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Topic: Any inexpensive ideas of how to move RV gear across the country?  (Read 428 times) previous topic - next topic
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Any inexpensive ideas of how to move RV gear across the country?
I’m upgrading to a newer Lazy Daze.  Going from an 87 MP(multi-plan) w/roof sleeper to a 2003 t/k.  Problem is my old Lazy Daze and gear are out west in Washington State with me and my new to me 2003 t/k is in New Jersey.  I will be flying out to New Jersey, driving it home, and try to make a vacation out of it this spring, taking two weeks for the trip.  Has anyone found a cheap method of shipping/transporting gear across country?  Items like leveling ramps, water hoses, pots, pans, dishes, BBQ, air compressor, camping chair, etc.  I will probably take two duffel bags on the flight but that is not a lot of room.  Besides doing without some items does anyone have any shipping recommendations cheaper than buying additional gear.  I plan on selling the 87MP when I get the new to me Lazy Daze home. 

JohnF
87 MP(Multi-Plan) w/roof sleeper
2003 T/K
2003 TK
Re: Any inexpensive ideas of how to move RV gear across the country?
Reply #1 –
John, UPS Ground is a possibility, but if you are going to try to ship larger items, it can get expensive fast.  I know of no less expensive way to ship stuff.  You can probably ship non-breakable stuff (clothing, bedding, etc) via UPS in duffel bags.

If you are a trusting soul, and can find someone driving to NJ, perhaps through Craigslist, you may be able to arrange for them to carry stuff for you, for a fee, half up front, and half on their arrival.  Coordinating the timing would be a challenge, but what the heck - you might find some college kid graduating and moving their stuff home in a U-Haul.

Otherwise, skip the ramps and when you get to NJ go to Home Depot and buy a sheet of 3/4" plywood and have them cut it into 12" squares.  Those 32 squares should be good enough to manage leveling for two weeks.  I personally would skip the BBQ, get a cheap camping grill grid in NJ and use campground fire pits, I would leave the compressor and camp chair home, and I would ship the absolute minimum kitchen gear.  Think one pot, one pan, and cooking and eating utensils.  Paper plates work.  Buy one potable water hose.  By all means have a few basic tools such as a wrench or socket set, a few screwdrivers, a pair of channel lock pliers, a vice grip, a crescent wrench, and a tire pressure gauge or a tire pressure monitoring system.

When you take delivery, camp nearby for a night or two just to work all systems before heading west.  It will be easier to find parts while there than while traveling, in case you need something.

That would work for me.  Your needs may be different.

Ken F in NM
'08 MB
Re: Any inexpensive ideas of how to move RV gear across the country?
Reply #2 –
Go to a Goodwill thrift store or Habitat for humanity store.  Buy what you need cheap.
2004 26.5 MB
Enjoying retirement traveling, Rzr riding, photography, and of course the 2 grand girls!
Re: Any inexpensive ideas of how to move RV gear across the country?
Reply #3 –
Hello John.  You certainly have a conundrum on your hands and one that I've never had to experience.  My first suggestion is to simply determine the weight and potential "box" sizes for your stuff and then shop it around using something like Google to help find resources ... like this one ... Network Moving - Moving company . 

A second thought is finding a long haul trucking company and see if you can add your load to their load.  Many years ago, a friend of mine worked in the trucking industry coordinating trucking jobs for independent drivers.  It was a crazy business and that's a fact.  At any rate, this Forum has several retired Long Haul Truckers who might advise if this second thought has merit.  Perhaps they'll jump into this topic?

My third thought is to rent something big enough to haul your stuff, drive across county, while sleeping in the vehicle.  Now this third thought is straight out my personal history book when I was much, much younger.

Last suggestion is to inventory your current RV equipment and estimate it's valve.  Let's say the basic equipment has a valve of $500 - $750.   I'd compare the cost of replacement in NJ with the cost of shipping coast to coast.   I'd not be surprised if it's simply not worth the time, energy, or money especially if some of the current inventory isn't in good condition or is wearing out.

I'd also like to welcome you to the LD Owner's Forum.   Finally, best of luck with this project and especially on your "New to You" LD.

Re: Any inexpensive ideas of how to move RV gear across the country?
Reply #4 –
I picked up our new to us Mid Bath in California.  Not so different I guess than most here.  But we live in Washington DC.  It was also my first RV though I had done a lot of camping, mostly backpacking, before the purchase.  In my suit case I packed as though I was going on a backpacking trip.  The usual couple changes of clothes, a sleeping bag, MSR backpacking pot and measuring cup.  Different than backpacking I splurged for a paring knife and butcher knife both in a plastic sheath, and polycarbonate (Lexan?) table knife, fork and a (table) spoon, a MRE dinner and a couple of oat meal cups just in case I did not find time for a grocery store (remember I also had to learn to drive a RV.  I didn't want to venture into a LA suburb shopping center in the first hour of ownership to get groceries).  All the hard, bulky, pointy, and sharp items were in the checked baggage.  The bag I had with me was my camera bag filled Nikon, spare battery, 17-55 f 2.8, Sigma 120-300 f2.8, a change of undies, spare socks, and a weeks worth of meds.   The cloths and meds were just in case my baggage was lost.  Most of the stuff the RV needed (hoses and power cord came with the RV).  I figured if I really needed something else for the month trip home I could buy it on the way.   The seller family  (the wonderful wife) did me a huge favor and while shopping picked up bread meat, cheese, peanut butter, jelly canned soup, canned stew and some fresh fruit to the RV so I would not need to shop for a few days.
You are way ahead of me in that you already know how to RV.  I would just box up and store what you have in the old RV and leave it in storage for pickup later.  Maybe fedex some of it to the current owner.
Currently: 2008 36' Tiffin Open Road
Previously: 2007 Mid Bath
Re: Any inexpensive ideas of how to move RV gear across the country?
Reply #5 –
When I picked up my first RV in  Milwaukee at 0F I packed winter clothing and Zero degree sleeping bags for the wife and I plus my basic tool kit and multi meter.  We paid for and checked one extra suitcase.  We stayed in motels until the RV systems were proven to work, or not as the case was.  Purchased water, dry food, RV anti freeze and kitty litter(alternate for tire chains)for the drive home. When snow bound in Wyoming, we finally found and purchased tire chains ,to carry across the Sierras.  Needless to say it was an adventure! (Dead converter and coach battery and a failing fuel transfer pump.)
Rodney
1988 Mid Bath
Re: Any inexpensive ideas of how to move RV gear across the country?
Reply #6 –
Leave the, heavy, non-essentials home, such as the BBQ and air compressor at home, UPS the expensive stuff and rough it.
Walmart can provide the rest. 
Make sure your towing coverage is up to date and maybe have a mechanic check it out before hitting the road.
Few, if any mechanics know about the parking brake's oil reservoir, check it before departing .
Parking brake oil fill | Flickr
You could save a weeks vacation by driving straight across and reducing the sightseeing.

Larry

Larry
2003 23.5' Front Lounge, since new.  Previously 1983 22' Front Lounge.
Tow vehicles  2020 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon, 2001 Jeep Cherokee
Photo Collection: Lazy Daze
Re: Any inexpensive ideas of how to move RV gear across the country?
Reply #7 –
When we bought our RV in California, we also faced the same problem living in Maryland. We became certified SouthWest Airline shippers. A process that only involved some paper work, a background check, and a visit to our home address to make sure we were who we said we were. Southwest was considerably cheaper than UPS or Fed Ex if you used their 3 day shipping.
They will hold boxes at their shipping facility for a few days at the other end. Of course, you have to have access to SW serviced airports with a cargo division. It was very easy and they were very pleasant.

We used SW to ship out the lighter gear that we already owned that would sustain us on a 5 month adventure to Alaska. We bought the heavier items out West or bought them on Amazon and had them delivered to a friends house in California. Maybe You could get the sellers to agree receive packages from Amazon.

That how we handled it. We had looked into container shipping as well and found it to be too expensive as well.

Tom and Kristen[1]
1 ↵
2015 MB
Re: Any inexpensive ideas of how to move RV gear across the country?
Reply #8 –
Just a couple of things to think about.  Buy any tools you might need for the trip at Walmart.  Don't use them if possible.  Return to Walmart for a refund at your destination.  You can do the same thing with pots and pans you don't use.

Consider buying any clothes, sleeping bags, pillows, flashlights, and any items you want to keep at a retailer like LL Bean that will ship your purchases for free.  We used LL Bean to ship our new sleeping bags, towels, wash clothes and such to the Mothership when we bought our LD new.   Good Luck.
2011 MB
Re: Any inexpensive ideas of how to move RV gear across the country?
Reply #10 –
Seems to me that the most enjoyable way, perhaps no the least expensive is a one way rental from Enterprise Rent a Car. They have become out "towed" when we are on trips and want to spend a few days to explore a location! Ian, "Silver Fox"
27MB Seattle

Sent from Mail for Windows 10
2015 MB
Re: Any inexpensive ideas of how to move RV gear across the country?
Reply #11 –
Thank you for all your responses.   I’ve looked into most of the suggestions.   This is what I have found out.   Carrying a 3rd or more bag(s) onto the flight is $75/bag (50lb weight limit).  Shipping a package of about the same size via UPS or USPS starts at about $10 more than the 3rd bag on the flight and goes up depending on it weight.  Shipping via a carrier from the one I checked that did not require giving an e-mail address started at $100 more than the airline 3rd bag.   I looked into craigslist posting in possibly having someone already traveling to the New Jersey area transport it for me but there is no guarantee they will actually deliver it and not just disappear with my gear.    

I did think of something that no one had suggested and checked Amtrak (train) Express Shipping.  For $82.00 I can ship up to 100lbs of gear in 3ft x 3ft x 3ft (max size) boxes.  After the first 100lbs it is .80/lb.  There are two places in Washington state that I can drop off the packages at, Seattle (7:45am – 7:30pm) & Spokane (10pm-5am).   I plan to fly into Newark, NJ and there is the only Amtrak station in N.J. just a short drive from the airport.  It would take 5-7 days to ship.  When it arrives they would let me know and I would have 2 days to pick it up before they charge an additional $4.00 per box per day storage fee.  If I did ship via Amtrak it would require approx 5-6 hours of me driving round-trip plus gas to drop off the boxes from where I live.   I could drop off the boxes a week ahead of time so they would ideally be there waiting in N.J. when I fly in.  If I did that option I could ship lots of gear. 

Thank you again for all the responses.  I am leaning towards the Amtrak option.  After the trip I will repost and let you know how it went. 
2003 TK
Re: Any inexpensive ideas of how to move RV gear across the country?
Reply #12 –
Amtrak was a great option for me when I went from north Missouri to SoCal in December 2013.  I was allowed to check two full-sized suitcases with no weight restrictions at no charge  (bath linens, small tools--hammer/pliers/screwdrivers/etc., minimal plastic kitchen essentials + a multipurpose kitchen knife, non-perishable food to get me out of the SoCal driving & feeling comfortable enough as a newbie driver to get off the interstate/find a grocery, atlas, a few changes of clothes, etc.--I could have fit a hose/lynx blocs/etc. in--the previous owners included all of that plus more, (& when I got there, I found they were including bedding/towels/paper plates/etc.).   Amtrak also allowed two free carryon bags so the laptop & general essentials (including yogurt/fruit/cheese & crackers/etc.) went in a big backpack; other non-immediate essentials went in an expandable rolling airline overhead bag.  I didn't get a sleeping berth--the seats were much more comfortable w/ more legroom than on planes--& the sleeping bag/pillow/blanket rigged to the backpack didn't count against the carryon allowance.

 Friends from church took me the two hours into the station in Kansas City (just as easy as getting to the KC airport), so no mult-day parking charges, & two days/two nights on Amtrak  was way cheaper/more comfortable than flying, faster/less stressful/cheaper than renting a car to get me & stuff to SoCal, and I had marvelously large windows to see the countryside. 

Have a great trip & congratulations on your new-to-you baby.

Lynne
Lynne
LDy Lulubelle, Green '05 31' TB
Lilly, the 4-Legged Alarm
 
Re: Any inexpensive ideas of how to move RV gear across the country?
Reply #13 –
The mention of Amtrak reminded me my sister shipped a lot of boxed, household items on Greyhound a few years ago. Reasonable as I recall.
Bill
2003 -- 23' FL