Life on the road is sheer bliss for Tim, Julie, Bayleigh and MacKenzie Petrovic.

Or it was until Tim recently pulled out the dog sheers to trim his unruly, curly locks.

"Talk about an alarming moment," wife Julie said, arms waving to accentuate her surprise. "I come into the bathroom and he is shaving his head with a dog trimmer? That's not what you want to see your husband doing."

The Petrovics are among a handful of PGA Tour pros who travel the circuit in an RV motor home. And this week, Tim, who stands third heading into today's 36-hole John Deere Classic marathon, is one of two from the RV crew who find themselves on the second-round leaderboard.

Also among a group of nine Tour travelers camped in the field below the golf course, behind the second green, is second-round leader Darron Stiles.

Stiles has been traveling with a home-away-from-home vehicle most of his career, starting with a pop-up camper on the Hooters Tour in 1996.

"We're on motor home No. 3," he said. "As we progressed, everything has gotten a little bigger."

The Petrovics have been among the RV brigade for several years, and Julie has been traveling the circuit since 10-year-old Bayleigh turned 1.

Petrovic, 42 and winner of the 2005 Zurich Classic of New Orleans, is among the Tour's marathon men, never playing fewer than 30 tournaments since he won his way onto the circuit full-time in 2002.

When his oldest daughter was a baby, Julie said, the new father would come home from a long run of golf and Bayleigh "wouldn't come to him."

That's when they decided to hit the road together, where, these days, Julie home schools her daughters, ages 10 and 7.

"It is important for us to stay together," she said. "Tim has been known to play 11 in a row. That's too long not to see your children."

For Stiles, the RV is the only way to travel.

"It allows us to have my wife and kids out here all summer," he said. "They're crawling in their own dirt, for one. You don't have to worry about who slept in your bed the night before at your hotel. Not going to run out of towels or soap. No restaurant food every night. I think that's one of the big plusses."

Some RV travelers can afford a night out but still enjoy the comfort of their own place. Multi-event winners Davis Love III and Zach Johnson are among the RV community along the Rock River this week.

Both, of course, will fly Sunday to the British Open, leaving their vehicles for a hired hand to drive elsewhere. That's typically how the vehicles get from place to place while player and families fly.

"I actually drove it from (Washington) D.C. to here, that was about an 800-and-something miles by myself," Petrovic said. "No dog, no family, so I was kind of bored."

Petrovic is cautious when the family is along, and he need look no farther than the green and black ribbon he sported on his hat Saturday to know there is danger on the road.

Part of the ribbon was to show support for Beth Smith, wife of fellow Tour player Chris Smith, who died in an automobile accident in northern Indiana last month. The green part was to support Ken Green, a Champions Tour player and fellow Connecticut resident whose brother, girlfriend and faithful dog were killed when his RV left the road and hit a tree also last month in Mississippi. Green suffered injuries that required amputation of a leg.

"That was kind of an eye opener," Petrovic said. "It's something you can't even think about happening, and it happens."

An uneventful blowout is as close as Petrovic has come to an incident.

"We are so careful," he said. "God forbid something like that ever should happen."

Petrovic was less careful after he tired of his curly hairdo, one he likened to the head of hair on Cosmo Kramer or Yahoo Serious.

"I brought out the grooming kit for the dog and I just got in the mirror and started going," he said. "I just took it all off. The kids kind of freaked out."

The Mrs. freaked, too.

Although she said he does a nice job trimming the dog.

"He'd make a good dog trimmer," Julie said.