piovesanalice

Hi everyone, this is my first post! YAY
My husband and I are moving from Milwaukee (WI), to Turlock (CA) around the 20th of December. Our goal is to get there by the 24th. We thought about traveling by plane but so many things would have to be left behind (my bike, our tv, some clothes etc.) The car trip takes about 32 hours. We are thinking of dividing that over 3 days. Is it doable?
We don't have a car yet, but are planning to buy one withing the next few weeks.
I was looking at other post and lots of people are talking about snow (UGHH).
Do you guys have any tips on what roads to take? we would like to get there as soon as possible.
Will the roads be icy? do we needs special wheels of any kind? any suggestions are well accepted.

THANK YOU!!

janisj

If I were you -- I'd forget about buying a car until you are in CA. You can ship out some things, and fly out (to SFO, SMF, OAK or SJC) and pay for excess baggage for some other stuff.

There is no way to know what the weather will be, and between the Rockies and Sierra you could be delayed a LOT . . . or none at all. The car trip should take significantly more than 32 hours - it is nearly 2200 miles after all and you would need to AVERAGE 65+mph to do it in 32 hours. If chains are required and or if roads are closed it could take MUCH longer.

SAB

If you must drive, you might consider taking a longer southern route, down thru Illinois, Missouri, Oklahoma, NM, AR and then up the CA central valley: I55, I44, I40 to I5. Longer, no Rockies or Sierras, less chance of snow other than IL and Missouri, but longer. We did this once coming from Illinois, in late November to avoid weather, can't remember how long it took however.

janisj

Count on a week for the southern route -- and you could have pea soup fog from SoCal all the way to Turlock.

SAB

I don't think it took us a week janis, but if you have driven it I defer to your knowledge. I recall something like 4 days, with many long days of driving (split between 3 of us).

Michael

Please read this before buying your car, paying special attention to the caution:

https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/dmv/de...es/howto/htvr9

janisj

SAB . . . w/ 3 drivers and lots of trading off I'm pretty sure it could be done in 4 days. But it sounds like the OP has only 2 people (and don't even own a car yet) so I'd give it at least 6 days.

tomfuller

Since you don't already have a car, think about a PODS move.
https://www.pods.com/moving
Without a doubt, you will have more stuff that you want to keep than what will fit in a car with two of you.
It would not be good to get a car into CA and find out it will not pass a smog test to get registered.
Fly to California (Sacramento would be good (SMF).
Rent a car for a week while you shop for a good California registered car.
If you didn't want to fly, you can take a few days on 3 or 4 trains to get from Milwaukee to Turlock.
First is a Hiawatha from MKE to Chicago. Second is the California Zephyr. Take a 24 hour break in Glenwood Springs Colorado before going to Sacramento.
Take a San Joaquin train to Turlock.

tomfuller

https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/dmv/detail/vr/newvehicle
I hope this link works better than the one by Michael.
FYI we have no sales tax on vehicles in Oregon if you get one with more than 7500 miles on it.

janisj

>>FYI we have no sales tax on vehicles in Oregon if you get one with more than 7500 miles on it.

marvelousmouse

Since you don’t have a car, I agree, don’t do it at all. Of course you’d need winter tires. You’d also want emergency supplies and chains.


You can ship stuff or do a POD or even store stuff in a storage unit or with family until summer. But all of the stuff you listed can be shipped on a plane, even the bike. And it could be considerably cheaper than a pod. Borrow some of the biggest size suitcases, fill them up to the weight limit, check them. Get a bike box, figure out which airline would be cheapest for that. Mail your TV or if cheaper, give it away and buy a new one in CA.

The only benefit to the train is that the luggage would be much cheaper, but it would be a hassle to me and not worth it.

socaltraveler

I too think it would be smarter, and safer, to fly to CA and ship your stuff, especially since you do not yet have a car. There is no guarantee on weather in December, and you are moving very close to a major holiday. If you fly into Sacramento you could rent a car, or buy one there, and then drive the few remaining hours to Turlock. No mountain range to cross (the Grapevine at the southern end of the valley does close for snow). You can monitor for December fog, and drive from Sacramento when it clears should that be an issue.

elbegewa

If you don't have a car, do you have experience driving in snow and ice? And do you know what black ice is? (hint: it's more dangerous than snow and is hard to tell if it's there) (On the other hand, since you come from WI maybe I should presume you do have experience in snow and ice)

You most likely WILL come across snow that time of year, likely through the Rockies and through the Sierras, possible anywhere along your route. And if going the southern route it's even possible you'll come across snow in northern AZ on I-40 and in the Tehachapis between Barstow CA and Bakersfield. In any case you'll come across icy roads and black ice most anywhere on your route.

I have driven on snow and ice my whole life - probably a few hundred thousand miles of the stuff - and am not intimidated by it but do highly respect it. But unless you are very comfortable and experienced driving in snow, follow the advice of the others and don't do it.
If you are experienced, then go for it. The interstates are kept in *relatively* good *winter* condition and if a snow storm makes driving difficult you can just hunker down in a motel for a day or two.

If you do try it, some warnings:
* Don't try it with standard season radial tires - use radials marked Mud & Snow (M&S) or better yet full-on winter tires (in CA they won't last long, you'll have to have another set of summer tires.)
* carry chains (and have experience putting them on) ... depending on conditions they can be either needed or required or both in the mountains.
* its a long distance between gas stations in many places out here - keep your tank topped up.
* make sure your windshield wiper fluid is rated to minus 30 or so ... you'll us it a lot because of road splash and regular washing fluid freezes on your windshield in cold weather

RVvagabond

People are moving out of California due to super high income and property taxes.

Don't ignore crime
https://www.neighborhoodscout.com/ca/turlock/crime

Property taxes
http://www.tax-rates.org/california/...y_property_tax

Time to switch?

That area is plenty of nothing

Vaga

janisj

I think th OP is gone . . . Never returned to fodors or the thread . . .