Unreasonable? A road trip with no set plans? It might curl the toes of your parents and grandparents, but not those of other roadtrippers. Many of us have set out doing exactly what you want to do and have had fun doing it.

There are other sections on the forum where we discussed cheap hotels/motels (Motel 6 seems to be a cheapy leader), sleeping in rest stops (NO!), staying overnight in a truckstop (yes), and camping along the way. I've passed many campgrounds that weren't crowded, so chances are, drop ins are welcome. In fact, I saw one yesterday that had about eight campers and tents with lots of open sites available in a small town park. You want to check state parks, national forests, national parks (usually booked far in advance), local parks, and private campgrounds. AAA has campbooks if you are a member, but not all campgrounds are listed.

If you stay at a truckstop, in your car, try to buy gas or snacks, or eat in their restaurant as a thank you for using their property. You'll need gasoline and food, anyway, won't you, so give them some business.

Be sure to get maps of the locations you plan to visit. Interstates have state welcome centers with lots of good info, free maps, travel brochures, so if you can, use the interstate just to enter each state - the welcome centers/rest areas aren't that far from the state line in most cases, and well worth the stop for the free maps alone. Or get maps from AAA or another travel club you may be a member of.

Don't forget, you can always stop at a grocery store to buy food and drinks instead of going the fast food route or eating in restaurants all the time.

Read this forum, there's lots of advice from those who've done it before, many times.

Happy traveling!