• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
She Buys Travel

She Buys Travel

Traveling tips, deals, info from moms and families

  • Destinations
  • Great Stays
  • Travel Gear
  • Deals
  • Disney
  • Travel Tips
  • Adventure
  • Luxury
  • Kid Friendly
  • Beaches
  • RVing & Camping
  • Road Trips
  • Outdoors
  • About Us +
    • Contact Us
    • About SheBuysTravel
    • Ask Us!
    • Privacy Policy
    • Website Terms and Conditions
    • Notifications
    • Write for Us

Don’t Leave Fido Behind! How to RV with a Dog

Home / RVing & Camping / Don’t Leave Fido Behind! How to RV with a Dog

Breeze Leonard, Updated February 23, 2022

A white bulldog with brown coloring around its left eye stands in the back of a vehicle. It's staring expectantly at you.
Photo credit: Little Moon via Shutterstock
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you click through and buy, SheBuysTravel may receive a small commission at no additional charge to you.
Table of Contents[Hide][Show]
  • Things To Consider BEFORE Taking Your Dog on an RVing
  • Check Pet Policies at Your Destination
  • A Packing List for RV Travel with a Dog+−
    • Collapsible Water Bowl
    • Travel Dog Food Container
    • ID Tags for Dogs
    • Pet First Aid Kit
    • Pet-friendly Travel Crate
    • Happy Camper Dog Bandana
  • Other Pet Travel Resources:
  • Other RVing Resources: 

Let’s face it: Americans are enamored with their dogs! It makes sense that we want to take our furry friends on vacation with us. Traveling in an RV allows you to bring the kids, all your stuff and still have room to bring the dog on your road trip adventure. Here are the “need to knows” about traveling in an RV with a dog.

When our family took off on a 3,000-mile RV road trip adventure from our home in Texas, we loaded up the RV with the essentials (check out our full RV packing list here), including the dog. We headed West to explore some of Arizona’s natural gems–the Grand Canyon, Antelope Canyons and the Petrified National Forest. It turned out to be one of the best family vacations we’ve ever experienced.

We were so glad that we didn’t leave our pup at home. Having our dog Lily travel with us added another layer of fun to our trip. I did speak will several full-time RVers to get their advice and tips on how they travel with their pets. Whether you’re a Camper or RV owner or if you’re renting an RV from a company like RVshare you’ll want to make sure you know the dos and don’ts of RVing with a dog.

Read More: 25 Questions to Ask Before Driving Off in a Rented RV

A women RVing with her dog
Our dog was the best co-pilot for our RV adventure! Photo Credit: Breeze Leonard

Things To Consider BEFORE Taking Your Dog on an RVing

  • RVs get hot in the sun, just like cars. Don’t leave your pet unattended in the RV on a hot day. Even with windows open, dogs quickly get overheated.
  • Call campgrounds ahead of time to check their pet policy. In addition to finding out if a campsite is dog-friendly, you’ll want to verify if there are any restrictions about certain breeds or the size of dogs allowed.
  • Your kids stay secured with seat belts and your dog needs to be secured also. Keep your dog in a kennel or safe location inside of the RV while driving to avoid injury to the dog and passengers. You can even purchase seat belts for dogs on Amazon.
  • Check your route to plan fuel stops that at stations that have designated pet areas. TA stations have a complete list of stations that have dedicated areas for pets where your dog can run around for a bit.

SheBuysTravel Tip: Bringing your doggy along on your RV trip is a great way to save money on pet boarding fees.

Taking a dog to the bathroom at a gas station was on an rv trip
Bathroom breaks every time we stopped for fuel! Photo Credit: Breeze Leonard

Check Pet Policies at Your Destination

Some national parks and state parks allow dogs only on certain trails. Read signs carefully because those fines can be costly! Hike With Your Dog has lists of trails where dogs are welcome.

The same goes for beaches. Some beaches allow dogs to roam off-leash at certain hours. Others require dogs to be on-leash at all times. Check sites like Pet-Friendly Travel to find beaches that welcome dogs.

Those bright yellow KOA Kampground signs along the freeway point the way to fun…for your family and your dog. Many KOA Kampgrounds offer special K-9 dog parks and playgrounds. Your dog can frolic inside a fenced area complete with ramps, tunnels and other devices for exercise. Download the KOA app to find rv parks and campgrounds offering the Kamp K-9.

SheBuysTravel Tip: Our Travelingmom’s with pets recently used Chewy.com and the products arrived the very next day. Super handy when grabbing essentials for traveling with your pet. 

Download our FREE RV packing list HERE!
A man standing near a lake with his dog by his side
It was fun having our whole family together! Photo Credit: Breeze Leonard

A Packing List for RV Travel with a Dog

RV camping is such a fun way to travel but it’s important to make sure that your RV or travel trailer is packed with some essentials that make traveling with your furry best friend a breeze! Here are some of the things fellow RVers recommended and the items we packed to make sure Lily would be just as happy and comfortable as we were:

Collapsible Water Bowl

We love these collapsible dog bowls! They were so handy when we were inside the RV and even when we took our dog in the parks. We would clip the water bowl to a backpack when we were out hiking and it made it so easy to feed and water our pup anytime.

Travel dog bowls for rv travel with a pet
Photo Credit: Amazon

Travel Dog Food Container

Staying organized in an RV is so important. We tried to make the most of our smaller living space. This streamlined dog food container traveled so well that it’s become one of our must-have items when traveling with our pet.

Easy to store travel container for dog food when you're in an rv with a dog
Photo Credit: Amazon

ID Tags for Dogs

Pet safety is so important even when we’re away from home. If your dog does not already have an ID tag. order a customizable one from Amazon. Just make sure to list your cell number, not your home phone (if you still have one of those). If your pet gets lost when you’re traveling, you’ll want whoever finds her to be able to reach you!

ID tag for your pet when traveling with a dog
Photo Credit: Amazon

Pet First Aid Kit

This is another pet safety item that would be good to have with you anytime you travel with your pet. When you’re taking your dog on outdoor adventures you want to be prepared in the event that your pet gets unexpectedly hurt. Having a first aid kit designed just for our pets gave us peace of mind on our RV trip.

pet first aid kit for travel
Photo Credit: Amazon

Pet-friendly Travel Crate

It’s very hard to pack a large bulky hardshell crate into an RV. That’s why this soft foldable one is ideal for RV travel. Order it several weeks before your trip and get your pup used to being inside it rather than his regular hard-sided crate. You won’t want to find out that he doesn’t like it when you’re already on the road to your vacation.

Join our Private FB Group for more travel inspiration and tips! JOIN HERE

Soft travel crate for dogs perfect for rving with a dog

Happy Camper Dog Bandana

We love this super cute “happy camper” bandana so much that we just couldn’t resist adding it to the packing list!

Happy Camper dog bandana
Photo Credit: Amazon

We hope that all of your pet owners will enjoy your camper / RV adventure with your furry family member! Be sure to share a photo of your pet traveling with your pet on Instagram and tag @travelingmom.

Other Pet Travel Resources:

Woof! The Best Pet-Friendly Hotels in the US

Read This Before Taking a Road Trip with a Pet

Other RVing Resources: 

9 Tips for First-Timers Towing a Trailer

10 Reasons Why RV Travel is the Best!

Why Travel Trailer Camping Is Great for Families

Filed Under: RVing & Camping, Travel Tips Tagged With: outdoors

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Troy says

    April 23, 2021 at 12:08 pm

    Hi Breeze! We enjoyed your article and especially liked the tips about foldable crates, which we plan to get. We travel with our 2 senior rescue dogs and blog about it at http://www.woofthebeatenpath.com Happy travels with your dogs!

    Reply
  2. Tonya says

    August 2, 2014 at 9:25 am

    We traveled with our dog in our RV. He got a bit nervous when the engine started or when the generator was running so I kept calming tabs on hand for those occasions. We once met a family that was traveling with their pot belly pigs- not just one or two- they had a whole litter of them!

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Trending Posts

a laptop is placed into a bin at the security checkpoint at the airport to go through the scanner.

TSA PreCheck vs. Global Entry vs. Clear: Which is the Best Way to Speed Through Airport Security?

Woman at a spa

13 Spa Resorts in Florida That Will Transform Your Mind, Body and Vacation

Young girl with bucket hat in front of Mickey Mouse ear balloons at Disney World

Help! How Many DVC Points Do I Need?

Must-Have Travel Gear

Corner of Royal Street balcony in New Orleans

What to Wear in New Orleans to be Cool, Cute & Comfy

Atlantis Bahamas January Sale: Celebrate Like a Royal

Best Camping Gear Essentials for the Great Outdoors

Trail Tips and Must-Have Gear for Women Backpacking for the First (or 40th) Time

The Best Travel Bags for Women 2023

Copyright © 2023 SheBuysTravel · All Rights Reserved

  • Contact Us
  • About Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Website Terms and Conditions
  • Notifications
  • Write For Us