rachels.haven's Journal

[farmerjan]

A possible stop gap.... We live right along 81 which I assume you will be driving most of the way. Exit 200 area of Virginia... I am PMing our #'s... If you have a problem,,, you can bring it here, have it towed here, anything... and we will do anything we can to accommodate things. We have trucks and trailers, we can help take them to MD (4-5 hrs north of here)... If you have problems we can come get you.... We are about halfway up 81 from both borders... 4-5 hours from TN to the south, 4-5 hours to WV/MD line north. 81 is about 400 miles long...
We also can help you get "help" on the road if need be...

When are you leaving to go north?

Take extra water and antifreeze with you... if it starts to get hot find an exit or a rest area and let it cool down... DO NOT turn off the truck when it is hot, but at a stop let it run so the water goes through to help cool off the engine while no load on it... DO NOT open the radiator if it is showing hot... most newer vehicles now have the overflows and that is where you add water....
When we had the truck overheating that morning taking the cattle to town, DS got off the interstate... we limped it to a pilot and let it run and it cooled off a little... then he unhooked the trailer and managed to drive the truck without the added strain of pulling the trailer home, and got the other truck. It was a stuck thermostat and it would not open up to let the water go through the hose... not a big deal but if we had run it could have blown the engine.

 

[rachels.haven]

@farmerjan thank you. That's extremely comforting. We will in all seriousness keep that in mind if needed. Hopefully it will not be. We're reading and re reading your advice as well along with the other advice we got last night.
We originally planned to leave on Thursday but now we're taking about dropping the kids off at my brother's as soon as the movers finish with the human stuff and starting our haul...and honestly that also brings me peace.

@SageHill , I don't think all the does plus the bucks will fit comfortably in her rig. She's got a two horse plus one gooseneck, or at least that's what I feel, but I may chalk out the trailer measurements on the driveway just in case. If the bucks can all stand in the "plus one" part of her rig I'd let her take them. Three of my bucks are kind of big now though.

 

[Baymule]

If it gets dicey, call @farmerjan . She’s offered to come help, she could pull your trailer to your new home. I may be speaking out of turn, but what I read was a heartfelt offer to make sure y’all get there.

Just don’t keep going if your truck has trouble. That’s a sure fire way of making it worse or blowing the engine.

 

[rachels.haven]

"sure fire"...Yep. Let's not do that.

We're going to do our best. Hopefully she will not hear from us. Unless it's a fun social call later on.

 

[rachels.haven]

As a side note, DH has agreed we should upgrade the truck once we get there so we can pull the trailer to our whim and fancy and need. Unfortunately he also got in a collision with an uninsured driver in an unregistered car a week or two ago so he's also going to be car shopping for a small car at the same time so things may happen slow...or very fast depending on how the stars align. The company is moving us so our finances are not taking a hit...yet, I guess.

Movers come in the morning. Time to pack the beasts. Movers think it will be 3 days of packing. After the dumpster tidy up I doubt that, but we'll see.

 

[rachels.haven]

Huh. Laying hands on every single object I have and getting rid of everything I don't want to keep does NOT make packing for oneself any more enjoyable.

 

[murphysranch]

"Don't touch my stuff" is one of my most often repeated phrases when we are moving. UGH UGH UGH

 

[rachels.haven]

The house is emptied. We're putting the finishing touches on it and I'm getting ready to pack the buck trailer and stage the things for the doe trailer. DH got molasses all over the truck bed doing a dump run so the truck got washed too. And our Honda van is all tuned up, ready for my brother and his wife to drive the clans over to our new house.

 

[Baymule]

You are off to a new adventure!

 

[farmerjan]

The house is emptied. We're putting the finishing touches on it and I'm getting ready to pack the buck trailer and stage the things for the doe trailer. DH got molasses all over the truck bed doing a dump run so the truck got washed too. And our Honda van is all tuned up, ready for my brother and his wife to drive the clans over to our new house.

for a quiet, uneventful trip.