2 week overland trip with 2 babies in a defender 90, suggestions??

[discodisco]

Night time

First off I totally agree that stopping every hour or two depending on location is extremely wise, don't be surprised if they cry when they have to get back in the car.

Second, don't forget child friendly bug repellent. Children under 7 are more susceptible to mosquito born viruses.

Third, one thing I didn't expect is how early we needed to get into camp sites. The kids needed a good 4+ hours at that age to wear themselves out so that they could sleep well that night. We just drove from San Diego, Ca to Norfolk, VA in 9 days and any day that we got in too late, caused grumpy kids the next morning because they didn't get enough sleep. Kids are 2 and 4.

Depending on your children, each of ours has different responses, you might want a place to put them as a time out or controlled area to either calm down or just to be safe when they start going nuts. With one of the kids it was simply a chair that she could sit in and calm down. As for my boy we discovered bringing a long a really cheap Walmart tent with almost completely perforated sides acted like a play pen when he wanted to eat the entire forest and we needed to do things like cook.

Fifth, have fun and take lots of pictures.

 

[mph]

My wife and I have a 3 year old. We have spent some 70 plus nights camping. A lot good..some not...here are some things that I have learned.

plan drive times around nap times
make sure you have gas topped off so you don't wake the kids refueling
get into camp no later than 5ish...
make meals easy!! the last thing you want to do is piss off the wife making meals, etc.
the longer you can stay in one spot; the better...more of a routine
no what you need...make sure you are dialed in with supplies, etc.
dvds for the car...yes, i don't like the tv thing but it is hard on your kids just to sit there and look outside or read a book for hours on end
give each other a break...take the kids for a few hours so your wife can go do something and get a break from the "maddness"
experiment with a hotel stay here and there...we found it is easier on our child just to camp
so, what are you going to do with the kids? we bring a bike for her, backpack for her to ride in while we hike, a magnifying glass for her to look at bugs, books..they will drive you nuts if you don't have something for them to do at camp


you need to have a shakedown run...


CB is prime!!! Love that area...you will enjoy!

 

[mph]

forgot one thing...check the weather religiously on the way out..the monsoons could be acting up and colorado can be extremely wet...my family and i spent a week in CB and it rained every day for 2-5 hours...

 

[TexasD-90]

We are closing in on go time. We have moved up our departure to Monday the 1st. We are planning on leaving around 12:30, after lunch, right at nap time. Both the kids usually take a 2-4 hour nap after lunch. We are going to see where we end up. Leaving a day early gives us that much extra time to go slow and stop a LOT. Our camping will be broken up a little. We will camp tuesday night thru friday night at the national land rover rally in Brekenridge. Then we are a Harmell's on the Taylor River with my Dad's side of the family thru tuesday night. Then we camp again Wednesday thru the following Monday night around Crested Butte and maybe a few nights in Lake City. We will return home on Tuesday the 16th. We have been loading up on all of your ideas to entertain the kids. I am very lucky to have an easy going wife, and "usually" very content children. I can't help but think that this will be a great trip. I will follow up with lots of pictures and stories from the trip upon our return.

Thanks to all of you!

 

[TexasD-90]

Well.........

We are at the end of our first day of travel, and we are in a hotel in Amarillo. We didn't get off to a great start. The wife and both kids have been absolutely perfect. However, my alternator is not cooperating at all. We got about 150 miles from home this morning, and my battery light came on. The belt was turning the alternator, and the battery showed to carry 13.94 volts when nothing was turned on except the motor. Turn on the A/C or the radio or the lights and it would pull down to around 12, and then come back very slowly after you turned it back off. So, we limped another 170 miles to amarillo with no a/c, and stopped to have it checked out. There is some sensor going out, and I will have to have a new alternator. Luck is on our side, and we were able to get a rebuilt unit delivered tonight, and we will be ready to roll in the morning. As for the trip in the 111 degree weather with the windows open, we never had a bad moment. The kids were great, and my wife took it all in stride. We will get back with a trip log and lots of pictures in a few weeks when we get home.

God bless

 

[BoilermakerSteve]

Hope your trip is going well.

One thing that works really well for our kids, when they got a little older, is listening to audio books. They hold their attention much better than dvds or anything else.

Even when my youngest was four or five she seemed content with the audio books, even though she didn't hear all of them when she would sleep.

Now we make a 1900 run to where our parents live in 33 to 36 hours and audiobooks are the main thing we use to keep all of us calm and sane.

steve

 

[Uncle Roger]

I am taking my wife, daughter (2.5), and son (1) on a 2-3 week camping trip in August.

Don't think you're going to do a 10-hour day of driving. 3-4 hours is a good day. Stop a lot and let the kids explore.

If you can, when you've got a day of travel, get up early, before the kids wake up, and hit the road. When they wake up, have breakfast and then do another hour or so of driving. Stop for the day and do stuff, then put them to bed in their car seats and drive a few hours as/after they fall asleep to your next campsite. We've done this and it works great for us.

We are [...] heading toward the national Land Rover Rally in Brekenridge, CO.

We did that 20 years ago (in my '59 109") and had a blast. Wish we could go again.

Sounds like a great trip; I'm very envious!

 

[Uncle Roger]

If you have the battery capacity, a cheap 12v fan with a clamp can make sleeping much better.

We've had good experience with the coleman tent fan: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0009PUPSS/ Not sure we've been in 100+ deg. with it though.

 

[TexasD-90]

We made it home. I have to say after all the build up and planning, it was maybe the best trip I have ever been on. My kids loved camping, the weather was perfect, the mountains were as beautiful as I have ever seen them, and the defender did great. The national rally was a blast, then we were on the taylor river outside of Almont, CO for a few days, then we ended at the most amazing camp site I have ever seen way up slate river between CB and MT CB. My wife is working on a trip log with a bunch of cool pics that will be on the site soon. I will post here when we get it all up.

.....OH YEA, yesterday we left Crested Butte at 7 AM and arrived at our house 775 miles away at 11 PM. We were planning on a 2 day trip, but the kids were so tired from the trip I think they both slept about 10 hours yesterday in the car.

 

[TexasD-90]

a few pics

 

[Ray Hyland]

That is fantastic. Looking forward to the trip report and everything you learned along the way!

 

[Yudda]

Looks like it was a memorable trip.