How much money would it take to go cross country?

Tolls.

@jca Good point. I hadn’t thought of that. That must be at least 50 dollars, huh?

Plan your itinerary and plot the mileage. Then divide by your car’s mpg and multiply by the current cost of gas. Plan your sighseeing as part of the travel, rather than doubling back and circling around.

Figure out approximate cost of three cheap meals/day. Bring a camp stove for making coffee.

Throw in a contingency fee for flat tires, medical stuff, (“Was that a snake that just bit me”?)

”A friend and I are considering…”

Visiting all of the lower 48 is very ambitious. Why not try something shorter and simpler?
Where would you be starting from?

@gailcalled we’ll be starting from Massachusetts. I’m only going to be living in the U.S for a few more years, so yes we are very purposefully being ambitious. You brought up a lot of things I didn’t think about. Obviously I haven’t thought this very thoroughly yet haha.

Computing the number of miles driven times a reasonably estimated gas price is a start.

A week in each state is a trip of nearly a year. And because they’re not all neatly arranged in a straight line like beads on a necklace, you’ll have to do some zigzagging and backtracking to hit them all.

That will also take you through some drastic changes of temperature, both geographically and seasonally. Preparing for encountering an 80 or 90-degree range of temperatures will take some forethought.

Are you going to visit any national and state parks that charge an entrance or parking fee?

Are you going to want to stay in a motel now and then just for health and sanity reasons? Where are you going to shower?

Are you going to do any laundry? How about a car wash now and then? Better have a large sack of quarters.

You say you’re going to camp in the car. I hope you’re not planning to park on my street and just sleep there. Will you be needing to build a campfire for cooking? You’ll have to stay someplace where that is allowed. If you don’t prepare your own food and just purchase takeout, food is going to cost more, and you’ll have to plan a route that always bears available services in mind.

You should have an allowance for road emergencies such as a flat tire or a mechanical failure. And don’t rule out medical expenses, whether you scrape your knee on a sandstone cliff or get a toothache from living on sugar-coated cereal.

How about a few regional treats and a souvenir or two?

Are you sending any postcards home?

Not using the car to see the sights might work in the smaller and more populous states, it isn’t practical when you get to some of the large rural states that have little public transportation available.

That long a trip you are going to need to change oil too. You can do it yourself, but you will have to find somewhere to dispose of the used oil. Just dumping it in a trash bin is not a legal option.

If you time your trip properly you can probably find some temporary work along the way to extend your finances

@bluejay: Have you seen all of New England? That is lovely and easily done from MA. (Have you seen all the wonders that MA have to offer?)

Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, MA, Connecticut, New York, Rhode Island…

All 48? And, DC I hope. Tolls will likey be more than $50 unless you avoid a lot of the toll roads. Which you can do, but sometimes it adds a lot of time to the trip. I would budget $200 for it. Gas? Well, the US is 3,000 miles across and I guess you would have to triple that maybe? Not really sure. So gas for 9,000–10,000 miles. So, maybe that is $2k in gas at 20 mpg? Not sure my math is right. I would assume it will actualy be more.

Money for emergencies.

Money for parking in cities, or for public transportation if you leave your car at the outskirts of a city.

I think you should hop on cruise outside of seattle and see Alaska if you can afford it. Last minute cruises for a week can be as cheap as $600 + taxes and tipping (another $100 or so) with all the food included.

Really consider the weather in your plan. Winter weather and bad storms might not bode well for staying in your car on some days. Also, safety. Some places it might not be wise to stay in your car.

Food, well, you will likely eating in restaurants quite a bit, that can add up. The price can vary so much, depending on what you eat.

You might want to use a gas calculator, like this one. Keep in mind that gas prices will probably fluctuate from state to state.

@glacial Cool site. My estimation was about right.

Many people think the US is one interesting city after another. It’s just not. Over 45% of this country is total wilderness, and most of the populated areas have little you’d likely be interested in seeing. Not that there isn’t anything interesting (I’m sure there is), but everyone has different tastes, and while one person might love to see the Air Force Museum, another might prefer the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

I would recommend forming a relationship with Google, and finding a few places on a few highway corridors that you’d be interested in, and planning a trip to each place. For example, the hubs and I like nature trails and roller coasters, so when we go up I-75, we can hit Lookout Mountain, Rock City and Ruby Falls in Tennessee, the Natural Bridge in Kentucky, and hit all the theme parks – Six Flags Over Georgia, Wild Adventure in Valdosta, Cedar Point and King’s Island…

First, I suggest you join AAA for peace of mind – and for their travel planner service.

Google has a free travel planner guide.

@Seek_Kolinahr The sameness is true to some extent. You look at a US road map long enough, and you learn to tell which towns have a library, or a McDonald’s, or a Super 8, or a Walmart just by the font size. There’s an incredible consistency there (incredible even if it’s not accidental). Oh… and the weird need to have a great big something just inside city limits.

But there are differences along the way too, perhaps over a larger scale… the geology, the changes in plant and animal species, the accents, the common phrases, the fashions of people in different regions. I find it interesting.

Pro tip: McDonald’s and Starbucks offer free internet service. Libraries offer internet service, too – but usually for a fee. Depending on your phone coverage, that can become important.

@glacial The geology, the people, nature, all the different animals, and the flora and fauna. Those are the type of things I care about. The cities, and whatever doesn’t much concern me. I plan to drag my friend through a lot of hiking trails!

Here is a fuel cost calculator.

Valuable travel tip – Do Not Eat In Restaurants. Buy your food each day at a grocery store. No need for a cooler, unless you want cold drinks. Just buy the correct amount for each day, or non refrigerated food, such as pita bread or tortillas, peanut butter, and granola bars. Eat plenty of fruit and raw vegetables such as carrots, celery, peas, green beans and lettuce.

@YARNLADY ah yes good advice. And for as long as I’m in New England I can do some wild foraging. Like I said we plan on going as cheap as possible. Going out to eat will be a once in awhile treat.

I would figure on several oil changes, 15,000 miles would be 750 gallons of gas at $4 a gallon. is $3000. Plus oil changes at $45 each time ( some extra for wiper blades and small stuff).
Start with new tires or lightly used and have AAA membership. The trip would take more than a year to travel, make sure you have any doctors prescriptions available if you need any.

Sounds like a great adventure. In Australia you can pull off the road almost anywhere and pitch your tent or your swag. That is because once you get more than 200km from the coast the country is virtually deserted and beautiful and dramatic and wonderful! So is the USA, I too love the uninhabited parts, I love the city too but when you’re driving here and go for hours without seeing another car, it is a hell of a rush, terrifying and exhilirating. I don’t understand though what you mean about just getting to the state and then letting the car sit?? How are you going to get around? With regard to cost, here you can do it for the cost of your car and food, if you don’t mind sleeping in a tent. Many rest areas have showers and places to cook, you just have to gather some wood. I don’t know about the USA anymore, it was good when I was a kid, but here it is easy cheap and amazing.

Oh! Just thought of something:

No, you’re not allowed to camp at rest stops in the United States. Most have a four-hour to six-hour limit, and in some places (Colorado, for one, I’ve been told), you’re not allowed to sleep at all. If you are going to try sleeping at a rest stop, find the security guard and make friends.

Hotels will generally boot trespassing car-sleepers, too. Most hospitals allow someone to catch a quick nap, and a 24 hour store like WalMart might not care (call the store ahead of time and ask, but have a backup).

Your best bets for car-sleeping are public and private campgrounds, but these can charge a fee. Also, truck stops will let you catch a few winks, and they often have game rooms, WiFi, and showers for a fee.

^ Good points. Note that private campgrounds are usually cheaper than parks for camping, and they tend to offer more services (more likely to provide a shower, laundry, internet), and they tend to have their own weird cultures, which can be fun. If you just want to put up a tent, no water or electricity, it can be quite cheap, because they make more of their money from RVers, etc. – perhaps some would negotiate if you just want to park your car.

Just after you cross a state border, you should see a sign for an info stop – those places usually have free guides to camping in that state. They list a large number of campgrounds within the state; coverage is not complete, but it can be helpful if you’re trying to decide how far to drive in a day. They usually tell you what services are available at each campsite, and what the prices are. State/national parks will be marked on your road map.

Keep in mind that a car can be quite rank after someone sleeps in it for just a night or two… be prepared for the cumulative effects of a trip this long. ;)

Thank you all for your great advice!

@bluejay Please give us a follow-up once you go, or while you on the trip!

Alright haha. It won’t be for a while though. I’m 15 and don’t even have a job yet. It seems there is no money in my pockets haha.

Be sure to keep a record of your trip, for later.