Total Cost to Travel Across the US in a Campervan for 29 days
Updated May, 2025
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29-day travel journey
We started our summer 2022 journey in Florida and traveled to California and back with multiple stops in between. This post will break down our costs to travel this journey. We were gone for 29 days and saw so many amazing sites. I can’t wait to share this journey with you. I hope this gives you a better idea of how much you will need to save to take such an amazing journey.
We traveled in our campervan throughout this journey and tried to camp for FREE as much as we could. We save so much money boondocking instead of staying in hotels on our journey. Hotel prices can really add up and become expensive really quick.
Visiting this many places in such a short time would not be ideal for many people but since I work during the school year and only have the summers off, this is what works best for us. Due to the fast travel I need to save a larger amount of money for this trip since it is done in a short amount of time. If we slow traveled this trip we wouldn’t need as much money all at once.
**Click each link below to learn more about each destination. Entrance fee is listed for each destination.
The main places we visited were:
Burlington, Iowa - FREE
Garden of the Gods - FREE
Pikes Peak $32.00
4x4 tour of Hell’s Revenge through Moab, Utah $433.78 for 4 people
Arches National Park $2 reservation fee, plus FREE with National Park pass
Toadstool Trailhead - FREE
Forrest Gump Point - FREE
Bryce Canyon National Park - FREE with National Park pass
Zion National Park - FREE with National Park pass
Las Vegas - Hotel stay $$
Valley of Fire State Park $10.00
Seven Magic Mountains - FREE
Joshua Tree National Park - FREE with National Park pass
Hollywood sign - FREE
Sequoia National Park - FREE with National Park pass
Big Sur - FREE
Pfeiffer Beach $12.00 for parking
McWay Falls $10 although we didn’t end up paying this fee
Bixby Bridge
Partington Cove
Nepenthe Restaurant
Garrapata Beach
Carmel Beach
Santa Cruz Beach and Boardwalk - FREE to visit. Food and parking additional fee
Golden Gate Bridge - FREE to visit expect small parking fee
Pier 39 - FREE
Umbrella Alley - FREE
Grasshopper Point $4.50 with Access Pass
Carlsbad Caverns National Park - FREE to visit but fee for cave tour
Magnolia Market in Waco, Texas - FREE to visit
New Orleans, Louisiana - FREE to visit, $ for food and souvenirs
Total cost for park entrance fees and 4x4 tour $534.28
The National Parks were FREE for us to visit because we have an America the Beautiful National Park pass. Pick up your annual national park pass for $80, or you can purchase one in person at any National Park.
Campervan Maintenance Before Travel
Before our trip I needed to do a little bit of maintenance on our 2017 Ram ProMaster campervan. Those items included:
4 new tires: $834.56 purchased at Sam’s Club
Oil change
New battery
windshield wipers
price for oil, battery, wipers was $347.44
Total maintenance cost $1182.00 before trip (not included in final total)
NOTE: The previous year (2021) and the following year we traveled (2023) I did not have to replace the tires or battery, so this starting fee was much cheaper.
Total Miles Traveled
During our trip we traveled 8,365 miles through 18 states.
Gas During our Travels
Due to traveling so far, we used a lot of gas, so our gas bill was VERY high. We filled up our gas tank 38 times. The gas tank in our Ram ProMaster is 24 gallons and takes us about 400 miles before we have to refill.
While traveling I use the Upside app every time I get gas which allows me to get cash back with each purchase. Not every gas station participates with Upside so you can use the map in the app to find the nearest gas station that participates. Each time you get gas you get a percentage back from 1% to 15% per gallon. The cash back amount slowly adds up and then you can either cash out or get a gift certificate to certain vendors from Target, Walmart, Starbucks, AMC Theatres, Cabela’s, Cold Stone Creamery, Domino’s, Lowe’s, IHOP, Panera Bread, Red Robin and more!
Sign up NOW and use my Invite code to get started XJZTTH
Total cost for gas was $2,900.30
We also use gas in our WEN generator, and we filled our gas can 5 times for this use. We used our generator almost every day except for about a week in California or while in Iowa visiting family.
Total cost for generator gas $36.82
Groceries
We bought groceries throughout our travels as most of the time we prepared our own meals in the van instead of eating out to save money. Check out my blog post on Quick and Super Simple Camping Meal Ideas. A lot of the food I purchased prior to going on our trip, I just had to pick up fresh fruits and meats as we traveled.
Total cost of food was $467.14
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Overnight Boondocking
FREE camping locations we stayed at
Cracker Barrel
Rest Stop
Multiple National Forests
Multiple BLM land
Loves Gas Station
Hotel parking lot
Wal-mart
Beach camping
Total cost for 19 days $0.00
Check out my blog post that lists FREE camping locations across the US
Other Overnight Stays
Stay with family for 6 nights = FREE
Stay with friends for 1 night = FREE
Bryce Canyon National Park campground = $15 with Access Pass
Llamaland Ranch in Tool, Texas = $50.74
Mandalay Bay Resort in Las Vegas = $227.75
Total cost for 10 days was $293.49
Hotel accommodations in Las Vegas
New York New York Hotel - view the 150-foot Statue of Liberty replica, play at the casino and eat some street food before touring the Las Vegas strip.
MGM Grand - one of the hotels we have stayed at in the past. Offering close proximity to many attractions, casino, large pools with lazy river and more.
Bellagio - this beautiful hotel offers a mesmerizing water feature outside the hotel and luxury hotel amenities from 5 resort style pools and lush botanical gardens.
FREE Boondocking locations across the US
Click the image to see a list of FREE boondocking locations across the United States.
Free boondocking locations
The pictures below are all FREE boondocking locations we found along the way.
Tolls
We did have to pay tolls in Kansas and crossing the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco California.
Total cost was $4.00
Parking Fees
Parking at MGM Las Vegas = $30
Parking at Santa Cruz Beach and Boardwalk = $20
Parking at NOLA (New Orleans, LA) = $18.28
Total cost was $68.28
Shower Fees & Laundry
Showers
Pilot Gas station = $30 ($15 per shower)
Bryce Canyon National Park = $9 ($3 per 8 minute shower using tokens)
RV Park in White’s City, New Mexico = $9 ($3 each person)
Total cost was $48
Laundry
Bryce Canyon = $7 (takes coins for washer and dryer, change machine on site)
White’s City New Mexico laundromat = $5 (was $1.50 per washer and $1 per dryer)
Total cost was $12
Oil Change During Travel
We have used the same place to change our oil in Las Vegas both times during our month-long travels. At this location you get to stay in your van while they change your oil. They offer different discounts so just ask what you might qualify for.
Jiffy Lube = $115
Total cost was $115
Eating Out at Restaurants
Pikes Peak donuts, Colorado $14.00
Food at pool side restaurant in Las Vegas, Nevada $38.00
Nepenthe restaurant in Big Sur $106.59
Chinese Food, Santa Cruz Boardwalk, California $12.00
Hotdog on a Stick, Santa Cruz, California $5.45
Marini’s at the Beach, Santa Cruz, California $26.67
Hard Rock Cafe in Nashville, Tennessee $63.96
The Dead Fish in Crockett, California $133.68
Whizzbangs food truck, Waco, Texas $15.58
Cheddar Box, Waco, Texas $21.00
Club Sandwich, Waco, Texas $9.00
Alabama Sweet Tea, Waco, Texas $10.28
Smoothies at NOLA $21.00
Market Cafe at NOLA $55.99
Organic Banana NOLA $25.00
Cafe Du Monde NOLA $20.00
Gordon Ramsey restaurant, Las Vegas, Nevada- Gift card/FREE
Starbucks, Los Angeles, California $22.00
Total cost was $600.20
Although we eat a lot of meals in our van, you can see we do enjoy eating out as well. Eating out gets so expensive but it is fun to experience new foods. You don’t realize at the time how much you are spending until you total it up at the end! This is an area I definitely need to try and reduce on our next trip.
Souvenirs
Yikes, I definitely need to reduce the number of souvenirs I purchase while traveling. I just love memorabilia of our travel locations. Items purchased at different locations throughout our trip.
National Parks
Other tourist locations
Las Vegas
restaurants and more
Total cost was $908.80
Camping must-haves
Total Cost of our 29 Day Trip was $5,988.31
That total does not include the maintenance before we left for our trip.
That is the breakdown of the total cost of our trip. As you can see from our trip, overall it cost a lot of money. But if you look at what all we did during our travel it was worth the price because we saw and did so much even in a short amount of time. I try to find a lot of FREE things to do as we travel to keep our cost down.
If you were to take several trips and include all of these same destinations it is likely that your final cost would be similar.
Click the image to find FREE places to visit across the US that are family friendly.
Final thoughts
Over the course of 29 days traveling across the USA in a camper van, I had the chance to visit five national parks and check off numerous bucket list experiences. The memories we made as a family were truly unforgettable in fact as I was reminiscing on this travel it brought tears to my eyes, as I look back on this incredible experience I was able to share with my kids. I love being able to show them the incredible beauty and adventures our country has to offer, things you can’t fully appreciate by scrolling through social media. Together we created lasting memories.
Let me know what questions you have about this trip. Was this list helpful to you as you plan your next trip? Comment below!
Enjoy your journey,
Meet the author: Jennifer
I am a girl who loves to travel and enjoys sharing expert family travel advice. I am a content creator and influencer on Instagram with years of travel experience and provide readers with advice, tips, and details on adventurous travel and tips on saving money while boondocking or traveling across the US. You can find me dreaming up our next epic vacation or outside exploring natural landscapes. I am a fearless roadtripper who isn’t afraid to explore new and off the path adventures.
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