Calling all Motorhomers with kids

[phantom]

Hi everyone need some advise about how best to sleep babies and toddlers in a motorhome. My husband and I are looking into buying our fist motorhome and starting a family - we never do anything one at a time! As it is our first home (and fingers crossed a baby) we want to keep it the home as small as possible - we had looked at the vans but we definately want a washroom and obviously need four berth. However we need to hear how you experienced motorhomers have organised sleeping arrangements for your babies and toddlers or are we mad? Thanks

[michele]

Hi, Phantom & welcome. Well we choose our van on obvious things such as build, quality alko chassis I think thats how you spell it. And the like . I wanted a six berth I dont like to feel that I have not enough room to swing a cat. But its all personal taste . One very big thing for us was the lay out . I needed to put a travel cot in it. The model we choose had enough space for the 6 berths including putting up a travel cot & you could still reach the sink and fridge & boil the kettle witout disrupting the child. A newborn wouldn't roll off the bed but in no time at all they would grow and be capable of doing this . You wouldn't want sleepless nights wondering if your child was going to fall . Maybe you would start off with the usual moses basket into a travel cot and then into the bed. good luck with the baby and the motorhome may they both bring you years of joy as I am sure they will. (lol) Just a reminder perhaps you should also look into the child restraints whilst in motion, that will sway you in your decision of which model you purchase.

[donna and daz]

We have two little boys of 2 and 9 months and we have taken both of these away in our six berth Carioca since they were six weeks old, so no your not mad asking. It can be done, granted we don't come across many motorhomers with little people onboard but there is a few. We have two bunks, 2year old has bottom, at first we had him in there with Tomy bed rail on. Carioca bottom bunk is quite built in. Little one has a sleepover pram which they can sleep in the carrycot bit so up until now they have come up in the Luton bed with us- just fits nicely at the bottom of my feet. Next year we aim to but big boy in top bunk with cargo net up and little one in bottom with bed guard on. We have never had any problems, our boys love it, oldest cries when we have to come home- I think he's part Gypsy! I agree with Michelle get as much space as you can afford as the stuff you need to take with you is amazing! Also rear seatbelts which can fit child seats a most two if poss as you might enjoy the first so much you want too go for number two!!! Goodluck with all your plans. Donna and Daz

[messerschmitt owner]

I think you'll find that almost any van conversion is totally out - they seriously are OK for when kids are older, but for babies and toddlers, almost impossible. One of the biggest problems is that new motorhomes are getting bigger all the time, so you may be pushed to find a decent samll one with lots of space. Three way belts in the rear are a must! Don't even consider a van without or one of you will always be in the back with the baby/toddler in the front passenger seat. Our old Elddis Autoquest 400 had space to leave the travel cot up, although you do have to buy a small one - which means that baby will outgrow it faster than you realise. You also need to make sure there is space for a folded up pram/push chair. We also had a small booster seat so that our daughter could eat at the table. Consider a van with a vinyl floor too - carpets are a total pain to keep clean when milk/baby food, etc has been splilled all over it. Another reason for a larger van is that there will be times when you want to eat and your child wants to sleep - you need space for both. A shower and hot/cold water is a must. Whatever you do, get a van that will cope with a growing child, has some decent storage for wipes, steriliser, baby seat, pram, clothes, blankets, and all the paraphernalia of childhood. In terms of baby milk - a tip is to sterilise the bottles, fill them with boiled water and then seal them - they will stay sterile for about 24hrs and you can then add powdered milk when required (you can get little containers that hold four measured bottle's worth of powdered baby milk - essential for late night feeds. We used a small inflatable bath for our daughter and popped it in the shower area to wash her at night and took the nappy bin from home. Lots of things from home will be fine and you just need to learn to sort things out and bring them with you. At least you won't need a baby monitor in the van - which is a useful point - ask to be located close to the toilets on campsites, but not too close to everyone else - no one likes being woken at 3am by your baby. Our daughter had her first week away in a motorhome at 2 1/2 weeks old and is now 4 1/2 years old and on her third camper/motorhome with us. Campbell