Moving the Taylors to Iowa

Most of you have kept up on Facebook as the adventure unraveled, but here is my official version of the road trip that could be dubbed "The Taylor/Beach/Thomas Cross Country U-haul-a thon."

First, Matt Taylor's company, Expander, decided that it made more sense to manufacture its product near the Mississippi River shipping channel than in Arizona, far from adequate shipping facilities. Then, they (Expander) asked Matt to move with them. Well, good jobs being hard to come by just now, he said yes. Therefore, Vada and the kids needed to move to Iowa. Matt needed to be in Iowa ahead of the family for many reasons, so they needed someone to drive the U-haul, since Vada needed to drive the family van. As you all know, I am not just a professional driver, but also an eager road tripper.

So, here is how it worked out. A 16 foot U-haul truck was loaded with household goods. There was overflow. So a small U-haul trailer was needed. A pickup also needed to be moved, so it was put on a trailer specifically designed for vehicle hauling. So, the caravan looked like this: 16 foot U-haul truck pulling the vehicle trailer, Margie and Dave's truck pulling the overflow U-haul trailer, and Vada driving the family van. Four adults and four children ages 6-12. One child, on a rotational basis, rode with me in the U-haul, one with M&D in the pickup, and two with Vada in the van. Every time we stopped for gas, food, or potty break, the kids rotated.

The kids were great travelers. We talked a lot. We played lots of road trip games. They read. They colored. They wrote. They played video games. They looked out the window. They did not whine. They did not incessantly ask "Are we there yet?"

Things to know for next time: A 16 foot truck is too short to pull a vehicle carrier carrying a 4000 pound pickup. Wind gusts, passing semis, and uneven road surfaces can cause the trailer to sway. When the trailer sways, the leverage created by the hitch causes the truck to sway. That can cause the driver to lose control, and end up crashing. I determined from experience that 65 mph was the top safe speed for the prevention of catastrophe. Also, at every stop, it is a good idea to inspect everything. Tie-down straps mysteriously become loose, tires can lose air, safety chains start to drag, tarps flap, and wires short out. Going through Albuquerque at rush hour is not a good time or place to have a tie-down come off and let the pull-out drive-on ramp slide out and drag on the road. It makes a spectacular sparks display, but then you have to find a safe place to pull over and fix it.

If you ever notice that your remote door locks don't work, at the same time that your intermittent wiper function won't work, and you head lights don't come on, the solution might be to disconnect your battery for a few minutes, then reconnect it. This is similar to rebooting your computer. In fact, it reboots the vehicle computer which fixes all those unrelated malfunctions. We learned this in a small Nebraska town after an hour of trying logical trouble-shooting ideas.

Driving 1600 miles in three vehicles, one a gas hog, and meeting bathroom and food needs of 8 people takes 4 1/2 days at a top speed of 65 mph. Returning in one vehicle with three adults at 75 mph takes 2 1/2 days.

There are many good family run restaurants between here and there. Fast food and chain restaurants are best avoided. Best Western Plus serves a good hot breakfast including eggs and meat at no extra charge. Gas prices ranged from $1.99 to $2.49. Sometimes stations in the same town varied by 20 cents.

We spent one night in Dodge City just so we could get up in the morning and say, "We better get outa Dodge." We passed through the home towns of John Wayne, Herbert Hoover, William Allen White, Thomas Mitchell, Jesse James and Elizabeth Bice Thomas. We traveled along the Oregon Trail, The Santa Fe Trail, the Pony Express Route, and visited areas previously inhabited by the likes of the Dalton Gang and Billy the Kid.

I am available for future adventures. I work for food and shelter.