Hi Everyone - Newbie here....MORE questions :)

Being on a "schedule" imo kinda sucks when you're rving it, but I'd suggest that you need to do that and pencil out where on the map you want to stay EVERY night and then attack each place individually looking at county, state, Coe, and then national forests/parks. If you can't find one to reserve for the night(s) then suck it up and reserve a private cg site in that area for more $ or adjust your trip.
I'd go about a week at a time, get those res figured out before moving onto the next week.
Know also, popular destinations that are all booked up frequently have cancellations.
Get on those lists. We actually scored a reserved campsite in Yellowstone next week, about a week ago. No hookups though.
Yes it will take some time. Thank god for computers.
Idk if this even helps, but good luck in your search.

2oldman wrote:
Seems like a bad plan for a sick husband and children. It's a lot of work. This is just a trip from NY to CA? bait post?

No, FYI, she posted they are doing a large road trip cross country and back. Bait post? Really?
But thanks for the help.....
To the OP, finding sites with power, which you will NEED for AC based on the route you posted that are cheap, abundant and first come first serve is not going to be easy for as many nights and locations you are planning.
As stated, look more towards COE and State park sites, although state parks are kinda messed up now as a lot of states you have to buy another access pass (idk if what you have will work for state parks), which at $30-40 if you're only in that state for a couple days, is expensive.
you mention a lot of "city" stops as well. That will make finding abundant and economical camping difficult in those areas since most people get out of the city to camp.
Generators bring their own challenges since they typically aren't allowed to run all night and if it's hot you need the ac.
We just planned out a 3 week trip for this summer, short notice, ad hock and it was a challenge in some areas to find campsites where we knew we didn't want to wing it.
And we're self contained, generator, cooler weather for a portion of the trip, etc and didn't look for anything with utility hookups unless it dropped in our lap.

Seems like a bad plan for a sick husband and children. It's a lot of work. This is just a trip from NY to CA? bait post?

There is FREE overnight parking (not camping) at WalMarts, Cracker Barrels, Home Depots,some Supper Markets. Ofcourse, there are no hookups, so extra battries and/or generator would be required.

ps. your America the Beautiful Access Pass will work at any Corps of Engineers campground, National Park, BLM campground. You get the campsite at half price.
I use Google Maps to map our route. I then look about where we want to stop for the night or a few days and note the town. I search on www.woodalls.com for campgrounds in that area, by distance, then I check the reviews on www.rvparkreviews.com before we decide. I use the CoPilot iPhone app for our GPS. You don't need a cell connection to use it.

oops. forgot. If your husband is 100 percent disabled veteran and has a DOD card get it from any military base you are entitled to stay at military campgrounds. www.militarycampgrounds.us

www.recreation.gov
has all the Corps of Engineers and BLM campgrounds. You can search by sites with hookups. They will more than likely be booked up on weekends and holidays. You can usually find sites Sun-Thurs during the week.

Some state parks offer discounts for disabled but it varies by state.

We also use Passport America (fee to join) which is half priced camping but there are many restrictions on days, dates, etc but we feel it's worth it.

If you have time to stay at one location, many commercial campgrounds have monthly rates. I use www.woodalls.com to find commercial campgrounds.

Most federal forest campgrounds will not have hookups. Federal park campgrounds will be more likely to have hookups, but will fill up months in advance.

COE campgrounds may have hookups, but your access pass won't work for them, so you'll have to pay the fee.

BLM lands can be free, but as you'll be boondocking (no developed campgrounds) there will be no hookups.

Private campgrounds and RV Parks are the most likely to have hookups, but you won't be able to use your access pass for them and prices can exceed $60/night in some places.

State parks may be your best bet under these conditions. They are more likely than federal forests to have hookups and their prices will often be less than private campgrounds. HOWEVER, like federal parks, they can fill up quickly. If you can't get early reservations, then you'll want to check frequently for cancellations and grab the reservation as soon as you find them.

Your biggest dilemma is not having solar/generator so you can bypass the hookup sites. Could you afford and/or have space to add a couple more batteries? If so, then you might be able to 2-5 nights with no hookups for 1 night with hookups - instead of paying $60/night every night, you would pay $0-$20 for the 2-5 nights without hookups and then $60 for the one night with (dropping your expenses by $80 to $300 every 3-6 days.