The Stovebolt Site Forums The Parking Lot Big Bolts Moving from California to Virginia

So recently I got orders to my command for when I finish school in november. I will be going to the USS Washington SSN 787 which is currently being built in Newport News, VA. I'm really excited to get to this boat, but I have a Big move ahead of me. I am currently in Groton, CT but I'm from California so all my tools and my chevy is there. I'm going to have about 4 weeks of transfer leave. My question for everyone is who would you suggest to ship my 2 ton chevy? Do you guys think they'll care if all of my tools are on the bed? Or better yet, I do plan on changing alot on this truck including the rear end, maybe swap that out and drive the old thing? I still have plenty of time before anything needs to happen so I'm throwing some ideas around. Thanks in advance for any input!

I would ask a lot of questions before you load your tools in it. Something that big will likely be on an open hauler, which will leave everything exposed to the elements, as well as, no security when the driver stops for a break. I would try and ship the tools w/household items and leave the truck to ship by itself.

GL w/the move adn thank you for your service!

If you could get the basic work done and get an OD or rear end ratio high enough so you could maintain 60 mph, It would be a great one off cross country trip.

Take Rt.66 out of California and just keep going east.

However, I know the military pays well for relocation expenses. If you could get the truck move paid for.......

Subsporter,
I suggest you do your homework on this one. Contact several moving companies to see what they can do for you. You are looking at moving some weight, so you might want to get a good idea of how much weight you have in CA. In your orders, you should be authorized certain about of $ for your move. Look to see if you are authorized to move your stuff from CA to VA and CT to VA. You may have to pay out of pocket so be careful. I don't know all the details of the moving business but I've moved a couple of times and it isn't any fun.
Good luck with your move and once you are in the area, give me a call.

Thanks for the ideas guys. Also got off the phone with Paul from here and he was a big help too! As far as navy paying for moving, I know they'll move all my stuff the barracks here to the barracks there. Not sure about my stuff from California to Virginia. They'll also pay for my fuel (I think its around 26 cents a mile) and also lodging. My class will go through another little class essentially that'll go more in depth later on since we're still 2 months away from grad. With Pauls input though I'm definitely leaning towards driving so I'll ask the guys above me for some more info.

Welcome to the sbolt. And soon welcome to the mid Atlantic region. Home of the Odss an otherwise eclectic group of stove bolt groupies.

Well sadly my dates have changed. So I no longer have the adequate time, imo, to properly get my truck ready for 3000 miles. So who would you guys suggest I use to ship my truck? It still needs to go from California to Virginia. Thanks everyone.

You can try UShip.com. The bid process there will give you an idea of shipping costs and scheduling options. I used them to move my C-60 and it was a good experience. If you have to move your tools at the same time I suggest a serious weather resistant crate that is screwed and banded tight.
Thank you for your service.

SimS

The navy is going to ship my tools and other things from California, they're considered household goods. I'm on my own for my truck. Uship got me 3 bids so far; 2449, 2248, 2147. For some reason I thought it would be less, but it wont need to be shipped until december so it might come down more.

subsporter,firstly welcome.

My buddy's stationed at Fort Eustis in NN although he may be relocating to San Diego in the near future.

I'll shoot him an e/mail to see if he has any suggestions,as he might have a similar dilemma with moving some of his projects.

I'm not sure if he's done any research regarding his move but it won't hurt to ask.

I asked around here on base and mercury auto transport seemed to be pretty popular. So I tried with them and they gave me a quote of only $888.00! Needless to say I will be calling them to see if thats really how cheap it will be.

subsporter,sorry for the delay in replying but my friend couldn't offer any suggestions.
I just need to get him indoctrinated to love Chevys,he's a Mopar guy...lol.

Good luck with your relocation,Newport News is a fine place in my book and I've thoroughly enjoyed my trips there.

I'm a pasty Scotsman so the summer heat and humidity was a slight problem....!

sub,

Check out our hauling forum. There may be someone there that can help specifically (I saw a post about San Jose, CA to anywhere) ... or some of the haulers can give you general advice, too.

Good luck with the relocation. Our time with USMC we kept our shipments light so we'd never go over our allocation (4 people). Our final move to Maryland, we were able to pack everything into a horse trailer (no horses anymore).

That's great the tools are household goods. I bet you'll get the truck here easier than you thought.

And definitely catch up with Bread. He's a good guy and will be a big help.

And you've got a TWO-TON?? Some of the "locals" here are gonna love that!

Keep us posted.

Peg

Well in true navy fashion, things keep changing unexpectedly. I had a hernia get fixed in 2012 and I started having problems with it again. So I am no longer moving at the time I thought I would be, and maybe not any time soon at that. I might get to keep my orders and go to Newport News but at a later date, but as of right now I am no longer fit for submarine duty. That is a real bummer seeing as I've been in school for almost a year and I will graduate 13NOV.

I will still be going home around thanksgiving or maybe christmas time to see family and wrench on my truck (3 grand worth of parts that just arrived at my parents house are waiting for me) and I will take plenty of pictures.

If I am in CT for awhile I'll then look into shipping it here, and again depending on how long I'll be here I might now have the time to drive it here instead.

So thank you everyone for your input, I quickly learned a lot about transport and I will let you guys know whats going on.

Hmmm ... good news / bad news ?? Will you eventually be fit for sub duty or is it a non-starter?

We know many Marines who changed MOS near the end of schooling. It all seemed to work out, tho. So, if you can't go subs, I hope you get a good fit for job behind door #2.

You'll get to work on your truck for a while. That will be fun. We may need to start a thread in the DITY Gallery (or here) so as you begin, we can keep up with you. (Of course, we'll also need to do a real Gallery story on the truck ... once you see her again.)

So ... with this experience in transporting a truck, shall we refer additional inquiries to you.

Peg

Well its hard to say whether good or bad. I could still end up on a sub but it looks unlikely. The worst part about all this is that all I know right now is I wont be leaving ct for awhile.
I should end up having more time to work on my truck though which always cheers me up. I will definitely take a lot of pictures and document everything I do, because I want to do a lot of things as other people do too but it seems like they don't do it. They get discouraged or feel like they don't have the fab skills to do it themselves or something.
I am however, very bone headed and I am going to do what I want to do darn it! So hopefully someone will see what I (a snot nosed kid) is doing and they will see that they can do it too.
I do have a story on some of the life of the truck for about the last 40ish years so I could talk about that as well if anyone is interested.

Subsporter,
Where ever you go, where ever you end up, and what ever you do, you will be part of this community. Sorry to hear your situation but tinkering with the truck has always lifted my spirits.

Your thread is starting to move from the original post of moving to VA so the best place to tell your story and post it in "The DITY Gallery" , and from there your story and your truck can make THE "Gallery" .

Heed Mrs. Peggy's advice, she knows best.

Where ever you end up, know that there are fellow Bolters around you and are interested in your progress.

Stay humble and bolt on,
Bread
.

To bad about your health issues which may not allow you to make the boats. Knowing how the military works or some time does not, I'd find a storage facility for your truck until things settle out re. your duty station. Later when you get relocated you can find a shipping company when time is not so much an issue.

Best of luck
Jim Ex-STS2 (SS)SSBN 602

Bread you're right on point, chevy always gets me up! Peggy has already started talking to me about the dity thread and doing a story as well.

I was busy all day driving around a bunch of officers and such today at the commissioning of the USS North Dakota and even saw the CNO! Tomorrow after I go catch some blackfish I'll get onto writing some stuff up.

JiMerit, yeah it sucks that I might not get to stay on subs but I would rather get this fixed and not be in pain everyday. Yes its the navy but its just a job and health always come first, that took some growing up to realize.

And to everyone else, its looking like I'll be taking a lot of leave starting 15 nov. Nothing is set in stone though, but that would give me enough time to do most of what I want to do and at the very least get it street legal again with some 22.5 rims on it. Then right before I get on a plane to go back to ct I'll load it onto a shippers truck and then it'l be here with me.

Then I'll be able to play with it here and ultimately drive it to my next command. When/where ever that will be.

Subsporter,

Nice to see someone so close. My wife's been watching the USS N.Dakota go out for sea trials.

Nice truck that you have. I just acquired a 1941 G506. Come on over and I'll show you it and two others. I'm in East Lyme.

Kyle

Good news! Doc cleared me so I am going to the PCU Washington! Because of that (and a dumb little cut that got infected and put me in the er) I have been fairly busy lately. I'll be flying home to California Friday night so Sunday I should start a dity/build thread.

I'll keep everyone posted.

641workmaster I wish I got on here last Friday I would have definitively checked out your trucks! I might be back here for school again though.

So I made it to California last night, stayed at the uso and I'm still here. Next flight isn't until 1130 but it's a short flight to Visalia which is really close to my parents house. Tomorrow I shall start playing with my truck!