Drive across the USA in a motorhome for $1 per day.

Drive across the USA in a motorhome for $1 per day.

It’s a journey that many of us dream about doing, but only few of us can actually afford. I’m talking about taking that drive across the USA or driving along historic Route 66 with your family, or travelling buddy, in your very own motorhome.

Imagine it.  The open road, with the sun (and possibly snow) at your back? You can drive wherever you like, you make the plan on what you’d like to see and do.

All this in the comfort of your own motorhome, with beds for everyone, a kitchen, full bathroom, heaters or air-cons and even a TV?

What if I told you that it is possible to take this journey for only $1 per day? Would you believe me?

I used to dream of travelling across the USA like this too, but it was always too expensive. Good news, I found a way to do it for only $1 per day.

This year I experienced an unforgettable road trip across the USA , from the state of Indiana, all the way to California. We drove a brand new, 22 ft long, five bed motorhome, including insurance for a dollar a day. Seriously.

Let me introduce you to this website, Transfer Car. A website for driving or relocating cars, vans, RV’s and motorhomes to other parts of the USA.

For example, you may score a new car to drive from one airport to another in California with two days free hire, unlimited km’s, etc.  You might do the same as us and apply to relocate a motorhome from one side of the country to the other, for next to nothing.

Why is it so cheap?

TransferCar work with a large group of different RV and car rental companies, advertising vehicles they need relocated to different cities for paying customers. The alternative for them is to pay for trucks with drivers to do the same thing.  This way, the customer benefits and so do they. A good concept right?

The website is super easy to use. Simply sign up in five minutes, you do need a major credit card to do so.  Once you have a profile, you can search for a vehicle that fits in with your intended holiday plans and just request to relocate it. 

The car company will respond via email within 24hrs, a contract is sent to you with all the details, and you’ve just saved yourself a bundle of cash.

Drive across the USA for $1 per day? What’s the catch?

There is no catch! I hired a brand new motorhome to relocate from the state of Indiana to Los Angeles in fifteen days, for only USD$14.99, or $1 per day. This deal included 3000 miles (lots of kilometres) and $300 fuel allowance too.

Extra miles over the allocated 3000 were charged at 0.32c per mile. We were given the flexible option to take an extra fifteen days if we chose, which would be at a rate of US $60 per day, which included an additional 150 miles per day.

I couldn’t believe our luck at discovering this website and scoring such an incredible deal!

It’s up to you to decide to stay in campgrounds that are dotted all over the country, or try and keep the budget down and pull into rest-stops or Walmart parking areas overnight.

How much will I spend on fuel?

Now you might be wondering how much you are likely to spend on fuel for the rest of the trip.  I am happy to volunteer my fuel costs from our trip

America price their gasoline per gallon. The price varies greatly according to which state you are in. I found that fuel is very affordable in the US, compared to Australia, which is great if you are covering long distances.

Overall, we found the price of fuel to be the cheapest in the Southern States.  As you approach Nevada and California, the price of fuel creeps up to almost twice the price.

If you are fuelling an RV like ours, you will find that your tank fits 55 gallons, you’ll get approximately 380 miles to a tank, and gas can range from US $1.99 per gallon (3.8 litres) to US $3.89.

We found a super helpful app on our phone to find the cheapest fuel around us.

GasBuddy gives you updated cheap rates on fuel in the city you are in. We found it invaluable for saving cash, which we spent on activities such as visiting Gracelands in Memphis and eating delicious restaurant meals. 

When you have to fuel a big tank, even finding a fuel station that is 30 cents cheaper per gallon can mean a saving of $30 per tank.

To sum up, our motorhome relocation for $1 per day (including insurance, which is always a huge expense in US) was an awesome deal. In addition to the US $300 fuel allowance that was reimbursed to us at the drop-off in Los Angeles, the extra cash we spent on fuel was around $700.

TransferCar also do this in Australia and New Zealand! That’s right! 

Now there’s nothing stopping you from taking that long awaited road trip. With most of your larger expenses taken care of, why not spend your travel savings on something that matters most. You and your family.

Happy travels!