Transamerica light touring

I'm hoping to do a transamerica ride in the next couple of years. I'm
currently leaning towards the Adventure Cycling northern tier route.
However, I'm not big on camping and would prefer to travel light and
stay in motels. An Adventure Cycling FAQ claims that with careful
planning and some adjustments to daily mileage, it can be done.
Anyone out there tried it? If not the northern tier route
specifically, how about other long tours where there was no commerical
organization pre-arranging the accomodations?