rving with kids Archives - The New Lighter Life

Challenges of RVing with Kids

February 2014

“How hard is it really to do the RV-thing with a family?” I get this question (and all sorts of variations) several times a month from blog readers and friends. ...

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Boondocking at Wally World

April 2013

I have to laugh that I’m posting this. I was just talking with a friend the day that we left South Dakota about this very topic. Sleeping at Wal-Mart. I ...

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Sledding Fun at Hart Ranch

January 2013

* We * love snow! We do not mean all of us. It completely and entirely excludes Mark. It’s our running joke since he detests it so much. Out here ...

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Sleep Deprivation in the Camper

October 2012

I could just post happy thoughts. I could tell you all the wonderful things about living in a camper and completely ignore the hard times. I wouldn’t technically be lying ...

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Potty Training, Vomit, & Cat Poop

October 2012

Since we bought the camper new, it was pretty important to us that we kept it nice. It was going to stay pristine really. Really. Expectations. We didn’t want to ...

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Forest River 365 SAQ Bunk Room – Tour

October 2012

When we were shopping around for an RV, we were specifically concerned about one area, the Kid’s bunk room. Follow along on our tour of our Forest River 365 SAQ ...

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Mindset from Camper to Home

September 2012

You know those moments where it feels like you are in a movie, or you’re living someone else’s life and you just stepped into it. Quantum Leap but on a ...

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Day 1 – of RV Living

September 2012

We’re here… The fridge is empty… I can’t light the oven… I have Z strapped to me because little V is still fighting off the stomach flu and we wanted ...

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8 responses to “Challenges of RVing with Kids”

latrecia

March 2014

We are a full time RV family of 5! Our RV is smaller than yours but we’ve found several ways to make it work for us. I LOVE how you’ve decorated your rig!

Julie

March 2014

Thank you Latrecia! Best wishes on your RVing adventures!

Reply

niina

August 2015

we are planning a year travelling around Australia in a converted bus with our four kids under 8. Im looking for all the help in planning. this post was very helpful. thankyou!! it hasent deterred me but will help me plan for the challenges.

Julie

October 2015

That’s right Nina! Knowledge is power! Hope you guys have a blast!

Reply

Julie

October 2015

Yes we shopped a minimum of once a week when we had the RV. It was tough to keep fresh produce and we couldn’t bulk shop (something we had always done before). It can be done, just an added challenge.

Amanda R

December 2015

I’m thinking of taking my two kids around the US alone. My hubs is stuck in one location with his job, but I’m a photographer so I am location independent. I’m a little nervous about traveling alone with a 2 and 4 year old, but it’s been a dream of mine for years. I’m in the planning stages now. Any advice would be greatly appreciated’1

Julie

January 2016

I don’t know how to advise you Amanda. I know it is a dream of yours but I personally could not imagine undertaking traveling the US with little ones without my husband. It is almost always the very best for families to be together. My one recommendation for you would be to see if you can find a way to do it together, with your husband. Career change for him? Or maybe wait a few years and work toward that career change.

Reply
Regina

September 2016

Let me tell you a little about our experience. We moved from a 2100 sqft house that was my dream house. Granite, slate and travertine throughout. Floor to ceiling stone fireplace in CA. I was not happy to move into a camper in KY with 3 kids 1-5. Not to mention one that wasn’t taken care of and lived in for a year with 4 kids by previous owners. We put it on a piece of land with electric, sewer, and city water in place. The rain that summer was the worst locals had seen in a long time as well as the winter. There were times the winds were so high (on top of a hill) that the camper was rocking. We feared it rolling down the hill. My husband had to go out and tie it down with heavy anchors. Every 2 weeks the toilet would smell to high heaven and he would have to bring in a hose to clean it out. Pipes froze in the winter. Went 3 days without water. When I pipe burst on the back of the toilet he had to replum it. The lock broke so we couldn’t get in one day and he had to replace that. The walls sweated so badly in the winter that many things mildewed. We found that putting plastic film over them helped along with buying a dehumidifier and storing bowls with strainers and rock salt in cabinets, storage areas and under furniture to absorb the moisture. Homeschooling was hard for all the reasons Julie mentioned. Nap times were non existent for the same reasons I couldn’t send my 3 and 5 year old out alone and rock a baby to sleep. Lots of filthy wet, muddy, urine soaked laundry piled up till we could get to the laundromat which was pricy and rough with 3 littles. So I say all this to shine some light on the challenges you may face that will be that much harder traveling without your husband. And don’t forget, traveling and not parking for extended time means possible vehicle trouble, flat tires and such. Kids have to go everywhere with you since you have no one to let them stay with. Gas stations, potty, stores. I’m not trying to talk you out of it, but I personally hated my husband for the year we lived in the camper. I felt like he ignored my protests of how much I knew I couldn’t do it before he bought it. I hated being cooped up in bad weather with streaking little people under foot (headphones and iPod helps btw, LOL). I felt like I missed out on so much. That my kids lacked room to be kids. Room for their toys. I felt like I lost a year of my life. I’m claustrophobic so I know that played a role in my woes. I also was made to live in a camper for a year when I was a kid in a family of 7. My parents just married, each having 2 of their own and a new baby together. Life with steps that I barely knew and cramped in tight quarters made me loath ever living that way. Just keep in mind it’s not all rainbows. I know people who are doing it or have done it and were and are fine with it. I’m not that person. Good luck. I hope you are able to plan ahead and make it an enjoyable experience. If it becomes too much you can always return home to hubby ? Maybe make it shorter trips if you have to ?

Reply

latrecia

March 2014

We are a full time RV family of 5! Our RV is smaller than yours but we’ve found several ways to make it work for us. I LOVE how you’ve decorated your rig!

1. Julie
  
  March 2014
  
  Thank you Latrecia! Best wishes on your RVing adventures!
  
niina

August 2015

we are planning a year travelling around Australia in a converted bus with our four kids under 8. Im looking for all the help in planning. this post was very helpful. thankyou!! it hasent deterred me but will help me plan for the challenges.

1. Julie
  
  October 2015
  
  That’s right Nina! Knowledge is power! Hope you guys have a blast!
  
Julie

October 2015

Yes we shopped a minimum of once a week when we had the RV. It was tough to keep fresh produce and we couldn’t bulk shop (something we had always done before). It can be done, just an added challenge.

Amanda R

December 2015

I’m thinking of taking my two kids around the US alone. My hubs is stuck in one location with his job, but I’m a photographer so I am location independent. I’m a little nervous about traveling alone with a 2 and 4 year old, but it’s been a dream of mine for years. I’m in the planning stages now. Any advice would be greatly appreciated’1

1. Julie
  
  January 2016
  
  I don’t know how to advise you Amanda. I know it is a dream of yours but I personally could not imagine undertaking traveling the US with little ones without my husband. It is almost always the very best for families to be together. My one recommendation for you would be to see if you can find a way to do it together, with your husband. Career change for him? Or maybe wait a few years and work toward that career change.
  
2. Regina
  
  September 2016
  
  Let me tell you a little about our experience. We moved from a 2100 sqft house that was my dream house. Granite, slate and travertine throughout. Floor to ceiling stone fireplace in CA. I was not happy to move into a camper in KY with 3 kids 1-5. Not to mention one that wasn’t taken care of and lived in for a year with 4 kids by previous owners. We put it on a piece of land with electric, sewer, and city water in place. The rain that summer was the worst locals had seen in a long time as well as the winter. There were times the winds were so high (on top of a hill) that the camper was rocking. We feared it rolling down the hill. My husband had to go out and tie it down with heavy anchors. Every 2 weeks the toilet would smell to high heaven and he would have to bring in a hose to clean it out. Pipes froze in the winter. Went 3 days without water. When I pipe burst on the back of the toilet he had to replum it. The lock broke so we couldn’t get in one day and he had to replace that. The walls sweated so badly in the winter that many things mildewed. We found that putting plastic film over them helped along with buying a dehumidifier and storing bowls with strainers and rock salt in cabinets, storage areas and under furniture to absorb the moisture. Homeschooling was hard for all the reasons Julie mentioned. Nap times were non existent for the same reasons I couldn’t send my 3 and 5 year old out alone and rock a baby to sleep. Lots of filthy wet, muddy, urine soaked laundry piled up till we could get to the laundromat which was pricy and rough with 3 littles. So I say all this to shine some light on the challenges you may face that will be that much harder traveling without your husband. And don’t forget, traveling and not parking for extended time means possible vehicle trouble, flat tires and such. Kids have to go everywhere with you since you have no one to let them stay with. Gas stations, potty, stores. I’m not trying to talk you out of it, but I personally hated my husband for the year we lived in the camper. I felt like he ignored my protests of how much I knew I couldn’t do it before he bought it. I hated being cooped up in bad weather with streaking little people under foot (headphones and iPod helps btw, LOL). I felt like I missed out on so much. That my kids lacked room to be kids. Room for their toys. I felt like I lost a year of my life. I’m claustrophobic so I know that played a role in my woes. I also was made to live in a camper for a year when I was a kid in a family of 7. My parents just married, each having 2 of their own and a new baby together. Life with steps that I barely knew and cramped in tight quarters made me loath ever living that way. Just keep in mind it’s not all rainbows. I know people who are doing it or have done it and were and are fine with it. I’m not that person. Good luck. I hope you are able to plan ahead and make it an enjoyable experience. If it becomes too much you can always return home to hubby ? Maybe make it shorter trips if you have to ?