Community Forums

ladagobago · 07-16-2017, 04:56 PM

Personally, I had a lot of driving experience but still to the MH to the nearest school a practice left, right and backing up. Learn how to use your mirrors. Now my wife never had experience except driving my van with a 30 boat on the back. She never did back it up but did very well down the road.

I took her to the school parking lot and helped her with left turns etc.

When we went to the Winnebago national meet, she took the "ladies" course on driving skill and did very well. Both she and I drive now over 35K miles and never an incident.

Changing lanes is the biggest of all driving thrill as the car drivers never let you over. All they want to do is get past you in any fashion possible. I have a side view camera and always use my mirrors to insure there is no one on the right.

The only other thing is of course - when in traffic - always be prepared to stop emergency style as the idot car drivers think you leave all that space in front of you (stopping distance) for them to fill before you get there.

Even after you get instruction, practice - practice practice and then practice until you know you can do it.

Noelj · 07-16-2017, 04:59 PM

And remember, every time you get out on the road, you will learn something new, because no one ever knows it all.

drjnick · 07-16-2017, 05:51 PM

My wife and i both took a driving course, the instructor came to us and spent 2-3 day.s with training. It was extremely helpful and we would both recommend doing this, you never can have too much knowledge or experience. I don't remember the name of the driving school, but I have that info on the coach if you are interested PM me and I will check. We live in Fort Myers, FL and the instructor was from Ocala and his name was Chuck Urwiler. He was very knowledgeable and we now feel comfortable handling the coach.

Dr J Nick

**pasdad1** · 07-16-2017, 06:03 PM

This is good info...

https://youtu.be/lkwOE1yKY5c

tmw188 · 07-16-2017, 06:44 PM

If it's a gasser with a lot of tail swing go to a empty parking lot pull along side a stripe run 2x4 or similar plumb down to the ground and the end of your rig and mark the ground then make a slow hard turn away from that side and have someone stop you when you have swung out as far as you did. Measure your swing and keep that in mind when turning. Keep it in mind when turning also when cars are next to you or approaching you that you don't swing out into them. I have a 12'6" overhang from center of rear axle and I swing out 27" I use 3' as my guess for clearance.

JFXG · 07-16-2017, 08:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by drjnick

.....I don't remember the name of the driving school, but I have that info on the coach if you are interested PM me and I will check. We live in Fort Myers, FL and the instructor was from Ocala and his name was Chuck Urwiler. He was very knowledgeable and we now feel comfortable handling the coach.

Dr J Nick

Drjnick and buster......

Chuck Urwiller is with The RV Driving School, at www.rvschool.com

britcon · 07-16-2017, 10:12 PM

Check with your Insurance company - many offer discounts for completing a recognised driving class. In our case, 10 % discount.

philmckinney · 07-16-2017, 10:23 PM

My wife and I rented (via outdoorsy) a MH similar to the one we ordered. We stayed in it for 3 days as a test .. The owner offered to not only teach us to drive but to also put us through the full experience ... setup, leveling, slide outs, dump station, etc. He showed us everything about the MH including options he wished he had and ones he feels weren't worth the money he spent.

We did this before finalizing the order to make sure we knew what we were getting in to ..

Worth every penny.

billdreamlv · 07-16-2017, 10:27 PM

Unless you are a Navy pilot, I would get some training. It is a lot like low level flying. IMHO

slickest1 · 07-17-2017, 04:17 PM

I am in the get the training camp. If you ask the question then it tells me you want to do it right. There are lots of people that disagree and say you can wing it on your own. Many people do but they never mention the boo boo's.
I have driven commercially for the last 35 years and have driven all combinations of trucks and trailers. When I bought my 38 ft. DP it was a bit of a learning curve.
I think having some professional training is money well spent and you can go out and enjoy your new rv and be confident in driving it. Like others have said get the DW involved also.

Betr2Trvl · 07-17-2017, 04:36 PM

Our RV is our first, which we took delvery of back in March of 2015. We had a driving instructor meet us at our dealer the day after delivery (we left it there overnight) and we did a 1/2 day training with him, including freeway driving, maneuvering skills in a big parking lot, as well as going into a gas station and discussion how to get in and out. And finally, getting up to about 35-40 mph and slamming on the brakes and fully engaging ABS (he did ask if everything was reasonably secured first). It was worth every penny of the $500 for both of us.

We had also spent a lot of time looking at the Lazy Daze videos, as well as a lot of reading here, and other materials to get the most input we could absorb before that first outing, and in reality, every day since.

Taking off that afternoon on our short drive to our first weekend outing was still a bit tense on the freeway, but all was good.

I will also say, that they many years of doing high performance driving programs, and racing schools was extremely helpful in driving an RV. Yes, what much of what you learn to drive a car at high speeds on a race track applies to driving an RV: vehicle dynamics, weight transfer, traction circle, braking techniques, turn geometry / apex points, and even little things like "eyes up", proper hands / driving position, etc.

Regards

tmw188 · 07-17-2017, 07:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by britcon

Check with your Insurance company - many offer discounts for completing a recognised driving class. In our case, 10 % discount.

Yes this is true even with the Lazy Days class.

Crasher · 07-18-2017, 08:09 AM

All you have to do is look at some of the very basic questions being asked on the forum to see that several people should have taken an introductory RV class. A class A motorhome is a big jump for people who have never operated anything bigger than their SUV. There is no substitute for being well informed before you take the wheel.

jondrew55 · 07-18-2017, 08:20 AM

It floors me that (at least in Florida) you have to get a seperate cert to drive a motorcycle, but you can just jump in a giant RV or boat and cruise away. I'm not for big brother interference, but you should have to demonstrate basic operating competency before going out on public roads or waterways. I'm especially amazed the insurance companies don't require some sort of training before providing insurance or at least provide a discount for those that do.

That aside, I just jumped in and off I went. We've had trailers and Motorhome for over 30 years and I guess I'm self trained. However, even though my wife has driven our Discovery briefly, I don't think she feels comfortable doing it. I plan on heading out to Lazydays in Tampa and have both of us take the driving school. I know it's better to have a 3rd party peach her, and I'd be amazed if there are not lots of things I'm doing wrong that could be corrected.