I've got twin daughters both 7 years old. I will say it does get cramped, if you're stuck inside for a couple days, but you find that you can move around fairly easy. One trick I found is to only let them have enough toys and stuff (other than clothes) that will fit in a rubbermaid shoe box. One each, and everything goes in before doing anything else (clearing the counters and tables is key to this)
As for the clothes, I have them carry 2 duffle bags about 24"x12"x12" one with clean clothes and one empty one for dirty clothes. When the clean clothes bags are empty, and the dirty clothes bags are full, then I put the empty in with the full one and hand it to my ex when dropping the kids off.
Spend as much time outside as possible, and when sleeping, one gets the dinette and one ends up in the top by the picture window. Of course that leaves me with the last 2" of the overhead matress due to kicking and squirming in the sleeping bags at night. (Thank god for extended cabs and reclining seats)
Good Luck
matt
Life is short, Play harder.
2002 GMC Sierra 1500 Regular Cab Long Bed 4.3L V6 Automatic 2WD
My Dad used to stick me under a wash tub when he was tired of me.
05 Dodge Ram 3500 SLT SC DRW 4X4 CTD G56 373's CAI,Edge Juice/Attitude,Jake,Rancho9000x,Torklift tie downs,Superhitch,Stable Loads
04 S&S Avalanche 9' with slide 26th Marines RVN 69-70 Semper Fi M-14 was the only Woodstock I saw in 1969.
Since my son is 17 going on 25 and its not cool to hang out with Mom and Dad anymore the only kids we have to deal with on our weekend trips is the 3 four legged ones.
a 80 pound Rottie mix that thinks he is as small as the 11 pound Jack Russell Terrorist (that thinks she is a 80 pound Rottie) and a 22 pound jack and sheltie mix. You would be surprised how fast they learn that they wont get stepped on and yelled at if they stay up in the bunk area while in the camper.
We have 5 in ours. The kids are 12, 8 & 4. If we're staying any length of time, the oldest heads out in a tent where she can get peace and quiet.
Mostly it isn't a problem because we go camping to be outside, not stay inside. During meal prep time, the kids are to be outside unless they are helping.
We have two kids, 2.5 years and 3 months. We took our 36 foot toy hauler and converted the garage into a bedroom. My 2.5 year old gets to play in there and at night his bed comes down from the roof and he sleeps in his own room. The baby still sleeps in the main area where we are able to take care of his needs.
As they grow older we will bunk the rear area and they can still make it their own. Hopefully we can get a super C (toter home) in the next few years and design it so they have their own area also.
As someone posted earlier, " you have to like each other". I fully agree.
Our kids are long gone and we didn't get a TC until they were out in the world. However, that does not preclude me from opining.
The best bang for the buck I've seen with more than 4 people is a TC pulling a tent trailer. LIghtweight. Easy to transport. and the best is, separate bedrooms. The kids can party on in the tent-T, and the old foggies can get some sleep in TC.
Get a front receiver hitch and you can push it into an organized campsite and still use your stairs.
They make some pretty cool, off-road tent trailers now that would make boondocking a viable venue with 4 or 5 bodies and a bunch of dogs. Big wheels and tires (not those 8" wheel barrow tires), actual H.D. suspension, lots of clearance, sturdier frame.
I've even seen some folks pulling a smaller hardside trailer behind their camper.
Now we're getting to not-a-good-time-overkill.
regards, as always, jefe
'01.5 Dodge 3/4T, CTD, HO, Qcab, SB, 4x4, 6spd, D60, D80+Pwr Loc,
camper&tow pkg,Titan V, 285/75R-16 frnt, 33/14.5 Nitto super singles rr,
Rancho 9K's, Warn M15K winch. tows Jeep CJ8 rock crawler on 14' trailer
'98 Lance Squire Lite 165s, 8' 6" X Cab
I knew coming from a toy hauler that things would be a bit more cramped, but quite honestly it has not been an issue. We usually just have the wife, myself, 7 yr old boy, and 11 yr old girl, and 3 Schipperke dogs on board with plenty of room to kick it around. Our camper does have a slide which makes a huge difference, as it is only 8'10" along the floor.
I knew I was on borrowed time as my daughter is going to be getting taller and more personal with her space, so I was going to have to come up with an additional bed some how. I was successful in designing not only a very light weight bunk bed, but one that breaks down fast and stores completely out of the way to the point you don't even know it is in the camper.
We now have a single bunk that supports my 6' x 210lbs yet only weighs 14lbs itself. My kids will be outta the house by the time either of them reaches my size, and odds are good they will be wanting tents by 12 years old anyway.
I know I've answered this one before and have had many e-mails about it. When the kids were little, we all did fine. Me and Mama on the top, kids in the dinette. But then puberty, growth spurts, blah blah blah... came about and we needed something different. We bought a little Jayco 860 pop up and called it the mother-in-law house whenever people asked. We would open it up and that was our base camp so to speak. We could carry all 4 bikes on the roof rack and stow all kinds of******inside it.
That was 20 years ago, and now my daughter and her family use it all the time. This isn't a plug for Jayco, but that little critter has been in most of the states, Canada, and with the exception of new tires, has not had an ounce of trouble. Now with our new Palomino with the slide, there's tons of room for us but the kids still use the pop up. Difference now is that we can put one of the bikes in a little trailer along with the rest of whatever goes along and everybody is happy.
I do admire all the ideas and "Rube Goldberg" contraptions people have come up with over the years to house the whole brood, but seriously look at a small pop up. Now is a good time to buy, you can take a lot more with ya, and you and the kids can actually get away from each other once in awhile!!
You have no idea how tempting it has been to actually pick up one of those little pop up trailers. I obviously would have to deal with licensing and storage of the dang thing, but I am sure I could rent it out to friends enough to pay for for most of this. I couldn't tow it behind me when I take the boat, or cargo, but we do a fair amount of camping without those towables as well.
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