So I'm building this speedster(model A)and wanting to drive it from Portland Or. to Portland Me. I live in kansas(Topeka). Working the figures, getting my car and me to Oregon and than back from Maine, will cost more than the trip between.
I have my own trailer but would have to find someone to drive two ways at both ends of the trip.
I looked at a U-haul box truck one way rentals, $1,505 topeka to P Or and $2,105 from P Me to topeka. plus gas and motel.
What do you guys do to transport cars to a far tour?
What luggage and clothes do you plan to take with you? A speedster doesn't have much luggage room, so it would seem to me that a person following you would be a great help for carrying luggage and also for help if the car should have trouble.
Is there anyone on the tour who will be following in a trouble truck? If so, they will be returning to the place from which they started. Maybe they could haul you home.
It would seem to me, that if your car is in good enough condition to drive from Portland Oregon to Portland Maine, you could drive from Topeka to Portland and back from Portland to Topeka. Some club members do just that. They also take along with them the roster of members so that they will have a source of help in case they need it along the way.
That's exactly why I don't participate in tours more than one day travel by trailer from home. And the tours I go on begin and end at the same place so I can park the truck and trailer at one place.
Some members actually take their cars to Europe and then drive for a week or longer in Europe, then bring the cars back to U.S.A. It is my understanding that the transportation costs them more than the car is worth.
I don't say these things to make you mad, but to give you some things to think about.
Interesting world we live in, isn't it?
Norm
norman maybe I should have a trail party rather than believe a vehicle i build will never fail. The car is a boattail which has enough room for a tent, two cots, clothes and supplies. But I bet my truck and trailer, one person to drive it would all in all be cheaper and as you say, a trail party. Good call.
I say drive it to Topeka to Portland to Portland to Topeka. Take along your MTFCA and any other club rosters and a premium auto club membership card. I do some long distance touring in vintage cars, solo (with a co-driver but no other vehicle) and think nothing looks lamer than a trailing vehicle just waiting for trouble to happen!
If you have the time, just do what Chris said, "drive it from Topeka, be a great trip.
Tyrone,
It sounds like fun.
If you are confident in the car, driving the whole trip could be a real adventure. If time is an issue it would almost certainly be less expensive than the box truck to have a car hauler take your car to Portland, you fly, then another car hauler (and corresponding flight) from the other Portland back to Topeka. I recently shipped a car from NY to Seattle for right at $1100. I expect your two car hauler trips could be done for about $2,000 total. Even after adding your personal transportation, likely less than U-Haul. If you fly, you could arrange to be at both ends of the transport to deliver and pick up your car, just pick a motel at each Portland area.
In any case, carry AAA + or similar roadside assistance package that can get you towed to a reasonable place to repair or store your car if it gets disabled.
In any case take a computer or visit a local library to get to the forum so you can post progress and/or ask for assistance if necessary.
That's one heck of a tour! If it's an "organized" function like the "Great Race" used to be, there's probably lots of rules that tell you how you have to handle everything. Everyone will be in the same boat. You'll probably have to be rich or have a good sponsor to be in one of those. Contact Ralph Ricks, he did the Great Race in a T. If you're just wanting to make a long trip, leave KS driving the A, or, wait and fall in with the trip the guys from Australia are planning. Good luck.
How much time do you have ?
How much money do you have ?
Those two answers will determine your course of action
Jim
Are you traveling alone?
Chances are there are T folks (like me!) who would be keen to join you as co-drivers for various legs of the journey, or travel in parallel in their own cars.
Tyrome Thomas:
I doubt that you will be this far south but if you are stop in for a good meal. I also carry a complete list of about any part you would eve need. Plus I have a shop with plenty of fixtures to work on about any thing that might need fixing on the T.
Chris Bamford was right carry the latest MTFCA rooster. I always do when I travel cross country by myself when in a T.
Tyrome Thomas:
I doubt that you will be this far south but if you are stop in for a good meal. I also carry a complete list of about any part you would eve need. Plus I have a shop with plenty of fixtures to work on about any thing that might need fixing on the T.
Chris Bamford was right carry the latest MTFCA rooster. I always do when I travel cross country by myself when in a T
Good thought Chris. Depending on the timing, I'd certainly be willing to go along on part of the trip.
Walt
Tyrome Thomas:
I doubt that you will be this far south but if you are stop in for a good meal. I also carry a complete list of about any part you would eve need. Plus I have a shop with plenty of fixtures to work on about any thing that might need fixing on the T.
Chris Bamford was right carry the latest MTFCA rooster. I always do when I travel cross country by myself when in a T
Like Chris and Mike, I'd be inclined to just drive it. If it's a dependable car, that's the least expensive way to go. Some of the guys missed the little detail than it's a Model A. For that, take along a Model A club roster.
Tyrone,
Model A or not, I'd potentially be interested in tagging along for probably a small part of the trip. We have a fair number of other speedster folks here in the NW that might also be interested in tagging along for a bit. If this gets booted from the T forum, please let me know via email if/when you start putting your plans together. wberdan comcast.net (add in the @)
Walt
Tyrone,
Plan your trip across the USA via Model T/A owners homes and/or shops. You spend the nights at a club members home or shop. Cheap traveling and always a place to work on the car if need be. Plan your route and look for members along the way and then contact them. I'm in Northeast Ohio and more then happy to host you when you come through.
As mentioned by Dennis, look for members along your route. If you get near Baraboo, WI, please contact us. If you have an extra day or two, we can keep you busy in our area visiting a bunch of interesting sites. Good luck, it sounds like an exciting trip. Maybe we can jump in our T and follow you for a day or two.
Drive it to Portland, Ore. Dip a toe in the water and drive it to Portland, Maine. By the time you get there you will know if you want to drive it back to Kansas or not. If the answer is yes, jump in it and go. If the answer is no, get on Craigslist or some truck site, buy a box truck or a pickup and trailer, load it up and head for the house. When you get home, sell the truck or pickup and trailer. You probably won't loose more than a few hundred bucks, you might make money on the truck if you buy right and you can stop and pick up all the parts and other stuff you bought on the trip on the way home.
I'm serious. A friend of mine is in the auction business, selling antiques. He flies somewhere back in Pennsylvania, New York, etc. to auctions or just goes picking. He buys a used box truck and a Wally World bed and water jugs, a converter and a coffee pot. Trucks are all over back there. Now he has a truck to haul with, secure storage for what he buys, a place to stay, few motel bills and no schedule other than get home when he has a load. He never buys a license plate and leaves the title open if he can. He calls his insurance company and gives them the numbers so he has liability. When he gets home, he auctions off the box truck or just sells it to somebody here. The worst he has ever done was lose $500 on one, the best -- he made about $2000 on the truck. Those trucks are fleet maintained by the rental agency or whoever is using it right up until the day they are sold so he has never had any serious issues with one. You can buy one for $2-4000 that will run for another 100,000 miles.
Back east, those trucks are all over and there is not a lot of market for them. Most of the Frito-Lay trucks end up having the diesel pulled out of them and the rest scrapped because the market is so soft for them. (They use the 4 Cylinder Mercedes or Mitsubushi diesel to re-power Ford pickups that have bad engines)
Do a little research before you go so you know where to go buy one that you can trust, it will be another grand adventure and a safe, quick, cheap trip back home.