Budget

One of the most important questions, how much would it cost?  

I’m estimating a budget for each of the options below.

Option A  $5,000 hard costs, $1,500 incidentals    $6,500
$2,000 for camp fees (est. 40 nights at $50/night)  Hopefully we would be able to stay with family and friends in a few of the places and some of the fees wouldn’t be so high.
$1,000 for fuel (est. 6,000 miles at 25 mpg is 240 gallons of gas at $4/gallon)
$750 for food
$1,000 for park entry fees/museums/souvenirs

Option B* $5,600 hard costs, $1,500 incidentals   $7,100
$1,600 for camp fees (est. 40 nights at $40/night)
$2,500 for fuel (est. 6,000 miles at 12mpg is 500 gallons of diesel at $5/gallon)
$500 for food
$1,000 for park entry fees/museums/souvenirs
*The trailer we currently borrow from Grandma would not be seaworthy enough for this type of cross-country trip.  So a purchase of this item may be necessary.

Option C $11,640 hard costs, $1,500 incidentals   $13,140
$3,000 for rental of small RV
$3,040 for mileage charge (.34/mile)
$1,600 for camp fees (est. 40 nights at $40/night)
$2,500 for fuel (est. 6,000 miles at  12 mpg is 500 gallons of diesel at $5/gallon)
$500 for food
$1,000 for park entry fees/museums/souvenirs