[AL]

I hope you are not making a purchasing decision based on your grandchildren. I may get people pissed off because of my attitude but coaches are not necessarily designed for use with really young kids unless you deal with certain important issues.

First, we quickly realized a young child is a major distraction to a driver. They do not like to be belted in for hours so they are up and around and they not only distract you as a driver, you as a driver are always aware a hard stop could result in a child flying forward hitting anything in the way. In other words it is dangerous unless an adult is available to control the situation.

When the grandkids are old enough to understand that there are rules and can abide by them the situation shifts 180 degrees. I think our grandson was about 5 or six when we took him with us often. But if he wanted to be in the front he was OK with sitting in the passenger seat with a seat belt on. He was happy laying on the bed watching Barney videos. He understood as traffic built he had to remain seated.

As he aged he was fine. He matured and understood things without being told and we spent a lot of time visiting places like Washington DC with him. I cannot speak about multiple kids, but i do know very young kids are going to need to have someone willing to supervise closely and it is stressful until they mature a little.

[Archived]

I think the safety angle should take 1 st place here. 4 kids under 5 have no clue on the danger you might put them into harms way.

All of us have the moment when braking was a instant reaction and anything not tied down moved. 4 kids under 5 would not be safe with all of the corners / angles inside a bus.

[Archived]

We would take no more than two grandchildren with us. Preferably just one. More than one and then sleeping arrangements become an issue.

Thanks for the responses.

Reese

[June]

We had our grandson at age 5 in kinship foster care. He came to live with us on 18th May 2007. He remained under DSS custody while living with us. Now I doubt you will experience our problems with DSS. First, I had signal timing work to do over the Memorial Day Holiday that May. The work was at Emerald Isle, a summer beach destination on the Carolina coast. I requested DSS ask the Judge if we could take the grandson with us as a family unit. DSS refused to ask the question, so I did at the end of the hearing. The Judge asked the father’s attorney just how old was this child? Attorney said 5 years old your honor. With that the attorney was told, “How can I deny a trip to the beach with his grandparents?” Approval granted, DSS not happy I asked the question. So fast forward three more weeks and now I have a personal services contract with the USGA for traffic management during the 2007 Men’s U. S. Open at Oakmont, PA. That would be a suburb of Pittsburgh. Again I requested DSS ask the question of Sully traveling with us to PA. DSS, with a bitter tone in their voice said, “You may have gotten him out of Moore County but you will never get him out of North Carolina. Yep, they are interested in their Kingdom, not the best interests of the child. So again, at the end of the third hearing I spoke up and asked the question about taking Sully to Oakmont. The Judge mistakenly thought we were going on a vacation. I explained that I had to work and that the grandson and my wife would be on vacation. I also added that the grandson would see more positive male role models while at the Open that he ever would in Moore County. Judge granted us the right to take the grandson with us as a family unit. From then on it was a battle royal with the case workers who never understood it was not about the adults, or their Kingdom, it was about the grandson. I don’t regret standing up for the grandson and asking the questions. We have taken him to Opens in SanFrancisco, and Seattle since then. He now takes some electronic entertainment with him and seldom looks out the window as he did in 2007.

He is now almost 16, does well in school, is on the High School wrestling team, and is in AFROTC. He is 6′ 0″ weighs 152 pounds and almost looks me straight in the eyes. We are greatful to our Lord that he gave us the opportunity to help our grandson in his time of dire need.

So in answer to your question, 5 years was right for us. We only had one so the grandson got the full attention of Carole and was no trouble at all.

[Mike]

Reese –

We have a 2003 Marathon 40 ft XLII with no slides, and we started two of our grandchildren out traveling in the summer of 2015. The grandson had just turned 1 and the granddaughter 2 1/2. We would strap their car seats down on the couch with the seat belts and that is where they would be while we were traveling. We applied the same rules as in a car – everyone is buckled up appropriately for safety. The only time that they would be out of their seats while the coach was moving was for going to the potty or a diaper change. They had their toys and books, and were already adept at taking naps in their car seats. I learned to be a flight attendant real fast! That year, the granddaughter slept on the couch and we setup the pack n’ play in the walkway next to the couch for the grandson. A booster seat and a slimline high chair made meals a snap. Of course there was plenty of time for running around outside.

This last summer, 2016, we had the same two grandchildren now 2 and 3 1/2. With the previous year’s training, they knew the drill. We traveled from Florida to above Seattle, Washington. This year’s sleeping arrangement was different as the 2 year old grandson had reached the inquisitive age, following in Jon’s steps of ‘zeroing’ out the coach. Donald would sleep with him in the bedroom, and I would sleep with our granddaughter on the fold-out couch. One night Donald had gone out to check the power connections after the grandson had been put in bed and I was making the couch into a bed. All of a sudden, the lights started going on and off. I went outside to see what Donald was doing and found that he was talking to a neighbor. It hit me – the light control panel in the bedroom! Sure enough, he was having fun watching the indicator lights going on and off, oblivious to what was happening in the rest of the coach! Needless to say, he was never left alone in the bed unless he was past out!

Traveling with the grandchildren is a wonderful experience. We visited many national monuments and historic sites along the way. What we found was the most important item when traveling with the grandchildren is finding stops that have playgrounds! While we would rate sites on the quality of the hook-ups and view, the children would rate it on the quality of the play area or the lack thereof. We were always well equipt with Legos, Play Doh, and picture books, and would take advantage of picnic tables and a mat on the grass for a play area. I should also mention that we also had along two chihuahuas and an African Grey parrot!

Our daughter says now when they are traveling with the children and she says ‘Look, there goes a motorhome like Grandma’s and Grandpa’s’ our granddaughter corrects her by saying, ‘No, they have a coach!’

Have fun traveling in your Prevost with your grandchildren!

June

[Michael]

We used to take the grandchildren along in our last two motorhomes. While we were driving, they would usually lie on the bed and watch Disney videos. The key thing is having kids that will listen when you tell them the rules, and that they follow your instructions. We had some very enjoyable time with the grandkids, and they got to see some things, like several national parks and historical areas they havent seen since.

[Alvie]

We just took a summer trip with my two great nieces (age 13, they are cousins to each other). I wouldn’t want to travel if the kids are too small.

For several years when they were young, I would take them and their Mom’s and Dad’s with me to Six Flags or the water park in Hot Springs, AR. We stayed in a hotel.

When they got out of school this past summer, I took them on their first motorhome trip. The two sofa’s in the living room turn into beds with just a touch of a button. Perfect! Also, since we have a ‘bath-and-a-half’, they could do all their primping in the half bathroom. And, they WANTED to take their showers at the campground facility (a plus). Two bathrooms did come in handy with four people traveling.

Emma and Evie-Grace are very polite and were not a minutes trouble. They pretty much had their faces buried in their phones. One rule that I had was, NO PHONES at dinner in the restaurant. All of our phones stayed in the car. Amazing what you can find out when you get to teenage girls to talking! LOL!

If the kids are too small, there are too many buttons for them hit that could cause a big headache.

Safe travels,

Mark

[Archived]

We have 7 Grandkids. Our rule for overnight or longer travels are no more than two Grandkids. They’re either laying on the bed watching TV/movies or seated somewhere.

[Archived]

Reece… we only have one grand daughter and she has travelled with us extensively… trips to Disneyworld and every resort under the sun… many times for up to 10 days at a time… Anna is very well behaved and always had a blast and so did we… this all started at age 5… as she got older she wanted her friend to come too… while travelling the bedroom TV was on and they had a blast in the back bedroom napping and watching movies… they were incredibly good.

I think it will depend entirely on their behavior and what they are used to…. If you choose places to go that they would enjoy and they’re well behaved I can’t see a problem… also has a lot to do with your tolerance…. you must remember that they are kids !! LOL… you should maybe try a few short trips or just a joy ride or two and tell them if they’re good and they like it you’ll go again.

I laid out the rules in the beginning since there are so many switches things they can get into… and they were great.

Good luck and Cheers…. Diane

[Archived]

All,

I appreciate everybody taking time to respond to my question about grandchildren traveling with their grandparents. The input was very helpful and provided points to consider.

Reese

[Archived]

I was interested in seeing that there seems to be a concensus that toddlers can be a concern, but as grandkids get around 5 years old they are mature enough to not be an issue. We brought our grandson with us from when he was an infant but he was cared for by his mom and dad. Even with almost five years experience driving I do remember clearly how distracting he was at 2 and 3 years old and that we had to take special precautions with him.

When he was around five it was like someone pulled a switch and he was a joy to have with us. Age is clearly the deciding factor.

[Doug]

We have taken our 2 granddaughters with us one at a time for up to a week. It’s our special individual time with each of them. We try to have a pretty firm agenda and make the trip(s) all about the kids – whatever they are interested in, that’s what we do. We always have a good time & we have made some really special memories – for everyone. We started taking them at age 6 for overnights with us – the rule is 6 because we didn’t want to get up in the middle of the night to take them home to see their mom, and we wanted them to be old enough to understand and follow directions without a problem. Has worked well so far. We have a grandson who is 5 now, and we may have to do some re-evauation age-wise. He’s a dynamo and only has 2 speeds – flat out and sleeping. I’m not sure I can keep up!

[Greg]

We have taken our grandchildren on several trips and enjoyed each one thoroughly! The 3 eldest are 4, 7 and 9. The baby is only 14 months so she has yet to go along without mommy and daddy:) Took the 4 yr old, who was 3 at the time, to Lexington, to the harness races last fall and she was totally no problem at all. Had all 3 of the older ones at an FMCA rally in Elkhart, IN last spring and again fantastic experience. The wife is really good with them and I think that is what makes it all work, as I can concentrate on driving safely without concern that the children are in harms way. We love taking them and can hardly wait until the little one is ready to go. I would say go for it!

[Corey]

I made a trip with 2 grandkids, one 3 and the other was 1, with their mothers. The only belted seats I have in the bus are the driver and copilots. As little kids they wou;ld bang their toys on the counters and furniture and drive me crazy. A real distraction even if I didn’t turn around. Total passengers, 2 kids, two mothers, and the wife and I. Sleeping arrangements was the least of the problems. I wouldn’t do.

[Mike]

my responses from having my own children travel with us (now 8 & 11), which started when they were small but we were using a regular trailer… So they were in a pick up truck strapped in to their seats. When we move to a motorhome several years later they understood the idea being strapped in on chairs but definitely love to push the limits. Of course the bathroom is just too interesting of a device to be able to go back and use while underway so they needed to go more often than normal. Once the new factor of that wore off after The first couple trips, and persistence from their mother and I, they have learned as long as they’re strapped in a sofa they can pretty much lay down or do whatever they like within limits. We have a Ton of fun traveling with them. This year we will embark on a new adventure with our new Prevost bus, I can’t wait to see how button inclined they have become with all of the new gizmos. As previously stated above, I think with some training and some strict guidelines put in place upfront,you will be fine. Each year will get easier and easier and thus more enjoyable to have them along.

Mike