Make Room for Baby! RV Mods for a Growing Family

When we purchased an RV two years ago to begin full-timing, we had zero experience. Matt and I had never camped, never towed anything, and never driven any vehicle larger than a sedan. Our hearts were set on a 17-foot Grand Design Imagine travel trailer, and it was absolutely perfect for the two of us to roam the country. Fast forward two years.... our party of two has grown to a party of three, and we have sized up and started modifying! 

We welcomed our baby girl Genevieve into the world and into our new 33-foot Grand Design Transcend 265BH travel trailer. Our new rig has a bedroom on one end and a bunkhouse on the other end, which seemed like the perfect setup! After some thought, we decided to start modifying the space to fit our family, and reached out to some RV friends for inspiration! Lucky for us, the RV community is chock full of creative and resourceful RVers willing to share their tips and tricks with us!

Our simple modifications began with replacing the jackknife sofa for cozier recliners and removing the top bunk bed for this season of life. We figured it would be much more manageable to have an open bed area for Genevieve's diaper station, baby swing, and eventually her crib area.  We intend to replace the top bunk when it's time for a big girl bed and more space for guests to join us! (Come on, Grandma!) 

Katie over at rv_twinning has adorable twin girls with her husband Fred in their Heartland Cyclone 4006. The modifications to the garage area of their toy hauler has resulted in the RV nursery of our dreams! While King sized beds typically are raised to the ceiling in a toy hauler for space optimization, Katie and Fred have modified two cribs on the Happy Jack hydraulic system to lift up and out of the way when not in use! The beauty of their modification masterpiece? The King sized bed is still a usable loft for storage and an extra bed when company comes! Who doesn't love extra room for a clubhouse underneath the crib?!

Next up, we reached out to Isela at sela_luna. Isela and Tyler have been RV living since 2016, so her page has loads of beautiful modifications and transformations you should see! As we were preparing for our baby, Isela's creative use of space for her newborn and toddler caught our eye! Finding a place in an RV floorplan for a crib to fit is difficult at best, so without a bunk house, mounting a Moses basket from the ceiling was practical for her family to accommodate baby safely.  (The heavy-duty hooks and cables can hold 100 pounds, and the blanket is only for the photo, so don't worry about precious baby Emberly!) This setup would be so convenient for those feedings in the middle of the night!

If you haven't been following Britnee and Brent at ourlifewebuild, they are a fun family to follow! Their family of seven lives in a Heartland Cyclone, and their beautiful before/after renovation videos will make you want to head straight to Home Depot and get started! (I mean... that kitchen!!) When it came to space for their five children, Britnee and Brent opted to use their toy hauler garage room to give each kid their own space.... and the result is gorgeous. A desk, washing machine, bunk beds, a loft area, and lots of love have gone into getting all the details just right for this space!

Another beautiful space we love is the cozy slide-out area from the Landis family! Sunny Landis and her family decided to renovate their travel trailer by replacing traditional dinette furniture with a cozy crib, glider and storage shelf. This modification might be the most inviting nook I've seen for cuddling up with a little one in an RV. The sliding barn-style bathroom door has been outfitted with shelving for a growing book collection for the whole family. Genius!

When talking to parents of small children on the road, there have been a few suggestions we hear over and over.  Overwhelmingly, we get the wise advice to SLOW DOWN.  While Matt and I could easily manage 14-hour travel days when it was the two of us, our needs have obviously changed. Shorter travel days means you have the gift of getting to know an area better in the daylight, and we have really enjoyed this change of pace. Our baby girl is an amazing traveler with a ridiculously cheery disposition, and has already visited 26 states in five months-- but we still make a real effort to slow down the travel pace and build in buffer time for our park arrival. 

Whether you're planning to take the RV out a few weekends a year or move in full-time like we did, don't be intimidated about bringing the baby along! We have found that although our minimalist constitution is being challenged with all the 'stuff' that a baby brings, with some dedication to staying organized, life on the road with our newest passenger is sweeter than we dreamed it could be. 

Do you travel with a road-babe? Do you have any tips and tricks to make life on the road less challenging? We'd love to hear your experience!

Happy Travels! 

-Emily