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Murphy’s Law x 10


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Short back story: I’m a 70-year-old grandmother whose bucket list has long been topped by dreams of a small motor home and semi-retirement. Hey husband is long suffering... he puts up with me. I thought we were going to reap the rewards of my working and saving for this dream, but it ain’t happening.

In July I bought a 1991 Toyota Horizon. I knew it was old and well used but was gullible enough to believe most of what seller told me. 
Now I need to haul it from Colorado to Oregon, where it will be my granny cabin when I go to visit kids and grands. 

If anyone has experience in that procedure, I’d appreciate advice. 

Edited by Nana Banana
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The only thing I’ve ever seen done in this regard was by a former member of this forum. His rig was not running and unable to make repairs where he broke down.

He went to U-Haul and rented a moving van with a car dolly attached. Didn’t mention it was for a motorhome, just said a “full size” truck. Removed as much weight from the coach as he could into the back of the moving truck, hooked the camper to the dolly and headed home.

Even this could run into thousands of dollars depending on how many miles you have to travel. It might be cheaper to do needed repairs and drive there yourself.

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If you have to tow the MH with the rear wheel on the ground you MUST remove the drive shaft OR remove the rear axles.  Failure to do this will ruin the transmission. Don't forget to plug the holes so the oil doesn't drain out of the rear end or transmission.

Edited by WME
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A place to start asking questions...https://www.uship.com/cost-to-ship/vehicles/recreational-vehicles-rvs/page/2/

Also check with a trucking cargo broker, you may find a trucker deadheading west.

Edited by WME
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When my motor went completely bad I rented an 8 cylinder uhaul truck and tow dolly and towed it 600 Miles home. Like Fred mentioned you have to fib about what you are going to tow, I said 1995 Toyota T100 pick up. It was really easy towing but was expensive. Afterwards I wished I had just checked around the area where I was broke down for a cheap towing PU and then just re-sold it when I got home. I doubt if that would work for you.

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The cost of all this towing over a thousand miles is just not worth it. You could buy another little trailer or even a motorhome for the price. Time to quit spending money on this thing. See if anyone wants it for parts. Motorhome interior appliances sell for good money. Roof Air conditioner? 

You mentioned the transmission popped out of gear. Even if the engine is running good a transmission overhaul can be very expensive. Lots of mountains between Colorado and Oregon. A solid tranny is absolutely required. 

I'm guessing towing it or fixing the trannie will cost about the same. I'd fix the trannie because when it's done at least you would have something of value.

Linda S

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  • 2 months later...

I highly recommend the AAA Premier RV roadside assistance program! It's around $150 for the year, and you can add someone in your family, or a friend (who can travel with you on this trip) for around $50 extra. They will get their own allotted tows, and if with you, will be able to use them on your RV's behalf. If you can travel to the RV, this should work perfectly. They say it takes a week for full tow benefits to kick in, but I've had access to all my tows after just a couple days of registration. You get two 100 mile tows and one 200 mile tow per beneficiary. For around $200 that is 800 miles covered with two folks on one account!

 

Highly highly recommend, and also unaffiliated with AAA, just stoked that I was able to move an old project '77 Toyota Dolphin to a friend's a few hours after signing up with them. Had my newer rig break down within two days of registration and had it towed 10 miles so I could work on it somewhere safe. Was told if I had reported myself as being in the middle of a trip, they would have covered the cost of food, lodging and possibly repairs. 

 

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