M35A3 from GA to WA, I need ideas.

[markmontana]

Figure 1.50 per mile.

I'm not saying that shipping is not a good option to consider- but that's still $4000.

For me, the adventure would be worth something. Consider it R&R. I go elk hunting every year and pay a lot to hike and sweat and freeze. Driving a deuce would have to be better!

You can drive that deuce home for $1000 fuel and half that for food and rooms.

 

[Scarecrow1]

Go for it and have fun ...I mean think about it how many of your friends have ever had such an experiance ......... You will never forget it.... I know I would love to do it and it being winter at least it won't be 110 degrees in the cab ....

 

[rwoods]

After he inspects it, tell your brother to behave himself behind the wheel and take it on several shakedown rides of 30 to 50 miles each. He should know pretty soon what issues you must address before you go cross country. He needs to look the tires over good and check their age (I had to replace all of my A3 tires and it wasn’t because they were worn out). If it were me, I would also break each lug nut loose and re-torque them to spec. Make sure the spare is good. Unless you disassemble them before you go, IMO you can forget about trying to change a tire alongside the road as the wheel bolts will probably be tougher than the lugs and there are more of them. You must also consider that finding a replacement tire will be difficult on the road unless you have the time to wait on having one shipped to you (do a search for 14.5 R20 and you’ll see how hard they are to come by plus the big bucks some want for theirs). I would count on cruising at about 45 mph as the A3 does not have an overdrive. If the inspections and shakedowns go well and you are willing to live within the parameters of the speed limitations (it probably won’t just be the engine that doesn’t like 55 mph) and the tire limitations, I say go for it – you’ll be talking about it for the rest of your life. Ron

ps the A3 does have a heater.

 

[ctmustang]

I say drive it. If your brother is a competant mechanic and gives it his thumbs up then drive. I picked up my pressent deuce in Pa and drove it to nc about a 550 mile trip and had no problems. I am a mechanic and went over it front to back. Wasn't really worried since we had a towbar and 5 other friends were with us recovering their deuces also. A nice convoy and a long a%% ride in a deuce in Aug.

 

[wsmayeux]

hauled deuce

If you decide to ship it, i need a deuce shipped from southern va to wa. maybe we could get a combo deal from someone. i think hot shots or hole shots said he has a trailer thatl hold 2.

 

[wsucougarx]

Drive it!

 

[BKubu]

Trucking does add to the cost of a truck and it is also the reason many of us don't bid far from home. When I have bid in HI, ND, FL, MI, OK, etc., I always figure shipping in. That is why I don't win much that far away. Trucking adds a big chunk to the cost. Sure, driving the truck is cheaper. However, it is not $4K vs. nothing. You still have to fly out, pay for fuel, food and hotels on the return trip, and you have the very real risk of a breakdown or other problems. The cost will never amount to $4K. However, it will still represent a chunk of money and you have to figure your time. Plus, IF you have a problem, you will wish you would have had the truck shipped. No way even several shake down trips can in any way simulate the serious stress that a truck undergoes on a 2K+ mile trip. Do as you wish. The only thing I strongly urge you to do is get tags and insurance, with emphasis on the latter. To make sure your insurance will cover such a trip, you may want to mention that you are driving the truck home...over 2,000 miles. This last point is important if you have historic insurance.

 

[ken326@yahoo.com]

you can put it on uship.com and get quotes.

 

[velociT]

Trucking does add to the cost of a truck and it is also the reason many of us don't bid far from home. When I have bid in HI, ND, FL, MI, OK, etc., I always figure shipping in. That is why I don't win much that far away. Trucking adds a big chunk to the cost. Sure, driving the truck is cheaper. However, it is not $4K vs. nothing. You still have to fly out, pay for fuel, food and hotels on the return trip, and you have the very real risk of a breakdown or other problems. The cost will never amount to $4K. However, it will still represent a chunk of money and you have to figure your time. Plus, IF you have a problem, you will wish you would have had the truck shipped. No way even several shake down trips can in any way simulate the serious stress that a truck undergoes on a 2K+ mile trip. Do as you wish. The only thing I strongly urge you to do is get tags and insurance, with emphasis on the latter. To make sure your insurance will cover such a trip, you may want to mention that you are driving the truck home...over 2,000 miles. This last point is important if you have historic insurance.

Well put.

I thought about driving my truck, but got it shipped and ultimately was glad I did.

 

[Jinx]

you can put it on uship.com and get quotes.

This is what I did. Got my deuce shipped from Utah to Washington state.

 

[Heavysteven]

Sounds like you have already decided to drive it. So my idea would be to buy a tow bar. Good luck and keep posting I am excited to see how recovery goes.

 

[lonegunman]

The driving idea is semi-firm at the moment. If I manage to split the cost of a haul to Washington with another interested member that has an appeal as well. If only to save miles on the truck.

If I drive, I'll post the route and maybe say hi to a few guys along the way. I'm really wishing my truck was here today. The mud was thick and I had places to go.

 

[MilitaryRestoration]

Lonegunman... where are you at in eastern, wa
also keep me in on the info as to what you are going to do, I've got some good connections of haulers and also will be having my 816 hauled out here soon from ohio...
or if you drive i may have some stuff that you can haul back home for me and help you out on fuel costs keep in touch... you can always call me too... 3606086484 -Todd

 

[lonegunman]

I'm just west of Spokane. I'm all for combining to build a full load for a shipper to haul or adding to my GVW to offset the costs. I've got some emails out with requests for estimates and questions at the moment.

 

[usmc deuce cpl]

Howdy lonegunman. Here' s my take. If you are up for an adventure then drive it. There are many people along the way that can help out, just post route like others have said. When I did my recovery from Redstone i got wreckerman to pickup the truck. so by the time i made the decision to drive it i knew that it was a good runner. I took many new parts and tools with me. Parts such as 2 new wheel cylinders, a brake airpack, gaskets, etc. Imade a stop at memphis equipment on the way back for parts. They were very helpful with parts and how to info. I would sugest that you get thier parts manual for the m35. it is a time saver when looking for parts. it also has parts diagrams.
All in all I probably got lucky on my recovery, I had a good truck, good weather especially for March, little problems with truck except oil leaks out of transfer case.
I had a blast driving it back. I ran across many veterans that told me many stories about thier experiences in deuces. My butt will never be the same but i wouldn't change i thing.
To make the trip there and back it cost me aprox $2000 for fuel and hotels and food. With the multifuel engine towing my jeep i got 8 mpg but don't know about the cat. Good luck with whatever you choose. If you have any questions pm me .

 

[motorpoolmedic]

Road trip!

Preparation, Preparation, Preparation.

& PLENTY of cash.

Go for it!

Adventure is what life's journey is about!

 

[usmc deuce cpl]

It was fun and a heck of a story to tell. It took me almost a month of recovery to get over my deuce butt from my recovery. But it was worth it for me.

 

[lonegunman]

Apparently the EUC will get finished well after the weather breaks. So that is swinging things in favor of a long slow drive. If it turns into a drive, I figure a stop in Memphis for parts, the visit a buddy in Little Rock and then wander northwest thru Kansas, Colorado, Wyoming, Montana and Idaho on the way home.

 

[Csm Davis]

when you planing to roll? we might can roll together.

 

[srodocker]

You goingto show up to the PNW Rally? we could use a a3