airman_slacker
Member
- :
- 00 Ford ZX2 S/R, 02 Toyota Sienna (formerly a 06 Mazda 5)
This was the first time we were to make an extended road trip with out Mazda5. We've driven on roadtrips where we would drive out and back home in the same day, but this was to be a trip from Louisiana to upstate New York. It is a long story of stress and craziness.
My mother in law, and two brother in laws came down to visit in their 98 Escort for a month. A week and a half before they planned to leave, the idea was brought up that my wife, and my three young kids drive up to NY with them to visit for a month so they could all see me sister in law who would be visitng from Canada. Everyone would go up in the Mazda (not the Escort) and I would drive the 98 up at the end of the month, and drive back the Mazda with my family. It sounds like a plan and we pursue it (and pursue it and pursue it and pursue it and pursue it....). We realize that we will be sitting 7 people in the Mazda (3 in the far back) and luggage so we looked into a roof storage bin. Did research (mainly this site) and shopped around. I found a Thule Frontier (I think that's what I got) and some roof racks which were priced at $209. So I think it's great and order both. As I get details about the shipment for the box, I find it says it will take 7-14 business days to ship. We need it in 5. Ok, so there's a set back. No problem. We'll just cancel and work something else out. Call sportsauthority.com and they say I can't cancel it, even though it has not shipped out yet. Great. Just great. Now what will we do? It's cool. We could use it in the future somehow I suppose. Then we get an email from where we ordered the roof racks and it turns out there was a major listing error. The roof racks were in fact $295 instead and they asked if I still wanted to order them. I say no and continue to pursue our idea.
The next day, I thought about getting a hitch installed and buying a cargo box for the back of the car. No wind noise and save a little more on gas. I call U-haul for a hitch. They have none in stock and would need to order one in. That's cool, let's try to do that. Oh wait! U-haul tells me they sell a hitch for my car but won't install it because it's their policy not to install on Mazda's 2004 or newer (for warranty issues). Great. I call Mazda to see what they say. They tell me it would not void the warranty as long as I was towing under the vehicle specs. I tell Mr. U-haul and they still won't budge. Mazda refered me to a local place that sells hitches and such. They look in a bazillion books and find nothing. Poopy. I ask if they would install a U-haul hitch since U-haul won't and they give a big fat NO. So about 15 minutes after getting off the phone with them, they call me back and tell me they found on that would fit my car and tell me I just need to bring the car by to see if it's doable, because they've never installed on a 5 before. Anyways, all is good to go and they have to order the hitch in from Dallas. Not too far away, so UPS ground is the way to go. It gets in on the day they're supposed to leave. They say it's no big deal and they'll leave on Monday. We'll just get the hitch on, get a U-haul sport trailer (since we would not get the wiring installed), order the box online to ship to NY, and use it on the way home. We've got it all figured out now.
Saturday morning, get up at the crack of dawn to get the hitch installed. Did it. Done. $115 for the hitch, $23 for shipping, and $45 for labor. Let's get that U-haul. I called all the U-haul's in the local area and NONE of them have the trailer I need. I can't use the larger because it would block the lights and I don't have the wiring, nor anyone who will, or even knows how to do it for me. I call a number that search within a 100 mile radius and there are none. Crappers. I know! I'll get an open ended and put a tarp over it! None of the U-hauls will let me take it one-way. Communists! Crap crap crap. What are we supposed to do now? No one is open on Sunday and we're running out of Saturday. I remember seeing a hitch box at the place I got the hitch installed. The same type of thing we planned on getting in the first place but for $250 instead of $320. The place closes at noon and it's 11:50. I call and they say they will stay open for me to come get it. I go over and they give it to me for $200 anyways
, but I have to buy a hitch adapter for $38. Bought it, put it on, went home. I think "Problem solved". Not at all. The box fills up quick and there is no more room. What now? What now?! I know! I'll buy some straps and bungee cords, strap the bags to the top of the box and cover it with a tarp! Mind you we are all trying to figure this jumble of problems out with small kids screaming and whining and all the kid things that they do. My stress level is peaking out to levels I never knew exsisted.
Sunday. One last day to get it all done. Everyone is only half packed and won't finish. Why, why WHY!?!? Everyone finishes getting packed at about 10 at night. I take all the baggage out and start building the pile on the box. I strap it down super tight, put a tarp over it and bungee cord the tarp all nice and neat. Take it for a test drive and it ends up scraping a little at one point. I figure that the driver just needs to be careful but it should be good to go.
Monday. My wife and I give our sad goodbye's as I go to work. I'm at work and all mopey and gloomy and I get a phone call. My wife just telling me they are about to pull onto the interstate and it's scrapped a couple times but that's all. I'm a little worried but I think that it could be alright. Half an hour later I get another call. The wind or something caught everything and the tarp and all the bags were dragging on the ground. (shocked) So my wife grabbed all of it and put it in people's lap in the car and they headed back to our house to re-group. My wife repacked everything super compact and we have now been able to fit most of everything we had before (minus snacks and drinks) into the trunk and the rest of the car. Yes, we even used the glove compartment.
I just thought I would share this with everyone. They are headed back out tomorrow to try again and everything looks a lot better this time, so wish us luck!
My mother in law, and two brother in laws came down to visit in their 98 Escort for a month. A week and a half before they planned to leave, the idea was brought up that my wife, and my three young kids drive up to NY with them to visit for a month so they could all see me sister in law who would be visitng from Canada. Everyone would go up in the Mazda (not the Escort) and I would drive the 98 up at the end of the month, and drive back the Mazda with my family. It sounds like a plan and we pursue it (and pursue it and pursue it and pursue it and pursue it....). We realize that we will be sitting 7 people in the Mazda (3 in the far back) and luggage so we looked into a roof storage bin. Did research (mainly this site) and shopped around. I found a Thule Frontier (I think that's what I got) and some roof racks which were priced at $209. So I think it's great and order both. As I get details about the shipment for the box, I find it says it will take 7-14 business days to ship. We need it in 5. Ok, so there's a set back. No problem. We'll just cancel and work something else out. Call sportsauthority.com and they say I can't cancel it, even though it has not shipped out yet. Great. Just great. Now what will we do? It's cool. We could use it in the future somehow I suppose. Then we get an email from where we ordered the roof racks and it turns out there was a major listing error. The roof racks were in fact $295 instead and they asked if I still wanted to order them. I say no and continue to pursue our idea.
The next day, I thought about getting a hitch installed and buying a cargo box for the back of the car. No wind noise and save a little more on gas. I call U-haul for a hitch. They have none in stock and would need to order one in. That's cool, let's try to do that. Oh wait! U-haul tells me they sell a hitch for my car but won't install it because it's their policy not to install on Mazda's 2004 or newer (for warranty issues). Great. I call Mazda to see what they say. They tell me it would not void the warranty as long as I was towing under the vehicle specs. I tell Mr. U-haul and they still won't budge. Mazda refered me to a local place that sells hitches and such. They look in a bazillion books and find nothing. Poopy. I ask if they would install a U-haul hitch since U-haul won't and they give a big fat NO. So about 15 minutes after getting off the phone with them, they call me back and tell me they found on that would fit my car and tell me I just need to bring the car by to see if it's doable, because they've never installed on a 5 before. Anyways, all is good to go and they have to order the hitch in from Dallas. Not too far away, so UPS ground is the way to go. It gets in on the day they're supposed to leave. They say it's no big deal and they'll leave on Monday. We'll just get the hitch on, get a U-haul sport trailer (since we would not get the wiring installed), order the box online to ship to NY, and use it on the way home. We've got it all figured out now.
Saturday morning, get up at the crack of dawn to get the hitch installed. Did it. Done. $115 for the hitch, $23 for shipping, and $45 for labor. Let's get that U-haul. I called all the U-haul's in the local area and NONE of them have the trailer I need. I can't use the larger because it would block the lights and I don't have the wiring, nor anyone who will, or even knows how to do it for me. I call a number that search within a 100 mile radius and there are none. Crappers. I know! I'll get an open ended and put a tarp over it! None of the U-hauls will let me take it one-way. Communists! Crap crap crap. What are we supposed to do now? No one is open on Sunday and we're running out of Saturday. I remember seeing a hitch box at the place I got the hitch installed. The same type of thing we planned on getting in the first place but for $250 instead of $320. The place closes at noon and it's 11:50. I call and they say they will stay open for me to come get it. I go over and they give it to me for $200 anyways
, but I have to buy a hitch adapter for $38. Bought it, put it on, went home. I think "Problem solved". Not at all. The box fills up quick and there is no more room. What now? What now?! I know! I'll buy some straps and bungee cords, strap the bags to the top of the box and cover it with a tarp! Mind you we are all trying to figure this jumble of problems out with small kids screaming and whining and all the kid things that they do. My stress level is peaking out to levels I never knew exsisted.Sunday. One last day to get it all done. Everyone is only half packed and won't finish. Why, why WHY!?!? Everyone finishes getting packed at about 10 at night. I take all the baggage out and start building the pile on the box. I strap it down super tight, put a tarp over it and bungee cord the tarp all nice and neat. Take it for a test drive and it ends up scraping a little at one point. I figure that the driver just needs to be careful but it should be good to go.
Monday. My wife and I give our sad goodbye's as I go to work. I'm at work and all mopey and gloomy and I get a phone call. My wife just telling me they are about to pull onto the interstate and it's scrapped a couple times but that's all. I'm a little worried but I think that it could be alright. Half an hour later I get another call. The wind or something caught everything and the tarp and all the bags were dragging on the ground. (shocked) So my wife grabbed all of it and put it in people's lap in the car and they headed back to our house to re-group. My wife repacked everything super compact and we have now been able to fit most of everything we had before (minus snacks and drinks) into the trunk and the rest of the car. Yes, we even used the glove compartment.
I just thought I would share this with everyone. They are headed back out tomorrow to try again and everything looks a lot better this time, so wish us luck!
