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Old 02-06-2017, 07:07 AM   #43
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I agree with Woodchopper--the ride in the passenger seat is very different than the driver's seat. I am the DW and I drive but I know I am a terrible passenger. I just try to keep my mouth shut and close my eyes if I have to (but not while driving, lol). My DH did learn how different the feel is from the passenger side when I drove. Everyone should learn to drive the RV for emergency reasons.
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Old 02-06-2017, 11:27 AM   #44
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I agree both should learn to drive in case of emergency.
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Old 02-07-2017, 08:14 AM   #45
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Sit down, shut up and hold on...
Thats if she's driving, which is NEVER!
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Old 02-07-2017, 08:56 AM   #46
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We downsized from a 42ft Holiday Rambler Imperial to a 26ft Coach House due to some of my health issues. DW would drive the HR but never felt comfortable. The main reason we bought the CH was her driving some on our trips. We have enjoyed the smaller coach, less maint., better fuel mileage , while giving up some of the space of the HR. Smaller coaches are not for everyone, but we are still on the road.
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Old 02-08-2017, 09:39 AM   #47
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DW driver here!

No, I am not going to be critical of men who say bad things about women divers. Some of us are bad drivers as well as some men.

We bought a Class A. Tow a toad with it. We both drive. I know he is comfortable with me driving because he falls asleep in the passenger seat or on the couch while I drive. His snoring is very telling. We usually split the distance half and half. We do not criticize each others driving because we both drive the same.

I am completely comfortable backing up and use both mirrors. Always have used my mirrors to back up, thank you Daddy. So is he. One of us is usually outside sighting with a walkie talkie. It works for us.

We can cover some large distances in a day with both of us driving. We have both driven through construction zones with nerves due to cement piles but still did it. We normally keep around 60 mph because that is what we decided was a good speed for our MH. Really not in a hurry either.

I can change a tire on a car or our truck, thank you Daddy, but not sure I would want to try one on the MH so we have road service for it. He doesn't want to change one on it either.

I think all women should learn to drive the RV for the medical issues raised . Not good to be stuck and it will happen eventually.

That being said, do you really want someone driving that is so unsure of doing so to actually drive? Instructors are a great idea but again if she sucks at it then it isn't safe to do it. I personally think if you can drive a car, with the proper training and practice, you can drive a MH, but then some of us cannot drive a car safely and we all see it on the road each day.

Practice in a parking lot going forward and back is a good start if she is willing. Then driving around the lot gives her a feel of it and sometimes removes the fear of the unknown.

I wish you luck with this issue because it really is important for there to be two drivers and practice is very important.

Lynne and I love driving our MH
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Old 02-09-2017, 11:44 AM   #48
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My wife has driven it about 5 miles, just enough to know she can do it in an emergency. She doesn't want to drive and I don't want to be in the passenger seat when she is, so it works out fine.
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Old 02-09-2017, 01:05 PM   #49
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Quote:
Originally Posted by CJ7ole View Post
My wife has driven it about 5 miles, just enough to know she can do it in an emergency. She doesn't want to drive and I don't want to be in the passenger seat when she is, so it works out fine.

I'd hate to be on the road with her with only 5 mi. experience. In an emergency she wouldn't even remember to unhook the electric cord first.
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Old 02-11-2017, 06:19 AM   #50
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DW and I just finished a two day driving lesson with RVDriving School.com. Could not be happier. Previously, DW would drive on Interstate occasionally. Now she drives anywhere with confidence. I told the instructor to spend as much time with her as she needed, spend any leftover with me. She got probably about 75%. The DW now uses and understands mirrors are not just for applying makeup. She now helps me spot traffic coming from the right (think access ramps).

Some important things we learned: the spotter when backing must be a qualified driver themselves so they know what the driver can and cannot do. The signals used must be clearly understood by both parties and consistent.

For years we have had our own signals we both understand, but learned some new ones that we have already used. In the past I always did the backing into campsites. Now whichever of us is driving at the time does.

All in all, the best $$ we have spent in some time. We would not still be married if I tried to teach her even if I knew it all (which I did not), what she learned at the school.

I would strongly recommend a private lesson, not a short group one, and if you are in the southeast I would heartily recommend Mike Lynch in the Atlanta area.

Man to man, I also think some of us, me included, need to get over the macho thing and realize the wife should know how to do everything we do. Good case in point: yesterday after we setup, I tripped fell on the asphalt pad. Just road rash, but the next few days I will not be doing much. She can and will hook up the waste hose and dump as needed since she has previously learned how and has actually practiced it. We are not immortal nor invulnerable. DW should know how to do everything we do.
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Old 02-15-2017, 05:46 PM   #51
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I do drive the RV and still flinch in the passenger seat. While seated in the passenger seat the mirror has been hit by a truck swerving into our lane on the George Washington Bridge. Last month near Austin Texas we were in the middle lane on Route 35. A travel trailer being towed in the fast lane was swerving all over as it passed us. Obviously traveling way too fast in windy conditions. The rear of the trailer hit our driver's side mirror and knocked it off! Try driving onto a highway with my head sticking out of a window to give direction back onto the highway. A quick trip to Home Depot and 3 hrs later the repair got us back to New York, but it did not stop my flinching!
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Old 02-15-2017, 06:52 PM   #52
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I feel a bit sorry for those who don't have DW help with the driving. When we first got the RV's (a Class C and then 3 Class A's) she showed little interest, but with gentle encouragement she agreed to try on wide open roads (not Interstates) with light traffic. As her confidence grew, she worked up to more challenging drives through construction areas, small towns and cities and heavier traffic. With appropriate hints and suggestions she learned to mountain drive such routes as Valdez to Anchorage on the Glenn and Richardson highway in Alaska, and is now comfortable on such challenging routes. In the past few years she has even driven the rig through Atlanta rush hour traffic. I have complete confidence in her driving now, and when we are pushing hard for a destination, (600-800 miles a day) we alternate driving chores with 2 to 3 hours in the seat and the other either resting and reading in the copilot seat or sleeping on the couch. My only problem with her driving is getting her out of the driver seat so I can get my turn. ( I encourage cold drinks. LOL) By the way, we are both 75 years old.
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Old 02-16-2017, 08:49 AM   #53
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Just a quick update. Two days after completing the driving lesson DW found herself on a super narrow small town road exactly like she had just trained on and we both agreed we would never drive on. Guess what! Life happens. Because of her training we both were completely confident. When the street abruptly ended in a dead end and we were trapped, we both calmly disconnected the toad, planned our "escape" just like we were trained, and never a cross word was said.
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Old 02-16-2017, 09:38 AM   #54
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Quote:
Originally Posted by beamisl View Post
DW driver here!

No, I am not going to be critical of men who say bad things about women divers. Some of us are bad drivers as well as some men.

We bought a Class A. Tow a toad with it. We both drive. I know he is comfortable with me driving because he falls asleep in the passenger seat or on the couch while I drive. His snoring is very telling. We usually split the distance half and half. We do not criticize each others driving because we both drive the same.

I am completely comfortable backing up and use both mirrors. Always have used my mirrors to back up, thank you Daddy. So is he. One of us is usually outside sighting with a walkie talkie. It works for us.

We can cover some large distances in a day with both of us driving. We have both driven through construction zones with nerves due to cement piles but still did it. We normally keep around 60 mph because that is what we decided was a good speed for our MH. Really not in a hurry either.

I can change a tire on a car or our truck, thank you Daddy, but not sure I would want to try one on the MH so we have road service for it. He doesn't want to change one on it either.

I think all women should learn to drive the RV for the medical issues raised . Not good to be stuck and it will happen eventually.

That being said, do you really want someone driving that is so unsure of doing so to actually drive? Instructors are a great idea but again if she sucks at it then it isn't safe to do it. I personally think if you can drive a car, with the proper training and practice, you can drive a MH, but then some of us cannot drive a car safely and we all see it on the road each day.

Practice in a parking lot going forward and back is a good start if she is willing. Then driving around the lot gives her a feel of it and sometimes removes the fear of the unknown.

I wish you luck with this issue because it really is important for there to be two drivers and practice is very important.

Lynne and I love driving our MH
Quote:
Originally Posted by Pigman1 View Post
I feel a bit sorry for those who don't have DW help with the driving. When we first got the RV's (a Class C and then 3 Class A's) she showed little interest, but with gentle encouragement she agreed to try on wide open roads (not Interstates) with light traffic. As her confidence grew, she worked up to more challenging drives through construction areas, small towns and cities and heavier traffic. With appropriate hints and suggestions she learned to mountain drive such routes as Valdez to Anchorage on the Glenn and Richardson highway in Alaska, and is now comfortable on such challenging routes. In the past few years she has even driven the rig through Atlanta rush hour traffic. I have complete confidence in her driving now, and when we are pushing hard for a destination, (600-800 miles a day) we alternate driving chores with 2 to 3 hours in the seat and the other either resting and reading in the copilot seat or sleeping on the couch. My only problem with her driving is getting her out of the driver seat so I can get my turn. ( I encourage cold drinks. LOL) By the way, we are both 75 years old.
OUTSTANDING

To the both of you!!
Scott
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