Stephen Goldin 
Caravan 

It’s the 1980s in an alternate-world America. U.S. society has fallen apart under food shortages, fuel shortages, racial unrest and a host of other problems.Peter Stone predicted the Collapse, but was helpless to prevent it. Now he’s joined a group of people who intend to escape to another planet and start a whole new world…if they can make it safely across the country–stealing gas and fighting off bandits–to reach the ship before it leaves.