To drive or not to drive - That is the question?

[Foodsman]

My wife asked me a question that I could’t answer but I told her I know who could.

We were looking at floorplans of 43 to 45 foot DP and she asked “when a couple buys one of these, I wonder if many woman drive them”?

What about it guys, do your wives drive very often or at all? Or do they do most of the driving?

Thanks,

Harry

[crasster]

Effy wrote:
My wife does all the driving, I just sit behind the wheel. 😉

X2

🙂

[kjburns]

My wife has publicly stated that the motorhome is mine and mine alone. She travels in it, but refuses to take the wheel.

[Laman]

becker wrote:
In all the years we have owned campers, my wife never has and will not drive. It bothers me because as we get older emergencies will arise.

Exactly that's when she hops in your toad and go for assistance or call for medical help. If I tried to force my wife to drive that would be the end of our camping together.

[becker]

In all the years we have owned campers, my wife never has and will not drive. It bothers me because as we get older emergencies will arise.

[Scottiemom]

I am the wife. I drive the coach, 40' + towing a small truck. I have been the exclusive driver since DH's last serious heart event. He has driven it about 500 miles in the last 5 years. He may drive it on short hops. He always parks it, says I give him better directions for backiing. It's no big deal. Prior to that, I always did the "high stress" driving, i.e., road construction, mountains, cities.

If I didn't drive, we'd be sitting somewhere. As it is, we full time and we go when we want. DH does a great job of navigating from his netbook/Street Atlas.

I'm a firm believer that everyone in the coach should know how to drive it.

Dale

[dayakster]

I AM the wife. I researched, put the funds together, shopped for and purchased our 32 ft bus myself and so far I'm the only one who has driven it. We've had horrible luck with weather in Wisconsin since I bought it and now my mother is dying so we probably won't do much at all this summer but I'm sure after that I'll be doing the majority of the driving on our trips to California and back and elsewhere.

[frankdamp]

Unfortunately, somwone's significant other not being able to drive isn't limited to the really big rigs. We have a 32' Georgetown, Ford F53 chassis. We found out after we'd bought it that the ergonomics of the driver's position make it impossible for DW to drive the damned thing. We are kicking ourselves for not checking the ergonomics more carefully.

Thank-you Ford for not offering a telescopic steering column or enough adjustments on the driver's seat for a driver less than about 5'4" to drive the thing! DW is less than 5' tall and there's no way she can adjust things to be able to drive it.

She has no trouble with our Kia Sedona - in fact she can get too close to the controls! I think the RV industry and its chassis suppliers needs to look more closely at ergonomics and make sure shorter people can operate these rigs. People 5'and shorter aren't routinely driving commercial box trucks, so it hasn't been an issue. A telescopic steering column would be a big help, as would seat adjustments that got the driver closer to the pedals, or an adjustable pedal cluster that Ford offered on the Taurus.

When I started a post-Boeing-retirement job as a transit bus driver, I was amazed how Gillig and other coach builders made the driver's position so infinitely adjustable. The steering column had two angle adjustments (one down near the floor and another about 2 feet below the steering wheel. Add a telescopic top section about 2' long and it could accommodate anyone.

The transit agency had drivers of similar build to DW and they could get things adjusted to suit them with no problems. Maybe we should have gone looking for a Gillg-based motor-home.

What bothers me the most is that, if I were incapacitated on a trip, we'd have to get one of our sons-in-law to come rescue us.

[Born_To_Travel]

Mrs. G.. I think it is a combination of things that women of our parents generation did not drive... My own mother never had a driver's license as well as many other women of her era.. Pressure from society that men were the ones behind the wheel were one reason.. Another was the vehicles of that era.. Most vehicles were stick shift on the column and were not very fun to drive.. A few car companies tried to cater to women drivers back then to increase sales.. A friend of mine in high school had a '48 Dodge with a Dynaflow trans that you could shift like a stick or put in 3rd and drive like an automatic.. So yes it was a cultural and generational thing...

[Foodsman]

Hmmm, I think we're going off the rails here a bit. My initial post that started this thread was one of pure curiosity from my wife. She wondered how many ladies drive the coaches 42 to 45' DP's.

Certainly a man or woman who choses to drive a DP can, there is nothing there for discussion. It was a question of How Many Choose too?

Just wanted to make sure we're still talking about the same thing... 🙂

Harry

[Daveinet]

The only mistake made is when one equates value based on roles. Roles are different because men and women are different. dah. Just don't equate the different roles with value.

And BTY science trumps PC.

[AllegroD]

Foodsman wrote:
Wow you guys are really pushing some "Non Politically Correct" issues here. I'd just like to say that Women sometimes make fools of men, but most guys are the do-it-yourself type.! 🙂

Why NPC? We are talking about history and it's role on who we are today. We are not saying a women cannot or should not drive a MH.

dubdub07 wrote:
I don't believe for a second that roles are cultural but given from years of men and women living together and maximizing the strengths that are naturally accepted. What is cultural is how we are taking those traditional roles and redefining them, and my argument would be illogically, to fit our desires vs the best fit. As we venture into the future there will be many more women doing what men traditionally do, but it will be at a cost.

I believe that the bold is just what we are talking about. I believe the underlined is backwards and yet true. Culture is developed. And then it is changed or it migrates. It is a group of people doing and expecting the same actions reactions until a revelation says it can be done another way.

Webster online wrote:
the behaviors and beliefs characteristic of a particular social, ethnic, or age group: the youth culture; the drug culture.

Our fathers and mothers, granddads and grandmas did develope societal norms and a culture. Many times the man was the driver, was expected to pick the woman up at the front door and open doors for women.

Unfortunately, that culture is indeed changing. Culture is constantly changing and different in different parts of the US and the world.

Where my Mother would not have, my wife drives the MH because she wants to go someplace in the MH. Sometimes she drives, on long trips, because she wants to make it easier on me.

[Bumpyroad]

dubdub07 wrote:
My wife, unfortunately, would get remarried after I die and have her new husband drive the MH. And I am ok with that!

not me, I plan on being buried in my RV.
bumpy

[dubdub07]

I don't believe for a second that roles are cultural but given from years of men and women living together and maximizing the strengths that are naturally accepted. What is cultural is how we are taking those traditional roles and redefining them, and my argument would be illogically, to fit our desires vs the best fit. As we venture into the future there will be many more women doing what men traditionally do, but it will be at a cost. Driving a motorhome is simple, and my wife does it. If I die, she will continue on without me. Is it ideal? Not at all. I am the dumb half, but I am also the strong half and the critical thinking half, and the tall half. She is the pretty, smart, short half. Doesn't make us any better than the other, just different. I didn't want a tall, strong, dumb wife; so I am happy with our situation. I am a traditionalist, and so is she. That is why is works. For those women by themselves I applaud you for doing what you love! For those that split it all 50/50, that is awesome. My wife, unfortunately, would get remarried after I die and have her new husband drive the MH. And I am ok with that!

[Louandsal]

I am a 65 year old single female that just bought my 4th motorhome, a 40 ft DP. I tow my Jeep Cherokee and travel all over the United States by myself, except for my 6 dogs that travel with me. I have never had an accident or put a scratch on any of my coaches. It would be nice sometimes to be able to trade off on the driving, but I try to plan accordingly so I don't get too tired driving.