On View : Road Show : MTV MAPS OUT A CROSS-COUNTRY ADVENTURE AND TAKES US ALONG FOR THE RIDE

Cruising down the open road in a Winnebago on a cross-country trip, not a care in the world other than looking out for highway patrolmen. It’s a little piece of the American dream.

Throw five hipsters who don’t know one another in a souped-up camper (this is not your father’s Winnebago), complete with slip-covered seats, a state-of-the-art computer mapping system, lots of athletic gear, a little money and cameras to track their every move and you have a piece of the MTV dream. Or nightmare.

“Throw out your rules, these are road rules,” says an ominous-sounding voice welcoming the lucky five who have been chosen from thousands to take a 10-week trek together in “Road Rules,” MTV’s twist on the cinema-verite concept made popular with “The Real World,” now in its fourth season on the network.

“Road Rules” could be called “The Unreal World.” Instead of just putting the gang together and letting things happen “Real World”-style, “Road Rules” sends the Generation-Xers on a treasure hunt-like quest. It comes complete with clues (“go to the city that never sleeps and the garden that’s not a garden”) and physical challenges. “If you survive the adventures we have planned for you, you’ll be rewarded,” says the voice.

Even the party of five is a little confused while waiting on a hilltop in Malibu for the journey to start. “We didn’t know exactly what we were getting ourselves into,” one of them says nervously in a voice-over.

Then a helicopter appears, dropping a tape recorder out of the sky. The voice on the tape tells the five to dump their cash and credit cards, head to the totally cool camper and set out for Ivan Falls Lake, Nev.

Allison, 21, the sharp New Yorker waiting to hear from medical schools, finds it on the Power Book. “I’m the trip computer geek already,” says the Columbia University graduate.

Once in the very dry Ivan Falls Lake (“Where’s the water?” Kit, 24, the spunky “Energizer Bunny of the group” from Altanta wants to know), the group gets a crash course in high speed land-sailing before racing for reward No. 1: two hotel rooms in Las Vegas.

This isn’t about hanging out and talking about the meaning of life. As Mark, 23, the “I’m up for anything” all-American guy who recently graduated from the University of Florida, explains: “There’s never one time where we’re in a certain place where we get settled down and relaxed. It’s always--bam. Next clue.”

The adventures should be a big part of the show’s appeal, says documentarian Jon Murray, executive producer and creator of the show with “Real World” partner Mary-Ellis Bunim, a former producer of soaps. “This show... is much more of a fun kind of thing, with lots of laughs and lots of adventure.” Dog sledding, sky-diving and riding the New York City subway to name a few.

“I don’t think it’s ever going to deal with big heavy issues,” says Murray. But the issues on “Road Rules” are weighty enough: Where will they sleep and shower, how will they get more money and how will they survive without killing one another?

Adventures aside, the real juice is in the human drama. This gang ends up squabbling over money. They’re given $1,000 for the first three weeks. After that, they earn money doing odd jobs like painting a giant dinosaur and alligator farming.

“Out of diversity comes story,” Murray notes. The diverse bunch was culled from those who tried out for the latest “Real World” in London. “We looked for individuals who had a real sense of adventure, who were resourceful and who had a great sense of humor.”

Kit, a University of North Carolina graduate with a Southern twang, provides many of the laughs. “She’s a real live wire,” Murray says.

But full-blooded Native American Shelly Spotted Horse, 19, the tattooed rock-lover from Oklahoma City who has a strong sense of her heritage, should appeal to viewers in a deeper way. “She has a real quality to her. A real spirituality,” Murray notes.

Carlos, better known as Los, a 21-year-old African American who attends Howard University in Washington, D.C., rounds out the travelers.

Murray is amazed at how fast this disparate group bonded. “Wow, it happened very quick. I think it’s because they had to pull together to accomplish specific adventures.”

Some of the travelers bonded better than others. Two of them fell madly in love, but the producers won’t say who until it’s revealed on the show.

Mark tried to steer the group away from conflicts with jokes. “I didn’t want the whole show to focus on when we would bicker at each other.”

In editing the shows, the producers attempted to strike a balance between the soap opera stuff and the action-packed adventures. Murray thinks the daredevil adventures will draw more male viewers than “The Real World” typically does.

The most difficult adventure? “They had the most trouble with getting nude in the nudist colony,” Murray says.

“But I think the greatest adventure, frankly, is just being in the Winnebago together and finding ways to deal with each other, that was the toughest challenge,” Murray says.

“Road Rules” premieres Wednesday at 10:30 p.m.; subsequent episodes air Mondays at 10 p.m. on MTV.