How to RV Full Time with Young Kids
We RV full time as a family of four, and travel all over the country with our two children who are 6 and 2. When we first started the RV lifestyle, our daughter had just turned one. So we want to share what it’s like to RV full time with such little kids, our best tips for making it work, and our top recommended products for making your travels as easy as possible.
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Deciding to RV full time with young children
Why travel with young children that will never even remember what they saw?
We hear this all of the time, and quite honestly, thought it for a while ourselves. And it’s true… they really don’t remember those Glacier National Park views or even the moment they laid eyes on the Statue of Liberty for the first time.
But while they won’t remember the details, we fully believe the experiences shape them and help them become who they are.
They experience different cultures, meet so many new people, get to play in forests and on new trails and in new lakes, their eyes behold some of the most beautiful landscapes, and they hear about our nation’s history even thought they don’t comprehend it all.
And WE are making memories with them that we’ll never forget. We have stories to share for the rest of our lives, photos to pour over, and little items in their memory boxes that they’ll hold onto forever. We’re teaching them to break the mold and do something they love, because life is short and all we have are these brief days together.
Your children are a part of your family, and do what your family does.
That’s not to say you shouldn’t consider how RVing will impact your children’s lives.
Obviously everything you consider for your family you also take into account how it’ll affect your children!
And RVing is no exception. But so often we hear “how can you drag your kids around like that?” Well, how can you uproot your family to a new state for a job opportunity? Or how can you switch their school where they’ll have no friends? Or how can you sell their childhood home for a new build?
We all make decisions for our families, and try to simply do our best.
Our little kids (age 6 and 2) have fun! Their smiles on their faces daily are a testament to their happiness and enjoyment of our lifestyle. And quite honestly, as long as we can find a good park to go play at, their top priority in life is fulfilled!
Older Kids vs. Younger Kids RVing
We have conversations with full time RV families with teenagers, and they’ll say “I don’t know how you do it with such young children!”
Then we say the opposite. “I don’t know how you do it with older children!”
Really when the opportunity came along for us to be able to travel full time, we each convinced ourselves why NOW is just the right time to do it! So just like moving to a new state for a new opportunity, you do what’s best for your family, and your children will adapt.
Why we love traveling with younger children
Younger children go with the flow.
They do what mom and dad does naturally anyways, so if we’re going to a museum, they really don’t have much say in the matter and enjoy it right along with us. We do ask them what they’d like to do each day, and incorporate that into our planning. But nine times out of ten, they really just want to go to a playground. So we already know to plan for it!
Younger children have an easier time making friends and saying goodbyes.
All our son has to do is hop on his bike, and he’s instantly best friends with the kid next door that’s riding his bike. Our two-year-old toddles around the park, and us moms chat while chasing the littles. Our son does struggle with goodbyes, but we know it’d be even more difficult if he was a teenager with how quickly he gets attached.
Younger children fit better in your RV.
I know, that sounds silly, especially being over 6 feet ourselves. But because our children are smaller, we’re able to opt for smaller beds, smaller storage spaces (their clothes are smaller), smaller chairs and space at the table, all because their bodies are simply smaller! Both of our kids sleep in a loft area, and can sit up in the space and play. They find it cozy, and love to both sleep in the space. Side note: sure, they’re smaller… but they also come with more stuff (see below).
Younger children don’t need as much privacy.
This is entirely personal preference, but we would not feel comfortable with our children being in the upstairs loft area if they were older (one boy, one girl, and only sleeping two feet apart from each other).
We think that older children get to a point where they really need their own room, or at the very least their own space to feel like they can have alone time away from the family. We know many older children that RV that LOVE sharing their space with their siblings, but we just don’t think it’d be the best fit for our kids someday. At the very least, we’d want them to be in a bunk area with separated beds.
Considerations for traveling with younger children
Younger children need more attention.
You know, like diaper changes, bottle feedings, snacks, pacifiers and stuffed animals… all to keep them happy. They also might be crying and making a scene right when you get to see something you’ve been waiting to see your whole life. We don’t let it spoil the moment, and know it’s probably coming.
Younger children can have more stuff.
They’ll need a booster seat at the table, their special sippy cups and dishware, bottles, diapers and wipes storage (plus a place to change them), stroller, hiking backpack, etc. Their toys also tend to be larger, and you have to navigate the playsets (we’ve allowed a few). There was one point where we had a kitchen set up in their room because it was small enough (but man, that thing still took up a lot of space).
Younger children don’t fully understand what’s going on.
Our two year old asks all of the time, “Mom, where are we?” We know she doesn’t comprehend what state we’re in, or why it looks different outside today than it did yesterday. They also don’t understand why we’re spending SO much time in the car driving. Which leads us to our next point…
Younger children can have harder times with various things.
For example, our daughter hated riding in the car. She’d get grumpy on any sort of regular car ride, and every road trip meant tears an hour into it. It was a serious consideration for us. But we knew she’d get used to it. She didn’t like it because she never did it. She was our Covid baby, and we were at home with her for months before really taking her out and about. And since we knew she didn’t like the car, we avoided it.
Thankfully, we were right, and she learned to not only be okay in the car but to take her routine naps in the car (and she did so surprisingly quickly).
Younger children will determine what you do and when.
We schedule everything around routine naps and bedtimes (with some exceptions). We always have to consider whether or not our kids will be well rested enough to do something. But more than that, we’re really limited in our activities. While we’d usually consider ATVing in Arches National Park, kayaking down a Florida canal, or going on a ride at an amusement park… we simply can’t. Not as a family.
Our personalities are such that we’re okay with keeping things simple. Just being together in an incredible place fills our cups. We don’t have to do the latest and greatest crazy adventures to have a good time. So while sure, sometimes it seems like a bummer… generally speaking, we’re just fine skipping it and find something else to do instead.
Our Tips for RVing with Little Kids
Create a consistent routine when you can.
We know that children thrive on consistency and routine. While the RV lifestyle is spontaneous and ever changing, there can and should be routine where you can find it.
For us, this looks like a daily morning routine that includes breakfast together, play time, time outside, homeschooling, and naps. Then the afternoon is our “adventure time” and it often looks different every day, but we usually still arrive back home in time for dinner and an on-time bedtime.
Sunday mornings are also a good routine for us as we make it a priority to keep the sabbath day holy!
Prepare to go with the flow.
This is true for anything you do with little kids. But when you RV, you lay out some pretty great plans. And you just have to know that those plans can and will change because your littlest family members can be high demand sometimes.
Use a sound machine.
A sound machine drowns out everything. Traffic noises, loud neighbors, trains and planes, your TV that you like to watch after they go to bed, and even “romantic time” with your significant other (you heard what we said).
Our children not only have their thin, thin RV walls, but being in the loft, one of their “walls” is just a curtain. When we’re upstairs and the sound machine is on, we cannot hear anything happening elsewhere in the RV. Our daughter has always been a light sleeper, and she sleeps great in the RV!
Keep the toys to a minimum.
This is a given since you’re tight on space, and obviously can only fit so many toys. But studies actually show that kids get overwhelmed with having too many toys anyways. So do your best to organize what you do have, rotate toys if you can, and keep only the best!
Simplify the children’s “needs.”
Do you really need three bibs? Do you really need a full blown changing pad? Do you really need the baby food processor when a regular food processor will work just fine? The product industry LOVES telling us we need 10 gadgets for our kids’ lives, when really we don’t need any of it. One thing I’ve learned RVing is just how little our family needs to live off of. We’ve simplified nearly every area of our lives, and our children’s needs are no exception.
Prioritize food and rest.
Snacks make kids happy. Find your healthy “go to” snacks, and always keep them on hand. Kids (and adults) also need to be well rested. You’re doing a lot every day. Don’t skimp on the sleep! Rest also means slow, at-home days where there’s no agenda. Let them be kids, everyone relaxes, put on a movie, and chill!
Boost those immune systems.
Kids get sick. And while the sunshine and fresh air helps to stave off illnesses, keep the defense up! Earthley is our go-to for tinctures. Elderberry elixir and Immune Biotic are a part of our daily regimen, as well as homemade elderberry syrup. And once we feel the illness coming on, we take doses of Kick Ass Immune Activator! We swear by that stuff.
Let the kids in on the plans.
Our son loves to know what’s ahead. Talk about it with them! We keep a family calendar up so that our son can see when we’ll be traveling, when we’ll be at the beach, or when we’ll be out hiking. Seeing the week ahead helps his mind to prepare for what’s coming, and gives them a little sense of control.
Recommended Products
The following products, while affiliate links, are all products our family has personally used, like, and recommend for your RV travels with your little ones.
Side-zipper pack-n-play. This lightweight baby crib is recommended by us for families considering a loft setup for their kids sleeping space. A regular pack-n-play was too tall and just not practical. But having a pack-n-play that had a side zipper allowed our one-year-old (at the time) to crawl in and out of her bed and safely sleep all zipped up.
Toddler mattress. We transitioned our daughter from pack-n-play to a small toddler or crib mattress. This is a great option for shorter bunk beds, RV beds that aren’t quite twin size, etc. This memory foam one is comfy, and we put this bumper on it for our daughter so she doesn’t roll off.
Booster seat. This fold-n-go booster seat is lightweight, snaps onto nearly any chair, and can fold up and go with you wherever you need it to.
Sound machine. We love this sound machine, and it’s worked flawlessly over the two years we’ve had it. That said, it does need to be plugged in, so for boondocking this is our USB and battery sound machine.
Changing pad and fabric storage basket. We changed our daughter’s diapers on our bed, and just put a little pad under her. We kept a stash of diapers, wipes, lotion, etc. in a container that fit next to our bed at night.
Collapsible bath tub. Alright, fine, this isn’t a “bath tub.” It’s a laundry basket… but it works the same way and fit perfectly inside our tiny shower!
Lightweight stroller. Strollers are highly subjective, but this was our favorite option for our toddler. We needed something that could fold up well so it wasn’t in the way, affordable, compact so we could take it anywhere, but was an upgrade from the umbrella stroller. Also bonus, this stroller can be turned with one hand (you know what that means, mamas).
Toddler harness. We didn’t need one of these with our first born, but man, our second gave us a literal run for our money! She loves wandering off, and being in crowds or around a lot of people in museums was a huge struggle for a long time. This made a big difference for us in keeping her safe.
Car tablet holder. This holder goes in between the two seats so that kids on both sides can see it, critical in our case.
Bluetooth kids headphones. When you have two kids who want to do different things on a road trip (video games and movies), separating the sound is a must!
We truly love RVing with our young children. The challenges may look different than the challenges with older kids, but we’ve adapted and problem solved, and enjoy every day traveling with our sweet toddlers. We hope these tips help you as you consider full time RVing with your littles!
