Community Forums

sasdau · 10-27-2020, 05:25 AM

My husband and I (Charlie and Deborah) retired from corporate America on December 31, 2018. Three months later my husband injured his back working on his man cave barn on our farm! After two surgeries he is back in the saddle again and almost 95% back to normal! We are blessed!!! So now we can actually begin our next chapter of life in our new motorhome! Our son moved to Illinois in January 2019. We have been traveling to see him by plane up until March of this year when Covid 19 hit. Its time we go visit him now on our new Motorhome. We are thrilled we can also bring along our two fur babies, Emma and Wylie. Both Jack Russell Terriers. We purchased just last week. 2018 Forest River 3 30DS. One owner. 11K miles. Excellent condition! We purchased from Camping World. We have owned three travel trailers since 1992 but they were all on permanent RV resort sites set up with decking and underpinned. We sold all three and moved from the RV Resort and purchased a home in Emerald Isle, NC where we have been since 2001. Its time for a new adventure by way of our new motorhome now. We will take short 2-3 hour camping trips until we get more comfortable with the motorhome. We plan to go to Illinois in May 2021 once the snow and cold weather have subsided up North. We live down South right outside of Raleigh, NC so we are not cold weather fans for sure! My only concern as of today is getting used to driving it. I told my hubby that if I cannot drive it comfortably myself then I don't want to purchase it. I would like the hubby and I to take turns driving the motorhome. My test drive in this motorhome was on I-40 during the worst part of traffic in Raleigh, NC and thru construction and concrete barriers on both sides of the highway! Lots of cones and lots of tractor trailers zooming by! My palms were sweating and I was scared to death but I did the 30 minute test drive successfully. I can't let intimidation get the better of me! I drove a school bus as a way to make money when I was in high school when I was 16-17-18. That was a long time ago and back then I was fearless! LOL! Any tips on how to overcome this fear would be so appreciated! Charlie and I are looking forward to learning more about our motorhome and all the great places in the US that we can visit in the months and years ahead! Thank you for this forum! Looking forward to meeting some really nice folks through IRV2!

**TonyDi** · 10-27-2020, 05:44 AM

We're glad to see you have joined us.

Experience is the best teacher and you will feel more comfortable as time behind the wheel increases. Even experienced drivers will feel times of nervousness. You might want to consider taking a driving course for RVs. A lot of time, larger RV dealerships will have qualified instructors.

inlineskater · 10-27-2020, 06:10 AM

Just drive, drive, drive, and you will get used to it. There will be times with sweaty palms, but you will do fine. You can always pull over and rest. You can wait out the weather. Most important of all know the route you want to drive.

Watch for bridges.

**Spdracr39** · 10-27-2020, 06:18 AM

Welcome !!

There are many good folks here to offer help and advice, glad you could join the party

Safe Travels!!

MSHappyCampers · 10-27-2020, 09:32 AM

Hi Deborah & Charlie! Welcome to IRV2! We're sure glad you joined us!

Congrats on the new rig! Have fun and keep her between the ditches!

Good luck, happy trails, and God bless!

momdoc · 10-28-2020, 11:33 AM

Welcome to the forum and congrats on the new coach.

You are joining a good group of folks here with good information to share. Read the various threads here and ask questions as they come up or add information if you can.

Good luck and the adventure!

Roy-c · 10-28-2020, 12:11 PM

Welcome and not to worry. Practice, practice and then practice some more. none of us were born knowing to drive a motorhome. Stay calm and you will be fine.