If you’ve been friends with someone for long enough, chances are your buddy has asked you at least once to help them move. You, being the good pal that you are, volunteer to help and even turn it into something fun with your kid. But then, you get there, and despite it being go-time, you figure out that your friend hasn’t packed much. And now, you’re finding yourself winching a dead car onto a U-Haul in a Detroit winter.
Right now, our David is slowly making his way across the country. With the help of Jason and the awesome Otto, he’s planting his stakes in California. But just getting out of Detroit appears to be a monumental effort. Our dear leader is a man who uses a truck bed as a refrigerator, eats spaghetti in the shower, and peppers his yard with tools and car parts. It’s through him that I recently learned that an impact will still work even after you’ve left it just sitting in some wet grass for who knows how long.
In addition to helping David get his shit together, Jason had to stand outside in the cold, using a winch to slowly drag a sleeping Golden Eagle onto a waiting U-Haul trailer. The little winch did the job, but the photo captured above of Jason’s face during the operation is priceless. And for today’s COTD winner (and fellow microcar lover) Jonee, it’s a reminder of what moving a friend is like:
Ah yes. The look on your face as the Golden Eagle is being dragged onto the U-Haul trailer is the look of someone helping someone else move. I’ve worn it, and I’ve seen it too many times. Godspeed.
I’ve more than once been the person with a pickup truck and helped someone move, even if my “pickup” was really a Smart.
And even then, I’m pretty sure my face didn’t look much different than Jason’s. Actually, since I was towing a loaded trailer on icy roads, it may have looked puckered. Either way, Jason’s face is the face every friend or family has when they discover what they volunteered for.
And yes, U-Haul not only installs hitches onto Smarts but rents trailers to them, too.
Best of luck, guys! Here’s to your trip completing safely and maybe with some fun along the way. And if you want to see Jason, David, and Otto on their trip, tonight they will be in St. Louis at Salt + Smoke on Delmar Blvd at 7 pm. If you’re in Missouri or much of Illinois, you still have plenty of time!
ATTENTION ST. LOUIS: @davidntracy and @JasonTorchinsky will be at Salt + Smoke on Delmar Blvd tonight at 7 p.m.! Come join us if you're around, there will be:
-Cars
-Talking about cars
-Talking about rust
-BBQA fun time will be had by all, guaranteed!
— The Autopian (@the_autopian) December 27, 2022
You were that close to KC but ate BBQ in St Louis?
“Jason and the Awesome Otto,” sounds like the movie you’d get if you gave Kevin Smith a big budget, no adult supervision, and told him to make a contemporary version of “Jason and the Argonauts,” based on a 2,000 mile road trip.
I towed a trailer like that full of my life’s belongings behind my Porsche 914 from Denver to California……..it was the 70’s, they let you do stupid stuff like that back then……
I have moved 30 times in my grown up life. Let me tell you it gets you to reduce the crap in your life. The last move was my Isuzu Vehicross loaded to the top, towing a Uhaul dolly with my Jensen Healey on it filled to the brim. From Santa Maria CA. to Imperial PA. If it didnt fit it got donated, thrown away or left behind. I wonder if even now DT is rethinking how many cars he plans to drive from Detroit to California?
I wish you guys went the long way….. East.
The trailer is bigger than the car! Are you sure that isn’t a pic of Mercedes sneaking home another Smart?
This will go one of two ways – David will move out to the California desert with his dog by himself and surround his “house” with “project cars” . He will be the guy that’s singularly focused on rusty Chrysler products and become something of an Oracle for like minded Dudes (they will all be guys). Or he will meet a nice, sane, girl/guy, and they will bring some domestic balance to his life while nudging him away from the empire of rust. I’m kinda hoping for the former – it’s way more entertaining.
What if he meets the crazy car girl of his dreams who already has said land in the desert…?
Why a girl ?
Yeah because that is how it went down with Mercedes here rational wife and her 5 million vehicles.
Look, it’s the enabler road show!
A small car with a utility trailer is more practical than a Ford Maverick pickup.
Also I gotta say Mercedes I’m so happy that you’re on this site, keep on keeping on with your small car shenanigans!
I am no expert but i constantly wish that some written stories had video accompaniment and some videos were just a written article. But that is my opinion.
As I said to Torch in the Move thread about using the come-along:
“Either way, the joy of the manual approach is written all over your face. If I were David, I would make that your contact pic. ????”
And by “????” I meant 🙂
D’oh.
No that face belongs on an autopian t shirt with a pithy saying. I suggest submittals from readers, then a vote, then making apparel available above 2x.
The last time a friend asked me to help him move, my response was “Ill tell you what……I will never ask you to help me move and no, I won’t help you. Hire a mover.”
Helped a friend shift his mom from her home to assisted living 2 weeks ago. 2 falls later and some time at a horrible rehab facility , I’ll help once more. Thelma is worth it. And so is my buddy Dave. That Harbor Fright piano mover cart comes in bad handy!
Never never never did i say never? Move or buy or take a free piano. My mom passed in April. I spent months getting the house ready for sale. The buyers are the proud owners of a 1945 student quality spinet piano.
I imagine this won’t be the last time we see that face.
On Otto.
As a former owner of a 20 foot box truck I know the feeling. And be honest no one volunteers they are drafted and/or guilted into it.
In university I had the appropriate license and access to a bunch of 30 foot plus box trucks I was really popular, most of the agreements were I drove drank beer and ate pizza, no heavy lifting
Yeah I did that deal with my sister. Her workers showed up hours late, so i loaded everything i could lift. After loading and driving to her apartment she bought pizza. So after unloading the heavy stuff they loaded they stop for pizza. So i unloaded everything i ended up loading. I did not take it into the apartment. I am not a patient person and as a business owner who drives for a living i wasnt drinking a lot of beer. Until i got home. Some people seem to have the knack of appearing helpful while everyone else does the work.
Now if that isnt COTD it is a friggin life lesson
I have made that face many times myself. I really don’t mind helping people move, but it does piss me off when I show up and they haven’t packed a damn thing yet.
Also did anybody else catch that despite DT writing about using the Alero as a winter beater for a little while … the Tracker is still there.
Same here. Nothing like expecting an easy 2ish hour move to take 5 or 6 hours because everything is chaos. The last time it happened I chewed my friend out and told him to get his shit together or I wouldn’t help him move again. 2 moves later and he hasn’t bothered me about helping him move so clearly his shit has not been gotten together. Haha
It’s even worse when you realize they’re so disorganized that unless you step up and take charge of the whole operation, you’ll never get to go home.
Clark brother i have been there. It makes you wonder how are these people still alive.
Ha Ha! A smart car towing a U Haul Trailer!