Toddlers in a PUP

[DE88ROX]

Daughter on son-in-law are making the move from the tent to a PUP.

Does anyone know of a product or a trick they use that would be helpful in keeping my grandson on his side of the camper and in his bunk? Last summer he was sleeping in a tent with mom and dad and wasn't walking, so worrying about him escaping wasnt an issue. I guess if push comes to shove, he could stay with grandma and grandpa in their trailer.

Makes me happy that at least one of my daughters is carrying on our family tradition and still likes to camp with her parents.

Thanks in advance!

[DE88ROX]

fredandkathy wrote:
When my girls were 2 and 4, we had a PU. The older daughter slept in the bunk, and the younger slept on the dinette. it was the lower of the two. We never had problems. Probably because we wore them out before they went to bed. Had the PU for 2 years and got a hard trailer. We potty trained our younger daughter on a porta-potty in that camper. Good times were had by all.

Yeah same here. both my daughters (soon to be 30 and 27) grew up camping in a PUP. my oldest daughter, (the one with the toddler) has tented since she got married a few years ago. Now they're looking to upgrade.

Makes me happy that they've enjoyed camping and want to carry on the tradition.

My youngest daughters' husband isn't really that into it. They lived out in Philly for a couple of years and she would always drive back to Michigan to camp with us for 2 weeks over the 4th of July. Her birthday is the 5th and shes been camping on her birthday since she was 3. she said she wasn't about to break tradition.

[time2roll]

DD slept between us until she was ready.
I pretty much slept with one eye open and still well worth giving up the tent on the ground.

[Stumps]

well... back when we camped in a popup when the kids were younger - we did two things. we set up the pop-n-play where the dinette table was- fit perfectly. When the kid got a bit older, we had a camper with a U-dinette. the kid slept on the bunkend on that end of the camper, so if she did roll off, it would be a short roll onto the dinette cushions. but that never happened. of course, we had 3 kids across the same bunkend.

[fredandkathy]

When my girls were 2 and 4, we had a PU. The older daughter slept in the bunk, and the younger slept on the dinette. it was the lower of the two. We never had problems. Probably because we wore them out before they went to bed. Had the PU for 2 years and got a hard trailer. We potty trained our younger daughter on a porta-potty in that camper. Good times were had by all.

[IdaD]

My wife and I used to split up and I took our oldest on one end and she took our (at the time) youngest on the other. One of the problems with a pop up is they stay really light inside late into the night in the summer, so we always had a hard time getting the kids to wind down without just going to sleep with them. The bunks we have in our trailer now work a lot better because it gives all three of our girls their own space.

Lots of good memories in the pop up but the sleeping part was always tough. Speaking of bears we never had any issues but it was always a concern we had.

[GPG52_]

Like most we camped when our kids were newborns to teens. In tents, pop-ups, travel trailers and now 5ers and never had any issues with then wondering along.
Side bar funny story:
Only once in Northern Ontario, I had forgotten our garbage bag out. (dumb on my part) Woke up to this strange grunting and hissing noise. Seems the raccoon had found their mid-night snack. OK, we can deal with the mess in the morning.
But unfortunately this had aroused the interest of a small black bear. The grunting got worst, then a thump under the bed and bump bump under the trailer floor.
Seems the bear had likely got fed-up with the pesky racoon and simply slapped it out of the way causing it to bump under the trailer while escaping. I gathered the kids and wife, crouched down in the bottom of the trailer and waited it out. After a few crunch crunch noises and what seemed like an eternity (likely just a few minutes) the noise stopped and the bear moved on.
True story... great campfire entertainment for the grand children.
GPG

[DE88ROX]

tatest wrote:
I would consider rigging up fishnet across the opening of their bunk. The stuff used to be sold in hobby and "import deco" stores as decorative material.

Many years of camping, this was never a problem with younger siblings, children, or grandchildren in my family. The young ones knew where they slept, once they were told, and pretty much stayed there. If it is not a problem at home, it shouldn't be a problem camping.

Like I posted earlier. Its not a problem at home because they put him n a crib that he cant climb out of.....yet.

Im sure his parents will figure something out. was just looking for ideas for them.

Thanks!

[DutchmenSport]

When MY kids (not the grandkids yet) were younger and we had the pop-up, I was more concerned about them reaching under the bunk-ends, outside, and unsnapping the bungies that held the tent end down. They were rascals to say the least. I think they made it a game to see if they could slip out of the bunk end without waking us up and without using the door. Of course, they were about 10 years old when they tried pulling those stunts!

[tatest]

I would consider rigging up fishnet across the opening of their bunk. The stuff used to be sold in hobby and "import deco" stores as decorative material.

Many years of camping, this was never a problem with younger siblings, children, or grandchildren in my family. The young ones knew where they slept, once they were told, and pretty much stayed there. If it is not a problem at home, it shouldn't be a problem camping.

[DE88ROX]

rockhillmanor wrote:

naturist wrote:

kerrlakeroo wrote:
AHA!!!!! One more use for duct tape.
😄
Enjoy your time with the grandson.

Garrison Keillor would concur. Two 14 foot strips of duct tape cure many of life's little problems.

:B

HAHAHA That might have to be plan 'B'

[DE88ROX]

DutchmenSport wrote:
Agree. Pop-up, or hard sided trailer, or MH, no different than at home.

If the kids sleep with Mom and Dad at home, they'll be sleeping with them in the camper too.

Keep them in their beds? Probably won't happen. The secret to our success was to run the kids so hard all day (and do not give them naps in the afternoon... NO, NO, NO!!!!!) That by 7 or 8 pm, they literally fall asleep anywhere (IF you can get them to stay still for 15 seconds!)

My grandson is now 4 years old. He and his daddy (my son), live with us. We're going through the exact same thing! The secret is .... NO MORE NAPS! Keep them awake! And then YOU can sleep at night!

Well, it is a little different than at home because he cant yet climb out of his crib, and he doesn't sleep with mom and dad.

Those rails that slip under the mattress to prevent rolling out of bed wont work because they're not tall enough and they don't run the entire width of the trailer anyway.

I might suggest that peapod. i found that online last night after I posted this.

But like other have said. keep them up and all that running around in the fresh air, will make him sleep like, a baby. I know his mom and aunt sleep good when they were his age.

Thanks!

[Biker1mike]

Camped with kids in diapers on up to teens.
To keep him on his side you can try a folding baby gate between cabinet and door frame.
To keep him in the camper put a latch high on the door heading out.

We used the old fashion method. Discipline and respect. Of course that went out the window during heavy thunderstorms.

[Yaj]

Big nylon tie raps.
The 3ft long ones I call "Mister baby sitter".

[rockhillmanor]

naturist wrote:

kerrlakeroo wrote:
AHA!!!!! One more use for duct tape.
😄
Enjoy your time with the grandson.

Garrison Keillor would concur. Two 14 foot strips of duct tape cure many of life's little problems.

:B