2 Teens Going Across America

[Daizy_Star]

Me and my friend would like to take a road trip across the U.S.. We are from California and both just graduated high school in December. I'm not ready to go to college and she doesn't want to go to college. I told her I wanted to go on a road trip and she said let's do it! So here I am trying to figure out how we're going to do this. Neither of us have very much money and right now all the money I'm earning is going towards a trip to Europe this summer. We haven't talked about this roadtrip very much so I don't have any details but I wanted to see if this is even going to be possible. I suggested that we work, save our money, and take off next January. But I don't know if that will be enough. One huge thing I thought of was what kind of vehicle are we going to take? We only have our parents cars and vans that are old and I don't really want to rely on, plus I know my parents won't let me put that many miles on their car. They might even try to stop me from taking this trip (I haven't told them yet) but I don't care what they think. Anyways, I know that you can rent cars to take across country but you have to be 25 or at least be 21 and pay an extra fee. We will both be 18 by next January so we can't rent a car that I know of. And we probably won't be able to stay in a lot of hotels so I guess we'll camp and sleep in the car....? I don't think we really know what we're getting into, all we know is that we want to go. We want to see all there is to see and experience life. So I know we'll find a way to go but we need all the help we can get! By the way I want to put out there that we are two reckless teens trying to rebel or runaway or anything. We're very responsible and I want to take this trip to find myself (I know that sounds cliche but it's true) and figure out my life. I'm not ready to make decisions about school or what I want to do with my life. I need to live first and see what the world has to offer. So please help us out by giving us advice on how do to do this. And please don't say we're too young or that it's a bad idea because I know we can do it and we will do it. So how do we start planning this? And what will we need?

[Midwest Michael]

Welcome to the RTA Forum!

I'm not by any means going to tell you that you are too young or that its a bad idea. We hear from many teens who have roadtrip dreams, including some who have come up with some very solid plans and ideas. However, I will tell you that by the tone and approach you are taking, you are raising some serious concerns about your responsibility level for doing a trip like this. While you've called yourself responsible, essentially, you've said in several different places that if you don't like the advice you get, you're not going to listen and you're just going to go anyway. Quite frankly, that doesn't sound like someone who is really ready to do the work to prepare for a trip or is ready to handle the responsibilities that come with being on the road. Just something for you to think about.

To make this trip a reality, you're going to have to figure out what is realistic for your basics: money and transportation.

Money wise, you'll need to figure out how much you can realistically raise. Roadtrips certainly aren't cheap, and if you have already committed most of the money you'll be making in the next few months to a Europe trip, then you probably will be struggling to get enough funds to do a big roadtrip next January. Sit down and figure out how much money you can actually save to dedicate towards your roadtrip. That will give you a goal, and help you plan out how far you can go and how long you can be on the road.

Transportation is clearly your other big problem. You didn't lay out any realistic way to travel. Renting a car clearly isn't an option, and since money is already an issue, I have some doubts that you'd be able to come up with a few thousand extra dollars to buy a roadworthy car. That pretty much leaves your parents cars. You might not like that option, but I'm really not sure what other choices you're going to have. I would suggest that you tell them what you are hoping to do, show them how you could do it responsibly, and ask for their help. If they don't think you are responsible enough, then you might try to figure out why that is, and what you could do to show them otherwise. I don't see how taking a hostle "I don't care what they think" approach is going to help your cause here at all.

[Daizy_Star]

Thank you for responding to my post. I would like to clear up some things because I feel I may have given you a wrong impression of me. I am very serious about taking this road trip and I am responsible. I need advice from people and I am very open to everyone's ideas. The thing with my parents is that they will say I'm too young and that it's a bad idea. They also say I'm too young to go places alone when it's dark outside, they won't even let me take any night classes at the local j.c. They're just way overprotective. They would think this is a bad idea because of all the things that could happen to us (ex. get in a car crash, get kidnapped, get lost, get murdered, etc.) they're way overprotective and dramatic. So that's what I meant by saying I don't care what they think. But I need help planning a trip. That's why I came on here. I need to take this trip and and willing to do whatever it takes. Money is an issue so I'm looking to see what is the cheapest way to do this? I was also wondering if it's possible to travel across the country by train and if that might be a better option (although I prefer driving)? Any advice is very helpful! Even if we need to take more time to prepare for a trip that's fine. I just want to make this happen. Thanks!

[AZBuck]

Welcome aboard the RoadTrip America Forums!

If you want this to work, then it's up to you to make it work. First and foremost, any trip of the magnitude that you're contemplating is going to take a considerable amount of money. You say you're willing to do whatever it takes, but what it will take primarily is for you to figure out how you're going to raise the cash and then follow through on it. total cost will vary with your travel style, distance covered and time on the road. But for a coast to coast (and back) trip by two people, you're going to need somewhere on the order of $3,000-4000. Until you have that in hand, everything else is just daydreaming. On the plus side, there's nothing in the way of 'finding yourself' that you can't accomplish just as well at home as on the road, and in fact taking on the responsibility of making your dream a reality will teach you far more about yourself than just pointing a car down the highway and pushing the go button.

AZBuck