Need some opinions

[matt6669 71]

As mostly everyone knows in the very near future I will be leaving this fine state to move to Florida. Unfortunately the problem of getting my stuff from NJ to Florida is turning into a bigger hassle / ordeal than I thought it would be. I've thought of a bunch of options and still not sure what the best option is so here's what I got.

 

I currently own a 2007 Pontiac G6 with a 100k miles on. Lets say the car has no value because I still owe my mom money on it so whatever I sell it for just goes to her lets say. If I keep it, at the minimum it needs new summer tires because all it has on it now is winter tires, so that'll be about 500 dollars to put new tires on it.

 

What I'm looking to take to Florida with me.

 

Gun safe with guns

 

Reloading bench which is 8ft long by 2 ft deep by about 4 ft high, with two presses, 200 pounds of bullets, probably another 200-300 pounds in ammo, along with an ammo locker, bunch of primers and other assorted reloading equipment etc.

 

My queen sized mattress with box spring and frame (no headboard or footboard)

 

A closet full of clothes

 

(2) bicycles, road bike and mountain bike

 

(2) 40+ inch long rc boats

 

An some other assorted things that you'll always have.

 

Oh two desktop computers as well but no computer desk.

 

Lastly I own a 16ft long sailboat that is on a single axle trailer. The hope is to possibly take this with me because I don't think I could sell it at the moment with it not being finished.

 

I first started with looking up moving companies. I started getting quotes of 800 dollars which isn't bad until you really start paying attention and for a (1) bedroom studio they are giving you 200 ct. ft of space. This is literally no space at all. I figure if I have a moving company move all my stuff minus the sailboat I'm looking at a minimum of 1,500 dollars if not closer to the 2k mark.

 

Next I looked up u-haul and the likes. U-haul for a 10ft truck gets 1,400 dollars for the truck, plus you need to put gas in it. On top of that, what do I do with my car.

 

Next I thought about selling my car, and buying a diesel pickup truck because once I get to Florida and settled I eventually want to get one so I figured why not get it now. Prices are between 13k and 16k dollars it seems. With this option I can tow my sailboat and load all the stuff between the sailboat and the bed of the truck and have no problems there.

 

Last option I thought of was buying a small 4x8 utility trailer, putting my gun safe, my reloading bench and my bed and other things on the trailer and trailering down. My car has a 1k pound towing recommendation so I would be pushing that limit / probably over it since the safe alone weighs 600 pounds.

 

I thought about selling the safe, selling the reloading bench, and loading as much as I could into the G6 and making the trip. But by the time I replace the safe and the bench and the bed etc, I might as well just paid someone to move my stuff and I'd be in the same boat.

 

 

Looking for some opinions, I've been going back and forth with this for a while and just completely unsure of what to do. At the current moment I have my current job here in NJ which pays my bills just fine. I don't expect to be getting a job for less than what I make her in NJ so technically my income won't change. Once I move to Florida I will have about 500 dollars of living expenses added to my current situation.

 

Thanks for the insight, and if anyone has used a certain moving company before and had good results please please please give me their number so I can call them.

 

Thanks!

[Jon 264]

Road trip with a friend who has a truck, pay for his meals and gas, win?

[Duppie 73]

Hire a independent mover to take your stuff down to Florida and you trailer the boat down with the Pontiac.It's going to cost you in cash or your stuff either way so you might as well have all your belongings with you.

[matt6669 71]

From what I've been hearing finding an independent mover that is actually reputable and won't charge you an arm and a leg is next to impossible. Unfortunately, between hiring a moving company that'll be 1,500 to 2,000 dollars plus 500 for new tires for the Pontiac, that's going to put me in a severe hole to get my stuff moved. At that point it almost might be better to cut my losses and leave everything here and fly down lol.

 

Jon I thought about that, but it's 1200 miles and 19 hours of driving. I don't think anyone has a friend good enough that wants to do that drive back home by themself.

[SpecialK 193]

Heavier and larger items like the safe and reloading bench are easier to sell and replace when you get there as the cost of moving them plus what you can sell them for often equals the cost of a new one. I sold all my big ticket items before moving to NJ from CO and do not regret the decision at all. The less you have to move the better.

[Jon 264]

I drove with a friend to NOLA before... Granted I was younger and dumber... but still, it's possible.

[papercutninja 24]

Do you really need to replace the winter tires? Why not just drive on em til they wear down? That will (temporarily) save you $500.

[junkmanted 54]

donate the boat ! you will find something in FLA.

Sell the safe you will take a loss on it and need to buy a new one, but your not moving 500 + pounds. Think of the room and the gas used on that alone.

 

Sell the car and buy a pick up truck that you can be happy with for a couple years. and pick up a used cap, you can dump the cap after the move if you dont like it.

Trucks come and go dont worry about that.

[junkmanted 54]

sorry to see you go

 

[67gtonut 847]

No way around it bud......

 

Moving is an expense....... suck it up, pay for the mover, and trailer the boat down...... just use up the snow tires for now........ you wont need em again anyway......LOL

[siderman 1,140]

If it was me moving I'd get the truck and use it for what its intended for- haulin stuff. You want it anyway so nothing lost there. Get a cheap cap for it so your stuff is fairly secure and weather tight.The bench, dont know what it is but its big and you can prbly make another out of relatively cheap lumber and also be able to custom fit it to your new digs. The safe- can you move it by yourself? Does it have to be as big as it is now (or bigger?).Maybe re-assess the safe or keep it, not too big but awkward for moving.

[matt6669 71]

The problem with selling stuff is it'll put me in a decent sized hole. I'd probably only be able to sell the safe for 700, it'll cost 1k to replace so that's 300. I'll need a new reloading bench when I get down there, that's 200. I'll need a new bed, that's like 800. Plus all the other stuff I own won't fit in my car plus i'd still need tires for the car either now or eventually.

 

The more and more I think about it, the more sense it makes to just bite the bullet and buy a truck but does it make sense to buy a truck with 2wd or a non diesel to save money or to buy it without a crew cab. At this point I'm not sure of the answers to that.

[matt6669 71]

Troy I'm not sure how the G6 would fair towing the sailboat all the way to Florida. Around town I wouldn't think twice about it, going 1200 miles that's kinda scary.

 

To replace the safe I would definitely need something of the same size. As far as moving the safe, I have plenty of help already lined up in Florida to help me unload my truck and get the safe in the house etc so that part of the equation I'm not worried about. The only part that worries me is getting from NJ to FL in one piece LOL.

[67gtonut 847]

What does the boat and trailer weigh?

 

Buy the truck once you are settled in with the new location and job...... dont rush things, thats when mistakes or regrets are made

[matt6669 71]

The boat weighs 600 and the trailer I guess at 150-200. That only leaves me with 200 pounds to spare. That's cutting it close especially since I still need to put all my guns in the trunk etc etc.

[67gtonut 847]

Bah..... it would be fine......

 

Take your time....... once the vehicle is up to cruising speed ( 55-70mph) it takes very little horsepower....

 

Just accelerate at a very modest pace getting onto Rt95 from your fuel / food stops, and you will have zero issues....

[alec.mc 180]

Rent u-haul with tow dolly and tow your car.

[PhilipJFry 4]

we moved up from Florida a few months ago and rented a 14 or 16 foot truck (with tow hitch) for like 5 or 600 bucks one way. it was Budget truck rentals and they were great, no i dont work for them, just a satisfied customer. we didnt tow a trailer, but i remember using some kind of online promo code found on the internet, and they gave us like 15% off for that. i would check out their website, make sure you uncheck the box that is for both ways.

 

http://www.budgettruck.com/home.aspx?eadid=pd_20dis&kw=truck+rental+budget

[Smokin .50 1,907]

Rent u-haul with tow dolly and tow your car.

I was going to chime-in with the same suggestion, but then what does he do with the sail boat & trailer for that?

 

It's not easy. The thing to look at is when it's all said & done, if you're spending the same amount of money (or close to it) you might as well keep your stuff! You're going to go "in the hole" no matter what or how you do it, so you might as well have your stuff to play with when you get there.

 

Alec's idea will work if you get the 14' Uhaul Van and tow the car on a dolly. Plenty of room for the bed, safe, and belongings, including the guns. I looked into this when we moved our son to Iowa last October. Didn't need all of the room in the truck, so I bought a class 2 hitch and installed it on his car and I drove the car 1,100 miles to Iowa towing a 12' long trailer with dual axels. Sell the boat and use some of that money to move with and get settled. There's plenty of boats in Florida and you might get lucky. Besides, you mentioned that you're figuring around another $500 a month in expenses, and NO JOB when you get there. Boats are a hole in the water that you pour money into. Without a job you don't need one. Go to the beach with your binoc's, get a shrimp cocktail & a beer and watch what other boaters are using and why, so when it's your time again, you'll buy the right stuff the first time!

 

Good luck with the move!

[alec.mc 180]

Strap the sail boat to the top of the uhaul. Duh.

[matt6669 71]

At this point, I'm not moving until I have a job. So once I get to Florida I will have an income so that part of the equation I'm not too worried about.

 

Renting a u-haul or a budget truck etc at this point isn't really viable. Even with the current 20% discount Budget is giving you, thats 800 for the truck, plus 600 in gas. At that point, I just found Old Dominion will move 8 linear ft of their tractor trailer so I figure and 8x8x8 space for 1300 dollars. Then I can maybe tow my sailboat with my G6 to Florida.

 

At this point, selling the sailboat isn't an option. I have about 1500 into the sailboat, but its a current work in progress and I'm 1/2 way through a restoration. If I had the whole boat stripped and repainted I could easily finish it at the moment and sell it. But since I'm still stripping the bottom I don't think someone will pay to buy it at the moment.

 

Another option I just came up with was to fly to Florida, get my girlfriend and my buddy Chris and drive my g/f's Chevy 1500 to NJ. Load up the G6 and the Chevy, and put the sailboat on the Chevy and then have my buddy Chris drive my G6 and me drive the Chevy. Stop in the Carolinas overnight to sleep and then continue to rest of the way to Florida. Gas would run me about 600 dollars, and even with putting 500 in tires on my G6 I'm still cheaper than having a mover move my stuff.

 

Hmmm

[Ray Ray 3,566]

have a friend drive a U-haul towing your car behind it and sail down to Florida.

[halbautomatisch 60]

What about getting a PODS unit, you pack it they ship it down there. Even with a pick up, you'll be amazed how quick the space will fill up, you may find it's not enough room.

[Recon Racoon 49]

We had to make 2 trips t move house. One trip down with 2 cats and our Chevy Blazer packed and a friend with a pick up towing a U-Haul trailer. The other trip was a plane ticket to get to Philly, to get to Carneys Point and fill up a Dodge Caravan. Either way you look at it, you're going to have to make a decision about what to take first and whats able to be left behind for a while. If you have a place to live ship your guns to you, same with ammo. Or just leave them for a second trip. If you don't feel comfortable doing that, take the guns leave the stuff to reload, come back for it. Take what ever is essential, come back for the stuff deemed unnecessary for the first trip.

[dajonga 397]

I vote for selling the car, financing a used truck, and taking it all with you.

[PK90 3,573]

Sell everything and start over.

[TheMan 45]

Me and my wife are currently in the same sorta situation. Were moving to Florida either may or june. We are renting a 16ft from penske for $1075.00, thats not bad considering the cost of a moving company. Trust me a those conpanies will quote you $800-$1100. Not true it will cost them 500+ in gas, 500+ employee wages and tolls, food, hotel and all that good stuff. Its gunna cost around $3000 just for your apartment. Now as far as all of your stuff in house. Me and my wife decided to just sell everything besides bedroom furniture and our tv's to make about $5000 extra to take. . You could just hold an estate sale at your place. Put an add in the newspaper, put red stickers on everything you want to keep and tell the folks everything without a sticker is for sale. Doing that youll be able to unload a ton of stuff. With that extra money you could use that to pay off the car. Get rid of the boat and get wat you can. Newspaper add, craigslist etc. now if u cant get rid of the boat for cash, see if you can trade it for something else that you would need for your new place in florida. Electronics? Lawn equipment? Or at least something that is of equal value. As far as the tires, youll be surprised that you may be able to find a place that sells used tires in damn near new condition for maybe $30 a pop. Hope this helps, this is what were gunna do my man. Good luck and hope your trip is a safe one.

[TheMan 45]

Hey i forgot to add this. Www.aerotek.com, check them out. Upload your resume and create an account. This is one of the best staffing agencies ive used. They have jobs for everyone with all types of experience. They offer part-time,full-time, contract and contract to hire jobs. The average job ranges from $12-30 per hour. Depending on your experience you can apply for a job, call them immediatly and be working within a week. Last job i got with them was at lakehurst navy base $20 an hour full time and i sat on my a** the entire time. They have hundreds of openings throughout Florida

[matt6669 71]

Thanks for the info TheMan. I had my resume up on there already, but I'm going to call the recruiting office for the Tampa area and at least talk to someone and see if they can work their magic. Also found a job on there to apply to as well.

 

Keep the ideas coming gents, still unsure of what to do.

[e80hydro 120]

Stick the safe and matresses and any other bulky items on the boat trailer and tow it there with your car.