Moving advice for ds24

[dirty ethel rackham]

Next week, my oldest is moving over 14 hours away for grad school, driving over 2 days.  He is a minimalist kind of guy ... he used to move home from his college apartment in a 1997 Camry and this included his bike.  He will have more stuff this time, and will be driving a slightly larger car.  One concern we have is leaving stuff in the car overnight while staying in a hotel.  I'm afraid that his car would get broken into.  Any advice to keep his belongings safe?  Will he have to unload his car into his hotel room after a long day of driving?  

ETA:  He did look into getting a Pod, but it was going to be over $1000, and take 6-8 business days, and they didn't have any small ones available in the time frame he needs, .

[Bootsie]

When we have had a car packed full, we have tried to park where the car is in clear view of the front door of the hotel and under bright lights.  If that isn't available, we would try to park directly outside our room, in hopes that we would hear anyone breaking into the car.  We would avoid more remote, isolated areas of the parking lot,

[catz]

We had a vehicle broken into when we were on a cross country trip in a hotel parking lot.  Park near the front under a light.  Preferably in line of a security cam.  Bring in as much as possible especially if it might look tempting from a car window.  Bikes can be tempting (we did lose a nice bike on that break in).   Make contents look boring.  Plain, unlabeled boxes.  Possibly cover them with a dark blanket or plain tarp.

You can sometimes get hotels with underground parking ramps.  A nicer neighborhood or suburb isn't a bad idea for a hotel. 

[Mama Geek]

I would drive it straight through and sleep at a rest area or something for 1/2 an hour at a time if needed.  I have done this many times.

[Pen]

I suggest a call to car and or home owner insurance companies to see what they cover, and what suggestions they may have. 

I like other suggestions you have received. 

I know someone who “moved” cross country by car and stayed at truckers’ stops (like Love’s) instead of motels along the way. Slept in vehicle so was with belongings except very briefly to take a shower, use lav, and get food. 

[Liz CA]

Perhaps look into one of those storage containers that get bolted to the top of the car like Yakima?  https://www.yakima.com/product-type/cargo-box

Won't hold everything but at least a few items perhaps and nothing is visible. Expensive items and especially digital stuff, I'd take into the hotel. Some hotels have security service but you probably pay for it in higher cost. Definitely would avoid dodgy motels and go somewhere bright and a decent part of town.

[prairiewindmomma]

I think this is a horrible idea. In previous states I have lived in, he would likely be broken into (and by likely I mean almost guaranteed).

When we moved cross country (twice in the last three years), I emptied my vehicle...with four kids in tow.

Get a luggage dolly, and he can likely do it in 1-2 trips.

[happi duck]

Can he ship most of it and take the rest into the room?  Otherwise naps at rest stops or truck stops sound like a good idea.

Eta: even if he takes the valuables into the room the packed car is a target

[J-rap]

We've travelled with a full car many times.  We stayed at nicer hotels in safe areas.  Some hotels have 24-hour desk service with people out and about.  Can he stay at a place like that along the way?  I'd cover what's in the car with a dark blanket, and take in anything important.  Also, document everything in the car because generally that's something homeowner's insurance would cover if stolen, isn't it?  

I wouldn't want my child to drive straight through, because frankly, I'd be more worried about driving when sleep-deprived than getting the car broken into.

You can probably get some kind of an alarm for extra safety, even a cheap DIY one.

[TravelingChris]

We have moved many times across the country.  We have never had a break-in.  We also keep moving one daughter to and from school and this is too a higher crime city.  No problems. Renter's insurance, try to get hotels in better areas, what other said about being near lights, front of hotel or your room where you can monitor better, alarm, cover stuff up.

[skimomma]

7 hours ago, prairiewindmomma said:

I think this is a horrible idea. In previous states I have lived in, he would likely be broken into (and by likely I mean almost guaranteed).

 

 

This surprises me.  We have traveled all over the country, including during moves, with a bursting car parked in every sort of environment and have never had a break in.  We do not tend to stay in very nice hotels and we are suckers for hole-in-the-wall eateries in the worst parts of cities.  We just returned from a two week trip under similar circumstances with a non-working car door lock....so essentially our car was left unlocked in many different places overnight or during evening meals.  Granted, we take purses, electronics, and instruments inside, but there was plenty of valuable stuff left, some in plain sight, without incident.  I would not recommend this particular scenario (this is often unplanned on our part) but the fact is, most of the things we have in our car might be plenty valuable but aren't something thieves are interested in as they are difficult to move on the stolen market.  

I will caution about the Yakima boxes.  We have one and use it almost daily.  They are great.  But we only put valueless stuff in it and ALWAYS leave it unlocked.  While I know literally no one that has had their actual car broken into, there is something about those opaque boxes that seem to be irresistible.  Within the last year, we have two friends who have had their broken into where the thieves broke the box latches by prying it open (making it useless).  In one case the box was empty and the car was parked in hotel valet parking!  The other case had valueless items inside that the thieves did not take.  But both cases resulted in a bit of a mess because the boxes were too broken to shut so had to be removed and disposed of.  For the people who actually had stuff in it, they did not have room in the car for the items that had been in the box.  They had to toss items to be able to continue their trip.  We have had evidence that someone has perused through our box when it was parked overnight.  Somehow they were not interested in our dirty laundry or ancient tents.......

[sassenach]

2 hours ago, TravelingChris said:

We have moved many times across the country.  We have never had a break-in.  We also keep moving one daughter to and from school and this is too a higher crime city.  No problems. Renter's insurance, try to get hotels in better areas, what other said about being near lights, front of hotel or your room where you can monitor better, alarm, cover stuff up.

Same. I’m surprised how many people unloaded their whole car. That would never occur to me. We park in front of the lobby, under the lights. Bring in electronics. 

I haven’t researched it, but I’m going to guess that statistically it’s a much lower risk than it feels. 

[sassenach]

5 hours ago, J-rap said:

We've travelled with a full car many times.  We stayed at nicer hotels in safe areas.  Some hotels have 24-hour desk service with people out and about.  Can he stay at a place like that along the way?  I'd cover what's in the car with a dark blanket, and take in anything important.  Also, document everything in the car because generally that's something homeowner's insurance would cover if stolen, isn't it?  

I wouldn't want my child to drive straight through, because frankly, I'd be more worried about driving when sleep-deprived than getting the car broken into.

You can probably get some kind of an alarm for extra safety, even a cheap DIY one.

Yes, I don’t like the sleep at rest stops suggestions at all! I don’t think that’s safe on several counts. I’d rather risk the stuff than my son. 

[katilac]

5 hours ago, J-rap said:

I wouldn't want my child to drive straight through, because frankly, I'd be more worried about driving when sleep-deprived than getting the car broken into.

1

 

I agree 100%.

 

[Scarlett]

This thread is reminding me of the time my parents had several cases of apples in their car as they were driving home from Washington state.  At the hotel they stopped at in a place I don't recall....the hotel management made them unload every single apples because of the likelihood of bears breaking into their car. 

Parents were NOT happy....LOL...but I bet they would have been less happy to have their car destroyed. 

[lavender's green]

DH and I have done four moves like this; two of them were clear across the country with multiple nights in hotels. We never had a problem, but we had truly valuable/irreplaceable things in an easily-accessible bag or box to be brought into the hotel every night. We only kept boring stuff in plain view.

[Pen]

It might also help to check with police and hotels in the specific places he plans to spend the night. 

He could be headed to places where break ins are common or where they are unlikely. And you cannot always tell by appearance or upscaleness which will be which. 

Though a car alarm, lighted parking spot, near his own room, and in view of round the clock workers, with most valuable/irreplaceable items taken inside with him would all tend to diminish risk. 

[Garga]

How long would it take to unload it?  Would it take more than 20 minutes to unload?  If it’s a multi-story motel, I’d ask for a room on the ground floor. It it’s a hotel, they usually have those little carts for luggage.

I would probably unload it, and would probably use some sort of cart.  Someone upthread suggested he bring a moving cart-thing with him.  If they’re cheap, that’s what I’d do.

If unloading the car would be a long drawn-out job, then I’d still unload until the seats were empty.  I would put the things most important to me on the seats, so I could easily take them out at the m/hotel and leave the rest of my stuff in the trunk/hatch area.  I would think a car stuffed to the brim with goodies might be worth breaking into to a thief, but a car with empty seats and a covered back might not be worth the hassle.

The bike would certainly go inside.

[Mama Geek]

We have made more trips around 15 hours than I can count, with stopping during the daytime at rest areas for a nap without a problem.  I also had a trailer broken into at a hotel that we stopped at for a much longer trip that looked fine.  It was shortly after dd was born and we lost stuff like homemade quilts and other things dd had been given.  They didn't take anything that would be really valuable other than for sentimental reasons.