You’ll never know until you try it. But maybe rent out your home on a month to month or short term lease as a backup. You can ease into full timing by camping 3-4 nights, mixed with 1 night hotel stays.
To start with, keep your travel days short so the kiddos can ease into the challenge of long days sitting in the truck. This also is less stress on the adults who are primarily responsible for setting up and breaking down camp. Plan plenty of stops (interesting museums and other such fun but educational activities) and set up some ways to entertain the youngsters (road games) and create a variety of simple rewards for their good behavior.
When we were younger, my SO and I twice lived for many months at a time (up to 4 months uninterrupted) in a 10’ pop up slide in. We went with the longer model to have a dedicated potti room and extra cabinetry.
We went with the pop up for better gas mileage and easier parking issues (these models often are/were narrower than hard sized ones).
And we seamlessly traveled all over the US and parts of Canada, creating wonderful memories that we still enjoy reflecting upon.
We also spent @ 5 summers traveling in and living full time in a bare bones hard sided 8’ cabover (it only had an icebox, a stove, a sink but no water tank! Porta potti and two small interior lights) when exploring the PNW, Northern Rockies, Western Canada, the Yukon and Alaska. That really was roughing it but it was all we could afford…and we loved every minute of it.
Your health and finances will always be a gamble so I’d say…Do it while you can. Do it while the kids are young.
Here’s a great source of news, help and inspiration for you:
Truck Camper Magazine is dedicated to truck campers and slide-in campers.
www.truckcampermagazine.com
I do think the small choices you mentioned would not be enjoyable. With a full size camper, the kids can happily sit out of the way at your side dinette doing whatever they do to entertain themselves, while the adults are up fixing meals, etc. Even in a full sized rig, you’ll all have to learn to do “synchronized swimming” while inside the camper together and having more room to do that definitely results in less frustration for you all.
