Simple question that I'm sure is in no way original..How do you "travel" in a fifth wheel?I'm looking to purchase one, and it seems like the ones I want aren't really worth much with the slides in. To that effect, I have small children and can only be on the road for 4-5 hours at a time before someone goes nuts. I'm thinking we'd drive for 4 hours - take an hour or so break - and then hustle another 3-4 hours until time to call it a day of driving.So my question - what are reliable and safe places to pull over for a simple overnight stay or leg stretch (preferably in the home we are towing behind us)? Do most RVers stay at RV parks for just a few hours? Seems like a fair amount of effort/expense when a parking lot could achieve the same thing? Do most plan their trips with that level of detail (we drive for X hours, and stay at Y place?) .. My experience with children and the open road is it is a******shoot.. Sometimes I can go further than I expected, more often than not, I get no where near it.Just curious if I can factor in the fifth wheel as a place to let the little people roam while we are taking breaks during transit (if that makes sense) since it seems you have to kick out the slides to make it to a bed or the fridge..Thanks!

Open the slides as needed. No big deal just be careful where you park and some orange cones near slides help. There are some floor plans where you can get to the critical things (fridge and potty) with no slides out. Ours requires one out for fridge and never been a problem on the road. We do trip plan our stops, rest stops, fuel, overnights at walmarts Costco cabellas (some don't allow so call ahead as a part of trip planning), flying j and sometimes an Rv park. Winging it would be scary with the big trailer on. We don't travel with small kids now but have with my daughter since 6 and our cat. They both still enjoy it and she's 21. Trip planning is done with Google maps and a dedicated GPS unit. Remember if you use google or Apple maps there are places with no cell service so either download maps or get an app like copilot with built in maps or a good garmin GPS that has exit services for exits ahead and teach your partner how to use it before you hit the road.

Hi,I know someone who traveled with a family of 6 and in a regular cab truck that only seats 3. So the rest where in the trailer. His wife, and kids. They had a intercom to the trailer, and it was legal. Safe? Well - some states say it is legal to allow people in a fifth wheel while driving down the road. Many states will not allow anyone in any trailer on the freeway or any other highway. I don't think any state allows passengers in a travel trailer. Some states are even making it illegal to have passengers in a cabover camper on the roads. Try looking at a class C motorhome, where the kids will be a lot safer, and walking to the bathroom is not a problem. They can watch TV on the overhead TV set, watch a DVD or something. Use a 12- 120 VAC inverter to run the TV while driving. Many have seatbelts for as many as 6 passengers.Have fun camping!Fred.

I can't go 3 or 4 hours without going nuts. I need to get out and walk around, potty break, get a snack, etc...We stop at rest stops, parks, walmarts, big box store parking lots, wherever we can find. I make sure the open slide doesn't impede anyone.

Maybe your a family that would be better off with a motor home. Have you considered that option?

We have a 5er that has a floor plan(3 slides) that allows us to get to the fridge, bathroom, couch and recliners without opening the slides. Granted we are of the age where our children are older and have families of their own. You can pull over in a rest area or a roadside stop to have time out of the tow vehicle. We just came back last month from a 2.5 month trip out west and back and we knew where we were going to stay every day. It depends on how much time you have to travel and where you want to go. Then the research comes in. We stop fairly early in the day and very seldom need reservations. We just came back from a 10 day camping trip and had our 2 year old grandson with us.He had to sit in a baby seat and be belted in. He was good as gold and we didn't stop until about 4.5 hours into the trip. Maybe the exception. Good luck.

Traveling in a Fifth Wheel | Good Sam Community

18 Replies

valhalla360
Navigator
Oct 15, 2014
N-Trouble wrote:
valhalla360 wrote:

I don't know how kids can handle long car trips in todays world. I remember all of us kids sprawled all over the van while traveling. I couldn't imagine being strapped down for several hours as a kid.

You can't be serious? Kids have it way easier nowadays then when I was a kid. We never had iPads or portable DVD players. Also nobody drove around in big fancy crew cab or megacab trucks. It was four across on a bench seat staring down the road listening to a crappy AM radio.

If you think kids have it rough these days your way out of touch with todays youth and technology...

I was refering more to the being strapped down part. With a full size van with 3 bench seats, Mom & Dad up front and 7 kids could lie full out with some lying on the floor between the seats. You could move around and get into different positions.

Yeah, the electronic entertainment is better but we read, talked, played games, followed on the map, etc... and I still love to travel. It's just after a few hours in one position, I get antsy.
laknox
Nomad
Oct 15, 2014
dtos wrote:
Awesome advice!

I was also wondering about RV friendly parking lots.. I heard about Walmart.. Costco, Cabelas (no idea why this didnt occur to me) seem like logical places that might be RV friendly!

Thanks input and ideas!

Most large parking lots are pretty friendly for non-overnight parking; just park in the back, out of the way. Do check for signs on the light poles because the store may be friendly, the municipality may not be. Not much they can do to you on a 1-2 hour break, though.

Lyle
dtos
Explorer
Oct 15, 2014
Awesome advice!

I was also wondering about RV friendly parking lots.. I heard about Walmart.. Costco, Cabelas (no idea why this didnt occur to me) seem like logical places that might be RV friendly!

Thanks input and ideas!
bobx2
Explorer
Oct 15, 2014
N-Trouble wrote:
valhalla360 wrote:

I don't know how kids can handle long car trips in todays world. I remember all of us kids sprawled all over the van while traveling. I couldn't imagine being strapped down for several hours as a kid.

You can't be serious? Kids have it way easier nowadays then when I was a kid. We never had iPads or portable DVD players. Also nobody drove around in big fancy crew cab or megacab trucks. It was four across on a bench seat staring down the road listening to a crappy AM radio.

If you think kids have it rough these days your way out of touch with todays youth and technology...

Haha, my thoughts exactly. We were strapped into the back seat of the Suburban with the windows or a book for entertainment. Didn't bother us a bit, and we seemed to have survived just fine, with no lingering emotional or social problems. :B
laknox
Nomad
Oct 15, 2014
With our FW, we can access everything with the one super-slide in. If I wanted to stop for a longer period of time, it takes < 30 seconds to extend it fully and the same to bring it back in. Since you like to stop after specific periods, then you need to plan your route with this in mind. Look for parks, parking lots, rest areas, tourist attractions, etc., where you can stop, park out of the way (for free) and extend the slides for a bit of comfort, =before= you leave for the day. If you're sort of "free-forming" things as you go, then stop earlier than normal and make an extra stop, if you need to. If you're set up to dry camp, with a generator and topped off on-board water, then stop wherever you safely can, and go from there.

Lyle
N-Trouble
Explorer
Oct 15, 2014
valhalla360 wrote:

I don't know how kids can handle long car trips in todays world. I remember all of us kids sprawled all over the van while traveling. I couldn't imagine being strapped down for several hours as a kid.

You can't be serious? Kids have it way easier nowadays then when I was a kid. We never had iPads or portable DVD players. Also nobody drove around in big fancy crew cab or megacab trucks. It was four across on a bench seat staring down the road listening to a crappy AM radio.

If you think kids have it rough these days your way out of touch with todays youth and technology...
jnharley
Explorer
Oct 15, 2014
In my opinion, no one should be up walking around to do anything in a motorhome/class C especially children. Everyone should be belted in except when the vehicle is stopped. We do not travel with children but can get to the bathroom, fridge, and bedroom with our slides in. We always try to find an end spot in a rest area so we have more room. We see lots of slides deployed in rest areas. If you can find a place where one side is over the curb at a Wal-Mart, you can usually safely pull out all your slides and stay within the confines of the parking spaces. Even just a walk around a store might burn off some of that excess energy.
Mile_High
Explorer
Oct 15, 2014
We always find a spot to pull over and open all of the slides. Usually it is just pullouts on a scenic road, or large open parking lots, rest stops, etc. I always check into a campsite for overnights.

When we had small ones, we did a Class A. They loved it and it was no hassle for us. We pulled a toad to get around.
korbe
Explorer
Oct 15, 2014
Plenty of 5th wheel floor plans that will allow limited (or close to unlimited)use with the slides in. Find one. Plenty of places to "park" for a few hours during the day to take a break. Millions of parking lots out there. Of course many of those daytime parking lots may not be appropriate for over-nighting.
Itching2go
Explorer II
Oct 15, 2014
2112 wrote:
I can't go 3 or 4 hours without going nuts. I need to get out and walk around, potty break, get a snack, etc...

We stop at rest stops, parks, walmarts, big box store parking lots, wherever we can find. I make sure the open slide doesn't impede anyone.

When our kids were much younger, this is exactly what we would do. Most times, if on an Interstate, we'd take our breaks in the rest parks. But our more preferred option was to find the closest small town, and make use of their community park, especially at lunch time. This also had the side benefit of making the trip part of the vacation instead of something to be endured until getting to the destination. In either case, the kids could run around and get some energy out. Worked for us then, and still works for just the DW and me today!