How far will you drive to pick up a game?
I am not asking the longest distance, just if you saw a game you wanted, and had the cash ready, how far would you drive?
(Topic ID: 306026)
Quoted from PopBumperPete:How far will you drive to pick up a game?
I am not asking the longest distance, just if you saw a game you wanted, and had the cash ready, how far would you drive?
If I saw a game I absolutely had to have I'd drive cross country to get it, I'm a trucker though so driving doesn't bother me.
The farthest I’ve gone is 5 hours one way. Most of my purchases have been within approx 2hrs though.
Id be willing to do an overnight road trip in the right situation. But it would have to be a deal I where I could trust the seller and was confident in condition.
I took my oldest and left after school on a Friday .We drove to Eastern PA and because of traffic ,got in our room at 3AM.Woke up at 7:30AM and headed for our first trip in the big Apple .Took a ferry tour of Liberty island then got a bite to eat before stopping in NJ to pick up the Family Guy pin he wanted .Left there and made it to our camper in North West IN at 3am .Slept until noon then back home to set it up .24 hour round trip and I’d imagine we would do more .
As it turns out, about four hours each way*.
* I don't drive, and have precisely zero space for a pin anywhere in the house so instead to get a decent fix I usually have to catch a bus a couple towns over to Birmingham, and play there (usually about an hour each way). When I'm at the family house for the summer and the holidays though, my corner of the country has nothing worth going after and I instead end up going all the way down and across London to play at another location, normally taking about three hours by public transport. For the sheer variety of machines and a dirt cheap entry fee, it's worth every second of the journey though!
Wood River, IL
Been to Detroit, Atlanta, Raleigh, Manhattan, San Antonio, Houston, New Jersey, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Kansas City, Chicago, Memphis.
Made the 2000 mile Manhattan nonstop roundtrip for Levi's CC. He didn't even fix me a sandwich!
Pretty damn far.
Not as far as i did before at these prices.
Quoted from PopBumperPete:How far will you drive to pick up a game?
I am not asking the longest distance, just if you saw a game you wanted, and had the cash ready, how far would you drive?
Technically I went 16 hours one way once, but it worked out where I was staying with relatives who were 11 hours away, so I just planned a day to get up at 3am to go 5 hours one way and back to the families place. I severely miscalculated the space requirements to get both my child and my new pinball machine back, so had to get a uhaul trailer, haha. Wife wouldnt let me put the baby inside the cabinet.
Quoted from Krupps4:I’m an 8 hour round trip guy. I figure if I can work for 8 hours that I can spend 8 hours picking up a pin.
Me too. I've done it a couple times, but that is about my max.
I've done a 10 hour round trip. That was a few years ago and now I would say 4-5 hour round trip is max for me now. I'm not as impatient as I was when I first started collecting.
Years ago 14 hours round trip for a CV. For me the trip is part of the fun.
Edmonton, AB
did Edmonton to Denver Colorado... left 5am Wednesday morning back late Friday night ! 5400 K round trip !
5 hours each way is basically my max. Driving, plus breaks, plus loading, plus unloading ends up being a pretty long day (probably about 13-15 hours total).
I have done 5 a few times, but most of my pick-ups were in the 3-4 hour range. It's a rare treat when a pick-up is in the 1-2 hour range.
Sold a WOZRR on FB.
Guy who bought it wanted to meet in two days in the morning. I said sure, then he says great I’m leaving tomorrow morning and hung up the phone. I looked at his profile and dude was from LA! So him and his dad drove 14 hours, got a hotel, then meet me at 9amthe next morning. After playing it and a few other games we loaded the game together then at 1am he sends me a text of Woz set up in his game room. I was real impressed.
With pricing covid and - 20 game space I am out of market presently . Back in the day 7 hour one way wouldnt phase me for something rare . If a common game I would wait for proper deal. Proper deal considered fair price for game condition not a steal off unsuspecting seller. My longest game purchase was a Ebay deal from Australia to here in Virginia. Tough to swim with a game strapped to your back ; ) !!!
Shane
In the old days I was like you road warriors but now my red line is basically about 2 hours each way.
Just lost my taste for excessive drives and living around nyc there’s usually a lot of games for sale within 100 miles or so.
I've been to Phoenix for Centaur
Bend for the Big Lebowski
But the longest haul so far was Salt Lake for Godzilla.
I guess it really depends on how much I want the game. I would probably drive to Colorado for a nice Fathom or Scared Stiff.
Quoted from PopBumperPete:How far will you drive to pick up a game?
So you want to know the distance, right?
Quoted from PopBumperPete:I am not asking the longest distance,
Oh, you don't want the distance.
Quoted from PopBumperPete:just if you saw a game you wanted, and had the cash ready, how far would you drive?
Hhm, "how far", but not "in distance"? That sequence made me LOL...
If I can get there with only one overnight on the way, that's about the limit. There, I didn't say the distance!
I just drove to S.Dakota for a pin in the fall. Didn't hurt that the weather was much nicer than in the PNW. I like road trips anyways and stopping and ticking off cool destinations makes it feel like a mini-vacation. Badlands National Park, Mt. Rushmore, Minuteman Site, Lewis & Clark Commemorative... cool stops.
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6hr drive each way to OBX was our longest.
But it was Labor Day weekend, so make that 10hrs each way.
But Seller was majorly cool, put us up, and is now a good friend that we visit every time we go down (I have a rental property in the area, so visit quite a lot).
We have done several 5+hr trips. Got to point of really enjoying a pinball pickup road trip with the Mrs. Who knew?
I wouldn't think twice about an 8 hour drive 1 way. I think my limit for drive time would be if I could do the trip in a weekend, leaving Friday after work and being home late Sunday night.
2650 miles one way, Sacramento Ca to Asheville NC last month for a BKSOR.
We would go wherever the machine we really wanted is. Great excuse for a random vacation.
I basically live in a pinball desert. Nearly all my pins have come the closest metropolitan area (Denver) which is a six hour drive one way. Down and back is a long day. It’s not bad of the weather is decent. 
Drove 24 hours straight RT a couple years back for a Mousin’ Around. Had a fun pinside thread and loved every second of it. Hope to do it again someday!
North or west from here, 6+ hours. Had a lovely drive up to northern Vermont in the spring for a LZ LE, and also a nice drive out west towards Poughkeepsie for a woodrail. But a long drive south or east from here into the thick of the Boston-NY-Philly megalopolis with potential to get stuck in rush hour traffic and I'd rather go to the dentist, seriously.
Quoted from HighVoltage:So you want to know the distance, right?
Oh, you don't want the distance.
Hhm, "how far", but not "in distance"? That sequence made me LOL...
L
Lol, I had to reread the op 3 times. Distance but no distance. Still not sure what the intent was there, but I’ve done 26hrs RT seattle to salt lake for a trade. ton of driving - mostly done in 2 days. But a fun trip!
Kinda far…. “The OC” (So.Cal) to Mesa Ariz., but the funny part was my transportation car for a Funhouse… a 2001 Celica hatchback! I “Beverly Hillbillied” that game all the way back! Tied down the hatch as much as I could.
On a different note, I also once moved a super nice TZ down some stairs…by myself…and not a single nick 
Accidentally did a 23 hour trip for a free puck bowler and a total POS 4 Aces (for $30). No trailers available, finally found an open air, massive surprise thunderstorm. Had to wait it out under an overpass.
Awful. Worst pickup ever. Then 2 miles from my house the lug nuts sheered off my car and I nearly lost a wheel.
That is what makes this hobby so amazing! It brings family together! You got to spend that time with your kid! I get my kids off their phones, computer, tablets, and we play tournaments as a family! It’s a great way to connect!
Quoted from Kkoss24:I took my oldest and left after school on a Friday .We drove to Eastern PA and because of traffic ,got in our room at 3AM.Woke up at 7:30AM and headed for our first trip in the big Apple .Took a ferry tour of Liberty island then got a bite to eat before stopping in NJ to pick up the Family Guy pin he wanted .Left there and made it to our camper in North West IN at 3am .Slept until noon then back home to set it up .24 hour round trip and I’d imagine we would do more .
Quoted from HighVoltage:So you want to know the distance, right?
Oh, you don't want the distance.
Hhm, "how far", but not "in distance"? That sequence made me LOL...
If I can get there with only one overnight on the way, that's about the limit. There, I didn't say the distance!
I just drove to S.Dakota for a pin in the fall. Didn't hurt that the weather was much nicer than in the PNW. I like road trips anyways and stopping and ticking off cool destinations makes it feel like a mini-vacation. Badlands National Park, Mt. Rushmore, Minuteman Site, Lewis & Clark Commemorative... cool stops.
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What vehicle is this?
I left as soon as U-haul opened and I could get my trailer. 7-hours each direction and I had to tear down 8 machines and bring them out of a basement. Left at 7am and I think I got home around 1am. Long day and a lot of work but worth the run.
Melbourne
I’ve done 9 hours each way on two occasions both from Melbourne to Sydney, Both times it was for my grail pins Lord of the rings and the second for Avatar, Don’t think I’m that keen to do it again, maybe for a Kiss premium but that would have to be it.
Quoted from PinballJeff:What vehicle is this?
That's my Audi A3 with the rear seats pulled:
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/vehicles-that-a-pinball-machine-fits-in/page/36#post-6636287
1 week later
1 week later
Longest i’ve done is 12hrs each way, WV to Wisconsin for a beautiful Medieval Madness. My oldest son likes to join me on road trips, which keeps me company and my wife thinks its great. True story - just tonight he was asking when we are going on another trip so i guess i’m back on the hunt for something haha. We did a layover in Indiana keeping it to 8hrs of driving a day and even shot up into Michigan to visit Ron Kruzman and drop off a couple playfields. I’d do it over again if i had to.
Daytona to St Louis for a Sailor Jerry. Left work at 5 pm got to the arch at 5 am. Took a nap at IKEA then picked up the machine at noon. Turned around made it home early the next day. Machine was for my wife she found a catalog in a bottle of Sailor Jerry and told me she wanted one. Took me a few years but I got it for her. Big surprise when I got home she was thrilled.
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