On a motorhome trip in America with (small) children

We traveled with our daughters of almost 2 and almost 4 years through the west of the USA for several weeks. I think a trip by motorhome is perfect for a family, even in North America. I would like to share some tips for a successful RV vacation with children.

The advantage of an RV is that the little ones are in familiar surroundings. They quickly know where their bed is, where the toys are stored etc. It also saves you from having to pack your bags and lug them to the car every day. Putting everything away once is very convenient. For us it was a very big advantage that we didn't have to eat in a restaurant all the time. It saves a lot of money and hassle and in the outback of America the food is not always healthy and tasty anyway. An occasional hamburger, fine, and then cooking in the camper again. With the RV, you drive to one of the large supermarkets, which often have parking spaces for RVs. You place the groceries directly from the shopping cart into the refrigerator and kitchen cabinet.

A recurring question is about child seats. Because of liability, it is often not possible to rent a child seat in these countries. How do you solve that?

Bring a seat from home. For that, of course, you have to check with the airline first to see if that is an option and what it costs. We brought a "booster seat" (about 4-8 years old) and we bought a "baby seat" (about 0-4 years old) locally at the Walmert.

Buy a seat locally. We first went to pick up the motorhome at Cruise America. Since this depot and most of the depots of Cruise and the other companies are in an industrial area, the Walmarts etc. are not far. One parent drives and the other holds the child, usually you are at the destination in 5 minutes. The seats at a Walmart etc cost about as much as renting a seat from a rental company that does rent them.

Sometimes you get lucky. A colleague of mine got a seat at the depot from a family who had just returned the motorhome and had the seat left over. That's also the best thing you can do with the seat when you return the motorhome: give it to someone picking up the motorhome or donate it at the depot. Also, always ask at the depot, sometimes they have a corner with leftover or donated things that can go another round.

What about the other extras?
Many rentals have no or limited extras such as navigation systems, party tents (canopies) or BBQs. However, employees always know how to point out the nearest Walmart where you can buy these items (and more) inexpensively. And as with the child seats, they sometimes have a stock of used stuff at the depot. There's no guarantee on that, of course.

You can also bring a loose tomtom etc. from home and download the US map from the Internet.

In a bedding/towel package, there is one shower towel per person. This is often not enough, especially if you need a towel for the pool and one for the shower. So if necessary, bring thin light rugs to sit on at a picnic or by the pool, that will fit better in the suitcase. And put the shower towels in the wash from time to time. Almost every campground has washing machines.

Which motorhome shall I rent?
Get a spacious RV. And too spacious RV even, that you don't have to remodel every day. With two children, a 30-foot motorhome is recommended. Kind of convenient. The kids, especially if they are still small sleep in the back on the low bed while you sit in the "living room" or outside at night. A camper where you have to change the beds twice every day is inconvenient and unnecessary work. A camper where small children have to sleep upstairs is not good for peace of mind. The nets, if any, do not guarantee safe sleeping. Put your child on a low bed or bring a travel cot.

Many people in Europe think these motorhomes are too big, making them difficult to drive. True, I shouldn't think about cruising through the suburbs with one of these either. You will see that in America a C30 motorhome is a small, modest motorhome. Those 1.5 meters that a C25 is shorter are not apparent at this scale.

Tip from Barbara:

We decided, every day do "something" for the kids and "something" for the parents. For a successful family vacation, it is best if everyone gets on their bill each day. It cannot be that you spend days in the playground but the also not that the children have to walk for hours. We have used this rule for years with success!