Women Learning to Drive an RV

[angielee]

Hi. I live in PA about 20 minutess from Phila. My husband and I own a Class A RV. The vehicles I've driven have ranged from a p/u truck to a minivan to a small compact car. I'm really antsy to drive our RV and take the load off my husband once in awhile. He does all the driving. He actually welcomes it. He tells me it's a piece of cake, yada yada yada. Also, God forbid should something happen to him, I want to be able to drive our RV and stay on the road. Any suggestions how I can start out so I can get comfortable driving it without having a wreck? And I don't feel comfortable just getting out onto a highway first time out. I wanna get comfortable driving behind the wheel, learning to figure out how far I should be over in a lane, etc. Then when I accomplish that, I can venture onto a highway. Again, any and all suggestions will be most humbly appreciated! Feel free to email me at angelalee4ATcomcast.net
Thank you all who have taken the time to read this post.
Angie Iannetta Lee

[ejarmstrong]

Scary, huh!? My husband always drove too. Then he got cancer and the RV sat for over a year during his illness. He passed away two months ago. I have an RV sitting. Okay: either learn to drive it or sell it. I cannot afford to have it depreciating, pay for insurance, and license fees if I am not using it.
So I had our mobile RV person go completely through it: refrigerator, stove, A/C, water heater--well, you get the idea. Then got an appointment with our local automotive people (7 miles away) over a 3000' pass, 6% downgrade, crooked mountain road. Did I mention we live in the mountains of central California near Yosemite?
Got up my nerve, drove over the mountain pass, and arrived at business at 6AM as I did not want to deal with commuters. Took a two-hour nap (not much sleep the night before). RV was serviced and ready to go. Also, went by the tire company to check the tires and pressure. All okay there, too. Drove home and I am now planning a trip to see my friends in WA. Traveling I-5 should be a piece of cake compared to our narrow, two-lane road from here to our service center and down to the valley.
My advice: make sure your RV is in tip top condition. Find your RV manual and read it. Take it easy, use the turnouts if you are on a two-lane road, and don't let the autos behind you push you above your comfort zone. There will be turnouts soon to let them go by. If you are still concerned, ask for help from your friends. Either use it or sell it is my mantra. EJA

[otrider]

I think I'd take a slightly different approach than jump right in. Scared me just reading it.
Here are a few alternatives...
Think about how you teach a teen to drive: the mall or the local high school late at night after it's closed, a cemetery (with flat markers:)). Take it for a spin at 11:00 or 12 at night or really early in the morning through your neighborhood. Maybe try this a few times a week/month until you get the nerve to try traffic during the day or even take it on the freeway. I'm thinking with one two weeks of low-level practice time, you'll feel like a pro. If not, then you can call your local truck driving school and hire someone to go out on the road with you for a few hours.

If you don't think you can get to the mall or high school, then ask an RV savvy friend to go with you or drop it off there late in the afternoon of the night you're gonna go practice...
Good Luck!
_________________
Pam
'06 F250 V10 Alas No More Choc Mousse has gone to it's new home in Port Clinton, Ohio
New Addition to the Family
2010 F350 V10 4x4 430
'99 30' New Vision Ultra

[bsherryg]

I checked with our RV repair place on which of their techs was the best driver, then hired him to teach me. I'd already driven many times on freeways but never on smaller roads. We met at the local junior college parking lot on a Sunday afternoon. He brought cones and used the striping in the parking lot to teach me how to use my mirrors, how to gauge my location (lots of surprises there!), and in slightly over 2 hours, had me parallel parking a 36-footer! Then we hit the road... initially a narrow residential street moving outward to freeways. He asked what road scared me most; then, of course, made me drive it - in my case a nasty 1-lane S-curve connector between 2 freeways. After successfully navigating that, I felt I could handle anything:-) BTW I've now been fulltiming in a 40-footer for 5 years:-)

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'98 Safari Serengeti 40DP
'04 Jeep Liberty 4x4

[ikwewe]

My first attempt to drive an RV was with a 26-foot Class C. Not so big, I know, but it seemed like a building to me. I went around the perimeter of the RV lot with my husband aboard to reassure me, then headed out onto the service road with him following, and from there onto a two-lane highway heading into town. I swear I was taking up the entire width of the road, but to my relief, approaching cars passed by normally with no horrific reactions from their drivers. After several miles, traffic picked up, and I was still white knuckling but not panicked. We entered the freeway where the lanes still seemed too narrow for me to relax. We made it home fine after about two hours of tension for me and no mishaps. I practiced in the neighborhood many times after that, and in the parking lot of a banquet hall at the edge of the neighborhood, so no big streets.

I later drove this RV in the mountains of the Alaska Highway and on the freeways in Detroit in rush hour with only normal apprehension. In fact, I preferred driving it myself rather than riding shotgun. Just know you can do it! Your RV is not wider than the semis that navigate the roads, so there really is room for you. You do have to turn wide and that takes practice, and the empty parking lot is very good for that. Best idea: have someone park their car there and you practice maneuvering around it.
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Elaine
1989 Vixen

[lafoy]

Hi. We just put a down payment on our new 37' motorhome and I got to test drive it. My husband sat in the rider seat while the salesman stood between the seats telling me what to do. WAS IT FUN! I did it with NO problems and my husband said I can drive all the time It is easier than you think. Just remember to watch in your bottom side mirrors for distance between the lines and you'll have no problem (salesman kept telling me this). We will start full time RVing August 25th. Can't wait! Enjoy!
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Cnris Anderson
AVON Consultant
www.youravon.com/chrisanderson

[ninemoes]

I took a class through Good Sam. They target different areas of the US every year. The class was the best thing I ever did. They had classroom and hands-on instruction. I highly recommend. I pull a 30-foot 5th wheel with an F250.

[Wolfgang]

Sorry to jump in here as a guy, but I greatly appreciate the above comments, and am reading them to better understand my wife's apprehension of pulling our trailer when I need a quick cat nap.
Thanks to all of you ladies!
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[Teak]

And took it to a campground not far from home, which was eleven miles away. I lost my significant other two years ago, and this was always something he and I wanted to do. This is very scary. This huge thing sitting in the driveway, but once you drive it down the road, it is not too bad! The one we bought is a Class A 31-foot motorhome. I drove it home from the dealer and had to go through a tunnel. We live in Virginia, and if you want to get anywhere, there is always a tunnel to go through. We took it to a campground last weekend to practice the hookups and to get the animals used to it as well. A little mishap with the awning, but my finger stayed intact, and I don't think I will lose the nail after all! The campers next to us were a big help! I practiced in a shopping center parking lot when we first picked the motorhome up. Also, they say you can put tape on the windshield to help with the lines in the road. I think looking straight ahead and looking at the big picture helps me more. We are planning a Florida trip in November for my mother's 70th birthday.

[Star]

I also lost my husband which is why I am driving "solo" (34' motorhome).
I did drive while he was alive on the few trips we took, but it was the "easy" part. Freeway, wide open roads; pulling into big parking lots.
Since then, I have driven solo in city traffic, mountains, etc.
I like the idea of hiring someone to help. You might also see about a school bus driver, as they are licensed professionals. Just think about where you are going, where you are going to pull over, how much space is available at a gas station, and remember: you can usually go around and come back again for a different approach!
Practice your turns in a neighborhood. Parking lots are good, but you need to watch your curbs.
As for the "mechanics" of the coach, read, read, and do! Search online, talk to your RV service department, and find friends with RVs. Good luck!
This is "doable"!
Susan
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Onward and upward!

[elh3946]

What if the title of this post had been "Men Learning to Drive an RV?" Pretty silly, huh?

Why is it that so many people seem to believe that, just because a person is of the female gender, they are less capable of learning to drive an RV? No one is born knowing how to drive any type of vehicle...we all have to learn. How did your husband learn how to drive your RV? Well, you can learn, too. Quit thinking that you can't learn just because you're a woman! Find an empty parking lot and practice, practice, practice. Set up some cones and learn how to manuever around them. Set them up as though they were a space in an RV park and practice backing up. You can do it!
_________________
LindaH
2007 Excel Classic 30RKE
2007 Dodge Ram 3500, Cummins diesel
On the road fulltiming...see where we are now:
http://map.datastormusers.com/user1.cfm?user=1167

[jrf]

Check out the RVSEF conference in PA in September:

http://www.rvsafety.com/LESClinic.html

And also look at "Dick Reed's Driving School" (now owned by Dennis and Carol Hill); call or email them for their current driving instruction locations and schedule. I don't know if they are going to be offering instruction at the RVSEF conference, but it's worth checking out!

http://www.rvschool.com/

The driving instruction from RV School is excellent. The instructors are knowlegeable, experienced, and patient, and the in-your-own-rig instruction is thorough and very practical! Highly recommended!