Let's Set some Parameters First
Welcome to RTA and the wonderful world of roadtripping!
Ok - down to your post.
1) How long do you plan to travel? One month, six months, a year?
2) Where are you starting from?
3) Is everyone of the age of majority (at least 18)?
4) What do you like to do? Culture, history, partying, etc?
5) Are you going to camp or stay in hotels? This will affect how much money you need.
Kind of narrow down what you're going to do and then we can help with specifics.
"Can do" goes a long ways
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Occupied By Tim
It's our first roadtrip. Is this a bad idea? Maybe, but we're going to go for it.
I took my first solo roadtrip from California to Florida a few months after high school -- it is certainly possible, but there are some legal considerations that your parents might be liable for if you go these days. I would suggest you read this article about teenage roadtrips and also have your three friends take this roadtrip companion compatibility quiz as part of your pre-planning effort.
Mark
I think you have lots to do to be ready for a trip like this!
Sorry but, to me, it doesn't sound like you have enough experience for a trip like this. But, don't despair! You can easily learn the skills you need to have a memorable adventure like this.
When my kids were in high school, I let them go on roadtrips of increasing distance and complexity so they could learn the skills necesssary to plan a big roadtrip once they graduated. They started with daytrips to the city (about 2 hours away), then overnight trips to visit friends/family, then 2-nighters a bit farther away, etc. By the time they had done several of these and could plan their routes, find their way, budget themselves, etc., they were ready for big trips like you're planning. I suggest you start now so you'll be experienced and ready.
I sure hope you will all be 18 years old by the time you go. If not, you might have some problems in some hotels and problems if you have any medical emergencies and other unforeseen events.
As for planning the trip itself,
First step: Get a big map of the US that has national parks on it and then start marking on it the places you really want to see. Then see if you can figure out a logical route to take that will take you to all of these places. (While we can give you some hints for this, you really need to make these decisions yourself so you can go on YOUR dream roadtrip, not OUR dream roadtrip.)
Second step: To get an idea of the miles your dream roadtrip will cover, you might use a website like Mapquest or a software like MS Streets & Trips. Plug in your destinations in the order you want to visit them, and see what the total miles are. Then figure out how many hours you will need to drive to do your entire trip. Divide that figure by 55. This will give you a good idea of how many hours of driving you'll need. (Yes, I know that speed limits are higher than that on the interstates but there will always be traffic jams, construction, and other things that slow you down so you might as well use this slower speed as a factor. Experienced roadtrippers here figure you can average 57mph in the west and 53mph in the east so 55mph gives you a good country-wide average.)
Third step: How many days do you need? Most of us here do occasional speed runs where we might cover 400 or even 800 miles in a day. But these should be rare on a long roadtrip. Even with your youthful energy, these long days of driving will wear you out and, as the hours go by, your ability to drive safely will lessen. Yes, even if you take turns driving! And, if you do decide to do some 400+ mile days, try to plan for not doing much driving the next day. Save these long driving stints for the day prior to arriving at some destination where you want to stay a day or two and explore. Anyway, some fooling around with the maps and distances between the places you want to visit should give you a rough idea of how many days you need.
Now, onto budgeting. Check out this post for hints on that.
After you've spent some time wrestling with these issues, please come back here and ask some more questions. We'll be glad to answer and help you all we can. But you really need to do some of this planning yourselves. We can't plan your whole trip for you.
Anyway, your idea isn't bad at all. You just have some work to do to make it a reality. And, remember, the planning is half the fun!
A douple more suggestions
Ahem.. this is based upon my own personal experiences, a long time ago..
First, get your buddies togther and take a couple of small (several day) road trips around. Basically these are dry-run rehearsals for your longer road trip. They let you figure out roughly how to pack stuff, who snores in the back of the car all day, why someone has to have a bag of corn chips in the back seat, etc. It lets you work out a lot of the bugs you'll find in putting together the trip planning and fine tune some of your equipment and planning. And lets you know if you one of your buddy's snorning in the tent means he really should have his own tent.... (some bit of tongue-in-cheek there, but its a real consideration).
Secondly, plan on some days off the road during the trip. Crash at a relatives place, or somewhere and do laundry for the day, get out of the car and hike, stretch your legs, get away from your friends 24/7 and take a short break -- even if its just sitting in the laundromat getting your clothes clean.
Third, give some thought to that "oh sh!!" moment, when the car breaks down, or you need some extra cash, or someone needs to find a doctor. Every teenager who sets out on a roadtrip (including myself, in ancient history) tries to do it on a shoestring budget and assumes everything goes right all the time. 90% of the time its no problem, but its that 10% that's an issue. Talk with the folks about having an emergency only credit card, and a cell phone, and a AAA (or equivalent) road service membership, and a copy of your medical insurance coverage card, etc. If you need it, it will be absolutely invaluable -- but if you don't need it, its just another piece of paper crammed into the bottom of your daypack or journal.
Lastly, take a camera or keep a journal or something like that. I never did, and I regret it...
Is a tent worth it? Does a duck swim?
I'm probably one of the bigger proponents of camping here. I love camping while on the road. I much prefer it to sleeping in my car or hotels.
Car Sleeping: I've done it on occasion but, like Larrison, I never sleep as well as I do in my tent. And after being in the car a good part of the day, it's really nice to get out of it. If money is really tight, you can sleep for free in your car at truck stops. Gen who posts here does this a lot more than most of us and seems to enjoy it. I just really hate it and it's always a last resort for me. The main issue I see for you is where will you sleep in the car? If there's 3 of you, there aren't even seats to stretch out on unless you have a big 3-bench SUV. Just something to consider.
At a National Park, you will pay the same fee for sleeping in your camp at a campground as you would for sleeping in your tent.
Camping: It feels great to get out of the car and stretch. I sleep like a baby in my tent. I enjoy taking a walk around the campground before going to bed. It's fun to read the license plates of other campers to see where they're from. And campers are usually friendly so I usually end up having nice conversations with other folks. Sometimes they're coming from the place where I'm headed so I pick up some nice hints. I've paid anywhere from about $10-30 for camping....most often in the $18-22 price range. And this usually includes some nice amenities like hot tubs. It takes me about 7-9 minutes to set-up camp and about the same to take down in the morning. So not a big chunk of time.
IMHO, when it comes to road-tripping, the only thing more important than the tent is the car.
Car Camping vs. Car Sleeping
I'm in agreement with Judy and Larrison about getting a tent. You'll end up much much more comforatable.
I too have slept in my car on occation, but its always an option of last resort for me. Even then, I only consider it when I'm traveling solo. I simply can't imagine trying to get a decent night sleep with more than one person in any standard size car. Even the benches of a large SUV would be pretty uncomfortable to me after a night or two.
Camping equipment doesn't have to be expensive. You can find a tent sutable for 4 people for a little as $50, and I've bought cheap but warm sleeping bags for under $10 that work fine for car camping. To me, that's a small price to pay to be a lot more comfortable.
