8 Tips to Surviving Full-time RV Life with Kids

Not every RVer is a retired empty nester. We are noticing more and more full-time families with kids hitting the road these days.

Some families have toddlers, and want to explore North America before their young ones start school. Others are choosing to roadschool while embarking on their travel adventures.

No matter how old you kids may be, living in a small RV can be a really daunting experience. You begin to wonder about how it will affect your family dynamic. Will you all drive each other nuts in the first six months? How are you going to have any privacy in such a small space?

Here’s a few sanity-saving tips we’ve learned along the way:

Tip 1 – Choose campgrounds with spaces to roam

All RV parks and campgrounds are not created equal when you’re traveling as a family. Kids have lots of energy and they need to get outside to get it all out. Campgrounds with playgrounds, trails, or beaches are probably going to be far more enjoyable for your kids than an RV park that feels like a giant parking lot.

This is one of the reasons we frequently opt to stay in state campgrounds. They tend to lean more toward nature, and have lots of room for kids to run, play and make noise.

Before making reservations it’s a good idea to look at the map online, check out the amenities, and check reviews from other families. This maximizes the chance that your kids will be happy and engaged during your stay.

Tip 2 – Everything is a potential learning experience

When you’re traveling, every new experience can become a teachable opportunity. Kids are naturally curious, and nothing brings a subject alive for your children like seeing it with their own eyes.

Here’s a few ideas to consider:

• Encourage kids to sample regional cuisine like fried okra, cheese curds, or hatch chiles
• Visit local parks to examine different trees, plants, or geology in the area
• Follow your route on a map to teach geography
• Roam through a farmer’s market to show which foods are in season
• Visit wildlife refuges to learn about local species and conservation efforts

Tip 3 – Develop outdoor hobbies

Living in an RV means there isn’t a lot of space inside your home. It doesn’t take long to start feeling like you are all on top of each other. To avoid this trap, take advantage of the outdoors.

Each new campground is like having a new (and often very large) backyard. This space can be ideal for biking, running, walking, hiking, swimming, boating, playing frisbee, fishing, geocaching, or whatever outdoor hobby appeals to your kids. Not only will they be outside enjoying the fresh air, but many of these activities are completely free to do as a family.

Tip 4 – Invest in family games

When you live in a home where everyone has their own room, it’s easy to live in parallel worlds. One parent is watching TV in the living room, while another is reading a book. The kids are glued to iPads or doing their own thing in another room.

One of the best benefits of living in one small space is you have a great ability to spend quality time together as a family. We are huge advocates of family board games and card games in the RV. This allows us to learn more about each other’s personalities as we play together.

Some great family games include:

• Ticket to Ride
• Cribbage
• Dominoes
• Skip-bo
• Scrabble
• Hand and Foot (card game)

Tip 5 – Use Skype or FaceTime to connect

If you ask most people what they miss the most during their full-time travels, it’s usually seeing their extended family or close friends. But, today’s RVers have some pretty great technology on their side to bridge this gap.

Anyone can use Skype or FaceTime to keep up with their loved ones who aren’t on the road. Grandma can sing happy birthday to her grandson in real time as he blows out his birthday candles. Your teenager can share the highs and lows of the day with a best friend back home.

Of course, there’s still the need for good cell reception and sufficient data to make this solution work. But, having the ability to stay in touch with friends and extended family has never been easier.

Tip 6 – Organization, organization, organization

Living with kids can be overwhelming. They have so much stuff. Even after you downsize, you’ll probably find that your kids have way more possessions than you. There’s toys, books, homeschool supplies, iPads, flashlights, water bottles… The list just keeps on going.

All these things can clutter up your RV space and make you feel inundated. That’s why organization is so very important. Having good shoe storage minimizes the risk that you are going to trip over that errant flip flop in the middle of the night. Hanging command hooks on your wall for coats will keep them from becoming more clutter on the couch. I’m a big fan of storage bins too – my cabinets are filled with them.

Feel free to be creative. Just because a container was designed for one purpose, doesn’t mean you have to use it that way. How it fits in your RV space is the top factor for whether it will work. For example, we use a plastic cleaning caddy for our son’s shoe storage. The handle in the center even helps the shoes stand up so they’re easier to pull out, when needed.

Tip 7 – Let your kids pick a travel location

If you’re traveling full-time, you probably have some flexibility on where you can stop. Why not dust off the atlas or pull up GoogleMaps when you’re planning your next move, and let your kids help plan a stop or two?

Involving your kids in this process will allow them to appreciate all the work that route planning entails. There’s roads to select, rest stops to plan, and campgrounds to research. And their excitement for the next stop will likely increase because it’s “their pick.”

If you don’t have this flexibility in letting them help plan your route, another option is to include your kids in planning a specific activity or restaurant in your next location. Giving them input on these little decisions may decrease the whining and complaining from the backseat.

Tip 8 – Remember this is life, not a vacation

Surviving the RV life with kids can be hard. There’s still laundry that needs to be done. You should expect to have days where everyone is in a foul mood. And, there’s times when it feels like you’ll never sweep all the dirt or sand out of your rig. That’s the reality of life.

Your friends and family back home may not understand your struggles because they think you’re lucky to be traveling full-time. Trying to explain that your life isn’t all rainbows and sunshine can fall on deaf ears. So, develop a support network of other families on the road.

After all, we already have something in common. We all took this risk to live a life less ordinary. And we understand it may not be easy, but it is definitely worth it!