Ideas for cheap lodging....

I am planning a long term solo road trip. I, like most people, want to do it as cheaply as possible. Gas and food are musts, but i can scrimp big time on lodging. Some of my ideas include sleeping in my car, camping with a tent and cot, and staying at cheap motels. Ill probably end up using a combination of the three. I figure that will help me stay on the road for a while.

Any vets got any other suggestions? Or maybe you have some tips on the three things im thinking about?

Oh yeah, this is solo, so has safety been an issue in your travels?

Thanks

Hi Kevin --

Search the board for past camping posts. Judy in particular has posted quite a few which you ought to read.

In my opinion, camping is probably the best way to save money on a longish road trip. Camping costs run in my experience from $15-30 per night for a tent camp site, which saves $30-60 per night (or about 1-2 tanks of gas). A lot of good campgrounds have showers and laundry facilities and perhaps even a swimming pool or kitchen area available.

For food when I'm car camping, I'll typically hit up a grocery store in a largish town (or a CostCo or a WalMart or the like) and stock up a dry food box and an ice chest. I'll make sandwiches or have fruit and cheese for lunch, and something simple for dinner which I can make quickly and easily at a campsite. Breakfast is usually oatmeal and fruit and coffee (just make hot water and mix with instant...). The one thing I've noticed to save money doing that is to buy a big 2.5 gal container of water, stash it in the back of my SUV and use it to replenish smaller bottles of water. The 2.5 gal of water costs me about as much as 1, name brand one-liter bottle.

I don't recommend sleeping in your car -- you'll want to get out of it and stretch out for pyschological reasons after a few days, plus it'll be more comfortable in a tent. (Besides you don't need to unpack and repack the car if you use a tent). I have a good camping pad ($20) and a sleeping bag and a reasonable tent ($50-70) and a camp chair ($5) for basic camping supplies. Add in a camping stove ($20) and fuel, a pan and teapot and bowl and spoon out of my kitchen and I'm pretty much ready to go.

To stretch your traveling dollar, you might consider a couple of other things. One which I use is to avoid tourist traps; that is to avoid the big, glittery pay-per-entrance tourist items and do a lot of walking and hiking on my own. For example, I'd rather take a morning day hike through the woods somewhere rather than pay to ride the bus and have a tour guide point out the same things to me. I do have to admit its a rule I follow more in spirit than in strict rule, as there are some things that you just have to pay to get in and enjoy. Another is to look for group discounts or longer-term savings. For example, if you're going to be visiting 3 or more national parks, get their annual pass. Similarly, make sure you ask for the AAA rate (if you are a AAA member) at any hotel or attraction with an entrance fee.

Even the cheapest Motels (that still have some safety) are around 20-30 for a night. I would suggest Camping and a mix of car sleeping. Just make sure you will be able to make enough room for a comfortable sleep in a car. If you have tons of bags/boxes in the car, you might be better off @ a campsite evry night. Although another problem is the convience of camp sites, they are sometimes 20-30 miles out of the way. After a while those extra miles can add up to alot of wasted Gas money, compared to sleeping in your car not far off your route. Just dont be completly stupid, which I assume you wont be, when picking where to park your car overnight. The Best plan would probly be to find all the campsites along your route ahead of time, and when you get to the turnoff decide if time and money can spare it...

I'll throw one more option out there for you: Hostels.

I like them when I'm traveling solo, because they are cheap, often in excellent locations, and they give you a chance to meet other like minded travelers - which is always nice after spending hours in a car alone.

There are some downsides; Sharing a dorm room isn't for everyone, parking is often limited, and if you are traveling with more than one person, it is usually cheaper to get a cheap motel.

Its one more option to add to your list. Otherwise, I think camping is often the best and cheapest option. Sleeping in your car is ok, but I agree that after a long day on the road, getting out of the car is more refreshing than you can imagine.

Hi Kevin!

Here's an article you should read and a post regarding cheap lodging. My favourite place to sleep in a car in terms of safety is a 24/7 truck stop parking. There's always people around and there's a good chance no one will bother you. In the morning, you can have a hot shower, breakfast and a cup of coffee and fill up on gas and food before you hit the road again.

Unlike Michael, I'm not very fond of hostelling since I don't like to sleep in a room with people I don't know, but you may be more comfortable with that idea. Private rooms in hostels are often more expensive than cheap motels. When I'm too tired to tour the various motels in a particular town, I look for a Motel 6 or any other cheap chain. Otherwise, I like to browse through the Mom & Pop operations. In Canada, my favourite type of accomodation is B&B. I believe they're usually much cheaper than in the US and you often get homemade food, local color and make some friends.:o) Plus, in some areas, chains can be hard to find!

Good luck!
Gen

Thinking of hostels, at which I stay frequently when travelling in North America, check out this site.

Combine them with camping and your accommodation costs should be minimal. In 2007, my average was below $30 over 90 nights.

Lifey who does not allow her lack of resources to stop her travelling

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Originally Posted by Lifemagician

Thinking of hostels, at which I stay frequently when travelling in North America, check out this site.

Combine them with camping and your accommodation costs should be minimal. In 2007, my average was below $30 over 90 nights.

Lifey who does not allow her lack of resources to stop her travelling

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Thanks for the resource! I was looking for a good $30/night place in San Francisco, and found a nice Hostel.

Welcome to the RTA Forum,morningland!

Your advice is very good for the most part, however, I would strongly disagree with your idea about sleeping at rest areas. There are places to sleep in your car safely, but rest areas usually are not one of them. They are usually poorly lit and poorly patroled. I also don't know of any rest area where you can legally set up a tent. If you want to sleep in your car, then someplace like a truck stop is a much safer bet. I will also say that I will gladly pay $20 for a campsite to have a place to set up a tent, and have some space to move around at the end of a long day on the road, and often have a shower available the next morning. I've slept in my car, and doing it occationally on a solo trip is fine, but I've never found a way to comfortably sleep 2 people in an average car, and proper rest is very key to having a good trip.

In addition to BLM Lands, National Forest lands are also often a good place to camp for free or a very small fee. However, in both of those cases, there are only specific areas where camping is legal, which doesn't work with every trip.

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Originally Posted by morningland

You can sleep for free in your car by taking advantage of our nations "rest areas"...Some states have different rules but in general, you are allowed to sleep in at least your car as long as you don't hang around for more then 24 hours.

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I'm sorry, but this is just flat out wrong. At least 35 states prohibit overnight parking in rest areas, let alone "hanging around for 24 hours." Look, I have done this, but I certainly wouldn't recommend it as a routine way/place to spend the night. Not only is it illegal far more often than not, but the sleep you get will be far from the best.

AZBuck

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Originally Posted by morningland

....There are ALWAYS people sleeping in their cars at rest areas so it is not flat wrong.

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It does not follow that just because "..There are ALWAYS people sleeping in their cars at rest areas.." that it is not wrong.

A valid argument (point) cannot be based on a false premise, and the above is a false premise.

One may just as well say, there are always people stealing / killing, "so it is not flat wrong".

Bottom line is, that I too, have in an emergency slept in my car at a rest area, but would have to agree that the majority rest areas do not allow this.

Lifey who uses more secure ways to save money

The problem with your rest area theory is that even though you haven't been a victim of crime at a rest area, there is a documented record of it happening. People have been killed or seriously injured as victims of crime doing exactly the sort of thing that you are promoting. Just because you haven't been a victim (yet?) doesn't mean a problem doesn't exist.

Ironically, your premise that sleeping at a rest area is ok because you haven't been hassled by cops is exactly one of the reasons why they are not a safe spot to sleep. Rest Areas don't usually see a lot of patrol car traffic and they usually are in relatively remote locations which is why they can be a prime spot for a criminal to take advantage of an opportunity.

Again, no one is saying that sleeping in a car isn't possible or that it won't save money, but there are ways to do it that are much safer than stoping at a highway rest stop.

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About cooking on a coleman stove. This can be done out of your car. You use the car doors as wind breaks and sit in your seat as you cook.

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This is another idea that I simply would not recommend. There is a reason Coleman puts for outdoor use only warning labels on camping stoves. A car seat just isn't the most stable place to put a burner element, thus creating a significant fire danger. There is also the real danger of Carbon Monoxide and other gases created by burning propane in a small, confined space like a car.

If you want to "suck up the dangers", no one here is telling you that you can not take risks and/or break the law. If you so choose, you certainly can take unnecessary risks in pursuit of your adventure, but there is a difference when you start recommending that people do things that carry significant and substantial risks and then tell them that they are safe because you haven't had any problems yet.

Overnight Parking is perfectly legal at a truck stops and other private parking lots, if you get permission from the management. You just need to ask first, its really that simple, and if it isn't allowed for some reason, then you will know that too. These are much safer places to sleep because there is always someone working and more people moving around to detract potential criminals. A place like a truck stop needs people to be safe at all hours of the night because they have a financial stake (criminals attacking customers doesn't make for good business, and opens the door for lawsuits), thus they are better lit and often will have security on hand to make sure customers are safe. They are also usually located closer to a populated area, with easier access to emergency services should there be a problem. There are more first hand details earlier in this thread and in the links that have already been provided.

National Forest Lands often offer the same free dispersed camping options that BLM lands do. However, as with BLM lands, you need to make sure that camping is allowed in those areas (dispersed camping is not universally allowed everywhere in either NF or BLM lands) and what the rules are for camping in the particular area.

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Originally Posted by morningland

I looked up the national forest sites but all the camp sites seemed to be 10-20$$$ a piece.

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If you are staying in an established campground in a National Forest, then, yes, you will likely pay a small fee. However, the same is true about campgrounds in BLM lands. Not all BLM land is available for camping, and not all camping in BLM lands is free. BLM has campsites that charge a fee, just like other public entities.

What I am talking about is dispersed camping, in other words, camping away from established campgrounds. Sometimes there will be free sites available, but often times you will only have what you bring with you. This is where finding out what is allowed and where is key to making this kind of camping a success.

There is another free lodging option -- generally this applies to RVing, but a car works too and these days, you often see car boondocking.... (it used to be called car camping). Anyway, here is an overview.

Mark

First of all, the Sam Walton's last request thing is a myth that simply isn't true. Wal-Marts in many locations will allow customers to park overnight, but some will not. As was stated in the article that Mark linked to, some towns have even outlawed the walmart camping practice. Again, as has been stated, you need to check with management before just parking overnight at any private parking lot, be it a walmart, a truck stop, or some other similar location.

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So what you are saying is to just find some BLM land and just go out and set up camp out there?

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I'm going to repeat this one last time, because somewhere you are badly misreading what I am writing. You absolutely can not just find some BLM or National Forest land and set up camp. In many cases, camping will be legal and allowed on these public lands, but that is not universal. This is why talking to the ranger station that oversees the land is important. They can tell you where you can or can not camp, and where you can park your car.

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Originally Posted by Lifemagician

Thinking of hostels, at which I stay frequently when travelling in North America, check out this site.

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Hostels are great, but they aren't plentiful. When I was in high school and college I had some great inexpensive trips staying in hostels -- they're less useful now that I have a family of four. When you're paying for four people, you can usually find a "real hotel" for less money than a hostel x 4.

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Originally Posted by Midwest Michael

If you want to "suck up the dangers", no one here is telling you that you can not take risks and/or break the law. If you so choose, you certainly can take unnecessary risks in pursuit of your adventure, but there is a difference when you start recommending that people do things that carry significant and substantial risks and then tell them that they are safe because you haven't had any problems yet.

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Everyone does have a different risk-acceptance level, but sleeping in a safe location is pretty high on my priority list. I mean, you're going to be unconscious and completely veneruable. Sleeping just any old place just isn't safe.

Personally, I'd rather skimp at home in order to have more money to spend on my vacations (so I don't have to make dangerous choices). For example, we've stopped going out to lunch on Sundays after church -- instead, every meal we don't eat out deposits $$ into our trip fund.

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Originally Posted by Midwest Michael

First of all, the Sam Walton's last request thing is a myth that simply isn't true. Wal-Marts in many locations will allow customers to park overnight, but some will not.

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I don't know whether my local Walmart allows people to overnight there, but I do know that that parking lot is the site of multiple car-jackings every month. I won't go there after dark. Ever. It's in a safe place, near good neighborhoods, etc. -- but it's set-up is perfect for thieves: it's a short driveway, which opens up onto a two-lane highway that's straight as an arrow in both directions. With nothing to block their view, thieves can pull out even if the light's red, and they can be across the county line in minutes. It's a fine place to be in daylight, but no one goes there after dark.