Preparing For A 2month Road Trip-

am planning a cross-country road trip starting the second week of April from New York to California and back.
I will be going with one friend, both of us being minimilists,
trying to figure out an overall price for about 1-2 months.
Conisdering we will ONLY be camping, sleeping in the car, and one or twice staying with family, we are trying to cut back on costs.
Attempting to mainly eat from grocery stores instead of restaurants and diners.
We are planning on getting the National Parks Pass which I believe is $80;
yet I am unsure if we areable to stay at all the parks for free,
and wondering about showers in parks(?)

We are looking to do this for about 1,000 each....

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Originally Posted by JOA co

am planning a cross-country road trip starting the second week of April from New York to California and back

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Welcome to the Great American RoadTrip Forum! Lots of ideas here -- for starters, look at this article about Spring Break Roadtrips. For a fast overview on budgets, look at this thread and scroll down to the post by Judy that lays out some numbers.

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Considering we will ONLY be camping, sleeping in the car, and one or twice staying with family, we are trying to cut back on costs.

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Good plan!

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yet I am unsure if we are able to stay at all the parks for free,
and wondering about showers in parks(?)

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I don't think there are any free campgrounds in national parks, but you can find lower-cost parks in national forests and BLM land. Plus you can always use the low-cost showers at truckstops.
Here are some more tips for traveling at lower costs.

Mark

Hello,
Me friend and I are planning on leaving next week for our trip from NY to Arizona and everywhere in between.
Driving a car we built a bed into the back of, to only sleep in National Parks,
to cut down on cost.
A fwe questions,
One- best hiking boots? style etc for southern, western hiking..
Two- given only car sleeping and grocery store eating,
what should I expect to spend for this trip?
Three- will an annual ($85) National Parks Pass cover us sleeping IN the park?
or are there extra fees?

Its our first road trip, and I am trying to best prepare, as quickly as possible.

Thanks!!

Welcome aboard the RoadTrip America Forums!

Congratulations on turning your car into a makeshift camper. That alone has probably saved you a good bit of expense. But you do have to realize that it is a camper and you will be camping. It is a distinctly different proposition to camp in your car at night than to just park it. Your National Parks Pass will NOT cover camping fees, those are extra. In fact, many of the camp grounds in the more popular western National Parks are already fully booked for the season. You might have better luck looking for campsites in National Forests along your route, and in many of their units 'dispersed camping' where you just pull well off the side of a forest service road is permitted. However, in some forests the required distance from the road may make use of your car impossible. In any event be sure to check local regulations and restrictions at the unit headquarters or ranger station. Overnight parking in highway rest areas is often illegal and never perfectly safe. Our contributors have generally found that major truck stops do allow overnight parking, but again it's a good idea to let someone inside know that you're out there.

As for other ideas, try these money saving tips and this post for an idea of what such a travel style might cost.

AZBuck

Is it wishful thinking to pick up a 2001 Geo Metro, and drive from New York to Arizona, with all the stops in between.
Or am I just asking for problems?

Thank you,
we were under the impression that staying at these parks would be free under the National Parks Pass.

Maybe I'm missing something, but why would driving a 2001 Metro be unrealistic or "asking for problems."

If the car is in good mechanical condition, I'm not sure what your concerns would be.

I, myself, dont know much if ANYTHING about cars.
My friend and I purchased this car, purposely for this trip.
$560.
I have been hearing much about how unsafe it might be.
as far as breaking down, flimsy quality, etc.

As excited as I was about this trip,
I am rethinking it safety wise.
Especially since we will be using it as a home.
Sleeping quarters, and such.
The passanger seat was taken out as more bedding area as well..

Im just looking for second, third, fourth opinions.

No one on here is going to be able to tell you if your car is ready to go for a trip, because no one here can examine your car.

I would suspect that a car you bought for $500 will not be up for the challenge of a major trip.

But the only way to know for sure is to take your car to a mechanic and let him examine the car. He'll be able to tell you what problems your car has and when you might see them develop.

Even if your car gets the ok for a mechanic, have you considered what you are going to do if you have a mechanical problem during your trip? Do you have money set aside to pay for repairs if you have a problem?

Those are the ways you'll find out if you can safely make this trip with this car.

$560 for this car? Is that a typo?

If not, has the car been thoroughly inspected by a competent mechanic? For a trip of this magnitude, it is definitely advisable to have that performed. I would be hesitant to be so reliant on a $560 car for a trip of this length - that price is more the "winter beater" category.

To answer your question about hiking boots - first off, they should be comfortable - not slipper comfortable, but they should breathe well for you. You want something with good support in the arch as well as the ankle area, and waterproof as well. You do not want logger heels (like the bikers wear), those are for climbing trees. Yet, I have seen people hiking in these in the past. The sneaker-style hiking shoes are comfortable, but offer limited support and protection around the ankle. Check that the laces are strong enough to hold up under the stress of a lot of snags. Preferable the laces would also be waterproofed, and not the flat-style found on sneakers, but the round, cord-like kind.