Vehicle shipping (SF to PHX, for Overland Expo West)

[Tom K]

Does anyone have a vehicle shipping vendor / service in CA they'd recommend?

I'm planning to go down to Overland Expo but I'm not sure I can drive down there and back, and take that many days off work. I had been considering paying to have my rig trucked to a friend's house in Phoenix.

Has anyone done something like this and if so, what vendor did you use and would you recommend them?

It seems like the average quote on uShip runs around $700... I'm figuring it will also save me ~$200 in gas so net cost is like $500.

 

[Graeman]

That seems high to me, I used to be a transporter with Uship and you should be looking at about $0.75 to $0.80 per mile. Which is what I charged. (DOT legal and insured).

 

[Graeman]

For that price you could fly me out to drive your truck to Phx and save even more money... 1 way ticket (Phx to SF), food and fuel.

 

[mep1811]

Fly and rent a car

 

[Tom K]

For that price you could fly me out to drive your truck to Phx and save even more money... 1 way ticket (Phx to SF), food and fuel.

Might work, let me think about it and PM you. Also ok if you want to PM me a quote.

Fly and rent a car

I'm camping at the expo, so I'd need to get the gear down there & half the point of going to the expo is bringing your rig, especially if you're taking the classes. Plus I'd like to hit the Grand Canyon on the way back, if I can.

 

[The other Sean]

Does anyone have a vehicle shipping vendor / service in CA they'd recommend?

I'm planning to go down to Overland Expo but I'm not sure I can drive down there and back, and take that many days off work. I had been considering paying to have my rig trucked to a friend's house in Phoenix.

Has anyone done something like this and if so, what vendor did you use and would you recommend them?

It seems like the average quote on uShip runs around $700... I'm figuring it will also save me ~$200 in gas so net cost is like $500.

You forgot to add in your plane ticket cost. Not to mention 1/4 to 1/2 of a day is used up in the process of flying, even a short distance.

Google maps says 11ish hours of driving. Easily done in 1ish days.

#1, Figure out your halfway point and a spot to stop/sleep a few hours.
#2, Be 100% packed the day before.
#3, Bail out of work 1-2 hours early, hit the road ASAP, Drive "halfway" which is 5-6 hours.
#4, stop, sleep for a few hours.
#5, Wake up, hit the road, cover the last 5-6 hours and you are there.

 

[Graeman]

You forgot to add in your plane ticket cost. Not to mention 1/4 to 1/2 of a day is used up in the process of flying, even a short distance.

Google maps says 11ish hours of driving. Easily done in 1ish days.

#1, Figure out your halfway point and a spot to stop/sleep a few hours.
#2, Be 100% packed the day before.
#3, Bail out of work 1-2 hours early, hit the road ASAP, Drive "halfway" which is 5-6 hours.
#4, stop, sleep for a few hours.
#5, Wake up, hit the road, cover the last 5-6 hours and you are there.

Shizzy has never lived in Ca before. Lol City traffic in the bay area is brutal. It will be 3 hrs before he even makes it to the I-5 and heading south.

 

[Tom K]

You forgot to add in your plane ticket cost. Not to mention 1/4 to 1/2 of a day is used up in the process of flying, even a short distance.

Google maps says 11ish hours of driving. Easily done in 1ish days.

#1, Figure out your halfway point and a spot to stop/sleep a few hours.
#2, Be 100% packed the day before.
#3, Bail out of work 1-2 hours early, hit the road ASAP, Drive "halfway" which is 5-6 hours.
#4, stop, sleep for a few hours.
#5, Wake up, hit the road, cover the last 5-6 hours and you are there.

Flight time SFO to PHX is two hours, and I can leave for the airport less than an hour before departure. So I'd be in PHX in less than three, for almost no dollars since I'd use points. And I could fly the Friday morning of the expo.

I did what you describe last weekend for the Mojave run, it's possible but it meant I had to leave mid day from SF (losing a half day of work $$ for both me and my gf), drive eight hours to Barstow (traffic), stay in a hotel ($$) and then drive two more the next morning. Flagstaff is much further, so I'm studying my alternatives.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[The other Sean]

Shizzy has never lived in Ca before. Lol City traffic in the bay area is brutal. It will be 3 hrs before he even makes it to the I-5 and heading south.

I've been in and around L.A. many times. I've seen worse traffic in Minneapolis and Chicago.

To the O.P. are you also factoring in the travel time of your rig? How many days will it take a trucking company to get it there?

 

[Graeman]

If he goes with a DOT commercial driver it will take 2 days. They are not authorized to drive for more than 11 hrs in a day, unless it is a team driver truck and in California they will be driving at the 55mph speed limit.

 

[Tom K]

I've been in and around L.A. many times. I've seen worse traffic in Minneapolis and Chicago.

To the O.P. are you also factoring in the travel time of your rig? How many days will it take a trucking company to get it there?

I don't know how bad Chicago traffic, but SF / LA generally get rated the worst two cities in the country for traffic. Last year for Off the Grid I tried to drive to Shaver Lake from work (a "four hour drive") at 2PM and it took me three hours just to get past San Jose and out of the "Bay Area" (~20 miles). I still had to drive another 5+ hrs after that and ended up getting into OTG after 10PM.

I'm not really concerned with the transport time, actually - I don't drive my rig on weekdays as I take the bus to work (it's faster than driving due to the HOV lane.)