<\/a><\/p>\nVehicle<\/strong>: 23-foot Fleetwood Tioga RV built on a Chevy chassis with V-8 engine.<\/p>\n Occupants<\/strong>: Parents Glenn and Mary, prospective student Leif, and older son Reed.<\/p>\n Key RV features<\/strong>: \u201cIt\u2019s self-contained traveling,\u201d Glenn Harder tells Gabrielle Otto \u201911, a summer intern for Bates Magazine<\/em>. \u201cSmall enough to fit into a parking space, but big enough to have a shower and tub.\u201d<\/p>\n Overnight accommodations<\/strong>: Lindholm House parking lot. \u201cGreat spot,\u201d Harder says, for boondocking, or camping without water and electrical hookups. \u201cNot conspicuous but close to campus.\u201d<\/p>\n RV advantages<\/strong>: \u201cIt\u2019s a great way to get a real feel for a campus,\u201d says Harder. \u201cWe take a walk at dusk, then again in the morning. Bates is our favorite Maine school, so we planned this trip to spend the night at Bates.\u201d<\/p>\n Strategy<\/strong>: \u201cWith Reed two years ago, we decided that college trips would be family trips. We visit three schools on each road trip; this time it\u2019s Colby, Bates, and Bowdoin. We did 15 schools in eight states with Reed.\u201d<\/p>\n Favorite spot<\/strong>: \u201cDining Commons. We stopped on our way to Canada last summer just to eat in Commons. I took pictures of the \u2018make your own omelet\u2019 station this morning.\u201d<\/p>\n