Hi,
First, thanks for this site - there's so much useful info here, I cannot believe I didn't see it sooner. (As I was/am writing this post, it's turning
into a novel for which I apologize - I'm doing my best to revise my questions in a more direct format with details below the last question - but I'm
kind of starting to freak out a little bit as I read through more and more of the material here).
I apologize in advance if this is covered but I couldn't find any specific info given my somewhat unusual situation:
1) Are there rental companies that are more reliable than others (and perhaps ones with better prices that I'm not finding online) for a one way trip
from La Paz to TJ? (I'm looking at ranges of 800-1k at the moment, not counting gas)
1.2) Are the breakdowns common with these rental companies? (I have to make this drive in under 2 days so, potentially, no stops).
1.3) Is there anything similar like Uhaul where you don't have to pay the huge drop off fee I'm seeing everywhere I search online?
2) Insurance.. If I ride my moto, based on these posts, it sounds like I needed to get Mexican insurance so what happens if I am stopped and only
have the US one? (everything is current - US-wise - no issues during my stops when riding south)
2.1) Same question if I haul the bike inside the rental - do I still need it/what happens if I don't get it?
3) Pets.. I adopted a stray cat who's now about 4 months old (no paperwork). Will I be asked for any documentation along the way even though I have
no plans to cross the border?
3.1) If I do need it for the checkpoints, what do I need? (if it's the same as whatever is needed for a border cross, please simply let me know that
and I'll find those details on my own)
4) How thorough are the searches with checkpoints when going north/am I more likely to be searched or is it pretty much the same as going south? When
going south, they asked me to open like one bag, barely even looked inside, looked at my FMM and/or waved me through. I have vitamins/supplements
(legal) but I don't want to take them if they'll start freaking about B-complex pills or whatever causing me to lose time.
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Okay - thank you for reading this far lol. I spent quite a bit of time trimming everything down and I hope my terse questions don't come off as rude.
Below is the explanation of my current predicament and other stuff... but the main questions are above and they can be pretty much summarized as
"which rental company would you recommend for a one way trip from la paz to tj/do I need mex. insurance for a moto even though I wasn't asked for it
when getting my FMM and at the checkpoints when riding south/do I need border-type pet paper work if I'm not crossing or can I just get away with not
having it and pay a 'fine' or whatever if asked).
Thanks for any advice/help you can provide. It took me like 3 hours to write all this up because I kept getting interrupted with work so once again I
apologize for the length and for any redundancy/disjointed stuff below or above. Please feel free to stop reading - below is just the original post
with some revisions and questions taken out.
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So here is my situation:
I am in La Paz and am moving back north to TJ. I have an apartment rented there already but the paper work is inside the actual apartment (used to
rent a room there and the owner/ex-roommate left, offering it to me at a huge discount so I jumped on it). I mention this because I'm not sure
whether that might help with the pet situation or not - or anything else - (I.e. if I can show that I am moving to live in TJ to avoid needing vet
documents etc.). I don't have the lease for this place because.. landlords.. but I do have uhh.. Yeah I don't really have anything. My utility
receipts I guess (I'm using a refill card and the wifi is free and they broke my gas tank.. I live in a weird complex.. and instead of fixing it, I
guess I just get free gas, which is not as cool as it sounds since I haven't had a hot shower since I got here).
My bike is leaking stuff. It's highly modded by the previous owner and I work too many hours a week to be able to find a mechanic I can trust (no one
I know can vouch for one). I found the problem and should have it fixed once the part arrives, but between the cost of shipping my work stuff (mostly
electronics as I work online/I don't really have many valuables but little things do add up - they're not worth shipping but having a rental avoids my
buying my 20th kitchen set etc.) and the delicate logistics of transporting a cat inside a motorcycle at the risk of permanent trauma to her, the
rental seems like it'd be the more ideal option. Plus, I've only put 3k miles on this bike so I'm less confident in it than I was in my previous one
despite it being better suited for the task on paper.
That being said, if my bike breaks down, I have almost everything to fix it. I have made the trip south twice in worse conditions (i.e. extreme heat,
more luggage, less experience, worse bike) without any issues in 2 days. I have basically been living on the road riding bikes for a few years but it
was on a diff. bike and without a pet and without the time constraints of this job.
The point is - if the rental breaks down, I will probably lose my job.. hence the reliability question. I'm also considering doing the trip in one
day (if I start at 4-5 am as the sun rises, I should be nearing Ensanada if I go without stops at ~60 mph - but given how everyone drives here and
road conditions and weather and flat tires and so on, I worry about a breakdown, lack of signal, logistics of the tow, waiting for their road
assistance etc. - stuff I wouldn't have to worry about with the bike basically - I know nothing is absolute of course, but having never rented
anything here, I also know nothing about the likelihood of this stuff happening with the rentals).
I'm open to renting smaller vehicles and taking the bike apart if these options exist and they're better. Not ideal due to time (where I will be
living, it would take me forever to put it back together), but looking at these and having seen the vehicles - I mean I really don't need a freaking
cargo van for a bike with some laptops and monitors.
But it does take the stress off my cat, whom I really don't want to leave behind nor traumatize (tranqs can only do so much). On the other hand - if
I do need extra paper work, I'm not sure if I have the time to get all the shots and whatever else in time so if it's possible to go without and pay a
fine while keeping the cat, I'd prefer to do that.
My current living conditions are growing worse by the day for reasons I don't want to go into but I can feel myself getting physically ill so all of
the other stuff aside, I have to leave this place before my body simply gives out because I am quite literally running on (construction) fumes.
The simplest choice would be to leave all of my junk, maybe ship a box of some stuff, get on the bike, and go. That much I can do in a snap. I can
get a new cat in TJ but yeah.. that's just not something I want.. I love my cat after all.. and I'm willing to pay premium for whichever company is
most reliable, whichever vehicle is best, and so on.
I'm pretty spent at this point (14 hour workday on top of all of the new stress I'm now feeling) so things are getting fuzzy but I just wanted to say
once again - thank you for reading - and I apologize for the length. Everything just kind of happened so quickly with the place up north (I knew I
had the place, but I thought I'd have 1-2 months to prepare, not 1-2 weeks). A bit sad about leaving La Paz, but things didn't work out as well for
me here as they did last time so it is what it is. |
