My next question is regarding travel. In my area, auctions seem to be few and far in between, maybe one a month if that. If I travel 3 hours-ish, there are an abundance of auctions at any given time. In the veterans experience, is it worth the travel on a normal basis? Obviously one good score would make it well worth while, but on an average with gas in a truck and hauling a trailer?
All of the following is
MY OPINION..take it for what it's worth.
You say you go to an auction close to home about once a month. If you see 10 lkrs there, are there ANY you would have bought considering their cost and what they contained? If the answer is NONE or 1 out of 10 (or 20) extend that thought to an auction 150 miles (2-3 hours one way) and IMAGINE if you would get a lkr there.
My personal belief is that the ODDS of finding a worthwhile lkr that far from home are SLIM...not NONE, but SLIM.
Then, IF you found a good one (and you won it) what if you couldn't get it ALL in your truck/trailer? A second trip would be necessary or you would have to otherwise off-load the stuff at the lkr city.
Nope,
IN MY OPINION, too much hassle for the value. I personally would not do it. Heck, I hardly go 30 miles one way and the stories I hear from my cronies who make the 180 mile ROUND-TRIPS on a regular basis are almost always questioning the value of doing so.