Let’s start by saying, thank you, U-Haul, for making sure no one can sue you for renting inadequate equipment.

I couldn’t get a hitch put on my QX4. For all it’s “SUV”-ness, it doesn’t have the frame to haul a transporter with a car on it. So, can U-Haul rent me a truck big enough for that job, and an auto transporter? Nope. Not on the last day of the month, unless I had a reservation.

Thank you, P and T (more friends! more initials! I’ll never keep them all straight…) for loaning your Durango to the cause. That is an SUV in all it’s glory. I love V-8 power. Not the gas mileage, but the power – my goodness. Didn’t manage a high rate of speed, but it was a steady speed – up hills and down dales.

Rented a transporter, after getting the Durango from P and T. Finally got J.P.’s car loaded, and ready to go, by 1:00 Sunday afternoon. Hit the road, and the weather. Hot and sticky in the Valley, then as boring as ever through Wickenburg and Wikieup, with the exception of the suicidal drivers who insist on passing whether there’s enough room for them or not. About 10 miles south of I-40, the temperature went from 103 to 71 in a mile and a half, and the rain came pouring down. Fought the rain until DW Ranch road, and then it cleared up and warmed up again.

Once I got to J.P.’s house, it was easy enough getting his car off; after all, his transmission works just fine. Then we had to sit and think. The J30’s tranny was thrashed. There was a forward drive, after a fashion. There was no reverse. Neutral sounded like ball bearings in the dryer, but it was kind of there. OK, I knew that I wouldn’t have any help unloading by the time I got back to Phoenix, so we figured we would back it onto the trailer. Remember no reverse? That’s right, neutral and five grown men pushing got that sucker onto the trailer. Tied down, gassed up, and gone – at a blazing 55 miles per hour. With the weight of the engine over the back axle of the trailer, any faster than that would induce a fishtail action that I was not fond of. Time of departure: 6:00 p.m. Long day so far, longer day yet to come.

I caught back up with the rain before I hit Wickenburg. By that time, it was a full blown storm, with wind gusts and sideways rain. What fun! About the time I hit the cut/rise at the Highway 89 turn off, to Bagdad and Hillside, I was down to about 40 miles per hour, due to lack of visibility. Good thing, too, as it turns out – when I hit that cut, the wind coming down 89 pushed the whole show to the right by a good two feet – onto the shoulder. This is called pucker factor – and this is when God’s hand is seen – I didn’t lose control of it. The trailer stayed behind the Durango, and I eased back onto the roadway proper, never left pavement, and continued on my way. Cleared the rain in Wickenburg, and it chased me the rest of the way home.

Long story short (too late!) my head hit my pillow about 11:45, after dropping off the car, returning the trailer, and gassing up the Durango – again. I am tired. I got into work about an hour late, but that hour was worth it for the sleep.

“An Adventure In Moving” – no kidding!