Good for you, tgram. Sounds like a fun trip. Only you know how your kid behaves on the road. The other will be sleeping a lot at first, then you find out. I think starting out with car trips being completely normal makes it easier. Kids don’t get as excited/distressed by the familiar. I’m quite sure you’re entirely familiar with what a bathroom stop with two young kids entails. A strong youngish woman can easily carry two small kids, or carry one and hold other by the hand. I see people out and about with more young kids than that, and they somehow manage diaper changes and whatnot. When I was a kid we weren’t using disposables and we did OK. A sealed diaper pail was our friend. My dad had very little to do with childcare, though he took the older two boys to the men’s room when we got older.otherwise, my mom dealt with all the childcare, cooking, feeding, laundry for four small kids. She’s not Superwoman and that was the era of the driving vacation, so there millions of families criss-crossing the country.
Alas, most people fly now so you won’t make friends with as many other young families, but I’m sure there will be plenty of grannnies in motor homes offering to help you out with minor tasks. Campgrounds are almost always friendly places. The only major exception are certain NFS camps near the edges of big cities that become party central on Friday and Saturday night. We usually went further up into the hills to find a campground with tents and campers and stuff that told us people actually camped there. Crime? Never saw anything more than minor drug use, and I can see that within two blocks of home. Most campers were lovely people. Sure, don’t leave your valuables unlocked or out in the open, but that’s true anywhere.
As with others, I think you may find what you can for the money is pretty poor, but what you need is a mechanically sound van. Cosmetics you can deal with. Decorate it to make it your own. I also like the idea of a camper on a truck. I suspect you can get more for the money, and if you have somewhere handy to take the camper off, you’ll have the added convenience of a truck when you need it.
Whatever you do, have fun and expose your kids to this amazing country. Those vacation memories are priceless to me and there is no way as an adult I can build up anywhere near as many. I still do travel regularly, but doubt I’ll ever drive across Kansas with the sunflowers by the side of the road or so many other sights.