RV Pet Hacks

One of the greatest parts of RV camping life is the ability to bring your pets along for the ride and enjoy vacations and trips along with them. Many pets tend to be great travelers and enjoy seeing new sights and making new memories with their people. The experiences with your pet(s) may even enhance the trip for you. However, bringing pets along on your travels can also pose some challenges. Most of these challenges come from the lack of space found in RVs and the difficulty finding room for them and their things can be. For instance, when you are already lacking in floor space, it can be difficult to dedicate precious square footage to food and water bowls, your cat’s litter box, your dog’s crate, or any small pet cages or enclosures you may have. However, with some simple ingenuity, you can easily “hide” your pet's necessary items in places out of the way of the walking area. This will clear up precious floor space and also give your pet stationary places to expect to find their belongings. Continue on for a list of hacks you may find useful if you struggle to know where to put your pets’ things.

Built-in Dog Crate

One of the biggest challenges of RVing with dogs is knowing where to set up their crate (if you utilize a crate with your dog). This is especially tricky for large dogs who require a fairly large crate. As a solution to this issue, some folks will build their dog’s crate into their living space.

For smaller dogs, some travelers have found it useful to build their crate into the dinette benches. This would take away some of your storage space but would clear plenty of floor space out of the center of the room.

For larger dogs, or dogs who prefer to sleep in the bedroom with you, some RV owners have found success with building their dog’s crate into the area under their bed. Still others have built their dogs’ crate into another piece of furniture in the room, such as a window seat or corner nook. Any of these options may require some trial and error, but the end result will make traveling with your dog much more convenient.

Hidden Litter Box

One of the many conundrums cat owners face is where to store the litter box. When dealing with a smaller space, such as an RV, floor space is everything. Below are our hacks for hiding a litter box while RVing with cats.Our first hack idea is hiding the litter box inside a dinette booth and installing a cat door so they can access it. We like this idea since the dinette booth is self-contained and has an easy access point for cleaning. 

You can also put a litter box in a closet and cut a hole for access. This is a great choice if you can clear out some cabinet space, and this also makes cleaning the litter box very easy. 

Another option is hiding it under the bathroom sink and either removing one of the cabinet doors, or cutting a hole in the side. If you choose to remove the door, a curtain can be hung in its place. 

Lastly, we've also seen cat owners create an access point from the inside of their RV to a storage bay. If you choose this route, be sure the outside compartment door is secure so your kitty can't escape. Also take care to ensure there are no exposed wires or anything the cat can get into on their path to the litter box.

Hiding your cat’s litter box in your RV may require some handiwork and planning, but having it out of the way and in a stationary location will make traveling with your cat that much easier. Be sure to plan well and measure everything before cutting into your RV.

Small pet enclosures

Similarly to building a dog crate into your furniture or hiding your cat’s litter box, you can also custom fit small pets into your RV space. While less common, there have been various travelers, both full time and part time, who have traveled with an assortment of small animals, such as guinea pigs, hamsters, rabbits, hedgehogs, hamsters, ferrets, and more. Since all of these animals require an enclosure of sorts, it may be best for both the animal and you to build the enclosure into a stationary area of the RV. This could include the dinette benches, under the bed, in a cabinet or storage bay, or any other number of ideas. Feel free to get creative and find the solution that works best for you and your travel situation.

Food and water bowl(s)

Finally, whether you have a cat, a dog, or some other sort of small pet, your pet will likely require food and water dishes of sorts. If you want to avoid tripping over these, you could consider installing wall mount platforms for food and water dishes. This clears floor space and eliminates tripping hazards. If you would rather go for a simpler solution, just be sure to choose a space out of the way of the walking path to avoid spilling the dishes.

Traveling with pets can be very rewarding, and it is even more enjoyable when you have a good set-up for them. With the right planning and preparation, traveling with your pet can be fairly simple, as well. Consider any of these tips and tricks to make your time on the road with your pet simpler for the both of you.

Do you travel with your pet(s)? What hacks or tips do you utilize to make traveling with your pet easier? Feel free to share in the comments below!