Family Fun for First-Time RVer's

June 19, 2010

If you're a first time RV'er chances are you're both nervous and excited. You probably can't wait to hit the road, find a campground and experience your new rig. We suggest you don't.

Before heading off into the great unknown, or even a near-by state park, try camping out for a night or two in your own driveway or back yard. If you have small children, or pets you plan to bring with you, this is a really smart move. Not only will they be able to explore the RV and get used to it, but if they wake up homesick at 3 a.m. for their own beds, or a favorite toy you didn't pack, you only have to cross the yard to get it. Furthermore, you get to do a dry run where it's easy to go back into the house for forgotten tools or supplies. You won't spend a fortune at the camp store buying items you didn't know you'd need, like firewood, or things you forgot to bring, like marshmallows and hot chocolate, or sugar, bread, milk and coffee.

Consider a backyard trip like training wheels on a new bike. You probably won't really need it, but if you do you're glad you had it. Be sure and fix at least two meals, sleep in the rig and do everything you'd do (except dump your tanks) at a campground. Not only will you appreciate the convenience of getting settled in while in familiar surroundings, but when you do hit the campground the next week you'll have a lot more confidence.

Things To Do To Enhance The Fun

RVing is fun all by itself. Anything you add to the experience, like swimming, a campfire, hiking, fishing, or even video games at the campground arcade, enhances it. Being together as a family, cooking, exploring, relaxing and meeting other families is a large part of what draws people to RVing. Add a specialized reason to RV, like 4-wheeling, Scouting, horseback riding, or fishing and you double the fun. And while the television and magazine ads make everything look fun, it does take some planning.

Once you've had your dry run at home, it's time to plan for the "real deal," the first night at a campground!

To ensure your family has a good first time experience RVing, sit down and talk about expectations, both before your evening in the driveway and after. What does everyone want out of the experience? What are the fears and concerns? What kinds of activities do each of you want to do? If you're thinking a weekend stretched out under the trees in a hammock getting a head-start on your summer reading sounds like fun, but your teen-agers want to spend every minute possible at the nearby theme parks, and use the RV only as a place to eat and sleep, there might be problems. If you or your spouse enjoys cooking, great, but remember, it's no vacation for the cook if they're the only one fixing and cleaning up after meals. Make an effort to cook as a family, or to take turns fixing meals or eating out so everyone gets a chance to relax.

Knowing what everyone wants to do will help you decide what campground you'll go to. If everyone wants to spend the weekend shopping or visiting tourist attractions it doesn't make much sense to pick a campground an hour away from any city where they can do that. On the other hand, if you're looking forward to peace and quiet and communing with nature, pick a more remote campground. If you want to paddle canoes, fish or be near the water, pick a campground where there's a lake on the property, or at least nearby. You don't want to spend your weekend commuting from your campground to a lot of activities a long way away.

When discussing what you plan to do, agree on things you will do as a family, and things and times you can each pursue something each person wants to do. You may want to hike, fish, read, explore or sightsee while someone else wants to play video games, sleep and spend afternoons by the pool. Try to accommodate individual and personal wants and needs. Talk about what things you will do, and what things you won't get to do on each trip to avoid disappointment and frustration.

Things You Can Do On Your First Trip

Make getting to know your RV, how to hook it up, how to level it, how to cook and use the appliances a game. The world won't end if you make a mistake or forget how to do something. If you get stumped at how to hook up your hoses, plug in your shore power, or level your rig don't be afraid to ask someone at a campsite near yours. If you're uncomfortable doing that, ask the campground owners. Most RVer's have been through just what you're going through and are more than happy to help show you how to do something. Expect to make a few mistakes. Everyone does! Someday it will be a story you tell to laughs around a campfire.

Once the rig is set up and you've settled into camp, there are a variety of activities you can pursue. Depending on the campground you selected, there may be fishing, hiking, swimming, biking or plain old exploring. If you're close to commercial attractions, visit those if you like. Or just hang out around the RV and read, nap, play board or card games, walk around the campground, talk, watch a movie on your DVD player, listen to, or play music (quietly!) around the campfire, cook a meal, or do any of the things you might do if you stayed at a hotel.

Remember, this is an adventure! Don't be afraid to try new things - like kayaking, or horseback riding, hiking or bird watching. RVing is as fun as you make it, so go out and have some fun!