How to get your DW to learn to drive the MH

[lenkerb]

I am ready to take over the driving when I am needed. Right now we don't drive more than three hours a day which gives us a lot of resting time. And because he drives the RV, I drive him in the toad...Jeep Wrangler!

[unw1red]

The situation now is we use the MH primarily for taking my DD to softball camps and tournaments. These range from a 3- to an 8-hour drive, one way. Because we normally don't get done until Sunday PM, it forces us to drive straight through to get home Sunday night. I don't mind driving at night, but it would be nice to break up the 8-hour drives with my DW driving for an hour or two in the middle. I can stretch my legs (I'm 6'6" tall), get a drink and/or snack, and use the facilities without the need of stopping except for the driver exchange.

At this point in our MH life, I'm not even sure the passenger seat will work while the MH is in motion. [emoji53]

I would like to take in some of the countryside as well.

[frankdamp]

It was a total no-brainer for us. We didn't check carefully when we bought the MH, but after we got it home, we discovered it was physically impossible for DW to drive it. She's not very tall, with short legs.

Since the F-53 set-up didn't have adjustable pedals and the seat fore/aft was limited, her feet didn't reach the pedals. Since there was no vertical seat adjustment, her feet didn't touch the floor either. To cap it off the steering column wasn't telescopic and had a very limited angular adjustment.

I had driven Gillig transit coaches, which had a Recaro driver's seat with lots of vertical, recline, cushion angle and fore/aft adjustment, along with a steering column that had two universal joints and about 18" of vertical adjustment of the wheel. Drivers between 4' 8" and 7 ft tall could get a good seating position.

If we'd kept the RV, I was considering going to a bus wrecking yard for a set of Gillig controls and seats. We both found the Flexsteel seats to be very uncomfortable, whereas I could drive the buses for 8 hours without any discomfort.

[Bobb.25]

I have concurred with my DW's desire not to drive our coach. As she has become older, she tends to tense up and react too suddenly. Construction areas on the interstates are the worst. I have clipped barrels and cones where they have been placed too close to the narrowed lane that we are driving in. I don't mind. I just make slow and steady steering corrections where I have too. I recall a time that I was being tailgated by an 18 wheeler that thought I was going too slow down hill in narrow repaving construction zone. With my right side tire I caught the ring around the bottom of an orange barrel sending the barrel flipping up into the air. As I watched in the mirror the trucker had panic braked, and was fighting to keep from jackknifing. I do get tired, and try to limit my driving days to what I know that I can handle, 350 to 400miles on the interstates. I let DW sleep, and wake her up if something interesting comes along for her to see. When I can no longer drive like this, I will sell the coach.
Bob

[jondrew55]

I do pretty much all the driving. We've decided she needs to get used to driving too. We were on a trip over the summer and got stuck in a 7 hour traffic Jam on I75 in Fl. I got up and she took the drivers seat for a while while I rested. We moved maybe 100 feet per hour or whatever. A couple of weeks later we just decided she'd do a real drive so we took off from the house and headed for the highway. Went for about a 30 mile trip. No issues. She has more of a lead foot than I do so I had to keep reminding her these things can be hard to stop. Other than that she can drive just fine. All you need is the confidence and desire. Obviously if you have some physical limitation that's another story, and is completely gender agnostic.

[Nana25K]

I am so sorry for all of you. I do all the driving and love it. I started out sharing when we had the 5th wheel and the MH. Now a health issue prevents Ron from driving much so the drivers seat is all mine.
I will say the for me it was easier to learn on secondary 4 lane highways. Speed limits were lower and not as much wind etc. It is still my preferred travel route.

Find a huge empty parking lot, give her the keys, then stand outside and direct her around. Use some cones to set up scenarios for her to maneuver thru. Many women will eventually admit that learning to drive with their spouse is THE problem. Find someone else to ride around with her.

And don't worry about dings. I just dinged ours on the back corner and rubbed off a layer of paint on a small spot. Its fixable and I was mad but I got over it

[bsirby]

I sure hope you don't have the situation I did. I know how to drive the MH 37', because I can see my DH needs a break occasionally. We stopped in PA first thing in the a.m. at Walmart to get groceries for later. After getting back in the MH and ready to leave, my DH became sick and he passed out. I immediately called an ambulance and he was taken to the local hospital where he spent the night. That left me with our dog and cat in a hot MH in the middle of the parking lot. After checking on DH, I was able to find a campground nearby. I drove through the city to this campground and pulled into a campsite while upset to boot. The owner did guide me in and helped me hook up, but the fact remains, I was alone to get things taken care of.


It is so important for women to have the ability to take over if necessary.


I started by sitting in the drivers seat and driving a short distance around campgrounds, or pulled out of gas lanes, etc. Just sitting behind the wheel got me a little comfortable. You can also take her to a parking lot and let her take a few turns there. Then it was on to the highway. I had a death grip on the steering wheel, but with guidance from DH on keeping the MH within the white lines I gradually became comfortable. It didn't take that long before the Tractor Trailers didn't bother me. I can pass, but I usually am not running over 65 so it rarely is necessary. So I only have to deal with TT on one side as they pass me.


I think it is a shame that some men won't let their wives learn to drive or that wives don't want to help out with the driving. We don't drive all that far in a day, but it still gives DH a chance to chill and look at the scenery.

[unw1red]

Originally Posted by bsirby

I think it is a shame that some men won't let their wives learn to drive or that wives don't want to help out with the driving. We don't drive all that far in a day, but it still gives DH a chance to chill and look at the scenery.

I truly appreciate the perspective and the consideration.

This is a life lesson I try to teach my daughter. I want a man to love her, not because she needs him to survive, but because she doesn't need him to survive.

[docj]

When we purchased our 40' Class A 5 years ago, I already had a Class B CDL so driving it wasn't all that new an experience. However, both of us wanted my wife to be able to share the driving and also to be able to drive if an emergency presented itself.

We arranged for RV Driving School to give her a 4 hour lesson and I was amazed how much was covered in that time. The instructor had her driving on all sorts of roads as well as practicing slow speed maneuvers as if one was pulling into a site. After that lesson she had enough confidence to take it out on the highway; nothing beats lonely stretches of I-90 in WY and MT!

These days she drives about 1/3 of the time we are on the road. Since we usually drive ~6 hour days, I will start the day for a couple of hours; she then takes over until lunchtime and then I usually finish. We vary the pattern depending on the specific circumstances; she still likes me to take the rig through heavy traffic like in Atlanta, Houston, etc.

[rbpower]

after reading this I asked the wife about getting behind the wheel of ours for a test run. she did not like at first but i convenced her that she needs to be able to get us home if I get sick and cant drive.. she agreed and is going to drive on the next trip that we take in 2 weeks, but instead of I10 like I thought she would want to do she wanted to run the 20 miles on back roads to get to the interstate. so she will be driving the 85' and 60,000# rig. we just did a test fit to make sure she can touch the peddles and it looks good. I will report back in a few weeks after we get home

[Davdeb1]

Originally Posted by unw1red

I love driving our coach and don't mind the long days or many miles, but on certain occasions, we have to drive straight through on Sunday to get our daughter back in time for school on Mondays. On these occasions, it would be great if my DW would drive for just an hour or two to give me a mental and physical break.

He seems to be terrified and very adamant about not learning to drive our 40-footer. I told her that I am just asking for her to drive it on the interstate where the driving is relatively easy compared to city streets or country highways.

I will say that my DW has a propensity for not being completely attentive to all that needs to be considered while driving. I have several body work and insurance claims on our automobiles to prove it. I would never ask her to back it in or take it off the highway. Pulling out of or into a rest area would be the most non-interstate driving she would do.

Any ideas on how I can show her that it isn't as scary as it looks? I am not planning on sleeping while she drives, simply sit in the passenger seat and try not to get agitated or scared.

Forget it! If she doesn't want to drive, leave a day earlier to get back. You will lower everyone's stress level including yours. You are asking for trouble, so just leave on Saturday.

[unw1red]

85ft and 60,000 lbs? Do you own a battleship? [emoji12]

[unw1red]

Originally Posted by Davdeb1

Forget it! If she doesn't want to drive, leave a day earlier to get back. You will lower everyone's stress level including yours. You are asking for trouble, so just leave on Saturday.

Apparently you overlooked our situation. Due to my daughter's schedule, we can't leave a day early.

[palehorse89]

Originally Posted by unw1red

85ft and 60,000 lbs? Do you own a battleship? [emoji12]

He is close to it..............What ya think?