Help needed!

I am active duty military, with a family with small children and I need to move from Seattle to Pittsburgh in the mid to end of July. I can't imagine driving the 2800 mile trip with my two year old and one month old without being able to at least have my daughter sit and color, play with dolls, or watch a movie while I drive. I need to find a way to rent an RV one way from Seattle to Pittsburgh for as little as possible. I can and will have to make the trip in about a week. It doesn't need to be huge, just big enough to sleep three adults and my children. My mother and father plan on flying out and driving back across with me. Any ideas???

Welcome to the RTA Forum!

There is nothing wrong with taking an RV for a trip, and we've got some great information to help you rent one in this article.

Having said that, I'm not sure that an RV would be a wise choice for this particular trip. Traveling in an RV is pretty much always going to be more expensive than just renting a car and staying in motels, so its not going to be a money saver. And your kids still need to be buckled up in an RV, so they really aren't going to be able to move around more than if they are in a regular car. Not only would taking a car likely be cheaper, but at the end of the day, if you stay in a motel you and your kids will have a place to move around and play.

Most of us here have done it. It can be a challenge. The main thing to remember is that you will all have a better time if you adjust your travel to meet their needs. You will have to stop more often to allow them to play and burn up energy.

Here are some tips for planning a child-friendly roadtrip. Page 2 of that article is particularly helpful, especially the link to Mom's Minivan at the bottom of the page.

You might also get some good tips from this discussion about traveling with kids.

You might want to rent a mini-van or even a regular size van for this trip. It should give you all enough room for gear, for the kids to spread out their toys and not be too cramped, and keep the adults from being cramped, too. If you have the space for camping gear, you might want to overnight at a few campgrounds along the way. They are more kid friendly than hotels, imho, as they almost always have playgrounds, fields to run in, and often have swimming pools. At the very least, a walk around the campground is good for them and for you! And more fun than walking around a hotel parking lot.

Eating out of a cooler is another money-saver. It's easier to eat healthy as well. And it can really help with traveling with children because you will be stopping at a park or playground or some other location where they can get outside and run around getting those wiggles out while the meal is prepared and cleaned up. This takes a bit more time than stopping at a fastfood joint but the same or less time than sitting in a restaurant. And your kids don't have to endure more sitting in one place while waiting to eat.

Can we help you with anything else as you plan your trip?