Article Surfing Archive

Over the summer my girlfriend and her step-daughter left Baltimore, Maryland and headed for Texas . After Texas they headed to California . From there it was on to Mount Rushmore and home. Well, you get it - she drove all over the country. In fact over 7,000 miles.

What she drove was a 31 foot Coachman RV. She did 99% of the driving; her step-daughter did do a little. But they did work like a team and watch each other when they had to park in the camp sites. We all know how tight some camp sites are, but with a little faness anybody can drive a large RV. Lori is only 5ft 2in tall and weights 110lbs. She has gotten really good driving the RV.

The reason I'm telling you all this is because when we are on the road we always have someone ask if she drives the RV. When they hear that she does the next question is always how well she does.

So we were wondering, what is the deal with driving the RV. For all those not used to driving an RV and think that it is hard to do, we want to share some tips. The trick about driving any size vehicle or towing is the way you set your vehicle up. What I mean by that is getting your head on straight and setting your mirrors properly because that is all you have to work with. Know that when you make a right hand turn you need more room than a car does. Therefore allow for it every time.

Most accidents are caused by not watching how much room you have. One thing you can do to practice how much room you have when you use your mirrors is to have some one drive down the road in the right hand lane and you practice moving to the right. They can use their lights if you do not have enough room to move over. This way you can learn without hurting anything.

You can also do this at night. Practicing at night is a very good thing. A school parking lot is a good place to practice backing up and turning or even parallel parking. Yes you can parallel park a motorhome. My girl had to parallel park the 31 foot RV at a restaurant where they had stopped to eat. You do not have to be afraid of driving a large RV or trailer or even a 5th wheel.

If you take the time to do a little practice, you will be fine. Plus your partner will appreciate this. It is always nice to have that extra driver or second pair of eyes. I have all the faith in the world in my girl when it is her turn to drive. We love to travel a lot and wanted to share a little bit of information on our experiences. I hope this article helps you. Maybe we will see you on the road some where.

Happy RV'ing and Blue Skies