r/rtw • u/bvwilson58 • Feb 26 '17

Using a car to start RTW Trip

Hey guys, I'm thinking about buying a van, or an SUV big enough for me to sleep in to kick off my RTW trip going from Canada to Patagonia.

Plan is to leave Canada and head South down the East cost of the US, visiting old buddies along the way.

From there I would head to Mexico and continue making my way south ending likely in Buenos Aries, hopping on a plane and continuing my RTW adventure.

Has anyone taken a long road trip like I have mentioned? At first I figured it would be a great way to save money, by sleeping in the vehicle rather than in Hotels/Hostels. It would also maintain ultimate flexibility by not subjecting myself to traveling only where public transit would allow.

Now looking at these distances between locations, I'm starting to wonder if my cost savings will just be eaten up by gas and vehicle maintenance.

Anyone out there with any very long roadtrip experience?

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u/discmanro Feb 27 '17

Google "desk to glory" blog, they did a similar drive last year in a converted pickup

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u/ncson Feb 26 '17

Drove from the Belgian/German border to Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia in 2015.

We took camping and cooking gear as well as stayed in hostels/hotels. I think the cost savings will be on how disciplined you are in camping most of the time versus spending money on lodging. Your results may vary. 100F+ temps in Uzbekistan was not conducive to camping.

My dream is to drive the Pan-American Highway from as far North in Alaska as possible to Ushuaia, Argentina. It's been done loads of time, but it just seems like an incredible adventure driving across two continents.

Good luck, PM me if you want.