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OFF topic, going across USA by buss, are they comfortable?

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Hi Daniella,
Daniella68313 said:
Interesting offer. I am not sure that insurances will allow
passenger in company trucks but I can contact him and see what is
possible. As for timing, I was going to leave at the end of june
or begining of july, not sure if it is a good timing.
Click to expand...
It depends. We have an additional passenger insurance, otherwise we have to decline every driver's request for letting his girlfriend, wife, kids, relatives and friends go with him on a trip. It does cost Euro 18 per truck anually and not every company wants to do this. We have it, because when our driver causes an accident, a passenger in our truck is insured. Without the insurance the passenger could sue us and we do not want to take that risk for a lousy Euro 18 multiplied by just 6 trucks. Truck insurance cost us about Euro 8000 gross per truck.
Daniella68313 said:
My concern is that I had a ride once with a truck driver (flat
nose) from new brunswick to montreal, about 1000 km, and the
passenger seat did not had chock absorber or stabilizer and the
constant motion from up and down and front to rear made me sick in
no time. The driver seat usualy have a stabilizer for this but
not always the passenger seat. I was miserable for the duration of
the trip, 10 horrible hours :-/ I was surprised because I am not
usualy sick in car or plane, even for long trip.
Click to expand...
Our trucks have air suspension on the rear wheels and under the trailer, the drivers house has 4-point air suspension and both seats have air suspension too. Every air suspension is accompanied with a shock absorber.

I guess it depends on the truck. A long distance truck overthere will be very comfortable, just as it is here. But if a liquid tank trailer is not completely full, it will give a strong forward-backward motion what is extremely irritating. A short wheel base will give vertical movements front to back combined with a sort of foreward to backward motion, resulting in a kind of roll. Also very irritating.

You can ask if passenger seat has spring or air suspension or no suspension at all and decide for yourself. I cannot garantee satisfaction on every issue, though. I,ve never been in USA or Canada, but since a little kid I traveled by truck to Germany, France and Italy. Nowadays with air suspension, radio/CD, Airco, fridge, microwave, it is no punishment in my eyes. Truck drivers know best where to get a decent meal. If you're going on holiday only eat there where a lot of truck drivers stop to eat is the best advise for travelers on the road.

Most important thing is to get along with the driver. If this does not click, the trip will be very boring.

I do not know if on a long distance they drive with two drivers or not. I guess it depends on the necessary speed vs. cost, just as overhere. This could mean you have to sleep in a bed with a strange man, with or without a driving guard at the steering wheel. Overhere, this is safer, because the beds are stacked above each other and are very small for lovers. Very cosy though... Trucks overthere are longer and could have one very wide bed. Therefore the drivers have to be trustworthy people, so nothing happens what you do not want to happen.

Shall I still ask? The offer is free. Even if it is possible, in the end you decide what you want to do.
 
Daniella said:
I will probably be going back to USA by bus from Montreal to San
Jose and I was wondering if anyone had a long trip in bus with
grayhound company or similar long distance bus tour? The bus will
be riding day and night so people must sleep in the bus while the
drivers relay (I hope!)

I was wondering if it is possible to sleep in a bus for 3 days?
the seats are suposed to recline but not sure just how much and how
comfortable they are. they trip will last for 3 days and 3 nights,
6 hours, only stopping for meal and short rest stop.

any advice? is it crazy to even think about such a long trip by bus?

--
Daniella
http://www.photosig.com/viewuser.php?id=26918
http://www.pbase.com/zylen
C7OO FORUM: http://www.c700uz.com
c7OOuz, Dimage-7, Tcon14tele, C210tele, Cokin-173, Grad-ND,
Hoya-red-Intensifier, Hoya_R_72.
Click to expand...
--

You might consider flying to Vancouver BC and then taking a train or bus to the Bay Area. Whatever route you choose, have a save and plesant journey...

Jack
Everett WA
 
In my experience Greyhounds in the US have seats that are quite narrow and recline less than economy airline seats. If the bus is empty enough to get two seats it's not too bad; one, with someone next to you, especially if they're large, would be quite uncomfortable for any length of time.

I think the best advice, as someone else suggested, is probably to take a bus to the nearest U.S. airline hub or major city and try for a cheap flight; when I've had to fly NYC to Toronto I found it actually significantly cheaper to fly to Buffalo, rent a car, and drive to Toronto. The difference for similar distance domestic flights is that much cheaper than international.

In lieu of that, I'd try awfully hard to arrange a trip in which I could do at least one stopover where you could get an inexpensive room, thereby avoiding more than one night in a row on the bus. Cousins of mine from the U.K. touring the U.S. by bus did this and it worked out pretty well for them, rarely spending a night on a bus, except when the nature of the schedule required it, and never two in a row. Depending on the ticket type (they had some kind of unlimited tourist travel deal only available abroad at the time) this may not be that expensive.

Good luck on your trip.
 
Hi Tortellino,
Tortellino said:
I would definitely be very interested in trying this for my next
trip. How and who should I contact in the US about specific
arrangements?
Click to expand...
...so without an entry in this world, it will be very hard. Normally no strangers step into our trucks, only relatives, friends, wifes and the kids. I guess it will be the same everywhere. Margins are small, so nobody is interested in any delay caused by a passenger with white powder in his backpack at a (mobile) police checkpoint. Before you know it, your driver and truck are not available for the next three to six months before the police has ended their investigation.

The offer I made to Daniella is just this one occassion and maybe, just maybe it can be done.

Aren't there some special companies in USA who transport cars by means that students and other people with a lot of free time drive the cars throughout the country from seller to buyer? This could also be a good idea to travel on a tight budget. Maybe cars auctioned on Ebay are send throughout the USA just as they are in Germany. If you can find a seller at the right spot and a buyer at the right spot, you could offer them your service, or put the auctions up yourself offering your service...

Or a car rental company like Hertz wants a car from one place to another. Or there is that transportation company that wants a fancy web site, but do not how to do it. You can make beautiful pictures and make that highly desired web site for them; both are happy. Their are many opportunities, if you have some imagination. Discuss it with your family and/or friends, maybe they have a splendid idea that works best for you.

tanti saluti,

coen
 
Daniella, I think this will work and save you money if you consider the meals you won't have to buy!

Montreal to Albany,NY Airport on Greyhound:
direct is about 5hrs = $43 see http://www.greyhound.com

Albany,NY to San Jose on Southwest air
Internet Only fare =$99 + $18 airport fee + $3 fed charge
see http://www.southwest.com pick saturday, tuesday or wednessdays for lower fare.

You're there in less than a day!

I live in San Carlos, about 40 min north of San Jose. We fly Southwest out of San Jose all the time.
 
that's really interesting. thanks for the info :)
amgalitz said:
Daniella, I think this will work and save you money if you consider
the meals you won't have to buy!

Montreal to Albany,NY Airport on Greyhound:
direct is about 5hrs = $43 see http://www.greyhound.com

Albany,NY to San Jose on Southwest air
Internet Only fare =$99 + $18 airport fee + $3 fed charge
see http://www.southwest.com pick saturday, tuesday or wednessdays for
lower fare.

You're there in less than a day!

I live in San Carlos, about 40 min north of San Jose. We fly
Southwest out of San Jose all the time.
Click to expand...
--
Daniella
http://www.photosig.com/viewuser.php?id=26918
http://www.pbase.com/zylen
C7OO FORUM: http://www.c700uz.com

c7OOuz, Dimage-7, Tcon14tele, C210tele, Cokin-173, Grad-ND, Hoya-red-Intensifier, Hoya_R_72.
 
hmmm..impossible to use this airline, they have nothing available except ticket at 299$. oh well.
Daniella said:
amgalitz said:
Daniella, I think this will work and save you money if you consider
the meals you won't have to buy!

Montreal to Albany,NY Airport on Greyhound:
direct is about 5hrs = $43 see http://www.greyhound.com

Albany,NY to San Jose on Southwest air
Internet Only fare =$99 + $18 airport fee + $3 fed charge
see http://www.southwest.com pick saturday, tuesday or wednessdays for
lower fare.

You're there in less than a day!

I live in San Carlos, about 40 min north of San Jose. We fly
Southwest out of San Jose all the time.
Click to expand...
--
Daniella
http://www.photosig.com/viewuser.php?id=26918
http://www.pbase.com/zylen
C7OO FORUM: http://www.c700uz.com
c7OOuz, Dimage-7, Tcon14tele, C210tele, Cokin-173, Grad-ND,
Hoya-red-Intensifier, Hoya_R_72.
Click to expand...
--
Daniella
http://www.photosig.com/viewuser.php?id=26918
http://www.pbase.com/zylen
C7OO FORUM: http://www.c700uz.com

c7OOuz, Dimage-7, Tcon14tele, C210tele, Cokin-173, Grad-ND, Hoya-red-Intensifier, Hoya_R_72.
 
Let me know if it works out, I'd love to have helped you.

My wife works in one of the upper floors of the Comerica Bank building, quite near the San Jose Airport, right on the flight path in. She can see the faces of the pilots as the jets go by. Damn near knocked her off her chair every time they went by her first week. She has a corner office with lots of windows!

BTW she thought your infrared photos were really cool.

Cheers and Good Luck! alan
Daniella said:
that's really interesting. thanks for the info :)
Click to expand...
 
Looks like this is a 21 day advance purchase fare ONLY available at the Southwest Air web site. to find Start here:
http://www.southwest.com/cgi-bin/requestSchedule

Select 'Depart Albany' 'Arrive San Jose" Date "June 27' then
click "display schedule' (picked the 27th arbitrarily)

On that page click "Display Fare"

look on bottom and click "Internet special $99"

You get a page that says:
Southwest Airlines Fares (V21CSNR)
Fare is valid for travel with the following rules:

This fare is available for one-way travel.

Fare is valid for travel June 24 through October 24, 2003, except July 3 and 6, 2003. 21-day advance purchase required.

Fare is only available for travel purchased through the Southwest Airlines web site.

Ticketless travel must be purchased at the time of booking and no later than midnight Pacific Time June 5, 2003.

Fares do not include airport-assessed passenger facility charges (PFC) of up to $9 one-way.

Fares do not include a federal excise tax of up to $3.00 that will be imposed for each flight segment of your itinerary. A flight segment is defined as a takeoff and a landing.

Seats are limited and won't be available on some flights that operate during very busy travel times and holiday periods.
Fare is combinable with any other combinable fare.

Restrictions of combined fare may take precedence, ie, overnight stay and/or advance purchase restrictions may apply.

Changes to any portion of the reservation (flight, dates, cities, and/or names of passengers) once purchased will result in the cancellation of the ENTIRE reservation and rebooking at the lowest fare available which could result in a fare increase.

Fares are nonrefundable, but (except for tickets purchased through our Group Tickets Program) may be applied toward future travel on Southwest Airlines.

Ticketless Travel may be purchased online using either a credit card or by utilizing funds from previously unused or cancelled Ticketless Travel reservation(s). Funds from up to four cancelled or unused Ticketless Travel reservation records can be combined to purchase a new Ticketless Travel reservation record.

Southwest Airlines' travel vouchers, gift certificates, and discount coupons may not be used as forms of payment for Ticketless Travel.

Ticketless Travel funds from previously unused reservations on Southwest Airlines are valid for 12 months from the original purchase date and may not be extended.
Standby travel requires an upgrade to the full unrestricted fare.
Daniella said:
hmmm..impossible to use this airline, they have nothing available
except ticket at 299$. oh well.
Click to expand...
 
http://www.southwest.com/fares/v21csnr.html
amgalitz said:
Select 'Depart Albany' 'Arrive San Jose" Date "June 27' then
click "display schedule' (picked the 27th arbitrarily)

On that page click "Display Fare"

look on bottom and click "Internet special $99"

You get a page that says:
Southwest Airlines Fares (V21CSNR)
Fare is valid for travel with the following rules:

This fare is available for one-way travel.
Fare is valid for travel June 24 through October 24, 2003, except
July 3 and 6, 2003. 21-day advance purchase required.
Fare is only available for travel purchased through the Southwest
Airlines web site.
Ticketless travel must be purchased at the time of booking and no
later than midnight Pacific Time June 5, 2003.
Fares do not include airport-assessed passenger facility charges
(PFC) of up to $9 one-way.
Fares do not include a federal excise tax of up to $3.00 that will
be imposed for each flight segment of your itinerary. A flight
segment is defined as a takeoff and a landing.
Seats are limited and won't be available on some flights that
operate during very busy travel times and holiday periods.
Fare is combinable with any other combinable fare.
Restrictions of combined fare may take precedence, ie, overnight
stay and/or advance purchase restrictions may apply.
Changes to any portion of the reservation (flight, dates, cities,
and/or names of passengers) once purchased will result in the
cancellation of the ENTIRE reservation and rebooking at the lowest
fare available which could result in a fare increase.
Fares are nonrefundable, but (except for tickets purchased through
our Group Tickets Program) may be applied toward future travel on
Southwest Airlines.
Ticketless Travel may be purchased online using either a credit
card or by utilizing funds from previously unused or cancelled
Ticketless Travel reservation(s). Funds from up to four cancelled
or unused Ticketless Travel reservation records can be combined to
purchase a new Ticketless Travel reservation record.
Southwest Airlines' travel vouchers, gift certificates, and
discount coupons may not be used as forms of payment for Ticketless
Travel.
Ticketless Travel funds from previously unused reservations on
Southwest Airlines are valid for 12 months from the original
purchase date and may not be extended.
Standby travel requires an upgrade to the full unrestricted fare.
Daniella said:
hmmm..impossible to use this airline, they have nothing available
except ticket at 299$. oh well.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
well, all the date that I have tried are not available. when you go to actualy reserve something, that's where you see what is available or not. They have all fares at 299 available but nothing at 99$ on any day. I looked all the way through july 10. maybe they are allready all booked.
amgalitz said:
Select 'Depart Albany' 'Arrive San Jose" Date "June 27' then
click "display schedule' (picked the 27th arbitrarily)

On that page click "Display Fare"

look on bottom and click "Internet special $99"

You get a page that says:
Southwest Airlines Fares (V21CSNR)
Fare is valid for travel with the following rules:

This fare is available for one-way travel.
Fare is valid for travel June 24 through October 24, 2003, except
July 3 and 6, 2003. 21-day advance purchase required.
Fare is only available for travel purchased through the Southwest
Airlines web site.
Ticketless travel must be purchased at the time of booking and no
later than midnight Pacific Time June 5, 2003.
Fares do not include airport-assessed passenger facility charges
(PFC) of up to $9 one-way.
Fares do not include a federal excise tax of up to $3.00 that will
be imposed for each flight segment of your itinerary. A flight
segment is defined as a takeoff and a landing.
Seats are limited and won't be available on some flights that
operate during very busy travel times and holiday periods.
Fare is combinable with any other combinable fare.
Restrictions of combined fare may take precedence, ie, overnight
stay and/or advance purchase restrictions may apply.
Changes to any portion of the reservation (flight, dates, cities,
and/or names of passengers) once purchased will result in the
cancellation of the ENTIRE reservation and rebooking at the lowest
fare available which could result in a fare increase.
Fares are nonrefundable, but (except for tickets purchased through
our Group Tickets Program) may be applied toward future travel on
Southwest Airlines.
Ticketless Travel may be purchased online using either a credit
card or by utilizing funds from previously unused or cancelled
Ticketless Travel reservation(s). Funds from up to four cancelled
or unused Ticketless Travel reservation records can be combined to
purchase a new Ticketless Travel reservation record.
Southwest Airlines' travel vouchers, gift certificates, and
discount coupons may not be used as forms of payment for Ticketless
Travel.
Ticketless Travel funds from previously unused reservations on
Southwest Airlines are valid for 12 months from the original
purchase date and may not be extended.
Standby travel requires an upgrade to the full unrestricted fare.
Daniella said:
hmmm..impossible to use this airline, they have nothing available
except ticket at 299$. oh well.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
--
Daniella
http://www.photosig.com/viewuser.php?id=26918
http://www.pbase.com/zylen
C7OO FORUM: http://www.c700uz.com

c7OOuz, Dimage-7, Tcon14tele, C210tele, Cokin-173, Grad-ND, Hoya-red-Intensifier, Hoya_R_72.
 
Sorry, The page I found the SWA fare on did not list availablity. may be usefull for future.

Found this on Travelocity
One-Way Price: USD 104.00 (Plus applicable taxes and fees*)
Departure Date: Wed, Jun 25

All times shown are local to each city.
Flight: Wed, Jun 25 Albany, NY(ALB) to San Jose, CA (SJC)
Option 1

Flight: Delta Air Lines flight 1593 on a McDonnell Douglas MD80 Jet - non-stop
Depart: Albany, NY (ALB) - Wed, Jun 25 at 3:40pm
Arrive: Atlanta, GA (ATL) - Wed, Jun 25 at 6:12pm
Meals: No Meal Served

Flight: Delta Air Lines flight 2147 on a Boeing 757 Jet - non-stop
Depart: Atlanta, GA (ATL) - Wed, Jun 25 at 7:10pm
Arrive: San Jose, CA (SJC) - Wed, Jun 25 at 9:06pm
Meals: Snack/Brunch

Good luck.
Daniella said:
well, all the date that I have tried are not available. when you
go to actualy reserve something, that's where you see what is
available or not. They have all fares at 299 available but nothing
at 99$ on any day. I looked all the way through july 10. maybe
they are allready all booked.
Click to expand...
 
geee I don't know how you do it because if I do it from travelocity.com for a one way flight, with those cities, I get price of 400$ and more.

Round trip is cheaper but nothing like you put.
amgalitz said:
Found this on Travelocity
One-Way Price: USD 104.00 (Plus applicable taxes and fees*)
Departure Date: Wed, Jun 25

All times shown are local to each city.
Flight: Wed, Jun 25 Albany, NY(ALB) to San Jose, CA (SJC)
Option 1

Flight: Delta Air Lines flight 1593 on a McDonnell Douglas MD80
Jet - non-stop
Depart: Albany, NY (ALB) - Wed, Jun 25 at 3:40pm
Arrive: Atlanta, GA (ATL) - Wed, Jun 25 at 6:12pm
Meals: No Meal Served

Flight: Delta Air Lines flight 2147 on a Boeing 757 Jet - non-stop
Depart: Atlanta, GA (ATL) - Wed, Jun 25 at 7:10pm
Arrive: San Jose, CA (SJC) - Wed, Jun 25 at 9:06pm
Meals: Snack/Brunch

Good luck.
Daniella said:
well, all the date that I have tried are not available. when you
go to actualy reserve something, that's where you see what is
available or not. They have all fares at 299 available but nothing
at 99$ on any day. I looked all the way through july 10. maybe
they are allready all booked.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
--
Daniella
http://www.photosig.com/viewuser.php?id=26918
http://www.pbase.com/zylen
C7OO FORUM: http://www.c700uz.com

c7OOuz, Dimage-7, Tcon14tele, C210tele, Cokin-173, Grad-ND, Hoya-red-Intensifier, Hoya_R_72.
 
go here http://dps1.travelocity.com/lognlogin.ctl?Service=BF00398435206199502938&tr_module=AIRG&SEQ=-20458502801044478165&inp_tr_option=OW

Put in depart "ALB", arrive "SJC", check "one way", make sure date is June 25 wed, best fare, economy, search all airlines are checked. Click the "Search Now" button.

I just got a Delta:
3:40pm Albany, NY (ALB)
9:06pm San Jose, CA (SJC)
Flight 1593 / 2147 1 Stop
Change planes in Atlanta, GA (ATL)
Travel Time: 8hrs 26min

Oneway Total USD 110 (This is actually even cheaper, the $110 INCLUDES all the FEES!) IF this will work for you I would verify that the Albany Airport Greyhound goes to the SAME airport (g) in Albany, (do they have more than one?) and if so, decide quick before this one goes away.

GREYHOUD: Departure Schedule for Wednesday, June 25, 2003
One Way Montreal, PQ 6/25/03 Albany Arpt, NY 224 miles
Departs Arrives Duration Transfers Carrier Schedule
07:30a 12:25p 4h, 55m 0 GLI 4007

I searched last night and the 25th was the only day with a fare below 200. I think all other days have booked up. Hope this isn't gone by time you get this if of course th 25th is not too early. You had wanted perhaps later in the month. looks like your choice will be earlier or 3.5 days of an interesting social experience. MIght afford interesting photo ops. Good luck
Daniella said:
geee I don't know how you do it because if I do it from
travelocity.com for a one way flight, with those cities, I get
price of 400$ and more.
Click to expand...
 
After all the comments (mostly bad) about traveling by bus from Montreal to San Jose, CA, I have reconsider and decided not to do that.

I will take the bus until New York and from there I got a very good price for a flight from New York to San Jose for 139$ all taxes included. Great deal and thanks to amgalitz for the tip on Delta one way cheap flight! and thanks for Coen for his generous offer to go by truck.

That solution will take me only one day travel and no traveling at night. This will cost me around 208$ with the bus ride to NY. Going by bus all the way is 169$, so not much difference in price but a hudge difference in time.
Daniella said:
I will probably be going back to USA by bus from Montreal to San
Jose and I was wondering if anyone had a long trip in bus with
grayhound company or similar long distance bus tour? The bus will
be riding day and night so people must sleep in the bus while the
drivers relay (I hope!)

I was wondering if it is possible to sleep in a bus for 3 days?
the seats are suposed to recline but not sure just how much and how
comfortable they are. they trip will last for 3 days and 3 nights,
6 hours, only stopping for meal and short rest stop.

any advice? is it crazy to even think about such a long trip by bus?

--
Daniella
http://www.photosig.com/viewuser.php?id=26918
http://www.pbase.com/zylen
C7OO FORUM: http://www.c700uz.com
c7OOuz, Dimage-7, Tcon14tele, C210tele, Cokin-173, Grad-ND,
Hoya-red-Intensifier, Hoya_R_72.
Click to expand...
--
Daniella
http://www.photosig.com/viewuser.php?id=26918
http://www.pbase.com/zylen
C7OO FORUM: http://www.c700uz.com

c7OOuz, Dimage-7, Tcon14tele, C210tele, Cokin-173, Grad-ND, Hoya-red-Intensifier, Hoya_R_72.
 
Daniella said:
I will take the bus until New York and from there I got a very good
price for a flight from New York to San Jose for 139$ all taxes
included. Great deal and thanks to amgalitz for the tip on Delta
one way cheap flight! and thanks for Coen for his generous offer
to go by truck.

That solution will take me only one day travel and no traveling at
night. This will cost me around 208$ with the bus ride to NY.
Going by bus all the way is 169$, so not much difference in price
but a hudge difference in time.
Daniella said:
I will probably be going back to USA by bus from Montreal to San
Jose and I was wondering if anyone had a long trip in bus with
grayhound company or similar long distance bus tour? The bus will
be riding day and night so people must sleep in the bus while the
drivers relay (I hope!)

I was wondering if it is possible to sleep in a bus for 3 days?
the seats are suposed to recline but not sure just how much and how
comfortable they are. they trip will last for 3 days and 3 nights,
6 hours, only stopping for meal and short rest stop.

any advice? is it crazy to even think about such a long trip by bus?

--
Daniella
http://www.photosig.com/viewuser.php?id=26918
http://www.pbase.com/zylen
C7OO FORUM: http://www.c700uz.com
c7OOuz, Dimage-7, Tcon14tele, C210tele, Cokin-173, Grad-ND,
Hoya-red-Intensifier, Hoya_R_72.
Click to expand...
--
Daniella
http://www.photosig.com/viewuser.php?id=26918
http://www.pbase.com/zylen
C7OO FORUM: http://www.c700uz.com
c7OOuz, Dimage-7, Tcon14tele, C210tele, Cokin-173, Grad-ND,
Hoya-red-Intensifier, Hoya_R_72.
Click to expand...
 
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