Non-US citizen, 21-year old trying to plan 8-week road-trip. HELP!

Hi, i'm British (live in the UK) and am hoping to travel around the USA in July/August 2014. I am a student and need to start earning money to fund this holiday, which is why i'm trying to plan it so far it advance. I will be in a small group, perhaps 3 or 4 of us and we will all be aged 21-22. I have decided i think the most feasible way of doing the trip is to rent a campervan and drive ourselves, simply because even the cheapest accommodation in the US appears to be too expensive for this budget. Ideally i would like to have an 8-week holiday, coming to absolutely no more than $7500, or about $6500 excluding flights. I have quite a few questions regarding logistics and just generally what's plausible. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

1. I have a rough route which is as follows: Boston --> NY -->Washington--> Philadelphia --> Chicago --> Mt. Rushmore --> Yellowstone-->(maybe Seattle but i might have to skip this out) --> San Francisco --> LA-->Las Vegas --> Grand Canyon --> San Antonio --> New Orleans --> Miami --> Charleston.

This is very very provisional and is missing out some other stops in between these ones.

It's an incredibly long route and i think almost 8000miles of driving (that figure might be completely wrong though...i was trying to figure it out!).

Anyway my first question is: Is this far too ambitious to cram into 8 weeks? If i tried to would i just not be spending enough time in each place? Or is 8 weeks enough for this mammoth road trip? I just have no idea really. I might have to completely re-do the route if 8 weeks isn't long enough.

2. As non-US citizens who are aged 21-22 how easy/expensive will renting a campervan be? Would be easier/cheaper to actually buy our own one out there and then sell it at the end of the trip (is that even possible?? I know my parents bought a car when they went out to the States when they much younger and then sold it at the end but that was about 40 years ago so it could be much harder to do that nowadays!)

Is getting insured on a vehicle going to be an issue because we're so young? I found a website, turtle-travel, for vehicle rental which seems quite good and reasonably priced. Anyone have any experience with it?

3. What's the best way to do a trip like this? If we're travelling in a campervan what should we do when we get to cities. Do cities in the US have many campervan sites that we can park at during the day and/or night?

4. How expensive is living/travelling in the US. I was hoping to have a budget of about $40 a day for food and all other costs (EXCLUDING gasoline for campervan, i've been working out separate prices for that).

I think that's all i can think of for now. Thanks for reading and please respond if you can give any advice!

Welcome to the RTA Forum!

I've got to warn you, if keeping your costs down is your top priority, then going with an RV is not likely going to be your best bet. Once you factor in the extra cost to rent a the RV, campground fees, extra fuel, etc, it is really going to be cheaper to rent a regular car. I'll also say that an RV likely would be a poor choice, as it seems like you want to largely focus on cities, and such a vehicle is not usually a good choice for cities (as it is expensive to find parking, campgrounds, etc)

I think one of your big miscalculations may be with campgrounds. You really can't plan on just parking the RV at night for free. There are places where you can "boondock" but most of the time, you're going to have to pay for a campground. Camping fees, especially those with hook-ups for water and electric, often run about $25 per night (and can be much more in some case). By comparison, you can often find budget motels for around $50 a night.

Purchasing your own vehicle would not make sense for this trip. First, it can be quite a challenge for a non-resident to buy a car, and then also get it licensed and insured. Second, at just 8 weeks, it likely would not be economical anyway. You'd have to be gone closer to 3 months before you get to the break-even point vs. renting.

Your $40 a day figure - what does that include? Is that per person or for the entire group? Similarly, is the $7500 for your total trip a per person or for the entire group?

8 weeks is a nice amount of time for a loop of the US, although one of the easiest ways to reduce your budget is to shorten your trip, so if money becomes a factor, that might be something to consider too.

Welcome aboard the RoadTrip America Forums!

Let's get to the major ones first, and those have to do with your age and financial constraints, both of which are going to limit your options for this trip I'm afraid. Where your age will impact you the most is in the campervan (We call them RVs.) where, while you can rent at age 21, there is often a "underage" driver fee imposed if you are under 25. That fee, at $25/day typically, can get to be quite substantial - $1400 over eight weeks. Then there's any additional driver fees if you want anyone besides the renter to do any driving over the course of your travels. This is another $25/day, plus $25/day because she will be underage, or $2800 for each and every extra driver. Now those are typical fees and we often recommend that our European visitors book through a local consolidator. It appears that is what Turtle-Travel is, a consolidator that books the actual vehicle through an actual rental company rather than renting to you directly. Note that they are located in New Zealand. Unfortunately. I have no first-hand knowledge of them. They may very well offer you your best shot at getting an RV for your trip at a reasonable cost, but I would strongly recommend that you do a fair bit of research on them before committing to a third-party consolidator in yet a third country nearly half the planet away from your home.

Now the money. Poverty level for a family of four in the United States is defined as ~$24,000 per year or $8,000 for two months. If the total you have for all four participants is only $6500, then you are not going to be able to travel extensively as well as feed yourselves. On the other hand, if that $6500 is what each person brings to the endeavor after paying for their round-trip ticket, then you should be in pretty fair shape. Some rough guesstimates of what I think you will need: $4000 for gas (petrol), $8000-9000 for the base RV rental (plus fees as discussed above), and $1700 for camping/parking fees for the RV each night. While you can try to trim some of those costs, they will generally end up pretty close to those figures. So that's around $14,000 just in fixed costs for your RoadTrip With four people each contributing $6500 to the pot, you'd have about $12,000 available for food, admissions, laundry and everything else entailed in being on the road for eight weeks.

Right now, all your other questions and problems are comparatively easy to solve. Certainly the trip you've laid out is ambitious in that it lasts so long, but given that time frame the things you want to see and do will fit within it. Cities are not the best place to try to use an RV for getting around in or to park in. But typically they have excellent public transport systems which would allow you to park the RV outside the city and take either a rail line, subway, or bus into town, and they are compact enough that walking is probably the best way (with subways and busses as needed and available) to get around while visiting. You will need to check with whatever company you end up going with, but typically insurance on a rented RV is included in the price. Finally, one 'problem' you haven't brought up but which is probably the number one killer of plans such as yours is unconsidered differences between the participants, so I would strongly urge you to sit down with your potential travel mates and take this test.

AZBuck

Thank you for responses!

Just to clarify i had meant $6500 per person, including a budget of $40 spending money per person per day. All very helpful info. I was initially under the impression that renting an RV would certainly be cheaper than motels/hostels. The cheapest possible options are at least $50 a night but do you think that is still likely to be cheaper or at least no more expensive than travelling in an RV?

... is to get a price on the RV rental, figure you'll need to spend at least twice as much in gas, and still have to pay for a place to park it most nights, and the answer should become obvious: travel by RV is about the lifestyle, not saving money.

AZBuck

Perhaps would it make more sense to stay it hostels in the North-East and travel by railway. Then pick up a vehicle in Chicago to continue the trip for the longer-distance travelling? Also because most of the big cities will be in that earlier part of the trip.

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Originally Posted by Samereira

Perhaps would it make more sense to stay it hostels in the North-East and travel by railway. Then pick up a vehicle in Chicago to continue the trip for the longer-distance travelling? Also because most of the big cities will be in that earlier part of the trip.

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Car rentals will be less expensive than rail service! Hostels are good choices, but generally more expensive for more than one person than a motel. A hostel charges per person. Look at the car rental deals RTA offers to get an idea of the likely costs...

Mark

If we were using a car instead of an RV where would/could we park? ARe overnight carparks in cities cheap?

I think for the northeast portion of your trip, you might do fine sticking with trains. Those cities generally work ok in terms of having mass transit to get around within the city. Other parts of the country, having a car will be really important for you to go where you want.

Most hotels will offer parking, although it can be expensive if you are in the heart of a major city. Your other options include staying on the edge of a city/suburbs and then commute into the city during the day. Most suburban motels have free parking.

Being a young group I cant see the need for a large RV.
My wife and I rent small vans which are quiet comforable and could easily sleep 4 people.
They are reasonably priced and dont discriminate against young people.
They have depots aroungd the US as well.
Have a look at theire website and get an idea on prices. http://www.escapecampervans.com/

A little bit from their site.
Why Escape Campervans are the number 1 Campervan hire option in the USA

Cheap daily Campervan hire rates.
100 miles per day included for free and averaged over your hire.
Unique hand painted artwork from top local artists with over 100 flavours to choose from.
Explore Canada for no extra costs.
Among the most fuel efficient Campervans in America.
Free starter packs.
Free picnic chairs.
Free bedding and duvets/comforters.
Easy to understand insurance terms and rental conditions.
No compulsory insurance.
No vehicle preparation fees.
We rent to 21 years+ (no extra charges for under 25s)
Reliable and modern Campervans with new 2009 to 2012 fitout.
24 hour roadside assistance throughout the USA and Canada.
Multiple drivers at no extra cost.
We only require a US$200 deposit. You don't pay the balance until you collect your camper.
Friendly, personal service and local knowledge and tips to help you and your camper get off the beaten track.
We have a "No hidden costs" policy.


We travel on a budget and doing an 8 week trip in may and will be at least 12000 mile. I will keep a good record on our expenses this year for reference.

John

Look great! But what about showers/toilets??

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Look great! But what about showers/toilets??

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Whether you use an RV or a camper van you can't simply pull up in a City car park and sleep for the night. There are limited 'Boondocking' spots in the US [free camping sites] and more often than not you would have to travel miles to find one, often resulting in burning more fuel than you will save in campground fees.

Truck stops are an option for sleeping with the option of being able to pay for a shower in the morning, but they are for eating or sleeping at,they are a rest stop. You obviously can't set up camp and get the BBQ out and other than sleeping it's not gonna be a lot of fun spending your night in a parking lot. There are a lot of private owned, State and National park campgrounds available at a reasonable cost and most privates campgrounds have shower and toilet blocks, as do some of the State and NP campgrounds.

City campgrounds are generally more expensive [probably because the land would be valuable for development] and many are little more than a parking lot. We travel by RV in the US as a lifestyle choice, but have little interest in the City's where the RV is not best suited too. With a smaller camper as described by John you would be able to get around the City easier, enjoy camping in the National parks etc and could still warrant a night in Motel once or twice a week to get a good bed for the night and a decent meal and shower.

The downside with the camper would be space, as even when I was young I don't think I could be comfortable sharing such a small area with 3 others, never mind how good a mates we were. It has potential for major fall outs over such a long period, especially if you are not that familiar with each others personal habits. A bad night can lead to a long day !

If you want to compare costs [although the 'Lifestyle' cost is of far more importance for the harmony of the trip] take a look at the RTA reservations to the top right of this page and get a 'ball park' figure for car rental per week and hotel room cost for four occupants in 3 or 4 different areas. Then go to the Cruise America website and put in all your details on the bookings page. Remember to add your extra mileage [daily average] and book kitchen and bedroom kits etc. This will give you a rental figure and then add, I would say $35 per night campground fees as many could be in the City. Now you have a comparision of costs before you turn the ignition key. An 8000 mile trip in an RV will probaly burn 880 gallons of fuel and a car, possibly 320 depending on model. At an estimated $4 per gallon that would be an additional $2240 to your RV cost. You will also have to pay for propane and generator use although these costs can be quite minimal.

Go through the same process with the campervan option and then discuss it with your mates. I would imagine the fuel costs will be somewhere in between the above but the HUGE difference over such a long trip is going to be the fact there is no extra charge for young drivers. That in itself will pay for a Motel room a couple of times a week or more and give yourselves an opportunity for a little space if needed by getting 2 rooms.

Escape campervans have gotten some good reviews here, but I don't know that I would choose that option with 4 people.

Really, to sleep 4 people, you're going to have to use their "rooftop sleeper." That looks like a pretty big hassle to me. At the very least, it's going to cost an extra $20 a day, and it is going to make urban boondocking - at places like Truck stops - pretty much impossible. I don't see any practical way where you'd be able to use it without looking like you are camping. That means campgrounds every night - so you're again, looking at $25 or so a night on average. Throw in the extra cost to rent a van, the extra fuel, and the potential for pretty significant mileage charges, and I don't think one of these vans will end up being a bargain choice for you either.

Hi, I just picked up the thread here. We are renting an escape campervan this summer...but for 115 days, to travel around US. There is one other thing to think about here, and that is the insurance; it does not come with the hire of the campervan. They want to charge 9 dollars per day for CDW and 9.25 dollars daily for SLI, (they offer only standard cover). That is quite a bit on top of the hire, and if you're on a budget it's something to think about. We have, and are still looking for, other insurance to cover it....this is proving very difficult from the UK. Two reasons; the length of time...most cover 45 days...and the fact that many companies here just will not do it,..too risky I guess. I cannot find insurance that covers the two insurances in one policy either. So, the extra cover would be over 18 dollars per day. By the way, if anyone knows how we could do this more cheaply I would be grateful for the information as we fly next week. Thank in advance.

Hello and welcome to RTA Mardiray.

Quite the trip you have planned, Wow ! Feel free to drop in anytime if you need any tips/suggestions and you can always create a trip report in the 'Field reports' section.

Thanks for jumping in and offering useful info on your first post, it's appreciated ! I can't help with your insurance on the Escape camper unfortunately, but for anyone looking in, most of the RV companies do include Insurance waivers in their fee. Always read the small print and check directly with the compnay you are dealing with about any doubts.



Dave.

Hi! I'm 21 from the UK and this summer i'm doing a roadtrip with 3 friends. We've rented a campervan from Escape Campervans and we're picking it up in LA in mid-July and dropping it off in Miami at the end of August. Our route is something like this:

LA, San Fran, Yosemite, Vegas, Bryce, Antelope, Grand Canyon, Sedona, Phoenix, Austin, New Orleans, Orlando, Miami, Everglades, Keys...

My question is should we be reserving spots in RV campsites like now? Or is it generally safe to ring up a couple of days in advance or can we even just turn up on the day?? I'd imagine that the situation is different in different places but if anyone has any knowledge on this for any of the places on our route that'd be fantastic. Thank you!

Mod note] Please keep all questions regarding this trip in one thread.

You are correct in thinking that it's different for certain places. Popular places like the National parks book out really quickly and even some City's have limited Campgrounds. If you want to keep things flexible then you could start making notes of possible sites and ring ahead from the road, or just see where you end up at the end of each day. For places like Bryce and the Grand canyon I would seriously consider booking asap.

Any time you are planning to stay inside a national park (RV or hotel) you should definitely get reservations! If they're already booked (and I'd imagine that Yosemite, Bryce, GC, and Everglades already are), you'll want to get something outside of the park and then keep trying to get in on someone else's cancellation. (There are NO waiting lists.)

Most of the time, you'll be able to get a place along the way without a reservation in a rural area. You'd want to book in LA, San Francisco, Orlando, and Miami for sure. Two of those have few RV places near the action (cities aren't for RV's of most types), Orlando will be BUSY and Miami may be as well. You'll probably be okay in Phoenix -- not too many RV'ers want to visit Phoenix in mid-summer when it's HOT.


Donna

As well as all of the above, you might like to do a little research on the various places you are considering stopping. If there is a special even on in town, or even some local celebration, you could find all the beds and places booked up. This happened twice to me in 2012, when unbeknowns to me, a special convention was on. These weren't big cities either. Fortunately one of the places which was fully booked, rang around for me in adjoining towns.

Not a deal breaker, but definitely something to be aware of.

Lifey

Guys thanks for all the info!

Couple more questions about my trip.

I have 7 nights to get from LA to San Francisco (after which point we'll be spending a few nights in San Fran, where we have a campground booked). What do you think is the best way to spend those 7 nights. How many nights should we stay in LA and are there even any campgrounds where we can keep out campervan in convenient places in LA (i know it's a huge city)? The places i'm intending to visit are Santa Barbara and Big Sur but other than that i don't know much about where's good to stop and spend nights on that route. Any tips??

There are a number of RV parks in the greater LA area. Bonelli County Park is one of my favorites. You really should pick up a Woodalls RV Camping book or the Good Sam Guide and use it for finding both rural and urban parks that would fit your budget and trip..

There's even a campground near the ritzy area of Newport Beach....

Mark

Are you a member of your automobile club at home. If you are, make sure you bring your membership with you. It will give you access to free maps and tourist information from the AAA, all over North America. Last time I got camping information, I was given the Woodalls RV Camping Guide free. AAA no longer produce their own, and provide it instead.

Lifey