Newbie driver

Surprised no one mentioned stopping distance is longer with a heavy unit,might want to practiice a few quick stops also.Higher center of gravity also effects handling,will be a lot more body roll and reaction to a sudden steering input than a car.Cross wind when passing,or being passed by another large vehicle will cause a noticable push from the air pressure.Know your height and train yourself to read all height markings on bridges and fuel islands. This may save you a very expensive lesson. Good to know your weight as well,if you are on side road and find a low weight limit bridge.Another good thing to do is set an object beside the passenger side and drive slowly past and see if it can be seen in the mirror the whole time,if not you have a blind spot. Adjust your mirrors and-or get convex mirror to remedy. Mirrors-adjust so you do not see your vehicle at all,it will never hit you,so you do not need to see it. Also aim them down,no need to see the sky,unless you are tracking low flying planes HaHa.You should be able to see out your mirrors without moving anything but your eyes and neck.Hope this helps,and as the others state...practice in a empty lot until you are comfortable with the size.

Try renting a rental truck. some have the van type noses on them. Just dont forget to get the insurance!!!!!!!!

This will help you out. Barney Alexander's RV Driver Confidence Course Videos. Watch these videos and then get yourself some traffic cones and head to the nearest large empty parking lot.

Forgot to mention... On our MH, there's an amber clearance light on each side just ahead of the rear wheel. These are visible in the mirrors, and they make it easier to avoid hitting anything with the rear wheels as well as setting up the "pivot point" for the vehicle while backing and turning.

--Tim C.

tommy salmon wrote:
Sounds like good advice! I too am a newbie, and I tend to crowd the fog line even though I can easily see the center stripe on my side. Any suggestions? Also, how does "tailswing" affect towing a toad 4 down?

Practice is the key here..lots of it! As far as tailswing, one important thing it to always start rolling before making a sharp turn. Otherwise the toad steering wheel may slam to lock and drag the front wheels.

Empty church/school parking lots, orange cones, and practice, practice, practice, then practice some more. Do figure 8s around the parking lot, then practice backing up, practice parallel parking (again, it is so you know where your rear is), if you have a back up camera, practice backing up with it using cones, etc. We did several weekends doing at in empty parking lots at the local university, helped me feel confident when we did our driving tests to upgrade our licenses.

Barb

Sounds like good advice! I too am a newbie, and I tend to crowd the fog line even though I can easily see the center stripe on my side. Any suggestions? Also, how does "tailswing" affect towing a toad 4 down?

doxiemom11 wrote:
One tip that helped me is that, in a car you are sitting behind and inside from the tire on the front. In a motorhome you are sitting on top of the drivers side front tire.(in most of them anyways) Put yourself,as you ride in the seat, on the road where you want your drivers side tire to be.

Right. The best advice I ever got when I bought my 40 footer is to not start making a turn until your behind is over the point in the road over which you want your rear tire to roll.

For example, consider turning onto a road with two lanes each way and you want to end up in the outer lane. Drive straight until your bottom is lined up with the dashed white line and then begin making the turn. Feels weird, but works.

Possibiliity a truck driving school has an instructor who on their off time can teach you for a reasonable fee. Also, I learned to watch the mirrors, mirrors, mirrors! An instructor told the class I was in to watch the toad in the rear camera and if the toad was centered in your lane, you were fine.

Agree with the tailswing as mentioned above. Gas stations, trees in campgrounds and other parked vehicles (like at Cracker Barrel) can present a challenge, so take it slow, look in 6 directions at one time and you will do fine...

I do all the driving, DH is the navigator (when not napping!) So, I pretty well have to manage on my own.

like an old RV salesmen told my wife ,when we bought our first A,...."drive the front and the rest will follow "...a bit simplistic,but true..lol