across america -- Budgeting Tips

[kellipoop]

I'm once again trying to plan a road trip this summer... I was hoping this time to go somewhat across America. I know that I want to go to Texas and to Illinois, but I was wondering if you knew any good route to get to those places. Also thinking about heading east after Illinois, depending on how much its going to cost. If you could give me any feedback at all it would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

[CNSweetSpots]

kelli-

so nice to see someone interested in heading east and south for that matter. where are you coming from? i think it is very interesting that you want to travel across america. i could not agree with you more that it would be amazing in every sense of the word. i also want to go to texas! i have been through there but have never stopped and enjoyed the beautiful state or people for that matter. i am drawn to the south for some reason, not sure if its the amazing food or the wonderful people. where do you tend to head in texas? .. also on your wanting to hit illinois, i live in illinois and can tell you that yes it is one of those states that not many seem to excited about (that live here) but there are some great places and things to see. for example, lincoln and the log cabins in springfield, frank llyod wright in oak park, joliet and the historic route 66, and of course chicago (where i live) that cannot be ignored. there are many other places but those stick out to me. i myself am wanting to head south/southeat this summer and cannot wait for this adventure to start. good luck! ..

[Midwest Michael]

Welcome back to the Forum, kellipoop.

Is this new trip a various of the last trip you asked about, or is this a whole new plan. If so, did you take the trip you asked about last summer?

Right now, you aren't giving us much to work with for this trip. Where are you starting from? California again? Illinois and Texas are both very large states, is there any specific places there that you want to visit? How long do you plan to be on the road? Have you figured out how to deal with the transportation issue considering your age? Without those things, its going to be hard to get much in terms of specific advice.

As far as how much things are going to cost, I suggest going back and rereading the advice you were given last time. You recieved several insightful responses about how to build a roadtrip budget. The same principals will apply on this trip as well.

[simladesi]

From San Francisco take 80 east. Take 505 north to join I-5 north. Take I-5 and first nice place is Redding. After that you pass Lake Shasta. Cross the mountain and arrive in Oregan. Ashland is the first town. Go through You find Medford , Eugene, Salem and Portland. Enter State of Washington. Pass through Olympia, Seattle and cross the border into Vancover. Travel time is app 18 hours.

[kellipoop]

this summer trip is a whole different road trip, we actually did go on our last years trip, but we made some changes during the time. we stayed in san fran a lot longer because we had friends we could stay with, headed up to oregon for only a few days and then headed to vegas because we had more friends we could stay with... so i'm hoping with that experience, we are ready financially and mentally to hit areas where we might not have friends and explooore.

so i'm hoping to do a 10 day road trip, but also hoping to make it back to our starting point so that we can fly out from that area. we are going to start from either los angeles or san fran. we have the car situation figured out a bit more since we are now 21 and most places rent to 21 and over.

i was just hoping to get a general route to get from california to illinois... and hoping that throwing texas into the mix. i know that they are both big state, but i know that i at least want to go to chicago and austin. i guess i just didn't know a good route to take (which states to go through)

[Midwest Michael]

10 days just doesn't give you much to work with for a loop of this size. You'll need 4 days to go from California to Chicago, 2 very long days to get from Chicago to Austin, and then probably 3 more to get back to California. That's 9 days of a 10 day trip right there. If you are hoping to spend some time in Chicago, Austin, or anywhere else along the way, you really won't have much time.

In terms of Routes, you've got plenty of options. I'd probably focus on taking I-70 across Colorado as you head east, but you could also use I-40 or I-80. From Chicago to Austin, you could either head straight south to New Orleans, and then head west via Houston, or you could take a more diagonal route using I-44 from St. Louis to OK City, and then down I-35 through Dallas to Austin. I-10 would then be your direct route home.

BTW, since you were under 21, what did you end up doing for a car for your last trip?

[kellipoop]

so ten days isn't enough... about how long would you think would be appropriate for a trip like this? 14 days? given that we would probably want to stay in texas/chicago for at least 3 days. and we'll have at least 4 people with us which would probably let us drive through states easily if we switch off.

as far as that, would you say that given that we are going cheap on pretty much everything, food, motels, and everything else, would you say that we could do this trip with less than $1000-1500?

as far as our car situation went last trip, we were able to find this company called atwest that rented out to people under 21. we were charged a under age fee, but at least there was someone out there willing to risk it with us.

[Midwest Michael]

At this point, I think you are asking questions that you'll have to figure out on your own.

I've given you an idea of how long it will take to drive between the places you want to go, and you have the experience from your last trip to help you understand how far you can go in a day. From that, only you can determine how long you should take for this trip.

As far as the money goes, again, you've already been given the tools to make your own budget in this thread, and you should have your experience from your last trip to build on in terms of knowing how much you will actually spend while traveling.

I will say that since you are looking at 6,000 miles, if you drive an average car and gas prices stay at or below $3, you're already looking at $900 for fuel alone, making a $1000-1500 budget pretty unfeasable, but again, you'll have to figure out how much you will spend and where you can cut corners in your budget.

[The Driving Fool]

Somebody correct me if I'm wrong on this, but I think Wal-Mart allows overnight parking in their lots. Plus they generally have clean rest rooms and many are open 24 hours.

[Mark Sedenquist]

Somebody correct me if I'm wrong on this, but I think Wal-Mart allows overnight parking in their lots.

Wal-Mart is private property and, as such, each Wal-Mart manager has the option of encouraging, permitting, or prohibiting over-night parking. In most cases, Wal-Mart managers do allow self-contained (RVs) to stay overnight, but many towns and muncipalities have passed local laws prohibiting the practice.

Mark