Min. Cost of touring USA

Cost of touring in US ha risen/raised in US. Based on receipts for recent 8 day trip to WI/ Mich UP-----it is now costing $100 a day to go the "Cheap Charlie" route----cheap gas, cheap motels, bad food.

Going slow, no real destination, camping free or low rate, cost can be held down----cooking does not work for me on bike, although when I rode to North Cap in Norway, used MilitaryMRE's.---'50's did use WW2 K rations given to me by cook. or where they C rations?

Think will try slow/back road touring this summer---free camping?

As retired military, there used to be cheap rooms available on bases.....then the married mafia took over and everything is fancy and expensive.

Motels for me should be walk in, parking in front of your door, older style Motel 6 perfect-----Fancy with rooms down a long hall pain in a** for my and my gear.

Wasn't it using the cheapo old style motels that made you ill last year? We had a saying in my Army days "Any **** can rough it", so why do it? You're at an age now where you don't have to check into the Bates Motel and put up with less than clean rooms, eat **** food, and generally rough it.

Jeez John, you could always ride Iron Butt: 1000 miles in 24 hours. That'd save you a motel bill or two. Then too there is always the Iron Butt Motel: sleeping on a picnic bench at a road side rest.

Ardys Kellerman the legendary Iron Butt Rally rider with over 1 million documented miles to her credit once said that the reason she rode Iron Butt was because she couldn't afford a motel --so she just kept rolling. She was 81 when she was killed while on her BMW by some old geezer pulling out of a convenience store in Alabama.

Quite an inspiration.

Tim

I am not going to ride Iron Butt---boring and maybe dangerous---most miles ridden in 1 day=986.
Already ridden over 1.5 million miles.

Motel 6 in US are neat/clean, except in US south run by Indians from India....then you need to watch out.

Riding in US south, you really have to watch food=lower standards.....and of course bathrooms usually very dirty. Just a fact of life.

I don't need to save money, but am cheap, stayed at one line over 50 years under old pension system.


A few years ago I had motorcycle tent trailer----stop at truck stop, gas up, get free shower, sleep in parking lot. Jack Russell dog alarm system. Negative, pulling trailer with 2 wheeler not best idea from safety standpoint----think Unigo one wheel trailer might be ok----even hitch for Burgman 650.

You pay a lot less for fuel in the US than we do in the UK and Europe, I'm currently on a family holiday in Florida, supermarket food seems to be more expensive than back home, while eating out is a lot cheaper.

Another cultural difference is an American sitting on an inflatable rubber ring will be having fun in the sun in a water park. A Brit sitting on an inflatable rubber ring will suffering from piles/hemmarhoids.

yes touring/living is cheaper in US, Canada being a bit more costly, than in UK or EU countries but in America you get to see a lot of fat people

I met Ardys Kellerman, 1978 Lake of the Ozarks MO. MSF had assembled a lot of high mileage riders to see why they survived the miles.

As I recall she was not very skilled---just careful. Skilled were the 2 CHP officers who had ridden in. Those days had trailer bikers, too.

I remember one guy talking about the ride in......and then seeing his bug covered TRUCK from TX at the motel.

One "" inexpensive " camping spot is in a Corp. of Engineers camping area, my son and buds use those as they can.

$100. a day for gas, motel, food? This is pretty cheap riding. 10 days out you're 1K down, it does add up though.

I enjoy camping so carry a small tent & air mattress. Some free camping, but usually state parks for showers etc. clothes bag for a pillow.