Lots of people are gonna read this bro, all messages get posted in the discord and there's like 800+ people there and even more here on the site itself.
The fact is though, we see many many messages just like yours almost daily and most folks are going to reply as dmac has which is to just direct you to the search bar, and rightfully so as many people have written the equivalent of a thesis on how to live, survive and even thrive on the road. But I personally find that kinda boring and would much rather just interact with folks, plenty of kids came down to the tower district in fuckno every summer from the burbs of Clovis to try their luck. I was annoyed sure but I always answered their dumbass questions anyway, it just feels like the right thing to do. I'm not suggesting your questions are dumb but there's only so many times I can be asked "so what do y'all eat" before I assume that's just par for the course.
I can only give you advice through the lens of my life experience and what I have observed though, and your experience may be VASTLY different from my own, but the preface aside and the real advice brought to the fore: don't just start trainhopping, go hitchhike for six months or a year and get a feel for life outside, make connections with good people and cultivate practical skills (woodworking, tailoring, shoemaking, mechanical, automotive, agricultural, industrial etc) that will be of use to you and those around you. Get a good pack and fill it with thirty pounds of rocks and walk nonstop for five hours and you'll get a pretty good indicator of the day to day, and for the record thirty pounds if considered incredibly light most folks I know have 50+ lbs of gear.
I'm sure you have considered the many advantages of this life and the level of freedom it provides, have you also considered the disadvantages? You will be cold, you will be hot, you will be hungry, you will be treated very poorly by people; many many people, you will feel hopeless, you will feel profound and gnawing sadness and loneliness, you might sustain grievous injuries to your body and mind, I don't know if you've seen anyone beaten to death with a rock before but it sticks with you, forever. Hell, you also might experience none of those things, you could very well float through your traveling life with the devil's luck so to speak, but I wouldn't count on it.
I hope you don't think I'm trying to insult or discourage you, I am merely briefly, and albeit vaguely, recounting the things that could very well have removed me from my time on the road had I not been prepared, resilient, lucky or some combination of the three, and please do not take this as a brag or a flex I am no better or more skilled or knowledgeable than anyone else, in fact I believe myself to be less so.
Big dumb rant aside just be safe, use critical thinking, don't hang out with shady people, don't talk to the police, keep to a reasonable sleep schedule and just take care of your body in general, and don't take unnecessary risks especially around fucking trains.
Also always have something to clean your ass with, you will shit your pants out here. It's not an if it's a when.
Good luck friend, may everything you attempt instantly succeed.
