Tips on dealing with moving trucks.
Moving? Here’s some advice on driving to your new home from the book “How to Survive a Move” (Hundreds of Heads Books, www.hundredsofheads.com, $13.95), straight from people who’ve done it:
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“Laugh it off. Things will go wrong. Things will break. On our move to Florida the boat’s cover flew off on the highway. We caught it in time, pulled over, and laughed.”
— D.D., Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., 5 moves
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“Do not leave your hazard lights in your U-Haul blinking as you move. When you try to start the engine and hear a clicking sound, it means that your battery has died. Trust me—you don’t want to deal with this.”
Amy Hirotaka, Brooklyn, N.Y., 4 moves
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“Make sure you read—and follow—the instructions on vehicle speed if you’re doing any towing. I was towing a fullsize Cadillac from Denver to Phoenix, and the warning on the tow package said DO NOT EXCEED 55 MPH. So there I was doing 80, and the vehicle started swaying back and forth in an uncontrolled manner. Those warnings are there for a reason!”
— J.C., Redmond, Wash., 15 moves
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“Give moving van drivers a map! My three sons and I awaited a moving van from North Carolina at our new home in Roanoke, Virginia. The van was due at our place in the morning. By lunch time we were wondering, and just before 2 p.m. I called the agent. Seems the guys had taken off for a Virginia city that also began with “R”—Richmond, to be precise. That was across the state from us, and they arrived about dinnertime. As tired as they were, they unloaded until 2 a.m. and the job was finished. I offered them the pullout couch in the basement, but they thanked me and left—in the right direction I hope.”
— Barbara Bryan, Davidson, N.C., 2 moves
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“Take careful stock of the equipment you’re renting. My boyfriend was driving our U-Haul and I happened to look out the side-view mirror and see a door flapping behind us on the highway. We came close to having the contents of our lives spill out on the roadway. Turns out the U-Haul had a defective latching mechanism on the back door.”
— Alyssa Agee, Snoqualmie, Wash., 10 moves
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Hundreds of Heads Books’ survival guides offer the wisdom of the masses by assembling the experiences and advice of hundreds of people who have gone through life’s biggest challenges and have insight to share.
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© 2007, Hundreds of Heads Books, Inc.