With a loaded truck and a tremble of excitement you set out across the land to your destination. You’re moving to a new house and all your worldly possessions are loaded into the moving truck, waiting for their new place. As you drive, perhaps you realize that in your excitement you forgot something: you’ve never driven a truck like this before. Maybe you’ve never even moved before, and now you have some doubts about the journey. Fortunately, we have some pointers for you before you set out to help make sure your move is a success.
5 Driving Tips
Slow Down
Think back to your high school science class, specifically the physics section. Do you remember when they said heavy objects that are moving fast are harder to slow down then fast moving lighter objects? Same applies to this situation. Your large, heavily loaded truck is going to be hard to stop suddenly when going at high speeds. Don’t rush yourself on the trip, just drive at the posted speed limit and remember you need more time to brake.
Judge conditions as they come and adjust speed accordingly. Always remember that there is no reason you can’t drive a bit slower if you’re uncomfortable. Passing lanes exist for a reason, and people can go around you if they are really that bothered by your speed.
Avoid Passing
Unless you absolutely have to, avoid attempting to overtake another vehicle. You’re in a moving truck and not a high performance racer. You will need far more time and distance to overtake another vehicle. Should you deem it necessary to over take, choose your place with care, avoiding hills, curves, or narrow roads. Long, wide flat roads would be your best option in this area.
Extra Turning Room
A larger truck is going to need a wide area in which to make a turn. It’s length means it will have a tendency to cut corners more often, especially when making a right hand turn. Take turns slowly, and keep a sharp eye out ahead of you for traffic issues. Keep wide of the curb so you’ll clear it easily, but not so wide that you’ll clip traffic in the other lane.
Brake Sooner
As we mentioned above, you need to be braking a lot sooner than you would in a normal sized car. Using your breaks sooner would also suggest that you need more space in which to use them wouldn’t it? In fact it does, the reason you break sooner is because you need more stopping space.
Choose Large Spaces To Park In
We’ve all surely found ourselves in the position of having to squeeze into a small parking space. Imagine doing this in a large moving truck. Not a fun thought indeed. Your best bet is to park in larger areas, and stay further away from the rest of the vehicles in the lot. Selecting a spot you can drive into and then straight out the other side again will make your life easier as well.
Further Reading
Those are just some tips on getting you through your moving adventure a little easier. U-Haul has some great points as well you should consider. If you’re still hungry for some more information because you’re really unsure of this, here’s another good article, specifically about renting U-Haul products.
Don’t fret too much, consider what has been said and you’ll do just fine on your move. Good luck and happy driving!
