How hard are these RVs to drive?

Everyone's comfort level is different, of course. Remember, though, if you get the front of a 45' diesel pusher thru a toll booth, the rest of the unit will follow. You have to drive conservatively and carefully until you get used to your rig. If you pass someone remember how much rig you have behind you before you pull back into the lane. Rear swing from large overhangs can be a concern. I have the most difficulty at gas stations whether with a class A pulling a toad, or with the FW, so I always try to have an exit plan set up ahead of time. Havin towed a variety of stuff for many years, I still got hung up at the gas station last week towing my 21' boat (got too close to the end of the fuel aisle and had to back up.) I felt a bit silly and just knew everyone was watching me.

The largest vehicle I drove before getting our 32' Class C Motorhome was a 26' U Haul. I drove it from NJ to GA without issue. I was confident our 32' Motorhome wouldn't be much different. The day after we bought the Motorhome, we drove from NJ to GA and I had no troubles.

Just realize that you need to treat it like the large vehicle it is. Don't going whipping around corners like it is a sports car. Don't expect it to stop on a dime, although I was pleasantly surprised how well our E-450 based Motorhome brakes. Make sure you leave more room when you turn and use your mirrors all the time.

Our Motorhome came with a backup camera that really helps when backing up. My wife rarely needs to get out of the Motorhome to help me back into a camp site. And when she does, our camera does visual and audio, so I can hear her give directions without her having to yell or use a 2 way radio.

-Michael

groundhogy wrote:
I only have a standard drivers license.

I am thinking if I go Class C or A, I will attempt to stay less than 30 ft in length.

The pull behinds really scare me but do interest me as I can separate the engine from the RV.

Should I start with a small RV and then get bigger?

groundhogy

Not a bad strategy.

Really driving them down the highway, trailer or Class A/C, is not really hard. And if you watch your turns - not too hard off the highway.

Parking on the other hand - backing it up - learning about overhead clearance, etc - are hard to learn if you've never driven a trailer much.

Some units, trailers and Class A & C - have a big swing of the rear end. Some units have 10 to 15 feet (or more) between the real axle and the rear bumper. My first trailer had about 8 feet, my current one has 14 feet.

I've measured, when I make a tight turn the rear bumper can swing almost four feet out from the track of the tires.

Backing up - never ever do it without someone watching behind you. Stop and get out and look if you have doubts.

Overhead - these things are much taller than you are used to. Watch out, look out, look up. You don't just have to worry about overpasses, you have to watch service station awnings, trees, etc.

Go slow - never rush. Rushing leads to broken RVs.

Practice, practice, practice, and make sure both adults in the rig (if there are two) can maneuver the rig. At some point, the 'non-driver' is going to have to do something.

It's your fault if the DW has to backup and you've never given her the chance to learn how to do it properly.

I think ol'grouch sums it up best.
I have a commercial class A license, have driven fire trucks for the better part of 30 years and was a DMV certified driving instructor for the fire district I worked for.

A lot of these recommendations really concern me.
An empty box van drives nowhere near what a 25000 lb. class A drives like.

My recommendation is to educate yourselves as much as possible, through classes and actual driving time if you can find a rig to drive.

Simply "taking it slow and easy" is a poor recommendation.
You absolutely have to know how your rig handles. I.e. Turning radius , stopping distance, starting distance , inclement weather handling, and on and on and on.
How far does your rear end swing out when making a sharp turn ? Wheelbase makes a difference.
Have you ever backed a vehicle using only the rear view mirrors? Most people have not.
When your vehicle is 8 1/2 feet wide and the lane is 12 feet wide, there is not much room for error.

I don't want to discourage you at all but there really is a lot to consider before jumping in with both feet. Unfortunately most people don't consider all of the facts before jumping in.

I hope this helps. And good luck with whatever you choose to do.

Awesome suggestions.

Wheel locations, practicing, labels, dots.... lol.
thank you.

First: License requirements vary from state to state,,, Where I live, and where Im licensed, a Standard "Operators" is all that is needed, and all that I have.

Some states depending on the size of the ride you may need an endorsement, check with your DMV


Now: I will tell you this, be it a A, B or C, when you climb up into that cockpit for the first time it will be an O M G moment.. I have driven everything from riding lawn mowers to semi trucks and for me it was an O M G moment, I mean this thing is BIG.

By the time I got home from the dealer I was feeling better.

And after a couple more trips more and more comfortable.

SUGGESTION, Find a big, empty, paring lot (Shopping mall after hours) and drive around the lot a bit, this is a good way to Get the feel... You also want to learn where the center line is on your windshield so find the spot and consider putting an inventory control dot on the glass where the center line should be.

As other posters have said, if you can drive a large U-haul, you can drive an A or C. You will need to develop your spatial awareness though. It will be a lot long than car or pickup. A cousin (who is pig headed) had a utility trailer. He pulled across a highway like he normally would and stopped in the cross over. His trailer was poorly lit and got clipped as it was sticking into the lanes he just crossed.

You will need to keep in mind the height, width and length. Width is easy. Your mirrors stick out slightly past the rest of the unit so if they clear, the rest will. Height is a bit more problematic. A's are a bit easier here as the windshield usually goes most of the way up. Your roof a/c units are higher so keep that in mind. Length is where you have to be most careful. With units where the axle is towards the rear, especially the high end models, you have to remember to swing wide so you don't scrape the side on the inside of the turn. C's and some of the lower end A's have the rear axle almost in the middle of the chassis. On these, they will turn pretty sharp. BUT (<---- note the big but!) they will also swing out in back. Sharp turns without enough clearance will have you clipping parked cars, mail boxes, posts, buildings and so on.

If you do get a unit, measure how tall it is at it's highest point. My class B is 9'2. Over the windshield I have it marked as 9'6. This give a bit of cushion if someone else, like a mechanic, drives the unit. I have seen class A's that are 22 and 25 feet long. I'd go from my B to one of those in a heart beat if I could find one. I'm limited on parking space. The A's seem to hold up better than C's, although how they are taken care of makes a world of difference. Generally the C's leak more in the roof and that does major damage inside. My B won't leak unless I hit a low bridge due to the fiberglass top. I have seen C's that were as long as an A. The advantage to a C here is over the driver sleeping or storage. At 6 foot, I prefer the head room through out.

One last thing. Whatever you buy, before you plunk money down, drive it and see how it is to get out of the drivers seat and go into the back. This is for if you stop on the road in a rest area to use your toilet and get a snack out of the back. I can do it in my B but it's a struggle. A smaller person wouldn't have as much trouble as I do.

if I can tow a 35 ft TT any one can. I fall short of saying unless you are a complete fool, you should be able to adjust to pulling and backing up just about any thing. I am the kind of guy that just has to know how things work and act before I just into it. I have been on the forum for some time and some of the advice I got early long was to hook up and go to wal mart or some other large parking lot and practice, practice, practice. it's not like voluntary breathing but it is like learning to feed yourself. it can be done.

I had some experience driving tractor/trailers in my younger years, so for us jumping right into a large fiver wasn't a big deal.

Friends of ours started full timing in their 50's and had never even set foot in an RV prior to shopping for one. They purchased a large Class A in Tampa. The dealer had regular classes they took for several days on driving the rig and maintaining it. They told us that when they were done that week both of them felt very comfortable driving, parking, and backing their large Class A.

Over 10 years later they are still living the dream!

I have to say I was pretty terrified the first few times I drove my Allegro M-31. But after a while I realized that it's not too much harder than driving a box truck. Now that I have about 1,000 miles under my belt (not a lot, I know) I'm a lot more confident. I'm still careful where I bring it so I don't get into tight turn-around or backing situations but driving it now is like second nature. I know where the rear of it is, when and what it will hit when I turn (watch those gas pumps!), etc.

Sitting atop the steering wheels takes a little getting used to versus a Class C where you are basically in a car seating position. There is virtually no overhang in the front on the A so when you look out your driver's side window what you see is what you get. You need to balance that with the large rear overhang. It's not hard to sort out, but it is a different sort of skill to master.

I like that I can see through the rear window of mine easily. I may graduate to a larger, diesel coach one day where I would have to rely on mirrors and/or a backup camera. But for now I like being able to see everything.