Taking off while the other occupants sleep

[holstein13]

I'm an early riser and my family is not. In the past, our travel days would consist of me waking up between 6:00 and 6:30 and waiting for the family to arise at 8:30. Then we would have breakfast, pack up the motorhome, hook up the toad, etc. and finally get going between 10:15 and 10:30.

Recently, I tried something new. The day before we left from San Antonio, I hooked up the toad in our pull through spot, and I pulled in two of our four slides. I emptied the tanks, disconnected the water and sewer and made sure most of the coach was ready for travel before we went to bed.

At 5:15 in the morning, I couldn't sleep and woke up and checked on the toad, disconnected the electric, pulled in the remaining slides, retracted the jacks and took off at a leisurely pace. Since there was no traffic at 5:45, I easily cruised through downtown San Antonio on our way to the next destination. We arrived at the next stop early in the afternoon with my family well rested and ready to go. I, on the other hand, was a bit tired from getting up earlier than I normally do and being stressed driving in the dark and fog for 7 hours.

So here's my question. Is this really such a great idea? Obviously there are safety concerns with occupants sleeping while traveling, then there is the concern I have about taking off in the dark and finally, what if I miss something in my solo attempt to prepare for the trip? Anyone have any suggestions to offer to make this easier, safer, or less stressful?

[smacdiesel]

Effy wrote:
Oh jeez fellas. Part of the reason I bought a MH was so pasengers can enjoy the benefits of a rolling apartment. This means taking a nap whatever.

Holstein, I think it's a good idea provided you only drive as long as you are comfy. When it gets past the time where it becomes stressful, park for a while and take a nap yourself,. Again part of the benefits of owning a MH.

Exactly, we do it all the time! Rolling apartment LOL!!

[deandec]

Holstein13, your only mistake was in asking for other folks' opinions.

[Daveinet]

jfkmk wrote:

If you think that, because of the mass of your vehicle, you're going to come to a gentle stop in the event of an accident, you're sadly mistaken. If you're crash at any rate of speed, you're going to be violently thrown if yours not restrained.

Have you ever talked with anyone who has been in an accident in an RV? I have. In both cases that I know of, passengers inside the motorhome that were unbelted received NO INJURIES. One of those accidents was a head on, at ~60 mph. The second was at 40. In both cases, the occupants of the crashed car/suv died. (occupants that died were belted in) So if a car and an RV are in an accident, one is much safer unbelted in the RV than belted in the car.

We have had a routine of packing up the night before and sleeping in the motorhome in our drive. When I wake up in the morning, I slip into the driver's seat while still in my PJs and we take off. The family wakes up at their leisure, takes their showers, and eats breakfast. Once they are done, DW drives, I hop in the shower, get ready and eat breakfast. We arrive at our destination all rested from a good nights sleep, rather than rushing after work on a Friday night, and then driving into the very late night hours.

Early morning travel is much safer than late night travel. Much less traffic, and I am much more alert.

BTW: There are no seat belts in any area other than the front 2 seats, so no one who rides in the back is belted.

[xctraveler]

in 1976 we rented a friend's motorhome and did what you described, well it was a gasser and there was no tow'd and the "monster" was 26' (seemed mighty big then). The biggest difference in the day was when the boys had been fed DW put my breakfast on the table and I ate while she took over the driving so we didn't even lose eating time. That was when we began our routine of 2 hours on and 2 hours off which we maintain to this day.

Now it is just the two of us the boys have boys of their own (no girls) and live their own lives. We consider a 6 hour day to be max windshield time and generally plan on 4 hours so starting at 10 gets us settled by 2:30 or 3 (lunch and fuel). We are both up by 6 or 7 but we enjoy listening to NPR and reading the NYTimes before getting under way.

Including the spouse in driving responsibilities greatly reduces stress. For the first couple of days that may not be true 🙂 but if you go away from the Nav seat and let one of the children ride there it will help you not have a nervous breakdown and it will let her learn how to handle it without your "helpful suggestions" - I know, I know we have been doing this for years and I still have to remember that when she is at the wheel, she is in control and I am just the navigator 🙂

[J-Rooster]

Since I retired I don't get up early anymore! And I don't drive more than 5 hours a day. Before retirement the DW would not allow the coach to be moved until she is up and had her coffee. She does not like to be disturbed when she is sleeping.

[jfkmk]

JimM68 wrote:

jfkmk wrote:
Most, if not all, states have seatbelt laws for a good reason. If you got into a crash and one or more of your family members were injured because they were sleeping in bed instead of properly wearing their seatbelt, would you think the extra couple of hours on the road were worth it?

I hate to skip ahead, but...

I've always been a rule breaker. Nobody but the front seat passengers has ever worn a seatbelt in our rig. That includes the 3 70 pound dogs who are free to roam where they want.

My kids never owned or wore helmets on their bicycles either, now did I growing up back in the sixties.

This is the difference between the "rubber room" mentality and the "Sh!t happens" mentality.

I di not believe in protecting myself or my offspring or my pets from anything that vould possibly happen. We have a God for that.

Wow. I don't know what to say. Comedian Ron White has a saying for this thought process, but I won't repeat it here.

[dcbrewer]

Nutinelse2do wrote:
For us, it's just me and DH. No children, so I may have a little different perspective.
I have driven while DH was in the back sleeping, and visa versa. As long as you are diligent with your break down routine, I don't see a problem.
That's the beauty of an RV. Getting up, stretching, making a sandwich, using the bathroom, sleeping, switching drivers, all while in transit.
As kids, we survived many a family vacaction sitting in the back of a station wagon, with no seat belt. We rode bikes with no helmet, houses with no child proofing, and actually lived to tell about it.
JMO

I remember the good life to, this country has evolved into a bunch of wimps. Always worried about safety this and that. I own and ride 4 motorcycles, so by nature I don't worry about seatbelts.

[jfkmk]

msturtz wrote:

jfkmk wrote:

msturtz wrote:
. It is very different getting into a crash in a 26,000# motorhome vs. a 2000# smart car. That amount of mass will slow down and or stop much slower than a smaller amount of mass when hitting an equal sized object. This is just physics. The net effect for passengers is less effects in a crash.

That would be a great point if your 20,000# motorhome is on the road with nothing but smart cars. More likely you'll be on the road with a bunch of 80,000# semis. Get in an accident with a truck or hit a divider and your physics point is moot.

Actually, no physics isn't moot. There are far more cars on the road than trucks and truck drivers are arguably better trained than average car drivers. You are much more likely to hit a car or be hit by a car than a truck. Even fixed objects such as barriers will move when hit. Do I believe my kids are safer belted in: yes. That said I must balence reality and usability against the statistical likelihood of a major accident. We choose to limit the amount of time our kids are out of their seatbelts to the minimum possible. We choose to take the risk on the rare occasion. None of the school buses I drove had seat belts, no metro busses or private busses have seat belts. The seat belts in new motorhomes are poorly anchored in many cases and are placed in odd positions such as in a sideways mounted sofa when in an accident would only serve to transfer the effects of a collision to an occupants waist sideways likely causing significant internal injury. The dinette belts are no better because you have a fixed table right in front of you. In an accident your head (or your child's head) will slam into the table causing head injury. The safest place to be would be in a rear facing crash seat. Seatbelts have benefit in keeping the person from flying around in the coach in the event of an accident. So in short there is benefit, however limited benefit.

If you think that, because of the mass of your vehicle, you're going to come to a gentle stop in the event of an accident, you're sadly mistaken. If you're crash at any rate of speed, you're going to be violently thrown if yours not restrained.

Sadly, while truckers are trained and automobile drivers are typically not, the days of assuming truckers are courteous and professional are over (sorry if I offend any truckers). Yeah, a portion of them are such, but certainly not the majority. I've seen them text, talk on the cell phone, drive with a foot out the window (can't see how that's comfortable), swerve in and out of traffic, tailgate, take up all highway lanes even though they're not passing, etc. My friends wife is a pharmacist at a pharmacy near a truck stop. She said its amazing how many drugs they try to buy with obviously take scripts.

Don't know how long who you drove a school bus, but most of them now have seat belts. Same with other busses I've been in.

Look, seat belt use is a personal choice. I also realize everyone has their own tolerance for risk. Personally, I'd rather wake my family up early and deal with them being cranky than risk having them get hurt. Alternatively, I'd rather take an early walk with a cup of coffee while I wait for them to get up than risk having them become injured because I can't wait to hit the road.

[FIRE_UP]

Executive wrote:

FIRE UP wrote:
?snip/So, at the stroke of midnight, I fired the beast up, released the brake, turned the lights on and hit the "D" in the shift pad and, we were off, in about 10 seconds.
Scott

Scott.... 10 seconds huh??? Guess you didn't air up your coach or do your air pressure routine.....:W.....Dennis

Dennis,
Well Sir, as usual, I made sure all things that would normally be checked at startup had already been checked earlier. If I'd have developed any problems at that time, I'd have either shut it down or, moved to a location at which I wouldn't bother anyone by the sound of the beast sitting there running, while I checked things out. And yep, it was about 10 seconds, from the time I started it, to the point I was moving. That's a bit slower than my FD days.
Scott

[JimM68]

DutchmenSport wrote:

Nutinelse2do wrote:
...As kids, we survived many a family vacaction sitting in the back of a station wagon, with no seat belt. We rode bikes with no helmet, houses with no child proofing, and actually lived to tell about it.
JMO

As kids, we did the same thing. Unfortunately, times have changed and we've got to abide by the rules for today (not yesterday) or pay the legal consequences if we get caught.

As far as passengers and how they ride in a MH? That's the option of every driver and the risks they are willing to assume ... seat belts ... walking around ... sleeping in a bed ... And within the same family, different drivers may feel different. Each driver should be respected for their decisions, because inevitably, in the event of an accident or simply a routine traffic stop, it's the driver that has to live with the choices and options he allowed as the driver.

To the OP .. what you are proposing (in theory) sounds like a nice idea to allow your family to sleep. But my question is ... if you are on vacation, or even if you are full timing ... why be in SUCH a hurry! I REALLY think you need to enjoy an extra cup of coffee and listen to the birds chirp a little more in the morning while everyone else is sleeping! Our world is so rush-rush anyway! Slow down ... drink the coffee, listen to the birds, and smell the roses! and enjoy. RVing is not necessarily about the next event occurring in the future. It's about what's happening in the moment! Whether that be the process of trip planning, driving, actual camping, setting up, breaking camp, preparing lunches, visiting attractions, reading a newspaper or a book, it's an entire process and ALL of it is to be enjoyed ... in the moment. You are blessed to have your family... Ever consider just sitting there while they are sleeping and watch your kids sleeping and contemplate about their futures and laugh when they wiggle and move and make funny faces while sleeping? Like I suggested ... slow down and enjoy the moment. I think you're missing out on so much happening around you.

NO!!!

what has changed is the "POLITICALLY CORRECT" way of dealing with these and other things.

And I for one am all for rolling this sh!t back a few notches.

There IS RISK involved.
People need to be prepared to accept and deal with this risk.

In my business, my most profitable by far area is service contracts. These are things where people would rather pay me for doing nothing than accept the risk of breakdown.
Note I love these people and wish there were more, Back before the 1998 crash, they were making me rich!!

[JimM68]

jfkmk wrote:
Most, if not all, states have seatbelt laws for a good reason. If you got into a crash and one or more of your family members were injured because they were sleeping in bed instead of properly wearing their seatbelt, would you think the extra couple of hours on the road were worth it?

I hate to skip ahead, but...

I've always been a rule breaker. Nobody but the front seat passengers has ever worn a seatbelt in our rig. That includes the 3 70 pound dogs who are free to roam where they want.

My kids never owned or wore helmets on their bicycles either, now did I growing up back in the sixties.

This is the difference between the "rubber room" mentality and the "Sh!t happens" mentality.

I di not believe in protecting myself or my offspring or my pets from anything that vould possibly happen. We have a God for that.

[Executive45]

FIRE UP wrote:
?snip/So, at the stroke of midnight, I fired the beast up, released the brake, turned the lights on and hit the "D" in the shift pad and, we were off, in about 10 seconds.
Scott

Scott.... 10 seconds huh??? Guess you didn't air up your coach or do your air pressure routine.....:W.....Dennis

[Executive45]

holstein13 wrote:
/snip/At 5:15 in the morning, I couldn't sleep and woke up and checked on the toad, disconnected the electric, pulled in the remaining slides, retracted the jacks and took off at a leisurely pace. Since there was no traffic at 5:45, I easily cruised through downtown San Antonio on our way to the next destination. We arrived at the next stop early in the afternoon with my family well rested and ready to go. I, on the other hand, was a bit tired from getting up earlier than I normally do and being stressed driving in the dark and fog for 7 hours.

holstein13 wrote:
Hold on a minute, I didn't mean to imply that I was rushing through anything. I'm just as slow and relaxed in the morning driving (if not more so) than in the late morning and afternoon. I really don't understand how leaving at 10:30 and driving 4 hours with bored kids is more relaxing than leaving at 6:30 and driving 4 hours with peaceful sleeping kids.

BIG DIFFERENCE driving 4 hours and driving 7 hours!!! Just sayin....

Not trying to sound rude, but it sounds like you only care about yourself and not your loved ones. Pulling in the slides is not a quiet task. Starting up a diesel which is right under the bed isn't either. Driving down the road leaving the cg wouldn't be a picnic for the sleepers either. Then, after driving 7 hours you're tired, probably cranky too. Now it takes you an hour to set up camp at the new location. I'm sorry, but I don't see any "benefit" to your family, only yourself.....have a cup of joe, check the news, go on the computer and browse RV.Net, go for a walk with the dog. Let your family sleep. Eat a good breakfast and then hit the road...EVERYONE will be better off, including your NEIGHBORS !.....JMHO...Dennis

[doxiemom11]

I would wake up the minute the jacks went up, slide in etc. I am a light sleeper usually. If I didn't wake up then, bouncing around in the back in the bedroom would certainly wake me.