Age to start driving 24' class C

midnightsadie wrote:
my daughter was 18teen and drove our 26ft 300 miles on a trip did great, BUT she is a mature level headed teen,, is yours? shes also a farm gal with alot of tractor time .

I think the latter is as important as the first. My 17 year old is extremely mature and highly intelligent. But due to our transient life in the military combined with more urban living, she has little driving experience. No way would I let her drive an RV. My wife can't either and she grew up in the city with no experience prior to a driver's license.

I grew up on Honda mini-bikes at 7-8 years old. Mowed with a Snapper riding mower at 9 years old or so and was driving a tractor by 12. At the time, you could get a driver's license at 15 in Louisiana partly due to the rural nature of boys driving farm equipment. Dad had me backing the boat down the ramp at 15-16 even if I wasn't pulling it down the highway. By 17 I would pull a 26' gooseneck with a F-350 dually and stick shift, although always with an adult in the vehicle.

Experience driving matters as much as maturity. I wish I could have given my kids more experience with go-carts, etc. when they were young. I bet the best heavy equipment operators were working with equipment at a young age just as athletes/artists/etc. practiced their craft from childhood.

I say if he at least start him driving it in parking lots, open areas to get experience if he does well with cars/trucks.