Newbie a little nervous about driving a class a

[Stevenryals]

My wife and I just bought a very nice, well maintained 97 Thor Manor

I have never driven a class A.
Are there any classes I can take?
Are there any resources online that helps route a large vehicle to roads tahat are easily passable? This is a major concern for me - finding myself on a road I can pass or turn around. :-0

Did everyone else have a bit of nerves before their first time driving a long class a?

I pick it up next Wednesday. Looking for resources and reassurances. 🙂

[wa8yxm]

I second a few trips around a closed for the night Shopping mall, also practice backing into parking spaces.

My personal findings, first few trips. that house is BIG

After that, just like driving my car.

[BrianinMichigan]

In regards to the fuel hose, if your handy it's not that big of a job. I've changed mine twice now. Pull the old one off and go to the auto parts store to match up a new one.

[Jim]

Didn't read all four pages...

You should watch big rigs on the road. Do what they are doing, wide turns, slowing down early, etc.

Go to a parking lot with lanes marked. Center your RV in a lane. Put vinyl tape on the window so you know where you are when you are centered.

On unfamiliar roads...before you turn onto a suspect road, wait a bit. Park off to the side and watch traffic. If NO bus or truck goes up that road...move onto another road. Even if you have to wait an hour or more to see any traffic, do so.

Best advice though, is to really pay attention to what big vehicles are doing where you are. And follow their lead.

Driving a RV is NOT like driving a car. SLOW DOWN.

[ncrowley]

Glad you got home OK. I hope the line itself just needs to be replaced which should not be a big expense. The more miles you drive, the better you will get the feel of how your coach behaves.

[Stevenryals]

Inaugural drive yesterday from the dealership. 2 hours combined city and interstate driving. I did 1/2 and my wife did 1/2.
At first it was white knuckle, sweat dripping from the forehead type stuff.. but once we got going it was actually quite exhilarating. One thing that I'm going to have to get used to, when 18 Wheelers pass they tend to push me pretty hard away from them with their wake.. Obviously normal with such high profile vehicles, but still a bit of a shock when one passed me going 85 (me going 60) and ending up a foot out of my lane due to his "push"..

ordered my Garmin 760LMT GPS & Backup Camera..

Found a few issues with it..
1) one windshield wiper doesnt move. ?? weird.. I'll see if I can figure out what's going on there
2) cruise control doesnt work (ugggghhh) (hopefully a fuse.. or an dry rotted airhose)
3) and this is a big one.. when I gassed up, the gas line going into the gas tank was leaking A LOT.. that may be a pretty big expense..

[dubdub07]

I am always nervous when we start out. But it is easier to drive than my truck and FW. I am always surprised when I am out on the road how easy it is, I will say, always be aware of what what is up, as in trees, bridges...etc.

Bill

[RedJeep]

Doin'it wrote:
When I started driving Class A someone told me the first thousand miles would be nerve racking. And that was about right. I remember having to consciously relax my shoulders, loosen my grip and uncurl my toes. After the initial thousand, things eased considerably, except for fueling up. That caused angst for quite a while! Ha! Learn to quickly scope out the station and don't ever, ever pull into a spot you're not sure that you can pull out of. Do you know anyone who owns a Class A that could do a ride along with you and give some pointers? Practice in a big lot first. Always be aware of your tail swing. Fourteen years, second rig and 70,000 miles later, it is all still glorious! Have fun!

Ann from Kansas

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[DryCreek]

I will have to admit that I found driving a class A pretty daunting at first. But, we have had RV's of one sort or another for the past 29 years. My wife and I both routinely pull large loads on equipment trailers, or haul cattle. Our last two RV's were fifth wheelers. Both of my brothers hold CDL's and are long-haul truckers, and yet I still felt a little apprehensive about that first drive home. That apprehension is good - it will keep you focused until you build a driving routine. The funny part is, our class A is only a 30 footer! Fully loaded with toad it is far shorter and weighs less than our diesel pickup with a 30' dovetail and 20 rolls of hay. It didn't take long until I figured out the little nuances to driving a rig where the dimensions are "backwards" (tow vehicle longer than towed item). Just have someone mark the center of the front wheel (on our gasser it is at my knees) and then the center of the rear wheels. Once you have those two reference points the rest is simple geometry and visualization of the arc of the turn.

The only (obvious) tidbit I can add - don't drive past the capability of your brakes. Don't know that that is? Then try a controlled panic stop in a remote location with no traffic.

[crasster]

Take it slow. Get use to it. Don't try mountains yet. Exaggerate turns. Don't be afraid to WAIT till traffic is wide open even if it makes people mad behind you that want to turn. Once you are use to it, it's not that bad.... Except for steep mountain grades, where even veterans white knuckle it.

[jyrostng]

I didn't buy a DP because on the test drive I was so intimidated by the size. turning radius, backing up, The overall weight of the rig, the way the air brakes worked made me decide to buy a gas rig. Good luck with it, like you, I would want at least a few hours training before taking off on the road.

[Dennis12]

Have your dealer sit beside you until he is satisfied with your performance and done explaining everything. Then sign the papers. You will be fine, i was the same way.

[grant135b]

I had never driven a MH at all before we picked up ours at a dealer about a two hour drive from home. I already had a toad prepped for it, which we drove to the dealer. We did the inspection, signed the papers, hooked up the toad, and away we went. So my first-ever RV drive was in a big ol' motorhome with a toad behind it (55' total length) on a mixture of rural two and four lane and to our home in the suburbs of a big metro area. We (my wife and I with two sons 10 and 7) then did only two local area weekend practice outings (a state park and a KOA) before setting out on a month long, 8,500 mile circle tour of state and national parks out west all the way across the northern tier to the coast, down the coast, and across the south back to Ohio.

That was eleven years and several big trips ago, and we never had any serious issues at all on any level of RVing, getting there or back, docking, mechanical, equipment-related, etc. Maybe we were lucky, well prepared, RV-compatible, or a combo of each. Being a decade older now I look back on those big cross country trips, especially the first one only a few weeks after buying the MH and with such young, active sons, and wonder if I'd have the nerve (or energy) to try it now. I probably would, because I still believe that we can sometimes psyche ourselves out and make things more complicated and scary than they have to be. Do you research, take things a step at a time, and you'll do fine.

[cmcdar]

ncrowley wrote:
Find an large empty parking lot and have an assistant with you. Set up cones and set them up to test:

How close you can get to them and be able to turn left and right without hitting them. Mark the spot on your windshield where the cones need to be before you make your turn.

Practice backing into a slow, like you would back into an RV spot.
Before you go, check out these videos:
Lazy Days Videos

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I will add - Get up real early on Sunday mornings and go out driving around. I did that when learning and it was nice because there was hardly any other drivers on the roads.

[Terryallan]

Just like driving a big car. swing out more in turns, give more space. use your mirrors. You will be fine