How to Keep the Peace In a Crowded RV

There are few things as exhilarating as piling into your RV and hitting the open road, knowing that your wanderlust is about to be satisfied. Allowing yourself to roam freely around the world and take in majestic sights is one of the most liberating things that you can do.

That being said, traveling for extended periods of time in close quarters with one or more other people can be tricky, especially if you’re bringing restless kids along with you. Anyone who has traveled so closely to another person knows that tension can build if the right precautions aren’t put into place, so to help you keep the peace during your journey, here are a few tips to keep in mind:

Keep Minds Occupied

There are many famous sayings out there suggesting that an idle mind leads to trouble. You have probably experienced this yourself and with your family, as boredom can easily lead to crankiness and irritability. When you are RVing, you are sometimes on the road for lengthy periods of time, so it’s helpful to find ways to entertain yourself as well as your passengers.

Here are examples of ways to keep everyone focused when you still have a long stretch of road ahead of you:

• • License plate game. Try to spot license plates from as many different states as you can.
  • Alphabet game. Pick a topic, such as animals, and have everyone take turns thinking of something in that category that starts with the corresponding letter. For example, the first person would pick an animal that starts with A, the second person would pick one that starts with B, etc. You’ll do this until you get to the end of the alphabet.
  • Singalongs. If you have access to music, take turns picking a song and singing along to it in the car. If you don’t like the karaoke aspect of it, simply have everyone take turns choosing the music.
  • Books/magazines. Being in the RV or car for an extended period of time is a great moment to catch up on a good book. (Obviously, this applies to everyone except the driver).

  For more fun games you can play on the road, check out the options highlighted here.

  Encourage Personal Interests When RVing

  If you’re planning on going on a lengthy RV trip, it’s important that each passenger still feels like an individual. It’s easy for everyone’s needs to get lumped together on a long road trip, but you don’t want too much time to pass before you indulge in your own personal goals as well. For example, maybe you like to blog, your spouse wants to read, and your child likes to paint. In this case, you need to have access to the computer, your spouse needs some quiet space to read, and your child needs to have brought their paints, canvas, etc.

  The point is to plan ahead and make sure that everyone still has access to their own interests, especially when you’ll be on the road for more than a couple of weeks.

  Allow For Space

  As wonderful as RVing is, living in close quarters with anyone can be a patience-testing experience, so it’s important to allow for a healthy amount of personal space in order for everyone to feel comfortable. This can be hard to achieve in an RV, but it’s definitely not impossible. Here are some tips you can try out:

  • • Create additional space with your RV awning. RV awnings are a favorite accessory among the RV community, so you most likely already have one. Awnings can pretty much serve as an extra room, so as long as the weather is nice, someone can post up out there if they are in need of some breathing room. They even make room attachments for awnings, providing you with an extra layer of privacy.
  • Be organized with each person’s belongings. RVs make for small living quarters, so organization can be the key to sanity. Keep everyone’s belongings in specific locations to prevent everybody’s stuff getting mixed together.
  • Take a break from your RV.  No matter how much you love traveling in your rig, it’s always nice to get a change of scenery. If everybody in your RV is experiencing cabin fever, don’t be afraid to stay in a hotel, a cabin, or an Airbnb for a night. Sometimes taking a day or two to sprawl out in a larger space can help smooth out everybody’s rough edges.

  Practice Healthy Communication

  It’s important to encourage your travel team to communicate their feelings before things lead to a big blowout. If someone is having a stressful time or isn’t getting what they need, create a space where they feel confident in opening up, and calmly decide as a group what kind of solution would work best for all parties involved. Healthy communication is the best preventive medicine to conflict.

  Choose RV Parks With Many Amenities

  Another great way to solve issues with both personal space and restlessness is to stay at RV parks that offer many amenities. Hiking trails, swimming pools, playgrounds, clubhouses, physical fitness centers, and boating areas are common extras you can find at campgrounds. Some even offer specialty amenities, such as zip lines and coral reef access. Checking on what options will be available to you and your family is a good way to ensure that everyone has fun-filled adventures during your stay.

  Closing Up

  There are many ways to help keep the drama to a minimum while RVing. All it takes is some basic planning, healthy communication, and common respect. If you can manage all of this, you should be able to easily experience a happy and memorable RV trip.

• Happy trails!

By Darla Preston
Darla Preston is a writer based out of Colorado who has a true case of wanderlust. She loves roaming around the world with her husband and two dogs, basking in the lovely adventures that the road brings.