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Old 04-08-2018, 12:08 PM   #1
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Tow needed

I have a 38ft BlueBird All American bus that I need towed from Jefferson GA to Kingsport TN, approximately 247 miles. I received a quote from the garage my bus is at and they want $1100.

Anyone know someone that would tow for less money?

Thank you!

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Old 04-08-2018, 12:40 PM   #2
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i had mine towed it cost 110 an hour,.. so for a tow that will tie up a heavy tow truck for 10 hours that isn't far off from the going rate
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Old 04-08-2018, 01:22 PM   #3
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Local towing wanted $800 to tow 40 miles, your tow would be a bargain at $1100.
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Old 04-08-2018, 02:56 PM   #4
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VeriTread = The Heavy-Haul Marketplace

My uncle is a owner/operator with his own rig. When he has partial loads to and from a location he tries to fill up his trailer by getting loads from here. Sometimes you can get a great deal because someone is already heading where you need to go with no load so even if they only get enough for fuel they're happy.

Bill
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Old 04-08-2018, 04:11 PM   #5
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As a side note...it seems the majority of haul & tow outfits listed online are nothing but brokers. A huge busine$$. If you can make a direct connection with an independent hauler/tow outfit it will much cheaper. I spent a solid month trying to arrange getting my shorty from Utah to Texas only to get BS and runarounds from the scammers who don't even own a truck but try to talk like they do. Finally found an Indy who was half what the others wanted but his rig is not big enough for anything over about 25-28 feet depending on wheelbase.
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Old 04-08-2018, 04:37 PM   #6
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We paid $350 for a 50 mile tow in Ohio. We were stranded at 10:00pm no less! So even though we didn't yet HAVE the Good Sam Roadside Assistance - they still helped us find a local company. I agree with Tango - I looked at pricing to haul Wanda a few states and signed up for "free quotes."

I got tons of emails from the same guy, even 2 within 15 minutes, plus tons of calls (yay Google Voice Number!!). I eventually wrote them a snippy email back about getting a metric crap ton of emails and calls but no actual estimate and to stop contacting me. They did so immediately, thankfully.
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Old 04-08-2018, 06:37 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by FatherBill View Post
VeriTread = The Heavy-Haul Marketplace

My uncle is a owner/operator with his own rig. When he has partial loads to and from a location he tries to fill up his trailer by getting loads from here. Sometimes you can get a great deal because someone is already heading where you need to go with no load so even if they only get enough for fuel they're happy.

Bill
Towing a bus doesn't really fall into the LTL category. You can't stuff a bus into a box in most cases. And a normal tow truck is often not big enough to tow a 25k-35k bus, hence the up price for using the "big" hauler.
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Old 04-08-2018, 07:10 PM   #8
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Saw your other thread. Is there someplace closer you can tow it to work on it?

My motorhome broke down about that far from home once. I had it towed to a friend's church. AAA picked up that short tow. Proceeded to pull the trans and take it home. Came back with another trans the next weekend and drove it home.

(Yes, I did a trans swap in a church parking lot. With only a Leatherman. Ok that last part isn't true.)
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Old 04-08-2018, 08:38 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ennonne View Post

(Yes, I did a trans swap in a church parking lot. With only a Leatherman. Ok that last part isn't true.)
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In the rain on Sunday morning. Been there, done that!
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Old 04-09-2018, 06:21 AM   #10
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hey i swapped a tranny in my bus last summer in my uhaul storage unit..

I would definitely look into contacting local companies direct rather than major broker boards or such.. many of these towing companies list in the phone book and online.. i know here in columbus ohio regular towing companies that tow cars often have a big rig tow that can be hired.. just because the tow company doesnt list it online doesnt mean they dont have it. its worth some phone calls.
-Christopher
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Old 04-09-2018, 10:30 AM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ennonne View Post
Saw your other thread. Is there someplace closer you can tow it to work on it?

My motorhome broke down about that far from home once. I had it towed to a friend's church. AAA picked up that short tow. Proceeded to pull the trans and take it home. Came back with another trans the next weekend and drove it home.

(Yes, I did a trans swap in a church parking lot. With only a Leatherman. Ok that last part isn't true.)
[emoji23]You that guy who walked to school 7 days a week...up hill both ways...
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Old 06-16-2018, 07:00 AM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by fp42583 View Post
I have a 38ft BlueBird All American bus that I need towed from Jefferson GA to Kingsport TN, approximately 247 miles. I received a quote from the garage my bus is at and they want $1100.

Anyone know someone that would tow for less money?

Thank you!
I'm surprised you ended up taking it to TN to spend $35k or more. You seem like a hands on person to me.
You should have gotten ahold of me, We'd have put something together for you for FAR less than 35 grand. I'd have charged you for my time, but I was under the assumption you were doing this on the cheap and easy.

You've done this whole thing the expensive way. You paid TOP DOLLAR RETAIL for an old gas engine bus from BGA. Then you end up buying a new engine. Then you take it to a tiny home popup business and pay top dollar for a conversion.

I helped you out because you seemed like you were in the same economic boat as me lol.

I hope you finally get to at least enjoy your bus once you've spent so much on it. I don't say this to be mean, I just feel like you could have saved tens of thousands and a lot of hassle by being a bit more careful and planning it out a bit better.

On another note- how are your pets and your mom?

That's a great place yall have out there.
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Old 06-16-2018, 10:23 PM   #13
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Kinda confused.
1. What broke on it.
2. What it going to Tn for conversion.
3. Is there another thread I missed explaining all this?

Tow bills will be pricey no matter what. This seems not to be to bad.
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Old 06-18-2018, 10:58 AM   #14
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having a bus moved

Tango hired a guy named Okie, to move his bus. Okie is bonded and insured. He has a bigger trailer now. I think he can do 35'. Look in Tango's thread and there is the contact information for Okie. I am having my bus moved, about $4 a mile. Seems to be a going rate.
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