Thank you for the responces,
I am curious by what you mean by some of the free camping is not safe, Are there gangs of road warriors out and about highjacking unsuspecting citizens or is it just that there are a handfull of fools in the world looking to roll an easy target? In any event I will probably be traveling with at least one other person at all times and I myself am no slouch. Is this caution an indication that I should bring some sort of protection? Anyway I do not want to get too hung up on that.
As far as specififcs it seems that the two of you who have responded have been out on trips befor so I am curious what you think an appropriate budget would be for this long term trip. Currently I have been saving up for about 3 months and have a few grand stashed away. First off what do you think gas will cost for a vehicle that gets about 20 to 25 mpg? I will be traveling in my truck w/ topper so I can easily sleep in the bed. I have tons of camping equiptment and will probably bring a tent and some other gear seeing as I want to hit some hiking trails and will want to get off the road from time to time. This brings me to anouther point. Are there safe places to leave a vehicle for a few days at a time while I day trip into a few of these parks or do I need to worry about schmucks breaking in for a tape deck or something? I work in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area and that sort of thing is not an issue up here but I dont know what its like out west.