how to keep a vehicle while cruising

[drousy88]

ive been wondering how im going to go about my hobbies. sailing and offroading. if i leave st marks fl and go to panama city fl what is the best way to go get my vehicle? then, what is the best storage (safety and $) to leave the vehicle so i can sail somewhere new and then go back and get the vehicle over and over? we call it hopscotching a car while cruising. i know it sounds like a lot of hassle and im sure it will be, but i cannot leave my pride n joy corvette for too long and i want to sail all over the gulf o mehico. any thoughts are appreciated!

[Wrong]

Simply put, forget about it.

Best to rent cars when needed. For anyone who's lived aboard in a marina the challenge of finding parking is often difficult enough. If anchoring, your first concern (should be) safety of your boat with a constant eye on the weather. Moving the boat on short notice to a more secure anchorage may be required, making access to your car more difficult.

Then, don't overlook the possibility of car theft.

[Azul]

Get an old motorcycle and a trailer for it (some motorcycle trailers are even portable in a bag,) then trailer the motorcycle to your boat destination. Leave the motorcycle there with a wheel-lock and drive back. Sail to your destination. Ride the motorcycle to the car and bring both back. Rent a 5x10 storage unit and store the motorcycle, trailer and all the stuff that clutters up the boat (tools, surfboard, extra sails, stuff that molds easily or doesn't like salty air, fishing gear you rarely use etc) into the storage unit.

If you are going to be moving all the time this could turn into a PITA. OTOH, I have found that spending $45 a month on a small storage unit to declutter the boat is money well spent.

[CharlzO]

Depends on how much you want to spend to store it, assuming you don't know any friends with a spare garage bay. You could fit it in a large storage rental unit, I've done that with a Cutlass before, was running me $70 a month for the storage.

[Bulawayo]

As 'Wrong' said - think carefully. We did leave a car with a friend many years ago. We returned after 18 months and whilst the car started fine (our friend had started it regularly) we only got a few miles before the oil cooler failed as it had rusted through - just sitting in a locked garage did not help - it really needed to be driven. Over the next two years we spent a lot of money keeping it roadworthy and insured. It was sold at a substantial loss and nowadays we find it cheaper to rent or buy, then sell, if staying somewhere for an extended period.

[wjrowsell]

If you are going to be moving all the time this could turn into a PITA. OTOH, I have found that spending $45 a month on a small storage unit to declutter the boat is money well spent.[/QUOTE]

I know PITA, what's OTOH? Do I need a wetsuit for this?

[drousy88]

lol wetsuit, its on the other hand...

[valhalla360]

If you will be stopping for 2-4weeks at a time, it's very doable. If you are moving every 2-3 days, it's more hassle than it's worth.

How we went about it:
- Talked to marina and let them know we would be back for the truck in a few days or a week (or called the new marina to ask if we could drop the truck off there before arriving). It was never an issue.
- Cruised to the new destination.
- Enterprise will pick you up.
- Drive back in rental car.
- One drives the rental and the other drives the truck back to enterprise.
- Drop off Rental Car
- Drive to new marina.
- (If you need to move the truck first, just rearrange the process accordingly)

It usually cost us around $30-40 with each move.

[drousy88]

so the rental car situation is usually better than say taking the greyhound one way? i daydream about towing my car behind the boat in a conex shipping container lol. my car almost floats

[valhalla360]

Originally Posted by drousy88

so the rental car situation is usually better than say taking the greyhound one way? i daydream about towing my car behind the boat in a conex shipping container lol. my car almost floats

If greyhound is convienent to both marinas, I suppose you could but I have no idea what tickets on greyhound cost. I suspect, it would be a lot more hassle for not much savings.

Of course, bigger tires would solve your problem. No need shipping container, just drive up behind the boat and hook a line on the front axle.

[skipmac]

I think most of the replies have missed the point entirely. OP isn't looking for basic boatyard to West Marine transportation. Look at the photo of the car. He's into offroading. It's a hobby, not a ride to the grocery.

So, based on you want a way to keep your toy handy, your original post pretty well covers it; hopscotching.

1. Move boat
2. Get transportation back to car
3. Drive car to boat.
4. Drive car to mud bog.
6. Go back to #1 and repeat.

Transportation from most places in FL will be problematic. Not really practical to fly as there are very few if any commuter flights between small coastal towns. Occasionally you can find a direct train like Tampa to Palataka, maybe to Miami/Ft Lauderdale. Otherwise you are thumbing it or taking the bus.

Once you get the car to the boat you have another issue. Obviously this doesn't look like your mother's new sedan and it will hang way over your typical compact parking space. Depending on the marina some places might think it's cool and make you a spot by the front door to attract attention. Others will take one look and tell you to get that piece of junk off their property.

All depends on how much hassle you want to go through to keep your toy around.

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by drousy88

so the rental car situation is usually better than say taking the greyhound one way? i daydream about towing my car behind the boat in a conex shipping container lol. my car almost floats

One way car rentals are extremely variable. Depends totally on traffic in or out of a particular location. I've rented one way where they offered a big discount because they needed more cars where I was going. I've attempted a one way rental where the price was triple or more the price of a local rental because they needed the cars where I was and had a surplus where I was going.

[valhalla360]

Originally Posted by skipmac

One way car rentals are extremely variable. Depends totally on traffic in or out of a particular location. I've rented one way where they offered a big discount because they needed more cars where I was going. I've attempted a one way rental where the price was triple or more the price of a local rental because they needed the cars where I was and had a surplus where I was going.

One way car rentals are usually not worth it. The drop off charges are usually way too high. You tag team and return the rental to the original location.

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by valhalla360

One way car rentals are usually not worth it. The drop off charges are usually way too high. You tag team and return the rental to the original location.

My experience one way rentals worked out about half the time. Just really varied a lot depending on location and the rental company.

[stevebein]

As an off roader, at times, I appreciate ethe special vehicle you own. I once saw a Mustang convertible body on a 4x4 frame and engine. Outstanding. With the mud removed, your's must turn heads. Off road, all heads will turn towards your vehicle. To keep that vehicle, you will have to work a bit. It is a decision for you to make. Renting to replace that vehicle is impossible,
Good luck.