5 People, 1 Camper - RV Life in the PNW

5 People, 1 Trailer: RV Life in the Pacific Northwest

There’s a moment, usually right after we’ve hit the road and the chaos settles into a rhythm, where I look back at our three girls—3, 7, and 9—and think, this is exactly why we do this.

Five people. One 2018 Hideout BHS travel trailer. Endless miles of the Pacific Northwest.

And yes—tight quarters.

But also, some of the best memories we’ve ever made.

The Reality of Camping as a Family of Five

Let’s just say it plainly: RV camping with three kids isn’t always the dreamy, perfectly organized experience you see online.

It’s shoes everywhere. It’s someone always needing a snack. It’s trying to step over a child while making coffee in a space the size of a hallway.

But it’s also:

• Waking up in the trees

• Deciding on a whim to head to the coast or the mountains

• Watching your kids become more independent with every trip

The magic is real—but so is the need to make your space actually work for your family.

Choosing the Right Trailer

One of the biggest mindset shifts for us was realizing: The trailer works for you—not the other way around.

When we first got our Hideout BHS, our youngest was 1. We knew we wanted a small trailer, something that would allow us to continue exploring the way that my husband and I really enjoyed as our family grew.

Prior to purchasing the camper we had converted a suburban into what we called a SURV, we took the back seats out and made it a platform bed with long storage containers under it to store the essentials. It was compact and meant that we could go anywhere the vehicle could take us.

We wanted to emulate this kind of experience but knew we needed something bigger now that we were a family of 3, and now we've grown to a family of 5.

Our priorities were:

-Smaller the better, that way we weren't limited to where we could travel to

-Keep the cost low, we were a young family and didn't want to over extend. Also, very important, we knew that we didn't want to spend so much on the camper that we would be hesitant to alter it as we saw fit.

-It had to have a bunk situation

-It had to have a bathtub for the littles

-It had to have a slide out

-It had to be a 4 season camper, meaning it had to be well insulated for winter camping

Takeaway...

Stick to your list of must haves and to your priorities. Don't be tempted by the fanciest most modern campers on the market if it means you won't be able to afford the gas to get you on the road.