RTT camping with a Infant

oliverlove

oliverlove

Adventurer
Hey guys and gals. My wife and I are teachers and are currently trying to figure out of there is a way to go camping this summer in our roof top tent. Does anyone here camp with small kids in a tent? My daughter is under 1, and we are trying to figure out if there is a way to either create a 2nd lvl in the tent for her, or see how others do it. Currently she is 3.5 months old, and doesn't crawl so once she is somewhere we don't have to worry about her moving around too much.

If you have pictures of your setups, please post em up!

We are still trying to figure out if its possible to safely camp with her.
 
T

TheViking

Adventurer
I would stick with ground based tents at that young a age maybe three or five years of age depending on maturity of the child.
 
C

calicamper

Expedition Leader
Ground based tent use a packnplay put the kid in a sleep sack, or get fancy and get the Phil&Teds travel bed we liked it because we could zip the kid up behind their own mesh keep any creepy crawlies out. But if they already have a RTT then they won't have the space for the kids packnplay etc.
 
N

NatersXJ6

Explorer
No worries!

We have taken our 7 month old daughter and our 6 year old in the RTT.

The little one has something that would remind you of a dog bed with a 57x price tag. Apparently my wife couldn't see that the Wally world pet bed was the same thing....

But I digress... Basically, no worries. Wife up the ladder, then hand baby up, in the morning, reverse.

I added a crazy creek chair in the tent to sit in while nursing, and she used a boppy pillow too.

Almost the same as at home really...

That was my perspective... Hers put us in hotels for a few nights, but I think that was temperature related...

I would send you a picture of a bajillion dollar baby bed, but it is folded up in my tent right now with all the other bedding. I'll ask the boss if she knows the name of it and post back later.
 
oliverlove

oliverlove

Adventurer
Thanks for all the idea guys!

The dog bed concept is probably our best bet.

I do wonder if there is way to suspend a small bed from the crossbars for her to sleep in. That way there is no concern of adult rollover hurting the kiddo. Obv. the bed would have to have sides so there would be NO way for her to get out.


I don't think the altitude of the tent is the issue above the truck, more the lack of footprint in the tent with a designated space for the baby.
 
EZE

EZE

Observer
Maybe someone with a bit more experience can chime in here too but my wife and I just bought a Mt. Rainier RTT from CVT. We were initially thinking of going with the Mt. Shasta (56"X96" sleeping area) but opted for the bigger Rainier (72"X96" sleeping area - bigger than a cal-king mattress) because its cavernous inside and we're hoping to have kids soon. We dropped by the CVT warehouse in Bend during our last trip there and they let us climb around inside of a few of their models and there should be plenty of room for a pack and play (or something similar) and still be able to sleep comfortably. So is upgrading your tent size a possibility?

Otherwise I could totally think of a few ways you could build a platform you can slide your feet under while you sleep that would support a crib of some sort on top. Though for safety this would probably mean putting your feet away from the ladder side thus increasing the risk of stepping on your wife's head after a middle of the night bathroom run.

Just some ideas, good for me to think through as a hopeful future problem too! ... hope it helped!
 
C

calicamper

Expedition Leader
EZE said:
Maybe someone with a bit more experience can chime in here too but my wife and I just bought a Mt. Rainier RTT from CVT. We were initially thinking of going with the Mt. Shasta (56"X96" sleeping area) but opted for the bigger Rainier (72"X96" sleeping area - bigger than a cal-king mattress) because its cavernous inside and we're hoping to have kids soon. We dropped by the CVT warehouse in Bend during our last trip there and they let us climb around inside of a few of their models and there should be plenty of room for a pack and play (or something similar) and still be able to sleep comfortably. So is upgrading your tent size a possibility?

Otherwise I could totally think of a few ways you could build a platform you can slide your feet under while you sleep that would support a crib of some sort on top. Though for safety this would probably mean putting your feet away from the ladder side thus increasing the risk of stepping on your wife's head after a middle of the night bathroom run.

Just some ideas, good for me to think through as a hopeful future problem too! ... hope it helped!
Click to expand...
Phil@Teds travel bed is a smaller footprint than the typical packnplay, it also has a zippered side entry and a zippered top entry. Our bunks in our Life time tent trailer are about 72x96 its slightly larger than the costco queen toppers we put down. Only way I could see a phil@teds travel bed working is if your on the shorter side and can place the kid at your feet across the end of the bed in the travel bed. Our phil@teds is about 27inches tall, 18inches wide and 4ft long. The side zipper entry works in the situation where the tent height would prevent top entry like a packnplay.

In our case we put the kid in the packnplay at the front wall of the 4x6 floor in the tent trailer, the queen beds hang off each side of the trailer. Kids are older now tempted to get a bunkbed cot and set it up on the bed so they each have a defined sleeping space. Given my Son has a hell of a time going to sleep even when hes so tired hes crosseyed.
 
ExpedH3T

ExpedH3T

Explorer
We are using a pea pod and a sleep sack in our RTT for our 11 month old. He flips and flops now and it's chilly so we are going to try the Kelty Woobie at OX
 
C

Climbermac

Observer
My wife and I took our little girl out quite a bit in the RTT last season starting when she was +/-3 months, several muti night trips. We used a snazzy little folding bassinet (LINK) I found one day wondering in Babies R' Us while she was pondering some more important choices... we really loved it. Put her in a cozy sleep sack and a warm top (and a beanie) and she camped with us in the high Rockies on nights that dipped into the high 20's. Also we are in a CVT Shasta; if you are in a Ranier, you will have acres of room. Crazy creek is her favorite to nurse in in the tent and GSI makes a great mini folding camp table that is also a choice addition.

Have fun!
 
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bartheil

bartheil

Member
try adventureparents.com . Haven't read a lot of updates lately, but Mark Stephens got a few cool posts on camping with infants. He should be on expedition portal too!
 
P

Pax2525

Adventurer
dont stress over it, use what you have and get outside. Just place the baby in between you. or just make sure its all zipped up tight.

As she gets bigger and mobile then reevaluate the situation
 
Rattler

Rattler

Thornton Melon's Kid
Our boy was 9 months old when we first took him camping in the RTT. He loves it now 4 years later!

If Kristian sees this he will make us all sick with pics of his kid like days old in an RTT. Well, maybe not quite that young.
 
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