Cross Country Vehicle Recommendations

[Egg_Head]

My #2 son and his best friend are planning a cross country driving trip after their high school graduation this spring, routes TBD but easily 7000 miles round trip from NC to CA and all points in between. Emphasis is hitting many of our National Parks and camping out or sleeping in vehicle to save $$ in the parks and elsewhere. Friend has a 1996 Range Rover and son has 2013 Escape. Current thoughts are to purchase some type of camper/van, fix it up and go for it. Seeing 1980's series Ford Econoline camper vans with king size beds that would be possibly in the budget. My son's friend is 6'4". Looking at stripped down work vans to throw a mattress in the back but all of these have tons of miles and have surely been beat to death. Another thought is buying a 1990's suburban and sleeping in the back but that looks tight to me for 2 guys. Any thoughts on the Ford Econoline camper vans 80"s era? The few I've looked at have miles < 100k, 302 V-8 and a carb. Would hate for these guys to have vapor lock issues in Death Valley for example. Open to suggestions here.

 

[JHZR2]

A cousin of mine did this a few years back. Bought an old school bus and outfit it. It burned some oil and mpgs weren't great, but they made it around for over a month on their trip.

Does camping mean wal mart parking lots or real campgrounds. They may want to review if the acquisition cost, plus poor mpgs, plus campsite fees actually make sense versus staying at smaller motels just outside of town... Pack a tent and some good air mattresses, and they can do that when the weather permits.

 

[Egg_Head]

"Camping" would mean both. Good point on the acquisition cost and that is part of the consideration. Allowing 18 year olds to register at a motel is a property by property consideration, may be difficult to predict where they may be on day #18 for example.

 

[bioburner]

My local mechanic started in on getting a older Chevy conversion van mechanically road worthy and it seemed to be a very expensive battle.
How fit is the Range Rover? I found a nice pop up trailer for 2k and easily pulled by the Xterra. Didn't hurt the mileage bad either. Two beds, about 10 minutes to setup for one person, powered cooler so can keep something cold while going down the road, three burner propane stove. Beats a tent hands down.

 

[Egg_Head]

I doubt the Range Rover would make it to Knoxville, TN before something fell off of it. Paint looks good however.

 

[earlyre]

Pontiac aztek, with seats removed. Everyone loves to hate on them as being ugly, but they are good vehicles, had an available matress and pop out tent kit. No more difficult or unreliable than any other early 2000's GM FWD minivan. Engine parts are everywhere (3400 v6) so servicing should not be an issue.

Surprising amount of room with the back seats removed.

 

[bioburner]

Give us an idea to what they hope to have for a budget. If they start early enough one can get a good off season rig and fix or repair smaller issues.

 

[skyactiv]

I would never buy a vehicle that gets 14 MPG and will probably break down in order to avoid staying at a cheap motel. Plus the fact they won't be showering often enough is kinda gross. They could pay to shower at truck stops, but.

 

[gman2304]

Used Honda Civic and some camping gear. They're young....and they will love it!

 

[Silverado12]

I've done two low budget camping trips in the past couple years, and I suggest to stay at KOA campgrounds, as they're the most predictable about quality of showers, etc. Take the most dependable car and pack it up with tents, sleeping bags, air mattresses and a couple of suitcases. Don't forget simple stuff like a flashlight or portable propane stove (or possible Weber Smokey Joe charcoal BBQ). I did a cross-country trip in a Dodge Challenger.

 

[Egg_Head]

Budget would be $2500 to $3k plus any repairs. Figure tires for sure add $500 to purchase price. Wear and tear according to IRS is about $.54 x 7000 miles so Escape would take a indirect hit of $3780 if that was the vehicle of choice. If an Econoline van gets 13 mpg and the Escape gets 25 mpg at 7k miles and $3 gas (probably higher by summer) that is $840 more for the van in gas costs which may buy some more hotel rooms. Their mothers are horrified at the thought of driving some POS cross country, they are very excited.

 

[Donald]

Have you looked at renting something from CruiseAmerica (RV). I have no idea how much they cost to rent, just have seen a few on the road. That way repairs are someone elses problems. And you do not end up with a vehicle you have no use for.

We are looking at maybe renting a RV in a year or two for a couple of weeks to go retirement house looking along the east coast, Delaware to SC.

 

[BrocLuno]

It's all a trade-off. Figure teh Escape gets 20 mpg and the van gets 10 ... 300 miles a day is not hard, even with sight seeing. So that's 15 gallons in the escape and 30 in the van. Average maybe $3/gal in rural areas. is $45 difference in gas alone. So there's 1/2 a motel room.

Divide the cost of the van by miles covered and you are at about $1/mile. Maybe you can get back 1/2 your investment... So figure $.50/mile. So that's $150 a day cost of ownership (@ 300 miles/day) and that puts you into Hampton Inn's with money left over for food and entertainment.

I say pack the Escape and camp where convenient and stay in motels when not

 

[QuietPortage]

Get them a couple of tents and have them stay at our beautiful National Parks. It'll add to the experience.

If they end up in New York, let me know and I'll recommend some great places to stay. We have an excellent state park system.

 

[Al]

Two 18 yo's on the road for 7K miles sounds like a bad move to me. What do I know I only raised 2 kids.
They should get a job. Work before play.

 

[01rangerxl]

Unless they are comfortable wrenching on some old van in the middle of nowhere, taking the Escape and planning out lodging/camping beforehand would probably be the option least likely to result in a major headache or crisis of some kind.

Old vehicles need some shakedown time. If they buy some old living room on wheels, they should drive it around regularly for at least a month to find the bugs. Just about every old $3K mobile living room will be at least kind of a piece of [censored] if not a major one.

One of my cousins and her boyfriend drove across the country 1.5 times in a 1998ish Dodge B-Series van off Craigslist. It died beyond economical repair halfway through the second trip, and they finished it in a rental car. It's the chance you take with something like that. Express, Econoline, Ram Van, Suburban, etc. won't matter. Buy the one that's the least mechanically screwed up if you go that route.

It's a cool idea, but realistically you need to plan on the big old piece of [censored] breaking down at an inopportune time in the middle of Podunk, or make them take the Escape, a AAA card, and have lodging pre-planned for the entirety of the trip.

 

[sleddriver]

I don't have any recommendations on the vehicles you mentioned. With that said, I took myself on a massive road trip in the early 90's. About 7,894mi. in my SAAB 900T 5-spd. I traveled alone, stayed in cheap motels mostly except when in the Canadian Rockies, then went top shelf. Camped in Crater Lake only to get rained on big time.

So, I'm big on the idea. Gas & hotels were cheap back then and $1 USA = $1.40 CAN. I suggest they do a short shake-down-trip before hauling the mail long distance. That way they'll learn what works and what doesn't.

 

[Shannow]

Oz has these

http://www.wickedcampers.com.au/

Are there similar...getting there is half the fun...a (safe) beater, and a few roadside stories make the trip when you are that age.

Get them a breathalyser for a gift...feeling hungover is a dead giveaway that you are over the limit.

 

[The_Jeff]

Something like an early 2000s MINI-van, nerdiest thing going like a Silhouette (GM U-body), dodge or ford version. Saturn LW200 wagon, volvo wagon. The 25 MPG will help vs the 15 of an old plumbing van and as said, less chance for it being beat on.

A wagon will catch less wind and hold the road better, too. And be less conspicuous in the walmart lot.

 

[Rhymingmechanic]

Are they car guys? I did a lot of road tripping in a daily-driver slant-six Duster. I slept in a tent or in the car, but I'm a long way from 6'4". Fixing it on the road was part of the adventure.

Without a big budget and the time/interest in fixing up an old van to be dependable, it seems like their best option is finding a way to make the Escape work.

Renting a minivan for a month would also end up being easier and maybe cheaper than buying a vehicle.

What about a pickup with a shell?