-----P-----'s Cross Country Move UPDATE: Move Complete

[-----P-----]

The ship is changing homeports. As I am expected to be with the ship for another 2 years, I will be following her wherever she goes. In conjunction with my 21 days of post operational leave, I will be executing my change of homeport move from Everett, WA to Norfolk, VA. The plan is to take the truck from Colorado to Washington, spend a day loading up a trailer and completing the various dog and pony shows that go along with the government paying for a move, and start the trek early the following morning. The route will start off headed east, across Washington, the top of Idaho, Montana, North Dakota. I'll start swinging southeast through Minnesota, across Wisconsin and the tip of Illinois, then across Indiana, Ohio, and make the final run down through Pennsylvania, Maryland and West Virginia, before coming down through Virginia.

That being said, I would like to know any advice members may have for travelling through their states, driving a trailer (and a rental at that) across the country, any good spots to stop to chow, take pictures, kill some time on the gov't's dime, or rest at. Local laws would be great (especially for interstate transport of firearms/alcohol (maybe)) if they bear worrying about. Especially anyone that can explain Illinois firearms laws to me. I be ignorant when it comes to trying to figure that stuff out. A little advanced intel would be great too, regarding any major highway closures that you may know about coming up at the end of july/begining of august time frame.

Thank you.

[TacAir]

If you are going to carry a weapon/weapons - and are heading East - STOP.

Check with your JAG.

Nothing ruins a trip quite like being locked up. And I'm *sure* the Navy would be a real help.....in getting you out.

[raptor]

Flying J stations are a great place to stop if you have a trailer in tow.

Plan your path and then use this site for firearm laws for the state. You should keep the weapons locked up separate from the ammo in locked cases to avoid hassles. That said even this will not proctect you in some states. Read the laws and follow them carefully.

http://handgunlaw.us/

Pay close attention to Illinois law if you are going through that state (which is likely).

[Ike]

That link was awesome as I will be driving though illinois tomorrow and have my carry weapon with me.

[stimpy321972]

The ship is changing homeports. As I am expected to be with the ship for another 2 years, I will be following her wherever she goes. In conjunction with my 21 days of post operational leave, I will be executing my change of homeport move from Everett, WA to Norfolk, VA. The plan is to take the truck from Colorado to Washington, spend a day loading up a trailer and completing the various dog and pony shows that go along with the government paying for a move, and start the trek early the following morning. The route will start off headed east, across Washington, the top of Idaho, Montana, North Dakota. I'll start swinging southeast through Minnesota, across Wisconsin and the tip of Illinois, then across Indiana, Ohio, and make the final run down through Pennsylvania, Maryland and West Virginia, before coming down through Virginia.

That being said, I would like to know any advice members may have for travelling through their states, driving a trailer (and a rental at that) across the country, any good spots to stop to chow, take pictures, kill some time on the gov't's dime, or rest at. Local laws would be great (especially for interstate transport of firearms/alcohol (maybe)) if they bear worrying about. Especially anyone that can explain Illinois firearms laws to me. I be ignorant when it comes to trying to figure that stuff out. A little advanced intel would be great too, regarding any major highway closures that you may know about coming up at the end of july/begining of august time frame.

Thank you.

Pre-emptive welcome to the Commonwealth, NORVA needs more sailor's, ha ha.

Like you said, once you get through ILL into PA, WV (be carefull in Md, avoid if possible)and VA you are pretty safe as far as firearms laws are concerned.

The FOPA "Safe Passage" provision is there to protect you from prosecution but not from arrest, detainment or immediate firearm seizure. The best way to avoid that is to be inconspicuous and do not consent to searches or volunteer any information to law enforcement. Seize upon your right to remain silent. Keep your stuff locked up and out of sight until you hit the mountains.

[-----P-----]

In regards to the comment about NORVA and more sailors, a quote from a friend stationed there...

Norfolk needs more sailors like I need more assholes...

Read up on MD's... Yikes. Will definitely avoid if I can, but I don't know how feasible it will be.

Raptor, that's an awesome link. And it turns out after digging through it, that was a resource I used when I was first transporting my rifle from CO to WA and after that completely forgot about. The only thing I'm confused on is Illinois law (go figure). It talks about needing an FOID card to transport firearms in state, but out of state residents can use licenses from their own state. The problem I have there is that Colorado doesn't make us get licenses for anything other than concealed carry, and Washington (as far as I know) is the same. Since I don't have a CCW permit yet, and likely won't given my limited time frame until I start the move, what can I do about that? (I'll be transporting a bolt action rifle and a Mossberg 590, maybe a handgun if I have the money when I go on leave)

Finally, TacAir: Still waiting on a response from legal.

[stimpy321972]

In regards to the comment about NORVA and more sailors, a quote from a friend stationed there...

Norfolk needs more sailors like I need more assholes...

Read up on MD's... Yikes. Will definitely avoid if I can, but I don't know how feasible it will be.

Raptor, that's an awesome link. And it turns out after digging through it, that was a resource I used when I was first transporting my rifle from CO to WA and after that completely forgot about. The only thing I'm confused on is Illinois law (go figure). It talks about needing an FOID card to transport firearms in state, but out of state residents can use licenses from their own state. The problem I have there is that Colorado doesn't make us get licenses for anything other than concealed carry, and Washington (as far as I know) is the same. Since I don't have a CCW permit yet, and likely won't given my limited time frame until I start the move, what can I do about that? (I'll be transporting a bolt action rifle and a Mossberg 590, maybe a handgun if I have the money when I go on leave)

Finally, TacAir: Still waiting on a response from legal.

As long as your stuff is locked up and unloaded and under everything else, you shouldn't have a problem. Again, FOPA is "SUPPOSED" to protect you from being prosecuted, because you are just transiting through the uptight states in question. That might not stop some johnny-wannabe-uptight cop from fucking with you. Print out the statutes and carry them with you, might help, might piss the cops off more, thinking you are some upstart, squid wannabe-lawyer-liberty-loving, douchebag and just beat the piss out of you and throw you in jail anyway. who knows, it's a long and mysterious road you will be travelling on.

Truly though, if you are that concerned;

A. Sell the weapons and buy more when you get here, the gunshops in tidewater are used to dealing with military types and can help you, navigate the paperwork.
B. Have you firearms shipped ahead of you from FFL to FFL, cost you maybe 20-40 buck on both ends plus shipping, they will store them until you have a chance to get here and get settled.
C. Refer to my original words of widsom.

Answer: C

And yes your friend is right, more squids in tidewater than squirrels in the trees around there. My old stomping grounds.

If you want to make a pit stop in Richmond let me know, we can meet and grab some decent chow right off of I-64. Make sure you avoid Northern Virginia traffic, come down I-81 to I-64 and not I-95, unless you want to specifically see the wonders of the Metro DC area. Also coming down I-81 will only put you in Maryland for less than an hour or so coming from Pennsylvania.

There are a bunch of ZS guys in the Tidewater area, most are in the military or former military and they can help you out with the transition and also getting your preps re-started.



Good Luck

[-----P-----]

Answer: C

Most definitely. I'll probably bury them in the trailer and lock it up. or bury them in the truck.
Either way. Locked in their nice hard case and buried.

Thanks for all the good info. If I find myself stopping in Richmond I'll definitely hit you up.

[LowKey]

On the issue of moving the firearms, IIRC you can ship them to yourself without using an FFL. If anyone knows differently please correct me.

Shipper Name: YOU
Address: WA

Receiver Name: YOU
Address: New address in VA


AFAIK, long arms can go via USPS, handguns must go via private carrier (FedEx, UPS, ect). Probably best to ship both with a private carrier to avoid extra complications.
Check with the private carriers policies before shipping and print them out and take with you when you go to ship them.

[GunneyPenguin]

www.isp.state.il.us/docs/1-154.pdf

Second page: IF A NON-RESIDENT IS COMING TO ILLINOIS
TO HUNT AND WOULD LIKE TO BRING
THEIR FIREARM, HOW DO THEY LEGALLY
TRANSPORT IT?
Non-residents must be legally eligible to possess
or acquire firearms and ammunition in their state of
residence. It is recommended that in order to be in
compliance with all statutes, non-residents transport
all firearms:
1. Unloaded, and
2. Enclosed in a case, and
3. Not immediately accessible or broken down in a
nonfunctioning state

I'm in Joliet, IL if you'll be comin through. Fairly likely I imagine, taking 80 East?

[-----P-----]

Well, we're underway. Some lessons learned so far...
-Check more than the obvious before you leave. We burned out an ignition wire headed over the continental divide. I had the wire on hand, and the tools to change it, but it's not a fun thing to do on the side of the road at midnight.
-Regular inspections of the vehicle and trailer are very important. It helps you catch things like how the left tail light on your trailer quit working. (it does not, however, tell you how to fix said shitty rental trailer wiring. )
-A CB radio is a great addition to your vehicle. I've just been listening to channel 19 the whole drive, and it's been a great help.

Will update to add more lessons learned as the trip goes on.

[-----P-----]

Ok. We are now sitting pretty in VA beach. Our apartment is ready to move into tomorrow. Now it's time to reflect on what went on where, and if anyone can learn from it, great.

Leg One: Colorado to Washington
We hooked up the Uhaul in Colorado because it was cheaper. The agent we talked to said there shouldn't be a problem going to Washington first. Right away with the thing we all realized it had issues. Half the right tail light is only good as a marker light, while the left didn't even light up at first. They changed to a new trailer wiring harness, nothing different. So they check my truck: it's fine. The agent fiddled with something in the trailer and got the lights working. First mistake: not asking what he did so I could duplicate the fix if necessary.

So with our new trailer in tow, we loaded up and moved out. The trip was fairly uneventful. Gas mileage didn't suffer that much, as we were still able to get 275-300 miles to a tank (in our V8 powered Yukon no less. Our old Subaru only managed 200 to a tank.) The country side was beautiful until the sun went down. The smokes were plentiful. We ran into a problem going over the continental divide. My wife is new to trailering, and kept the truck in cruise control. Several jumps between 2000 and 5500 RPM later, the "Service Engine Soon" light began to flash. So, we stopped. Luckily I had a diagnostic computer on hand (was taking it back to a friend in WA, but I will be buying one for myself) and I trouble shot the engine. Cylinder 4 misfire. A call to my dad (a little grumpy about being woken up at 2AM) told me that it could be a burned out wire or plug. I had wires on hand from wanting to do some ignition system maintenance before we left, but never had a chance to. I also thankfully had my tools, so it was a simple matter of some late night wrenching to get back on the road. Cleared the code and fired her up, haven't seen the light since.

The rest of the drive was uneventful, and we pulled into Seattle around 5 PM local time.

[-----P-----]

In Seattle: after taking two days to fill out government paperwork, go through our stuff to decide what to keep and what to donate, and getting the trailer packed up, we were ready to get on the road to the east coast. At the final gas up and inspection, I find out that the right tail light has reverted to only working as a marker light again. It defies my fiddling, so I give up and hope no one notices. (I suppose this would be a good place to add that I called the usual agent that fixed it originally. He didn't remember what he did to fix it.)

We got on the road at around 3PM. After being reminded of why I hate Seattle's city highways so much, we got out and into the mountains. Half an hour into it, we ran into stopped traffic across all three lanes. Thinking quickly, I went to channel 19 on the CB, and was able to find out that the left two lanes were closed ahead, and I was able to get where I needed to be before the huge battle began. My wife had been saying that the CB was a waste of space and she didn't want it in her truck, but just that one instance turned her into a believer.

Out in Washington farm country, I got to know the trailer better by finding out that even loaded to capacity, the wind still slaps it around like a little bitch. I will never laugh at any trailer driver I see that is having trouble keeping their trailer on the road again. The drive through most of Montana that night would be spent fighting to stay awake, which leads me to another important lesson learned. If you have the chance to stop at a rest stop, TAKE IT. The next rest stop 70 miles away will be closed when you get there, forcing you to drive the rest of the way into Billings. You will, however, get to see a really nice sunrise.

[-----P-----]

Day 2 on the road: I woke up in South Dakota. My wife had chosen the route that would take us through Montana, down a ways into Wyoming, then across SD, the bottom of Minnesota and through a good chunk of Iowa, then through Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio before going through West Virginia (despite my pleas to not drive us through there) and finally into Virginia.

I really don't have any lessons learned from this portion of the trip other than finding ways to occupy yourself. The iPod at this point had grown to the point where I spent more time flipping for a song that I liked than listening to the music, so I had my wife read to me to pass the time. It was one of her crappy romance novels (a major hit at the moment as it turns out, even though I can't see why), so I spent more time making fun of it than enjoying the story, but it still provided the diversion I needed to stay focused on driving. I'll definitely be investing in some audio books for the next time I have to drive across the country like that.

[-----P-----]

Day 3 on the road: after sleeping most of the way through the state I feared the most (as it turns out, burying the guns at the very front of the trailer did wonders for my piece of mind, but they were still in full compliance with state law.), I woke up in Indiana.

Let me take the time to tell you about Google maps. The navigation portion for android phones at any rate, the overall route was solid. I will definitely be getting a dedicated GPS unit for Christmas. I first started having trouble with maps in Iowa, but I just chalked that up to being in the idle of nowhere, so it probably just lost the signal. GMN led me down the wrong road several times, as well as telling me to exit a few times to get back on the highway going the opposite direction, only to get back off at the previous exit to turn around and head in my direction again. Several times it would all of a sudden say I was 4 miles off the highway and start routing my back on (typically half a mile from an important interchange). Overall, if it's your only choice, either get another choice or just hit up Rand McNally at the local gas station and do it the old fashioned way.

West Virginia sucked at first. Google had routed me on a small state highway for the first twenty miles or so in order to get me to the next interstate. Unfortunately, for about 15 or so of those 20, we were on a 2 lane highway with about a quarter of an inch of pavement in the other side of the white line, then a good 3 foot drop at least. I think it was 23 for anyone wondering. The truckers said it had been that way for 17 years, which is a comforting thought... I spent the entire time freaking out about keeping the trailer on the road and out of oncoming traffic. Once we hit the interstate, I was fine for the rest of the way.

The rest of the trip has no real lessons learned other than those relating to how to get around what will be my home for the next couple of years. Overall, I'd say that the uhaul definitely did a good job teaching me about trailering, but if it's your first time driving one, I wouldn't recommend a cross country trip as your preferred learning experience. Thank you for taking the time to read my huge wall of text.


TLDR version:
-if you're going to change out a part, change it out.
-if the trailer you rent needs a special fix to work properly, find it out before you leave.
-make sure you have plenty of ways to keep yourself entertained.
-the next rest stop after this one is ALWAYS closed.
-Fuck Google Maps Navigation.

[stimpy321972]

Awesome,

Glad you and the Mrs. made it safely. Yeah two things, I found out going the opposite way, from VA Beach to Gunnison, CO, several times.

1. Cracker Barrel is your friend, not only for their delicious cooking and yummy candies but they have books on CD, once your are done, you take them to the next closest CrBa where minus a restocking fee, which is like $5 you turn in or exchange your book for another one. This is perfectly legal/moral as they have or used to have a sign on the CD rack explaining how to do this. I finished 6 of WEB griffith and all of Clancy's books this way. Plus added bonus of hash brown casserole in every state !!!

2. I purchased Delormes mapping program, don't know if they still have it ?? I printed off maps of my routes and alternates, with places I wanted to stop on the way, yes including Cracker Barrels' but mainly relatives and friends along the way. I steadfastly, still believe in paper maps and map books. I still use them today with updates from the internet to keep them current. I don't own and don't plan to own a car GPS unless it would come with the vehicle.

Now with google earth it is a gizillion times easier and precise.



Anyhoo, welcome to the Commonwealth, if you liked Seattle's traffic then you will love morning rush hour to NNB, LCAB, Dam Neck or Oceana and worse in the evening headed to the beach.


good luck and hope to see you at one of the soon-to-be-tidewater-chapter events.

[-----P-----]

Anyhoo, welcome to the Commonwealth, if you liked Seattle's traffic then you will love morning rush hour to NNB, LCAB, Dam Neck or Oceana and worse in the evening headed to the beach.

I know! 15 mph traffic at 530 in the morning on the interstate... Plus people drive like psychopaths...

Deserted at 3 though... One of the only times I've ever been glad I'm a cook.

[stimpy321972]

Anyhoo, welcome to the Commonwealth, if you liked Seattle's traffic then you will love morning rush hour to NNB, LCAB, Dam Neck or Oceana and worse in the evening headed to the beach.

I know! 15 mph traffic at 530 in the morning on the interstate... Plus people drive like psychopaths...

Deserted at 3 though... One of the only times I've ever been glad I'm a cook.

I remember it well, that's why I keep my ass in Richmond and just visit down there to see my folks and old friends.