How to Slow Down and Road Trip with Your Family

Road tripping in an RV (recreational vehicle) or camper with your family opens up a world of possibilities. Regardless of the age or size of the group, a road trip can bring you closer to your family members, and give you an experience that everyone will never forget. However, traveling with your family can be a tricky art to master. With bumps (sometimes literally) along the way, here’s how to prepare for a road trip with your family, so that you can slow down and relax.

Why You Should Road Trip?
RV road trips are very different from your average holiday – and sometimes a little bit more testing for families, traveling in close proximity together. However, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Road trips give families an opportunity to bond and explore new and exciting locations. It’s often treated as an exercise by many to disconnect from technology and reconnect with family.

Road trips also allow you to see multiple places at once. It’s like five holidays thrown into one – you get to witness stunning landmarks and offer your family a trip of a lifetime. It might be a little different, but it does provide you with an experience that a single destination resort won’t give you.

Below are some top tips to ensure that everything runs smoothly, whether it is your first time pulling a camper trailer or your hundredth trip in an RV. That way you can relax and enjoy the ride.

Plan the journey
The best way to ensure everything runs smoothly is to plan the trip before you go. Sure, road trips can be extremely spontaneous, but having a slight idea of the roads you’ll travel on, and the campsites available to stay at is imperative. This is especially true when you have a family relying on you. Spontaneity is best left to one or two people. If you have children, pick a campsite that has a playground or waterpark.

Treat your RV as a home
You still don’t want to be disturbed while cooking. Kids go to bed at a particular time. You always have your side of the bed. You know the drill.  It’s just your home away from home, and you should treat it as such. Light the same candles, use the same cleaning products, and adopt a similar routine. It might be smaller, but it’s still your home. Pack your RV to make it as comfortable as possible. Have you got snacks, cushions, and blankets?

Plan for your family
Every family is different and unique. You need to plan accordingly. For the child that has motion sickness. For the teenager that needs their phone charging. For the grandma that needs to take regular breaks. Every family has particular needs, and you need to ensure that they’re all met.

There’s minimal advantage to following some stranger’s itinerary. It won’t work for you and your family, and it might not even interest them.

When planning your route, make sure everyone agrees. Ask every member of the family what they would like to do, and what amenities they want your RV to have.  Also, try to skip the electronics. Plan to disconnect from your phone/work/friends and reconnect as a family on whatever adventure comes your way.

Rent an RV
The best way to make a road trip with your family the best is with an RV. If you don’t have one, consider renting one. Driving an RV on a road trip will give your family a fantastic experience while someone else worries about the on-going maintenance and storage costs. If you love it— you might even consider buying your own one day.

We hope this little guide helps you and your family to have the most relaxing and fantastic road trip. We’d love to know your hints and tips on traveling with a family.

Shelley Trupert works for Outdoorsy, an RV marketplace for consumers and pros. She has been camping for almost 20 years and is always looking to find the next hike, off the beaten path. While she used to enjoy tenting in the wilderness, she prefers to camp in an RV now—whether it is a Class C or a teardrop trailer—to enjoy a little comfort after a long day outdoors and the ease of travel it provides. Her goal is to hike in all of the national parks in North America.

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