In the Robinson family bedroom, teddy bears dangle in nets above the bunks of four children, aged 21 months to six years, who sleep at arm's reach of their parents' king-sized loft bed. Space is tight and privacy is minimal. But the Robinsons say they're delighted with the setup.
At a time when many Canadians are struggling to pay their mortgages and keep their jobs, Kim and Curtis Robinson have found a way to work less, travel more and live debt-free.
Last August, they sold their 2,500-square-foot home on Vancouver Island and moved their family into a second-hand RV.
The Robinsons say they've cut their monthly budget by about two-thirds and put aside equity from the sale of their house. Mr. Robinson scaled back his work as a post-production technician in the Vancouver film business - a career that had kept him away from home five days a week.
Now en route to California, Arizona and New Mexico, the Robinsons say they'll keep on trucking for years to come.
"We were just kind of sick of the rat race," Ms. Robinson says, "and of Curtis having to work, work, work to make the mortgage payments and not even having time together as a family."
Their shift to a nomadic lifestyle may seem drastic, but in today's economic climate it's less radical than it would once have been.
In British Columbia and throughout the United States, a small but determined group of parents with school-age children are selling their heavily mortgaged homes to buy RVs and hit the highway.
Many are "road schooling" their children while pursuing on-the-fly careers in construction, web design, entertainment or health care. They blog about gas prices, trade tips on websites such as Familiesontheroad.com and rhapsodize about living in vehicles normally associated with the blue-rinse set.
Unencumbered by home ownership, mobile parents say they're free to focus on their kids.
Len and Shelley Neufeld sold their home in Langley, B.C., last spring and got rid of everything that didn't fit into their 400-square-foot trailer.
This winter, they're using their RV as a home base to scuba dive, visit ruins and play beach volleyball with their five children in Playa del Carmen, Mexico.
Ms. Neufeld says they don't plan to settle down any time soon. "We love not knowing where we're going next."
The transient lifestyle may suit parents with itchy feet, but what about the kids?
Ms. Neufeld says her children, aged 3 to 13, find buddies wherever they go. "The older ones do miss their friends from home," she adds, "but the Internet helps them stay in touch."
There is no research on whether e-mailing or text-messaging are good substitutes for face time with friends, says Kimberly Schonert-Reichl, a professor at the University of British Columbia who studies children's social and emotional development and resiliency.
However, she says, studies suggest that "many sibling relationships actually fulfill the same developmental needs as friendships do."
As for their education, home-schooling on the road may offer children opportunities to learn about different cultures and develop tolerance for other people, Ms. Schonert-Reichl says.
"It may expand their world view."
But parents shouldn't pack youngsters into an RV without consultation, she adds. "There has to be negotiation with the kids."
Children may want regular access to the Internet or a cellphone, for example, and may need strategies for getting along with each other in a small space.
Heading for sunnier climes makes it easier for kids to spend most of their time outside, according to parents such as Ms. Neufeld. For the drive, parents say, they pack books, craft supplies and portable DVD players to keep the inevitable cries of "Are we there yet?" at bay.
