All 48 continental states!
 

So four of my high school buddies and I are going to go on a road trip after we all graduate from college. Any advice, comments, ideas would be appreciated. At this point we're trying to figure out what the best transportation would be (RV, large conversion van, etc). Do any RV dealers or van rental dealerships consider giving deals in exchange for advertisements? Again, any advice would be appreciated

You don't mention anything about a time or cost budget so I'll offer this:

RVs get 5 mpg average. If you do all 48 states in say 12,000 miles (just a guess) you'll spend over $8,000 on fuel alone. If you rent that RV you'll pay minimum (if you're lucky) $.30 mile which will be another $3,600. Overnight parking fees run about $30, which averages $900 month.

I don't mean to be a downer but a relative just did a RV trip from California to Kentucky and spent over $2,300 on fuel alone. It's not for everyone. If it were me, I'd opt for a SUV and pack camping equipment and mix it with a combination of motels and camping to keep costs in a more reasonable range. This would mean 2 in the front and 3 in the back seat, so that's not optimum either.

Also, 5 people means 5 opinions and 5 preferences and 5 sets of expectations. Good luck managing that---Aw, how nice to be young again. You should keep a diary, I expect it would make interesting reading. Catch a few baseball games if you can.

Acrossamerica,
You don't say where you hail from. that could make some difference, as to suggestions. e.g. if from CA, you won't get suggestions about that. I am researching a trip, from NYS, to as far as AZ, WY, and UT. I'm considering a pop-up camper...

Sorry I didn't put a budget or where I'm from. We're from Nashville, TN and we'll probably go up the east coast first, then across to the midwest and snake our way around the west, then back to TN.

It will most likely be four people, and we all will have $6,000 saved up. And if it is four, we probably will have a van or something similar

Applause for your sense of adventure and desire to travel the US! Have you looked at any of the 48 states road trip sites online?

Example:
http://web.me.com/jssox/Great_Americ...p/Welcome.html

There are lots of books and blogs you might want to check out and then come back to Fodors with specific questions.

Have a great trip!

I'd sugget going to a local dealership and see if you can work out some kind of "deal" with them, or better yet, find a PR person in your area to work with and I'd bet you can find a sponsor to pick up some of the cost. You should get some camera equipment so you can keep a video diary of the trip and email it back to a local TV station.

If you work this right you would be "the NEWS" in your area (and yes I do PR, lol).

48 states has been done multiple times. It's not as fun as it sounds.

You will have to have each driver authorized for driving.

$6,00 isn't going to get you very far, for 4 people. You will have to be camping and cooking all your own food.

Is it $6000 per person ($24,000) or $6000 total?

Will age be an issue? Or will they rent to gents under the age of 25...

Reminds me of the trip some of us did after graduation -- we just went 'til the money was about to run out. Had a great time. Suggest you take your time to really see things and put that ahead of the goal of seeing all 48.

You'll learn how to stretch a buck. KOA Kampground (a natonal chain of campgrounds), and others, have kabins that are bare bones, you bring your own linens etc. They're clean, safe, and you may have a small pool, etc. Most commercial campgrounds permit tents as do the national parks, state parks and others.

For ideas of places to go check out www.drivecrosscountry.net

Your idea of commercial sponsorship is worth pursuing, however, keep in mind that in today's economy rv manufacturers are going under and dealers are laying off employees. You'll have to develop a unique approach as travelbuff suggested.

Thanks for all the responses! First of all, it is $6,000 per person so we will have $24,000 for the four of us. Also, we will be 21 and 22 at the time so I'm not sure what the deal will be concerning rentals, but I think we will be able to work something out.

I'm very interested in pursuing sponsorships, or basically anything that will cut down the cost or us, or just make things easy. Does anyone know if hotel chains or maybe sites like expedia, travelocity, etc., consider giving sponsorships or cut-rates for anything?

Thanks!

Check out hostels, maybe you can drive during the day, stay at night in a hostel - with 4 of you, you can get a cheapest room all to yourself.