One Red-Hot Handle: @doobledeckerfam

Talking with the campers we love and follow on social media

Some doubters say that big families can’t make the RV life work. Well, we have a reply of our own: Can too! We have proof. Dane and Deena have taken their @doubledeckerfam family of EIGHT on the road full time in their quest to see the Lower 48 over the next two years. And they make it look easy. In their totally adapted 2009 Van Hool TD925 Astromega Double Decker Bus—aka the Double D—they make time for education, adventure, and detours to see family.

How to keep 6 kids happy

We use a variety of methods for keeping the kids happy on the road, but the most effective has been setting expectations with them before we hit the road. We let them know how long we’ll be driving, we make sure they each have a snack and a full water bottle, and we stick to a schedule and make sure the kids are aware of the schedule and planned stops.

Hitting the Lower 48

So far, we have traveled to 14 states. We decided on this timeframe because we felt like a two-year journey would give us a good amount of time traveling and getting a feel for this lifestyle, and at the same time it’s a little arbitrary based on rough math: two years divided by 48 states equals 24 states per year …12 months per year equals two weeks per state.

Roadschooling the kids

We use a mixture of homeschooling techniques from workbooks to Junior Ranger Programs and everything in between. We road school, homeschool, unschool, world school, virtual school, and use any opportunity we can to help the kids gain an education. We come from a family of educators, so we place a high value on education and make it a priority in our travels.

How you do the holidays

Holidays are definitely an interesting one. We haven’t been on the road long enough to experience too many holidays, but we expect we’ll do our best to be with extended family on most holidays. Recently, we celebrated Independence Day with family in Utah, and we expect to be near some family again for Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Travel plans for fall

Currently, we’re planning to stay in warmer weather. We are not fans of the cold or the hot, so we try to find places that don’t get lower than 45 at night and don’t get over 75 during the day. It doesn’t make for easy planning, but it keeps us comfortable. I expect in the fall we’ll be headed south.