Vehicles
hello all. this is my first post. i am planning a monster summer 2006 road trip so i am sure this wont be my last post. any suggestions for someone who currently has no reliable means of transportation? my own thoughts have ranged from buying/hooking up a mini bus to renting a car. buying anything is a considerable investment and subsequent risk and i understand that renters must be over 25. is it possible that my answer would be not to travel? i hope not. thanks.
I made a 10,000 mile roadtrip by motorcycle to celebrate getting out of the Navy. Not that it solves any of your problems but it's another option to consider and WAY more adventurous :-)Originally Posted by lawn guylander
noFanofCB
How much are you looking to put upfront for a vehicle, is my first request for additional info....
thank you guys. quick stats on the trip. i was looking to be on the road for about 15-25 days. i understand that an 8000 mile trip (ny-ca-ny with a bunch of stops) will cost anywhere from $700-$1800 depending on the vehicles fuel economy (10mpg-30mpg). i was looking to leave somewhere around may 22 when i graduate college. i am willing to spend in the neighborhood of $2000-$5000 on the pretrip purchase of a vehicle. renting would cut out costly maintenance and prep but may not be available to my friends and i (all 22). buying anything would require a considerable investment and i doubt my $5000 max will cover purchase, maintenance, repair, and insurance of a bus or other large vehicle. i hope that answers some of your questions cascadia. also, nofanofcb, my friend has a bike (vulcan800) and is dying for me to get one so we can "cruise". a 10,000 trip is a real accomplishment. i told him and he hit the roof. he was quite jealous. i saw a stripped down '74 sportster which was mean as hell but it didnt happen. questions about your trip. what kind of bike? and also, my friend wonders how many times you stopped to look at a map or did you wing it? weird question i know. sorry for the long post but thank you people.
I am in your same position (too young to rent a car), so I'll look at this from the perspective of that aspect. Perhaps you could settle with a smaller car rather than a bus? $5000 could get you a good car, if you know where to look. I recently bought a great 91 Dodge Dynasty off a very good older friend of mine (older as in 55 or so) for $1200, and it is in tip-top shape, and only has had one mechanical problem so far. If you have a family member or friend that is looking to depart with a car see if they can either cut you a break on price or take payments. Next would be to look around for Sale-by-Owner vehicles... for various reasons some people need to just depart with a car ASAP and aren't looking for the monitary value. Another place you could try is government auctions... US Marshals, FBI, ATF, DEA, IRS, State Police, and City Police will auction off repo'ed, seized (i.e. 'drug' cars, delinquent taxes, etc), or even used government vehicles, some in good condition, some not. Rental Agencies will also sell off cars that have out-lived their servitude to the company, but I would beware with this... not everyone drives a rental car kindly, so there may or may not be a good find there.
Just some places to look at.
Motorcycle x-c
Honda CB900F. I looked at the map a lot to find campgrounds, interesting places to go, winding roads to take instead of the interstate etc. I tried to camp most of the time. Took to cheap motels sometimes when I got too cold or the rain had soaked into my long underwear thru my rainsuit. I loosely connected the dots on the map where relatives lived so I could do 2 or 3 day layups for laundry/maintenance.
I was 26 years old when I did it. I know that seems over the hill to you but you have lots of time left for adventures if you choose to actually DO them. Having a buddy to do the trip is a big plus for going now.
Most people just talk and then when they are old they wish they had actually gotten off the couch and done them. Do stuff while you are young and unattached to things like mortgages and children's soccer leagues. (My backpacking buddy of 10 years is now driving the family minivan to soccer games instead of getting out there and kicking his own a** hiking up and down hills with me.)
The biggest regret you might have is that you never did it.
(On the other hand, if you're too casual or careless such a trip might not be such a good idea. Maybe you know that about yourself, maybe you don't.)
noFanofCB
Wise words.
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