Taking an RV trip with a Baby

You can certainly travel from NY to Miami by RV in 10 days, but my first question is why RV?

It'll be more expensive and less convenient, and likely also not as comfortable as renting a car.

In my opinion an RV is better suited for a trip to the wide open spaces & parklands of the western US where hotels are not a numerous. The entire eastern US where you'll be traveling has plenty of hotels just about anywhere you'll want to visit.

It is not difficult to travel with a toddler in a car. The cost of a camper/RV is a LOT, and then there is the gas situation. You will probably pay a good bit for a campground spot also, plus all the needs to do the "housework" of the vehicle.
It will be much simpler to just rent a car and go.
There is much of interest between NYC and Miami.
Washington DC, Williamsburg, even Myrtle Beach, Charleston, Savannah, St. Augustine, Cape Canaveral, Palm Beach, Miami--just staying on the coast.

Traveling down the east coast in an RV would be a major pain. It would be much simpler and cheaper to rent a car and stop in motels. Esp on the east coast most of the places to stop with an RV are far from the major cities - and besides having to make advance reservations in an RV park you would then need to figure out what type of public transit you would need to get to major sights.

Also, on the east coast there are many roads - usually designated parkways - that are for cars only - they cannot be used by trucks, buses or RVs. (I saw an RV stuck on one of them several years ago. Getting off a bridge they used the wrong exit - or didn;t understand the rules - and were stuck on a road where the RV was wider than the lanes, shoulders were too small to park it and they ended up driving about 20 mikes an hour partly on the shoulder to avoid hitting other vehicles - until they were pulled over by the cops - who had to partially close the road to escort them off at the nearest exit.)

There are several low-cost chains of motels primarily for family use that have mini-fridges in the room - which will be much more comfortable - and much less work - for all of you.

I personally think it would be easier to travel via RV with your young son. Having access to a bed and kitchen 24/7 and the ability to stop whenever and wherever you want would be great.As long as you are ok with the increased cost of traveling via RV then go for it.

You will want to go to RV.net and get on the Open Roads Forum to ask advise on where to stop along the way. It is a forum for RV users experienced in the easiest routes, most convenient campsites, and general RV tips that will make for a smooth trip. They will stear you in the direction of great campgrounds near big cities with public transportation and also wonderful oceanfront sites to enjoy along the way.

Have a wonderful trip, sounds like an amazing adventure!

Have you looked into the drop off fees for an RV compared to a rental car? The RV will use nearly twice as much gas.
I would look into riding Amtrak trains from Washington DC.
Train 79 (Carolinian) leaves at 10:55 AM and arrives in Rocky Mount NC about 3:15 PM. Rent a car there and see coastal North Carolina. Reboard the Silver Meteor or Silver Star and take the overnight train to Florida. The child under 2 is still free on the trains.

I just got this story in my e-mail from Parents magazine. Maybe it will have some helpful info..

http://preview.tinyurl.com/3lnej33

RV travel would be very expensive, both for gas and one way dropoff fees (cars will also have the drop off fee but get good gas mileage). Also RV rentals usually charge mileage after the first 500 miles (as an example, it will vary) whereas car rental does not unless you rent from some noname rental company.

Lastly, how are you getting any vehicle through the Darien Gap? Boat?

The RV portion of the trip ends in Miami. Presumably, they'll be flying from there to Suriname.

Stopping an RV here and there is not that easy. There are a limited number of places to stop - you can;t just pull up on the side of the road - and popular ones may be booked in advance. Also, they are not cheap. Then you have to deal with the constant hooking up and unhooking of all of your services. And the gas - assuming you are traveling i n summer and will have the AC on the whole time will be truly stratospheric. Not sure of the cost of gas where you are - but here it's going through the roof.

Also - have you looked into what type of car seat you will need for your child and how to hook it into the RV (I presume you aren't planning on letting your child out of the seat while the vehicle is moving. And while looking out of a car window - or at a seat back video may not be too awful for hours at a time - not sure what kind of view the baby will have from the RV car seat.

I really urge you to reconsider hauling this gigantic shell around with you versus a car and perfectly decent motels.

In answer to your question -- no, I have not RVed with a young active child. However, I think you've a pretty good idea if you're not put off by the cost. RVers do not save money - they enjoy a different life style.

You'll have gasoline cost for about 1500 miles -- about 150 gallons for an RV and 60 for a car/van. So it's about $350 more for gasoline. PLUS rental differences and drop off fees. Offsetting this, somewhat, are the savings for motel, restaurants, etc.

A big factor is the life style. With a motel you will lug in and out each day all the paraphernalia for the child (probably twice as much stuff as for the adults). Once settled in the room you start your search for a place for dinner and out you go. Meals with a todler in a restaurant can be a bit trying. With a RV you pull into a site, attach the electric and water and you're set. Then, you make dinner while the child plays outside your door. The child will have a consistant environment, not changing each day. (Most RV parks are kid friendly, playgrounds, etc.) On the road when you have to take care of the child you have everything handy without going thru luggage, etc. This includes running water, toilet, and snacks/lunch.

Off hand I can't think of a "Parkway" south of New York that presents a problem for RVs. RVs with propane are excluded from the I-95 section in Baltimore that goes thru a tunnel and this is well marked and easily avoided by taking the bypass. And, to take the Bay bride/tunnel to Norfolk, Virginia you simply turn off the gas at the toll plaza.

As far as supplies - no problem. The eastern seaboard is rather heavily populated and generally you're within a few miles of services. Most exits to the interstate highways have signs indicating services, tho not food stores. A book, Next Exit, lists all services within a few miles of the exits, however, you can assume that you'll be able to easily find these, especilly if you travel off the Interstate system. We've traveled the area you're planning to travel. Cel phone service is virtullly uninterupted along the coast. Your RV (or auto) rental service will provide a 800 number to call if there are mechanical problems and they will arrange service, if required.

Must sees - check www.drivecrosscountry.net/RouteK for some ideas of places along the way.

I think it would be much better to rent the RV with your son. You can pack all your food, pull over at rest areas to eat, change him, let him run around, or play with toys. Much easier than heading into motels every day. I have never had a problem finding a campground and we have gone up and down the east coast.

As the poster above mentioned, rv.net is a wealth of information.

"RVers" also usually own their rigs for enjoying a different way of travel.
I would suggest they will get more like 6 or 7 miles/gallon from a former RV trip we were associated with.
I look around at a LOT of people on the road and they seem perfectly able to travel with one or more children in a normal car. I have even done it myself.
And Florida might not have a high drop off charge for a car, since it is such a high tourist area, and the need for cars is great.
I can see exactly the scenario cited about getting off on the wrong exit on the Blue Ridge Parkway and trying to go back under the parkway--low clearance "tunnel".

Jeroendelau, I see you haven't checked back in yet but when you do I urge you to go over to RV.net Open Roads Forum where your questions will be received with open arms and all your questions answered. Fodor's is a wonderful resource for travel ideas but is not frequented by a lot of RV'ers.

My husband and I rented RV's for three wonderful trips before buying one of our own several years ago. We have traveled the route you want to go from Washington DC to Florida and assure you there are lots of places to stop and or camp. RVtraveler is right in saying it will not be the cheapest way to travel but will give you a whole different lifestyle than staying in hotels. I only wish we had an RV when our kids were growing up. We took them on many camping trips over the years which we all have very fond memories of. To me RVing is luxury camping.

I am concerned when you write, "we only need to cover 200-300 miles a day. Granted that isnt a huge amount of driving BUT it can easily be 5-6 hours a day.

I would also ask have you ever driven a RV--in addition to the fact that you are now driving a heavy vehicle which is like a truck, not a car and you need to learn how to do that--are you ready to each night deal with finding a place to park it--hooking it up and periodically looking for and interacting with a dump station?

Wow, thanks for the ample response. Sorry for my late reply, I was thinking I'd get en email when I had a reply.

Anyway, thanks for the wealth of information. I figured RV travelling would be more expensive, but it does seem that it might have some inconveniences I had not considered as many of you pointed out.

This idea was a bit of a long shot, hoping to make the most of already flying half way across the world. But I'll reply to the different answers non the less, just for other to read.

@J62, as several people pointed out it is mainly to provide him with a "home base". Especially since this is not the only part of the trip (China -> Holland -> US -> Suriname and back again) an RV trip is. I think it will be important to provide him with some consistency.


@nytraveler, Thanks for that tip. I'd consider going into cities would be a problem, I was thinking if I'd stick to more natural reserves

@barblab, thanks for the tip, I will bookmark this link for future reference

Reading your responses I have to agree that I can see the charm of RV traveling, but indeed when you tally up all the expenses, you have to make sure it is a trip to remember.

Maybe those cost are better spent at a later time, when my son would actually remember it and we could visit Disney World.

In conclussion, thank you all for helping me make up my mind. We will go with our option 2, 1 week on a beach on Aruba, Bonaire or Curacao.

So this family maybe already has an RV? Renting one doesn't make sense. We have years ago spent lots of time with young kids in tents and folddowns and trailers...and that is a vacation in itself. We favored national and state parks with lots of sightseeing but also just relaxing around a campsite.
And yes this is better done out West (well Kentucky, Missouri, Michigan etc. do have very nice campgrounds and places to see too.)

The part the puzzles me is that the family actually going to some wedding in S.A. So why bother with an RV to get to Miami?

Bill in Boston

We drive our RV up and down the east coast from NY to Key West yearly. There are plenty of places to stop, rest areas, flying J's and shopping centers. You will find truck stops like Flying J have rv spots that your are allowed to stay overnight (not set up camp and no hook ups) Many walmarts also allow overnight stays. Rest areas can be dangerous and some don't allow overnight parking. I suggest you study and ask questions on this website message board. http://www.rvforum.net the folks here are a wealth of information and always happy to help. You can even do a search through the forum about what you want to do. Good luck and I hope this helps!