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Drive, fly, rent, or ?:
The big dilemma with buying a boat out of state is getting it. Missouri is 2,000 miles from my house. I looked at flying out, renting a truck, and driving back. It was about the same price as just driving out and back myself, perhaps a bit more. It was also hard to find an outfit that rented full sized pickups one way over long distance. You could get a cargo van or a box truck but that seemed less than ideal. I also looked in to shipping the boat. The rates varied from $1 to $2 a mile. In other words, $2,000 to $4,000. Some dealers seemed able to offer cheaper shipping rates, or perhaps they were bundling it in to the price. The biggest issue with shipping was that I wouldn't be able to test drive the boat.
So I started planning the road trip. You'd be amazed how many people seem excited by the thought of a crazy cross country road trip. It was like Tom Sawyer's fence. Nico was down to go so we booked a Motel 6 in Kingman, AZ and Springfield, MO for the way out and left the trip back open ended. With two people we figured we could do the 4,000 miles in 3 to 4 days - driving in shifts and sleeping a few hours each night.
The approximate breakdown on cost was as follows, averaging $2.70 per gallon on gas:
Hotel - $120
Gas to MO - $335
Gas to CA - $490
Tolls - $40
Food - $100
Monster Energy - $25
DMV Fees related to out of state purchase - $70
Total = $1,180
Filling up at Chevron in Texas
I also paid Nico some money for the hassle and bought him some tackle at Bass Pro Shops. You may be too cheap to pay your friends to help you get the boat so I didn't factor it in. In case you were wondering, the Bass Pro world headquarters had no giant bass swimming in tanks due to a remodel (huge let down). They did have a crocodile. It looked tired.
In an economic sense, I paid a $1,180 premium to get the boat out of state. If you consider the food cost as a sunk cost (we all need to eat), you're down to $1,080.
Mile Zero
The Road to MO:
We left after work on a Wednesday night and headed south from Dublin. By 3am we were in Kingman, AZ. It became apparent right away that 2-hour shifts worked well for driving. One guy could sleep or rest in the back of the cab while the other guy drove. The first leg was uneventful, and dark.
6am Thursday we were on Hwy 40 headed for Missouri. The Arizona high country was nice. New Mexico seemed dirty, but scenic. They really want to sell you turquoise jewelery and knives in New Mexico. There's also a cool energy shot called "Truckers Love It" in the gas stations there. I tried to get Nico to try one but he wussed out.
Mr. Bass Guides the Way
Texas has giant bugs around Amarillo. We passed a rest stop / tornado shelter that was built out in a giant pile of earth. I guess that's what you do when you don't have hills. Oklahoma was long. There were an inordinate number of tolls here, and signs advertising adult video. Gotta tell it like it is. Finally at 2am we hit Springfield.
After driving for 20 hours we pulled off the freeway. I was at the wheel. On the offramp I see headlights coming my way. My heart jumped. I thought I might be going the wrong way but it was a drunk coming up the offramp. About scared the pants off me. We headed to the Motel 6 and immediately got lost. I took business 65 instead of 65. After sorting things out I pulled on to a residential street to turn around. A 3-point turn was required. As soon as I get sideways in the street a cop comes around the corner and lights up a car that turned in front of him.
Here we are sideways in the road at drunk-driver:30 AM in Springfield with a spotlight on us. I had to laugh inside. The cop just gave us idiot out-of-staters the once over and sent us on our way. We crashed out at the hotel.
Buying the Boat:
When the seller pulled around the corner as we sat at McDonalds at 7am that same morning it felt a bit surreal to see the boat. We headed to Table Rock Lake. It was cold and windy. Good day for a boat test. Nico got a 1-day fishing license. Cell reception sucked so I couldn't get one. We ran down lake, pulled up on a point and our guy cast out and hooked one on the first cast. Pretty cool.
Fisherman are fisherman no matter where you go. We spent 3 hours BS'ing and checking out the boat. Nico caught a couple spotted bass. It was blowing 15 and tough to fish. I bought the boat and we headed to the aforementioned Bass Pro Shops. From there we continued West to Amarillo, TX. Nico passed the time writing code for his open source utility called Conque and stealing internet connections from hotels near gas stations. I don't remember when we got there, but it was some time after dark. We were wiped out and Nico was catching a cold. We got the crappiest Domino's pizza I've ever eaten delivered to the hotel.
Nico with the first fish (he tried to hide it but I got it on film)
The Road Home:
Saturday we got up and on the road again early. It was cold and overcast at 8am when we pulled away. Good driving weather. The tolls in Oklahoma were more expensive with a tandem axle trailer. I was beginning to experience the joy of big boat ownership. My 2002 Tundra V8 did a whopping 10.5mpg with the boat in tow at 75mph. Sure I have a KNN and a Magnaflow exhaust but let's be real here.
You have to hand it to other states for building smooth roads and letting you drag your boat at high speed at least. We drove and drove this day. I saw a herd of antelope in Arizona and was so zoned out I thought they were fake. We hit the California border well after dark. Nico was at the wheel and thought the truck felt funny so we pulled over. It looked a little low on oil. We were somewhere near Blythe and stopped at a gas station. All it said was GAS.
Inside there were aquariums everywhere. I bet someone reading this knows this place. Behind the counter the guy was itching his leg and going on about how he had just gotten stuck by a cactus. He was saying something about kicking the cactus, then using his shoe to scratch his leg. Next thing I know he's spraying his leg down with Windex. It was the most priceless moment of the trip. Wish I had it on video. This dude was plumb off his rocker.
We drove on. And on. It was a 2 Monster evening. Finally around 7am the next day we were home.
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