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Big_Man_155's avatar
Big_Man_155
Explorer
Apr 17, 2016

Hi, new to forum. Want to travel the US this summer.

Hi,

I just found this forum and wanted to ask a few questions. I have 3 months off this summer to travel. It will be for just me and my dog.

I have a 2008 Nissan Altima. I see the tow weight is 1,000 lbs. Are there any pop up trailers I can use that would be under the weight? Not sure if I should buy one or just stay in hotels while I travel. Ideally I'd like to spend about $2,000 for a pop up if possible.

I've budgeted $10K for this trip. (10 weeks) Not sure if that's enough money. Again, it's just for me and a dog; no family or kids.

Another question. Is it hard to find places to stay in the summer? I'll do most of the travelling out west/Canada/Alaska if possible.

I'll have a lot more questions over the next few weeks but I appreciate any input! Thanks guys. Nice forum here.

33 Replies

  • Big_Man_155's avatar
    Big_Man_155
    Explorer
    Apr 22, 2016
    DeanRIowa wrote:
    I would get a car top carrier for storage and buy a tent like the previous people of receommended. If you do campgrounds and cook your own food mostly, you will have plenty of funds and probably lots of fun and extra money for trip addons.

    Enjoy!

    Dean


    Honestly, I probably don't even need one. LOL. I've backpacked part of the AT so I know how to travel as light as possible. My plan is to basically stay in cheap motels and try to get weekly rate. In between stops, I'll camp. Really, as long as my budget is under $1,000 per week, I am good for 10-12 weeks no problem.
  • westend's avatar
    westend
    Explorer
    Apr 22, 2016
    NYCgrrl wrote:
    westend wrote:
    Couldn't you rent a minivan for about the same price as buying a trailer? That would keep the mileage down on the Nissan and afford a simple camping unit. Offhand, I don't know about extended car rental pricing but I do know folks that rent them for vacation trips.


    I rent a car every year to go camping (cost of living in Manhattan, LOL) and for such a long term rental you need to do some SERIOUS shopping around to get a deal with the right amount of miles included; no restrictions on how far you travel and smallest penalty for returning the car to a different locale if need be.

    To go camping in CT annually for our 3 week trip car rental costs in the neighborhood of 3K. Only bright spot for me is I don't pay for gas since it's included in the rental.
    Oh and using my sister of the 3 car garage(sheesh) in Westchester County's advice I looked into buying a 2nd hand clunker that I could flip at the end of the summer. That one would cost me about 4K.
    Obviously I'm continuing with the rental plan:W

    I understand but your demarcation point is NYC. That is the same place that has JFK Intl Airport and a whole concourse dedicated to different rental fleets. That is the same place that I walked out of and instead, took a train. My rental agreement wasn't honored at National so I visited a few others. They were all over $100/day.
    I've rented a new minivan here, in the Midwest, for less than $300 for 9 days.
  • DeanRIowa's avatar
    DeanRIowa
    Explorer
    Apr 22, 2016
    I would get a car top carrier for storage and buy a tent like the previous people of receommended. If you do campgrounds and cook your own food mostly, you will have plenty of funds and probably lots of fun and extra money for trip addons.

    Enjoy!

    Dean
  • Big_Man_155's avatar
    Big_Man_155
    Explorer
    Apr 21, 2016
    I'm also thinking of just going to Banff in Canada and then traveling east to New England. I'll pretty much decide on the fly. Lol.
  • Big_Man_155's avatar
    Big_Man_155
    Explorer
    Apr 21, 2016
    Yea I'm looking forward to it. I think people are so stressed out in general. Even when on vacation they are stressed lol.
  • Grit_dog's avatar
    Grit_dog
    Navigator II
    Apr 21, 2016
    Exchange rate is $1.25-1.35 recently. I'm not doubting your plans on the miles, I just know it's pretty easy to put on 6-7kmi just going from the pac NW to Anchorage and back, combined with a loop on the Kenai, Denali hwy and maybe down to Valdez or......
    Seemed everything in western Canada was expensive a coup,e years ago, so just relaying that.
    Sounds like an awesome trip. I'm down with the travel light, tent camp it, hit the hotel at the end of the week if you're in the back country or every other night if in civilization!
    That's how we took X country trips as a kid. Would go for 2-3 weeks and tent camp. Luxury of a hotel every few nights to take a proper shower and sleep on a mattress. Good times!
  • Big_Man_155's avatar
    Big_Man_155
    Explorer
    Apr 20, 2016
    Grit dog wrote:
    Big Man 155 wrote:
    Yea I'm not getting an RV. I travel a lot and my dog is used to being left alone in hotel rooms. There has never been an issue. I'm getting a tent and cot and probably stay in cheap motels for most part. If I camp, it will be a day or two before hitting the road. She will be fine.

    Ya that's probably a good plan. I wouldn't want to tow that many miles with a car.
    500mi a week sounds low to me since it sounds like you're planning to tour the west half of the continent. You'll burn up the 500 mi a week avg just getting from the L48 Canada border to AK and back if you don't drive another mile elsewhere or out of your way at all.
    I'd be thinking more like 10kmi total for a tour like you're thinking.
    Good exchange in Canada, so good time to visit. My experience with cheap lodging in the entire country from Montreal to BC to the Yukon, is the dumpiest places everywhere start around $100cdn and avg will be $150plis for a normal room.


    How much is that in US$? I'm guesstimating 500 miles a week. I won't be traveling in a rush or anything. It just cost me $30 to fill up my car and I traveled 400 miles on my last tank of gas. Even if I travel 1,000 miles a week, it should be less than $100. That leaves me $900 for lodging, food and other things of that nature.
  • Grit_dog's avatar
    Grit_dog
    Navigator II
    Apr 20, 2016
    Big Man 155 wrote:
    Yea I'm not getting an RV. I travel a lot and my dog is used to being left alone in hotel rooms. There has never been an issue. I'm getting a tent and cot and probably stay in cheap motels for most part. If I camp, it will be a day or two before hitting the road. She will be fine.

    Ya that's probably a good plan. I wouldn't want to tow that many miles with a car.
    500mi a week sounds low to me since it sounds like you're planning to tour the west half of the continent. You'll burn up the 500 mi a week avg just getting from the L48 Canada border to AK and back if you don't drive another mile elsewhere or out of your way at all.
    I'd be thinking more like 10kmi total for a tour like you're thinking.
    Good exchange in Canada, so good time to visit. My experience with cheap lodging in the entire country from Montreal to BC to the Yukon, is the dumpiest places everywhere start around $100cdn and avg will be $150plis for a normal room.
  • Jebby14's avatar
    Jebby14
    Explorer
    Apr 20, 2016
    good luck. better you than me.

    for the record the rig in my signature (2002 jeep wj, 1991 prowler 19E and a 1990 something canoe has a combined value of 7-8k Canadian and is way overkill for 1 person. lose the canoe go zj instead of wj and shrink the trailer down and you could realistically have the whole setup for 4k ish. sell it when your done and get most back since it will already be depreciated out.
  • Big_Man_155's avatar
    Big_Man_155
    Explorer
    Apr 19, 2016
    Yea I'm not getting an RV. I travel a lot and my dog is used to being left alone in hotel rooms. There has never been an issue. I'm getting a tent and cot and probably stay in cheap motels for most part. If I camp, it will be a day or two before hitting the road. She will be fine.

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