Did you land a new job in a different part of the country? No matter the reason, if you are moving across the country, mostly all your belongings must go with you, including your car. You can hire an auto transport service to handle the move or transport the car yourself. Handling such a task is a huge responsibility, but you can prepare yourself with these three important things to keep in mind when you’re taking your wheels on a 3,000-mile haul.

Make Sure You Know How to Drive a Moving Truck

If you decide to take the plunge and try to do it yourself, just know it’s not going to be easy or fun. After watching videos on YouTube about How to hook up a trailer to your moving van, you might go away with the impression that everything will go smooth. If you lack experience with towing a car on a trailer, it can take a little practice to get the hang of things. Driving a moving van or truck by itself brings forth complexities. Adding a trailer makes things even more complicated. Consider booking extra time when renting moving vehicles and trailers to practice with them.

Be Aware of the Laws

Planning out the route to determine the best, safest, and fastest trip makes sense. Look at all the states you must cross through and familiarize yourself with the rules and laws regarding car transport and moving violations. Otherwise, you could find yourself unpleasantly surprised. Speeding ticket costs vary by state. For example, a ticket in North Dakota will run you about $50 for going 10 miles over the limit, while the same ticket in Texas will run you $200. And, that doesn’t count soft costs associated with your ticket. In the state of Virginia, a speeding violation could land you with a misdemeanor criminal conviction.

Dangers to Consider

Hidden dangers exist with any long-distance trip. Some dangers might not even be hidden at all. Learn about hazards that you may deal with on the trip. Are you required to travel around bending mountain roads or are some areas prone to flooding? Will you find yourself traveling hundreds of miles of lonely night time road with very few people or landmarks along the way? Keep these things in mind when you’re planning your route.

Learning as you go while traveling cross-country on the highway can be frustrating. Assess your skills. If you think you might not be up to the task of driving a trailer, hitch, and moving van, then it could be best to hire a professional car transportation service.