck. Make sure you have something for headaches. I always travel with Benadryl because I’m paranoid, but that’s obviously optional.

If you’re feeling especially nervous you might fall in behind a truck driver. Most of them really are angels of the road and look out for people. So if you would happen to have vehicle trouble (unlikely!) don’t be afraid to flag them down.

Audio books are awesome. If not, music music music. You can’t rely on radio stations because some of them suck and there are stretches where there isn’t much out there.

Sorry for rambling, just thinking out loud.

YOU CAN DO IT

12

Ya know, if you decide to pick up any hitchhikers (like for example, a cute young Hispanic guy in NM), you can always just make them do some driving for a while. Hard to murder someone with an axe if you’re trying to drive.

13

And you know this… how? :stuck_out_tongue:

14

Done it many, many times before there was such a thing as the Internet or GPS for consumers, before some of the interstate highways were even completed. Piece of cake. Don’t sweat it.

15

Just in case you don’t die, think of how beautiful the mountains of Asheville will be when you get there. Hopefully alive. Gorgeous area. Best of luck!

16

You’re literally going to be Ellen Burstyn! You can content yourself the whole way with saying “Alice doesn’t live here anymore.” :stuck_out_tongue: No advice though, just good luck wishes!!

17

Good luck! I rented a small moving truck a few months ago and drove it all by myself from Toronto to Bancroft. To say that I was nervous is an understatement. But I did it! Successfully completing the job made me feel worlds better. Just keep thinking how good you will feel when you take the truck to the dropoff and it’s all done.

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12 footer? 50% of the pickup trucks around here are bigger than that.

Yes, it will drive fine, after the first hour or so you will forget about thinking it is hard to drive.

Be careful backing up. Park where you won’t have to. Have a good lock on the door. Know how to downshift going both up and down steep hills. Stay to the interstates if you feel like you might get lost.

Every 20 miles or so will be an exit with every fast food place known to man. What kills you might not be what you are concerned about right now.

19

The trickiest thing for the first four hours will be trying to look in the rearview mirror above the dashboard. There isn’t one. Once you get over that, you’ll be fine.

20

Try to look at it through his eyes: For him, getting to ride up front in a big truck is probably pretty cool. And the possibility of dying horribly, if he’s considered it at all, is probably a plus for him.