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  1. #1
    Cheap Bastid Guest

    Default Road trip for poor, cheap roadtrippers...help please!

    Hello road trip gurus,

    Me and a buddy are planning a cross-country road trip going the cheapest possible. Instead of hitting cities and weird sites like the biggest ball of twine, we want to hit most of the major national parks and go through the most beautiful scenery. -grand canyon, yellowstone, deserts, etc.

    We plan to eat the cheapest food possible (need suggestions), perhaps rice and potatoes and stuff.

    We plan to camp or, if we have to, sleep in the car every night. No lodging expenses. I know we can sleep at truck stops and camp in camp grounds, but are there other camping options?

    We've got a vehicle with decent gas mileage and enough room, so no extra expense there. We don't think there will be any special luxury expenses. Again, cheap bastids.

    How much money do you think we'll need to pull this off? Again, we'll sacrifice what most perceive as comfort for going cheap.

    Also, any general suggestions for cheap adventurers on a road trip more than welcome.
    Last edited by RoadTripper Brad; 03-20-2006 at 05:56 PM. Reason: Pushing the Obsecene Language Barrier

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Mar 2005
    Location
    Washington state coast/Olympic Peninsula
    Posts
    3,614

    Default search

    You might search through the threads as there have been several discussions about roadtripping on the cheap already. I have no idea how much money you will need as that will depend on the miles driven and how many days you are planning on traveling.

    Depending on area, camping fees can be as low as $5/night or as high as $25/night. There are few free campsites out there but a search at Amazon will bring you to some books that have information on free camping areas.

    If you are eating out of a cooler, you aren't limited to rice and potatoes. Yuck! How boring. What do you eat at home that's easy to prepare? That's what I'd pack. Some things I pack are sandwich fixings, Top Ramen, Mac 'n Cheese, hotdogs, hamburgers, etc. which are easy to fix from a cooler with a campstove and some basic gear. You can stop at grocery stores regularly to replenish. Avoid stopping at gas stations/mini-marts for food as they are higher priced and just stop at local grocery stores along the way. Follow your taste buds.

    Eating this way means your food expenses should be roughly what you spend at home to eat so just figure your food budget based on that.

    To figure your car expenses, you will need to have some idea of your overall miles you will be traveling, divided by your miles per gallon, times the cost per gallon. This will give you a rough idea of your overall cost.

    Without more info, it's hard to be more specific.

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