3 moves in 2 years. I haven’t moved more than most and there are those of you reading this who definitely have me beat for relocation time and time again. I spent most of my life in one state and I only had to move less than an hour when I moved within it. Back in 2020, I moved from Connecticut to Utah to join Fieldcraft Survival. There were actually 2 cross-country trips (first on my own towing a trailer and one with my ex driving her car) I took in the middle of winter and I thought I was done with moving. After my first rent spiked from $1528 to $2159 per month, I moved slightly closer to work and saved a little on rent but expenses kept growing elsewhere. Climbing gas prices and the realization that purchasing real estate in UT wasn’t likely without a massive pay raise, transferring to Fieldcraft North Carolina started to make more sense. Pair that with having an elderly father who could need me at a moment’s notice and the decision to move a third time was in the cards. At the end of October 2022, I was on the road again and headed East to the home of Fieldcraft Training. I’m far from an expert mover but I believe there are lessons to learn in all experiences and some of those lessons are worth sharing here.

Downsize

Think about what you have and how you’ll pack it. Chances are, you have more than you know. It is easy to become a pack rat and while it seems like a great idea to hold onto the past, when packing stuff is your present, you won’t be happy. When you decide to move, the amount of space you have to fill will become a constant concern. The question “will it fit” is persistent. For this most recent move, I used a 20’ U Haul truck and towed my 4Runner. I assumed I had enough space and I did but I must admit if my buddy Mike O’Brien wasn’t the loadmaster of the truck, it wouldn’t have all made it inside. I had everything packed in boxes and packed tightly. Prior to this move, a lot of my furniture was up on the for sale boards but some of it didn’t sell. Furniture takes up a significant amount of space in any packing container. Now that I’m here in North Carolina and I’ve unpacked, I know I could have sold more, given away more, and thrown out more. My advice, in retrospect, start by eliminating one third of your clothes. Pull out 3 pairs of pants and get rid of one. The same is true of gear you haven’t used for 2 years. I am now going through bins of kit and asking, “did I use this at all in UT” and “will I use this in NC?” If the answer is no, I’m looking to rehome it. I’ve amassed a lot of equipment as an outdoor professional and writer with multiple hobbies across all seasons. It’s time to let some go.

Up and Over

I broke up the 2277 mile trip into 3 full days of driving; 12, 12, and 10 hours respectively. Since Colorado has less-than-optimal gun laws, I knew I didn’t want to spend the night there with an AR pistol at my side in the U-Haul cab. I made it to Colby, KS night 1 but only after making it over the mountains. Keep altitude and engine performance in mind as you travel. Vehicles don’t work well in the cold and they also don’t work as efficiently at altitude. I started my drive around 5500 feet and one of the highest points I passed was over 11k feet. Climbing up the mountain strained the engine and I only saw 25 miles per hour at best. Vehicles that were not burdened by a heavy load or trailer, flew past me at much greater speeds. Be mindful of others on the road and if you feel your vehicle slowing down, throw on your hazard lights. Depth perception can be reduced at night and not all drivers have great vision. Make yourself visible. This drive through the mountains took place after dark and the temps dropped below freezing. Be mindful of the road conditions and use your engine brake if at all possible. Remember that what goes up, must come down and there will be a downhill section of your journey. Instead of riding the brake, I dropped the engine into lower gear. Even with good brake discipline, I still smelled a heavy scent of brake dust at the next rest stop and could feel the heat coming off of them.

Security On the Road

In survival courses, the concept of personal security comes up with survival priorities. It relates to shelter building in the field as well as your EDC selection and how to secure your vehicle on the road. That U-Haul held all of my belongings and only a cable tie and a lock separated them from thieves. I deliberately packed my 4Runner with bathroom cleaning supplies, a wicker basket full of coat hangers, and a globe in plane view. I wanted to give off vibes from my previous career as a history teacher and not Fieldcraft Survival instructor. A potential thief would have to risk getting caught for a potentially invaluable reward. When I stopped for gas, I made sure to keep the doors locked in the cab of the U-haul and check all my straps. At one rest stop, one of the vehicle tire straps was completely off. Don’t ask me how it happened but that is why you check and utilize multiple chains for security. At night, I reached out to my old friends Mike, Dwayne, and Lt. Mike and asked them to help me locate hotels near police stations. In Paducah, KY, I stayed literally next door to the PD and angled the back of the vehicle in a manner facing the station. At night, I made sure to bring my weekend bag into the hotel along with my day pack and broken down AR Pistol. The only thing left in the cab was a deer head, plant, and some large bulky items that clearly presented no value to anyone other than me. To secure my canoe to my roof rack, I used multiple cable locks for firearms and tucked them up and into the hull around the center thwart. Someone could cut the strap securing the boat to the rack but they would be slowed down having to deal with multiple hidden cables. All of these measures allowed me to sleep better at night and have enough energy to push on in the morning.

Fuel Management
Of course, this road trip was fueled by gasoline. U-Haul advertises their trucks get “up to 10 miles per gallon”. I’m used to driving an SUV that gets just over 20 on the highway and almost the mythical 4Runner 21 MPG average. My 20’ U-Haul with trailer averaged between 8.5 to 9.2 MPG. I budgeted for it to only get 5 MPG and had gas money to spare. If you do the math, an approximate 2200 mile trip requires between 239 and 258 gallons of fuel. Initially, I filled up with UT prices at approximately $4.30 cents and by the end of the trip, gas was about a dollar less. If you’re trying to do the math in your head, on a low estimate, that translates to $788.70 in fuel and on the high end, $1027.70. I’ll have to wait for my credit card statement to post to see exactly how much I spent. Fuel management is not just budgeting for what you’ll pay, it also involves knowing how many miles you can get out of a quarter, half, and full tank. Some rest areas are 40 miles apart. I believe in the half-tank habit. That is, refilling my personal vehicle at the half-full mark. However, this vehicle wasn’t the easiest to maneuver in tight spaces and I made sure the rest areas I stopped at were right off the highway. This meant letting the tank get down to 2/5ths full. The last thing I wanted to do was call on someone to help with an empty tank. I did carry 2 extra gallons of fuel in the Rotopax on the back of my 4Runner but luckily I never had to use it. One other type of fuel worth considering is human fuel also known as food. I packed a cooler with nuts, beef jerky, cheese, and some Keto bars. I’m currently on a diet schedule of 18/8 fasting and eating. This helped me skip breakfast and focus on only having to pick up one substantial meal per day. I consumed plenty of water and for times when rest-stop bathrooms were out of order or being worked on, a gallon pee bottle came in handy. If you never took a road trip as a kid and pee’ed in a bottle, a trip like this is perfect to recapture those lost experiences from your youth.

There are so many lessons to learn from this type of overland trip. There are so many universal concepts we can glean. Moving can be an absolute bear and I’m not looking forward to the next time but I know it will be less involved since I’ll likely be moving into a home I purchase here in NC after the market crashes. When you move, you evaluate what you need, what you don’t, and what matters in your life. I opened boxes of clothes and gear I forgot I had and I know someone else in our “outdoor community” could use it. I dropped off a box or two at my local thrift shop, another at War Dogs Surplus (an awesome military store with a killer selection of gear in Southern Pines), and I sold other gear to folks who needed it. While moving drains you of energy, it also depletes you of excess. Here’s my suggestion. Next time you run a “bug out” scenario, run an alternate scenario if you had to relocate using a 20’ truck. Take a hard look at what you own and trim fat where you can. Keep bins handy and organize your closet if you have to pack up and go. You may not have to move but better organization is better for you. Last but not least, listen to the advice of others and don’t move by yourself. I’m especially grateful for my UT moving crew of Sera, Dru, Stephen, Jack, and Mike O. as well as my NC move in crew of Gerry and Ashley. We’re a community and you can always count on true friends in a time of need. Godspeed to you and good luck with your move.