Women Driving the RVs...

[MonacoMama]

I have talked to a few women lately about if they drive their rigs or not..so I am now curious of the following...
<UL TYPE=SQUARE><LI>How many of you females CAN drive their RVs if they need to<LI>How many drive their RVs because they want to<LI>How many will give up RVing because they have never been taught how to?[/list]
MM
YOU men who are members here that are reading this need to get your wives/SO to join or you need to answer this question for them...

[MonacoMama]

I have talked to a few women lately about if they drive their rigs or not..so I am now curious of the following...
<UL TYPE=SQUARE><LI>How many of you females CAN drive their RVs if they need to<LI>How many drive their RVs because they want to<LI>How many will give up RVing because they have never been taught how to?[/list]
MM
YOU men who are members here that are reading this need to get your wives/SO to join or you need to answer this question for them...

[RV Wizard]

My wife, Amy can and has drivent the coach. It is important in caseof an emergency but many time she has asked me if I wnated her to drive. If we were doing long hours all day long I would let her but we don't do that much any more. This is a good question and something to ponder.

[Frankie]

Karen has driven a couple times for a short period.First time was 2 summers ago.I thought I was missing out by not being able to ride in the back.Boy was I wrong.With 3 active kids and two little dogs,I couldnt wait to get behind the wheel again.

[DonnaB]

I CAN drive it. It was important to me to know how and feel comfortable for the "just in case" factor. I was once stuck in have to situation in a class c with a motorcycle trailer on the back when Don broke his arm while out for the weekend. Believe me, that isn't when you want to learn.

I have only done this because I WANTed to. I think he likes being the driver and that's OK. I just want to drive often enough, even if infrequently, so that I retain the comfort factor.

NO WAY....at least not at this juncture. I have considered that I might get something smaller. Then I slapped myself to my senses. It is all a mindset. You can do anything you put your mind to learning. I have worked to learn all the things I don't normally do like the dumping, the filling, hooking up the tow, etc. I don't usually do them, but have and can and feel like I could do it all if I had to. And, I know where all the books and documentation reside and would not hesitate to go there too.

[dmason]

My wife can drive ours with no problem. We switch off in two hour increments on long drives. And when we get into the CG she's the "backer upper". I'm on the outside giving the directions to her. At one large rally when we were being directed into our parking space the parking crew commented, "I wish half the men could park as good as she does."

Richard & Mary Lou
07 HR Specter
42 PLQ

[Olive]

Being a single fulltime female, I am surprised at the number of women who tell me they would never get behind the wheel of their rig. I try to tell them how it's not as hard as they perceive it to be and they should know in case of emergency. It then surprises me again at the number of women who say that won't happen to them. I'm sure many think it also, as we all do. There may be many of those whose husbands do most of all of the auto driving so they are not or no longer comfortable there either.

I know the Winnie GNR and possibly other rallies have women driving seminars where they have lecture and driving instruction.

I love driving my coach. Would rather be driving it than a car. Don't do interstates though if possible - boring.

Husbands encourage your wife to learn to drive at least to be able to handle your coach to get to a safe place in an emergency. I pray it never happens but it is another insurance policy. Our coaches are big investments and spouses are your most precious gift. And, after she gets over the fear factor , she may actually enjoy it .

[Happymi]

When we bought our motor home, we took a three day driving course with a professional driving school in central Florida.

I would really recommend anyone that hasn't taken a safety driving course to do so. We wanted to take the course to learn how to do it right. Accidents will always happen but knowing how to avoid them is key. The man that taught us was a retired Greyhound driver for 30 years. He taught us techniques about how to turn in different situations. How to back up into campgrounds. How to assist the driver with hands signals when necessary. Campground courtesies, unspoken rules of rving. Safety issues inside and outside our rig. He took us from A to Z about our coach. How to start off in the mornings and end when you stop.

One of my fears were. If someone in front of you stops quickly how do you handle that? Well!! How about trying it? What !!!!! I ask?????? Oh Boy! So now we are in an area where nothing could endanger us, other than my fear of turning over a 43 ft MH. He has me drive about 45 miles per hour then just slam on the brakes. It was a lesson learned about how long it takes to stop the MH, it also showed us about what happens inside the MH. Like they say, a picture is worth a thousand words. Things were everywhere thrown about. You have to remember that he had already kind of tucked everything away before we started this adventure. I didn't realize what he was doing when he was tucking things away, I thought he was just being anal about my house keeping skills.

Have you ever tried making a u turn with a 43 footer? We did, piece of cake. When you know how.

He did mention that he thought I was a better driver than the husband. That didn't go over too well.

We decided that I drive one day and then he drives the next. The husband says he likes the looks I get when we pull into a campground and when they see me driving they all just watch for me to do something wrong. Our instructor said that when men see a women driving into the campground they will run into their coach, grab a beer and a chair and just watch and laugh. I haven't had that happen yet but I am sure it will along the way. One time a women ran into her coach and came out with a glass of wine to toast me.

I feel confident to drive now. My husband says he likes it as well. He gets to enjoy our trips just as much as I do from the passenger seat. This way we share responsibilities of navigating and yes what about an emergency? You should know how.

I would continue this lifestyle as long as I keep enjoying it with or without him.

I would not recommend anyone to force themselves to drive if they aren't comfortable with it. If you think about wanting to drive, then go for it and get trained to do it right.

Happymi

[islandtime]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by MonacoMama:
I have talked to a few women lately about if they drive their rigs or not..so I am now curious of the following...
<UL TYPE=SQUARE><LI>How many of you females CAN drive their RVs if they need to<LI>How many drive their RVs because they want to<LI>How many will give up RVing because they have never been taught how to?[/list]
MM
YOU men who are members here that are reading this need to get your wives/SO to join or you need to answer this question for them... </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I'm lucky as i was a Long Haul truck driver in past life so no problems pulling our TT.
But would rather hubby do it.

[ruppr]

Kris and I both share the driving, wouldn't have bought the rig if she wasn't comfortable driving it (she actually did the test drive)and she loves driving.

As far as backing and setting up the rig, she can and does-- do it all!
(very well I might add)

Healthwise (men) I believe all women should be able to drive in a emergency, if they don't like driving on a regular basis.

Best,

[Barbaraok]

I drive about 1/3 to 1/2 of the time. And I do most of back-in parking as Dave is better at giving directions to me to get the coach in the place he wants it to be. And have my Class A license from Texas for driving a larger rig.

I really worry about women who don't drive (exempting those with physicial limitations) as what happens in an emergency. Suppose hubby breaks his ankle - do you want to sit somewhere for 6 weeks waiting for the cast to come off?

Barb

[GraciesMom]

When I was moving out of my cabin before taking off RVing for the first time, my ex-boyfriend was standing near our driveway talking to one of our neighbors who was in his 80's. I pulled up and started to back the truck into the driveway to hitch up the 5'er and I heard the neighbor ask, "Don't you need to back that in for her?" My ex just laughed and told him I was a Marine and could back up better than he could. This man's wife never drove. It wasn't because of the fact that a lot of women didn't learn to drive back in "those days", it was because he didn't want her driving. I see that attitude still exists with some couples I've met on the road and I don't get it! That puts a lot of stress on the man, to have to drive such long distances!

If I don't drive it, it doesn't move since I'm single. BUT, when I was RVing with my ex with the Teton 5'er/Ford truck, we switched drivers every two hours as a safety precaution to prevent fatigue related incidents.

When we got the MH, the ex acted as if I was incapable of driving - even though I'm the one with a Class A CDL and had driven 18 wheelers!!! He drove everywhere in the MH and in the toad (a macho thing). By the time we split up, I felt strange getting behind the wheel of ANYTHING.

But I love driving the MH. If I was in a relationship, I think it would be important for me to drive. I'm certainly capable of driving long distances alone. I've driven cross country alone several times - and when my mom had a heart attack in Alabama and we were in Texas, I drove straight through on sheer adrenaline.

[GaryKD]

This is our 30th year of motor coaching our way around North America. The wife has never driven the coach, doesn't want to learn and could care less.

I lost a bet with the Confidence Course instructor at Lazy Days. We were there for a rally. I bet him a Coca Cola if I got the wife to his class she would never take the driving part. I lost. She took the classromm and driving part of the class and got her certificate. She still will not drive.

If something happens to me:
1. If it is critical Sky Med will take care of the the rig (and me).
2. If it is not critical, she will either stay until I can drive or fly to the stick house and wait for my return (with the coach).

She wants no part of moving the coach, under any (and I do mean any) circumstances.

[TXiceman]

My wife can drive it, hitch up and unhitch, but she will not back it unless it is a last resort.

She has driven every Rv we have had...pop up, TT, class A, class C, 5er and back to a TT.

Ken