On the road with dogs.
Recently, my dogs, Dad, and I headed off on a road trip to Walt Disney World from Texas. I thought I'd share how the three-day drive went.
Before Departure Day
The February 2021 winter freeze in Texas messed with the pipes, electronics, mechanics, and more in the RV. For months on random days, my Dad and I would head to the storage facility where my RV sat and fixed what we could. The goal was to get the RV safely operational in time for our September trip to Walt Disney World.
I took care of the inspection and vehicle registration last month. Dad took care of other issues that he could address. Because we didn't have a way to connect to electricity or water in storage, there were issues we didn't know about until day one of our road trip.
As far as we knew, the RV repairs made it so that it was ready to hit the road. For four days, I visited the RV to load food, clothes, blankets, and more things I wanted to take with us. Every time I visited the RV, I took the dogs with me.
On the day before we departed, I packed two backpacks: one backpack with my laptop and toiletries and one backpack with some of the dogs’ stuff. Shadow, my fourteen-year-old senior dog, wouldn't let the backpacks out of sight.
When I was employed, my dogs and I often went on weekend or weeklong road trips. I rarely left my dogs behind, even when I traveled out-of-state for conferences or trainings. If one of my parents could joined my trip and watched the dogs while I was working, then I'd pay for the travel part of my trip so that my parents and dogs had a vacation while I was busy.
My dogs have been to Colorado, Oregon, Nevada, Tennessee, Mississippi, and Florida to name a few. Shadow's been to even more states than my younger dog, Rascal.
It's been over two years since my dogs, Dad, and I went anywhere on vacation. My dogs and I have visited my Mom's house, but I'm sure they don't consider that a vacation. So, when my dogs realized I was loading things into the RV, my normally lazy dogs were overly excited for days before we left.
Day One on the Road
On a Friday morning, we headed to the RV as we've done days prior. But this time we took off in the RV instead of my car. I don't have a trailer to tow my car, so I left it at the storage facility.
If Shadow wasn't looking out the large front window of the RV, he laid on the floor behind the cab area.
Rascal either laid on my Dad's lap or on the floor of the front passenger seat. The RV has a dog window on the passenger side that Rascal liked to look out of during the long drive.
Dad often played video games or surfed the web while I drove. He built a DIY collapsible desk years ago where he'd setup his laptop for a trip.
I had a bowl of water on the console between the driver and front passenger seats. Shadow is the only dog comfortable enough to drink while the vehicle's moving. Rascal always waited until we stop. The bowl is on a flatter surface in the RV and less likely to spill when I turned a corner.
The goal was to stop somewhere in Mississippi, except it didn't take long for us to realize there were a couple issues.
The pipes leading to the water heater broke likely due to February's winter freeze. Water rushed from behind the water heater after we turned on the water pump. We turned the water heater bypass on meaning we wouldn't have any hot water during our trip.
The dash a/c quit blowing cool air three hours into the drive. The RV without cool air felt like roasting inside an oven. Fortunately, we had a small fan facing the dogs. We also turned on the generator to run the main/central a/c unit. Unfortunately, the generator would shutoff when the gas reached three-quarters filled.
We stopped frequently for gas just so we could turn on the generator to run the a/c. We would've stopped frequently anyway to let the dogs stretch their legs and potty. It's a good way to break up the monotony of driving, especially since I'm the only one who drives on road trips.
Around lunchtime during a stop, I tried giving the dogs food. They refused to eat. I tried giving them treats. They again refused to eat.
Dad's paranoia kicked in and we ended up stopping early afternoon at the Red Shoe RV Park in Coushatta, Louisiana overnight. We've stayed there many times before. The dogs appeared to recognize it and got excited.
After my Dad and I got the RV setup for the night, I walked the dogs again. Unlike the walks on gas station or rest area grounds, the dogs only wanted to keep their walk short and hang out at the RV site. Shadow enjoyed watching TV that evening while Rascal watched people from the dog window.
The dogs have their own separate food and water bowls for the RV. They often eat from their own bowls, but on this night, they ate from a single food and water bowl. They didn't eat as much as they normally would for dinner, but at least I didn't worry about them being hungry or starving.
Sure enough, I took a cold shower that night. It surprisingly felt great, probably because I spent the day sweating in the driver's seat. Even with the generator running and central a/c on, I didn't feel any of the cool air because of a wall directly behind the driver's seat.
Day Two on the Road
On Saturday morning, I walked the dogs before my Dad and I got the RV ready to hit the road. We left the RV park around 8:00 a.m.
Once again, we dealt with dash a/c and generator challenges. We also struggled to find someplace to have the propane tank filled. We would've done so before we left for the trip, but the places we checked never seemed to have someone certified available to work with propane.
We stopped at a Walmart in Mississippi where Dad bought some RV supplies (e.g., RV toilet paper) and groceries (e.g., ice cream). Nothing essential, but we figured a stop at Walmart was worthwhile. After all, buying the same RV supplies and groceries at Walt Disney World would've cost twice as much.
I again tried to feed my dogs around lunchtime. On this day, they ate a handful of pebbles, but nothing more. They did eat treats, but nothing more.
While my dogs had fans directly on them and the central a/c blew cold air with the generator running (when it didn't shut off on its own), I suffered with the heat. It didn't seem any amount of hydration helped all that much. I never said anything to my Dad about my discomfort, but I believe he picked up on it.
In fact, it felt cooler walking around a gas station or rest area than sitting in the driver's seat. The regular stops were literally refreshing for me.
That evening, he decided we should stay at a hotel in the Florida panhandle overnight. It costed more than staying at an RV park, but I wanted nothing more than to take a non-cold shower.
Some hotels allow large vehicles to be parked in the back of the parking lot. Few hotels have a designated lot for large vehicles such as RVs, semi-trucks, moving trucks, and buses. It's a great option when the weather is bad as was the case later that night.
The dogs have stayed at hotels in times past, so this was nothing new to them. They went potty before we headed through the lobby and to the room. Rascal gets excited in hotel rooms and spent time jumping from bed-to-bed.
I only brought two bowls: one for water and one for food. I learned years ago that my dogs would only eat from the same food and water bowl when they're in a hotel room. I don't know why that is.
They'd take turns eating and drinking. Sometimes Shadow would bite a pebble and drop the pieces in front of Rascal. Rascal would eat it and wait to see if Shadow to continued feeding him. Once again, they didn't eat a lot that night.
They went out one last time before bed.
Day Three on the Road
On Sunday morning, the dogs pottied and we hit the road before 7:00 a.m. I wanted less time spent in the heat of the RV that day.
We still made several stops for the dogs to stretch their legs and potty. They refused to eat food around lunchtime, but they accepted some treats during the drive.
Day three turned out to be a stress-free road trip day. We found a Love's that had someone onsite certified to fill the propane tank. The outside temperature dropped significantly due to rain showers which made the interior temperature comfortable. Taking the Turnpike (I had a pre-paid Sunpass) shaved an hour off our predicted arrival time.
We made it to Walt Disney World's Fort Wilderness Campgrounds around 3:30 p.m. Rascal, who normally barked at strangers, didn't bark at anyone when we went for a walk that evening. In fact, he was exceptionally well-behaved and stopped periodically to watch lizards run past.
The dogs ate lightly again that night, but their eating habits returned to normal the next day when they realized we weren't hitting the road.
My Thoughts
My dogs went on their first road trips as young puppies. I believe that helped them get accustomed to my driving and traveling habits.
While I dealt with motorhome ownership challenges, I knew my dogs were good. They were always my priority before I cared for myself or checked on my Dad.
In short, these were the things I did to make sure my dogs had a great road trip:
I stopped every two to three hours for my dogs to stretch their legs and potty. It also ended up being a good break for me being the sole driver. Some gas stations like Love's and TA have dog runs where a dog could go crazy off-leash in a safe, fenced area.
My dogs had fans facing them to keep them cool. It's not necessary for smaller vehicles like cars and SUVs, but helpful in a larger vehicle like my motorhome.
I always had a bowl of water available during the drive. I never filled the bowl completely so I wouldn't worry about it spilling with turns. At least this way if they were thirsty, they could drink a little without needing to ask for water.
What's Next?
Within the next couple weeks, I'll share how I juggle enjoying the Disney parks and care for my dogs.
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Thanks, and have a great day!
Simply Jelly Jam
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