Off-Road Ranger I
Overlanding With Toddlers Discussion Thread
- Thread starter Hourless Life
- Start date
Advocate II
So glad @Jeepsies started this thread! Really great to hear from y’all with more experience and more mature kids than we have. I’m showing my wife this thread tonight...some really great wisdom here.
Also, it’s just super encouraging to hear from other families who are working to keep their kids out in nature, and exposed to the beauty of the natural world.
Also, it’s just super encouraging to hear from other families who are working to keep their kids out in nature, and exposed to the beauty of the natural world.
Explorer I
Awesome! Hey who are you using to produce those badges? I have one I want to make too. Can you link me the supplier?I'm not sure January will be doable for us at the moment, two kids are in school (Kinder and 5th grade) so we'd probably only be able to join for a week or two before having to head back north. Lets definitely keep in contact about that trip though, it may work out.
Re Your OB badge comment: I'm actually working on creating some rally magnets for my upcoming 10-day Sonora/Sinaloa/Baja trip like the ones that we got at the OB OTG event last year:
I think i'm going to start making these for any longer more coordinated trip we go on, especially when we are in another country. They're so fun!
We'll definitely stay in touch about the trip. Even if you met up with us for a few nights that would be awesome!
Off-Road Ranger I
I'm planning on doing the design part myself and then i'll send it off to Stickermule for the magnet production. The minimum order size is 10 magnets i believe, and it will end up being about $80 for 10" round magnets - so ~$8 each. I use stickermule for printing my stickers and they turned out awesome:
Off-Road Ranger I
Inviting @Kyle & Kari Frink in here. They also go out with a toddler
Explorer I
Enthusiast II
Love this thread! This is a great subject to touch on. I’m a Dad of 2 special needs kids, one has autism the other ADHD. We have been overlanding/camping since they both got their shots at about 3 months old. that’s when felt more comfortable with their immune system being able to withstand bug bites and such. I also work with special needs kids in the Occupational therapy field and know the importance of getting kids outdoors. I think I can speak for most of us here when I say that the reason we overland is because somewhere along the line we experienced nature alongside our loved ones or grew up playing outside.
Right now We tow a Turtleback trailer (Adventure trail) which has the bigger tent. My kids are 9 & 3, and can easily climb the little ladder to the bed and still has plenty of room for them to play on the bottom. Also enough storage to bring lots of stuff, to make them comfortable which helps a lot.
On most occasions we travel with other couples with kids. The more eyes the better, also kids get to socialize and make friends.
It can be a lot of work, but the more you do it the easier it gets. I give props to all parents of little overlanders and I hope I run into some of you guys out there someday, so that our kids can play together outside. For us is all about leaving them with good memories. @jagueyjose on insta.
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Right now We tow a Turtleback trailer (Adventure trail) which has the bigger tent. My kids are 9 & 3, and can easily climb the little ladder to the bed and still has plenty of room for them to play on the bottom. Also enough storage to bring lots of stuff, to make them comfortable which helps a lot.
On most occasions we travel with other couples with kids. The more eyes the better, also kids get to socialize and make friends.
It can be a lot of work, but the more you do it the easier it gets. I give props to all parents of little overlanders and I hope I run into some of you guys out there someday, so that our kids can play together outside. For us is all about leaving them with good memories. @jagueyjose on insta.
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Explorer I
Man love this!
Curious, how old were your little ones when you felt comfortable with them climbing and descending the ladder to the tent? Just ballpark. I'm curious because our son is definitely still at the stage where we need to lift him up and back down. So I'm wondering around what age they make that coordination transition?
Also would love to meet up with you guys someday. Please stay in touch. We're @Jeepsies on IG. We'll give you a follow!
Safe travels,
Eric AKA Jeepsies
Off-Road Ranger I
Just followed you on instagram! I'm on there as handsomeanchor
I'm down in Tucson so lemme know if you ever wanna get our families together on a run! We usually go out a couple times a month, sometimes long trips, sometimes quick weekend trips.
Our 10 year old is special needs as well. He was diagnosed with Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) when he was about 2 and a half years old. He saw an OT pretty much weekly until he was about 7 and did music therapy and lots of sensory and vestibular stimulation work. He LOVES it outdoors, as does his 5yo brother and 1yo sister. We have a Turtleback Expedition in the build queue right now and we're expected to pick it up towards the end of Sept, definitely gonna be looking to brake that thing in as much as possible before we head off to MX mid-November.
Enthusiast II
Hey Eric, the height of the sleeping area reaches about my chest, about a 4 step ladder. Each kid is different my friends kid could go up and down at 1.5 years my son about 2.5 safely. I usually put a soft Matt and other soft stuff to cushion any falls. They learn quick not to fall.
Enthusiast II
Oh man, I’d totally be down to get our families together on a trip. Let me know when get your TB and we’ll figure things out together. I’m still new to the trailer life and still learning.
Explorer I
I'm going to be cyberstalking you in mid November. We plan on heading into MX in January. I really want to get all of your feedback and lessons learned!
Please let me know the best way to keep up with your updates on that specific trip @handsomeanchor
We are pretty lucky in that regard since she'll eat pretty much anything. For snacks in the car we bring bunny crackers, apple sauce pouches, raisins, etc. At meals she eats whatever we are having. On a recent trip we had grilled pork loin, garlic bread, salad, and smores the first night and then grilled sausages, parmesan risotto, green beans, zucchini, salad, and monkey bread (cooked in a dutch oven) the second night.
Member III
I love this! My kid is 4 montgs old, and we are just about to start introducing foods which will make sleeping through the night a lot easier. The heat and bugs of Florida make camping before October kindof unpleasant, but that will coincide pretty well with him hopefully sleeping well through the night.
Until now, it has just been short jaunts into the woods to walk around in his carrier and let the dogs play.
But, we are moving to NM next spring so I am really excited about the great camping opportunities there!
*edit*
The wife has been really prodding me to get a camper trailer as well. I wanted to buy a plane, but we'll see. I also said that 5 years ago, and now she has a 4Runner TRDP so we'll see where things fall :P .
Until now, it has just been short jaunts into the woods to walk around in his carrier and let the dogs play.
But, we are moving to NM next spring so I am really excited about the great camping opportunities there!
*edit*
The wife has been really prodding me to get a camper trailer as well. I wanted to buy a plane, but we'll see. I also said that 5 years ago, and now she has a 4Runner TRDP so we'll see where things fall :P .
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Off-Road Ranger I
My instagram and my YouTube will probably have the most updates, especially during the trip and shortly after we return
We take our 3 yr old son everywhere, hes been to moab 3 times driving down from Alberta Canada.
We bought the best carseat for offloading with high head bolsters and two cup holders for snacks etc, I have a ram mount iPad holder across the jeeps sound bar for movies. Also we found a tray that strap to the car seat and gives him a solid coloring table.
Are far as camping goes there's no need to over do it with all the fancy kids gear. Just like anything just make do with want you got, dont make a big deal about things forgotten.
We have a tepui 3 man tent, he sleep across the tent above our heads, I'm just under 6ft and my feet bare touch the door with him their.
Now we can get him to leave us alone about going on another adventure just days after getting back. The biggest hurtle we have now is the tears when we back up and turn towards home.
We bought the best carseat for offloading with high head bolsters and two cup holders for snacks etc, I have a ram mount iPad holder across the jeeps sound bar for movies. Also we found a tray that strap to the car seat and gives him a solid coloring table.
Are far as camping goes there's no need to over do it with all the fancy kids gear. Just like anything just make do with want you got, dont make a big deal about things forgotten.
We have a tepui 3 man tent, he sleep across the tent above our heads, I'm just under 6ft and my feet bare touch the door with him their.
Now we can get him to leave us alone about going on another adventure just days after getting back. The biggest hurtle we have now is the tears when we back up and turn towards home.
@Jeepsies
Thanks for the thread and the share of information on your part, overlanding with your children is awesome and will give them experiences they will remember for a lifetime. Because lets be honest, that toy you buy them only lasts so long and they move on. We have been taking our children camping/hiking/rock crawling/offroading/overlanding since they were both 6 months old and they absolutely love it and ask about it all the time. Our daughter is soon to be 4yrs old and our son is soon to be 2 yrs old. Thanks @brien for tagging us in the thread and the heads up!
@brien
Also give it up for Brien and his family for being awesome in taking their kids with them as well! It's all about the experience that last, for sure.
Explorer I
Man what a great looking family! Love the adventures and the part about "make do with what you got". I swear our son is more into rocks than any fancy toys we've bought him. Thank you for sharing the photo and your insight. Would love to hang out with you guys on the trail. I'm going to give you a follow on IG. If you'd like to follow back you can find me at @Jeepsies of course.
Eric AKA Jeepsies
Explorer I
We can't wait to start overlanding with Caspian. We're actually re-thinking our decision not to go to Overland East this year.. so we might try and make it work. Our son was on a level 5 rock crawling trail at 4 months old. He pretty much sleeps every time I'm about to roll the Jeep. haha. Going to give you a follow on Instagram too. If you're interested you can find us there at @Jeepsies
Hope to meet y'all someday!
Eric AKA Jeepsies
