RV Roadtrip

Instead of packing up the car to go visit our family for Christmas this year, we decided to rent a motorhome. We had several reasons for this adventure. First, the baby would not have to be restrained in his car seat, saving him and us several hours of him screaming uncontrollably. (Please don't judge me - I did my research on seat belt laws in motorhomes and am aware of the risks. I could discuss all of this in another post.) Second, my parents do not have enough sleeping space at their house for all of the people who would be staying there, so the RV gave us some extra room without anyone having to stay in a hotel. Third, with 4 growing boys we have outgrown our pop-up camper and are considering upgrading to a travel trailer or motorhome that can better accomodate us. We thought it would be a good idea to rent one before buying to see how we liked it.

After looking into a few RV rental companies we decided to go with Cruise America since it was the closest one to our house and we were able to get one night free. I had read some questionable reviews about Cruise America rentals, so I was a little apprehensive, but it turned out to be a great experience. We rented a large motorhome that can sleep 7. It had a queen bed in the back, a queen bed over the cab (the boys loved this one), a sofa that folded out to a full size bed, and a dinette table that folded out to a single bed. The driver and passenger seats in the front had lap/shoulder belts and the sofa and dinette table seats all had lap belts. It had a refrigerator/freezer, microwave, stove, sink, bathroom, and shower. We were very impressed with the amount of storage, and it was very clean. In fact we were able to secure all of our things much more securely than when we pile everything into the SUV.

So we packed up our stuff and left our house on Christmas Day for my parents house in Houston. Although it was kind of loud because of the rattling windows and screen door, we couldn't have asked for a better trip. To everyone's surprise, Luke actually fell asleep in his car seat and slept there for about an hour. That was about it for him in his seat. The rest of the time I held him or nursed him in the sling. The other boys played cards and watched movies. It was nice to be able to use the restroom without having to stop, and when we did pull over for lunch we could make our own right there in the RV. We did not have to spend money or wait in line for fast food. We also had plenty of room to bring our dog and guinea pig with us. We all slept very comfortably at night too.

Even when we got home Corey and Michael had a camp out in the RV in our driveway. Michael thought this was a really special treat. Now we are getting RV fever and would really like to buy one. We are going to the RV show in Fort Worth next weekend to check some out and we have been looking online at used ones. I'm not sure if we will end up with one, but it is fun looking. We have made some great family trips and memories in our little pop-up, and we would love to make more, just in something that we can all fit in.