So I get the fortunate (Sarcasm!) opportunity to do some driving in an RV. I’ll be doing both city and country driving (california).
I’ll have people in the RV with me so I want to make sure I’m as safe as possible. I don’t have experience driving RV’s before and I was hoping that any of you dopers who have, could possibly give me some pointers.
I’ll admit, I’m a little nervous driving a big vehicle like this with no experience.
Thanks, dopers!
About a year ago I had to drive a big rental truck, which ought to be somewhat similar. There was no back window at all so at times I was as nervous as hell, but I got through it.
One suggestion; for difficult situations, like backing out of blind parking spaces, if possible have someone else stand outside and guide you by cell phone.
About a year ago I had to drive a big rental truck, which ought to be somewhat similar. There was no back window at all so at times I was as nervous as hell, but I got through it.
One suggestion; for difficult situations, like backing out of blind parking spaces, if possible have someone else stand outside and guide you by cell phone.
Stay to the right. Move out of the right lane only to pass.
It takes a lot more real estate to stop a motor home from speed than it does your car. Leave about twice the room that you would if you were driving a car.
They also accelerate a lot slower, get used to it, and allow for it.
Make sure everything is stowed before driving. It can be unnerving if a frying pan flies into the front seat the first time you hit the brakes.
Motor homes tend to rattle. The stove, pots pans all rattle when you drive, get used to it.
Watch your engine temp when ever climbing hills. Many motor homes have very poor air flow, and can blow an engine at the drop of a hat. Also along the same line, check the oil as often as possible (every day or every fill up) Oil helps cool the engine, and if it is low, you could very easily damage the engine.
When turning a corner, watch your mirror. Motorhomes are a lot longer than a car, and if you turn them like a car, you might run over a curb, or hit something.
Be sure that you know what sort of engine the beast has. If it’s a gas engine, no problem, you can fill it anywhere. If it’s a diesel, keep that in mind when you’re getting near empty. It’s no fun to run out of fuel because the last place that sells diesel is 25 miles ago.
Speaking of gas stations - look out above! If you’re used to driving a car, you may not be accustomed to watching out for overhangs, canopies, trees, signs and similar things that are at just the right height to clobber an RV.
If you send someone out behind to act as a spotter when you’re parking, go over the basic concepts with them in advance. I’ve seen a lot of times where the person doing the spotting was clueless up until the moment of <crunch> “Hey, you hit the tree!” rather than the far more useful “Hey, you’re about to hit the tree!”
Some refinements in spotting are the commands:
“hold” which means “stop while I check if you’re about to hit that tree” or “hang on, there’s a dog over there that might get in your way, let’s wait for him to move away”
“stop” means STOP! NOW! That dog is about to run under the RV.
Be sure to sort out left/right. Whose? Do you want to move the tail of the RV to the left, or to turn the steering wheel to the left?
It’s also good for the spotter to be able to communicate distance - as in “back up four feet” or “Your bumper is six inches from the brick firepit” rather than “a little more… a little more… <scrape!> too far!”
If you’re on a two-lane highway, be kind and use the turnouts (if the road has them) if there’s a line of cars stacked up behind you.
When leaving a campsite, double-check that everything’s been properly stowed or secured. It can get very expensive if you drive off before raising the stabilizers (frame damage) or disconnecting the electric (damage to the RV park equipment, and to the power cord). It can get very dangerous if you drive off without securing the awning (it flops out on the highway, falls off and hits someone’s car) or don’t latch a storage compartment (stuff falls out onto the road)
Most importantly, have fun!
When approaching non-square intersections, where one road is at an angle to the other, you may not be able to see very far down the road with the acute angle. In this situation, you need to pull toward the acute angle before stopping, so as to square up the front of the vehicle with the intersecting road. It also helps to have a passenger who can spot from that side of the vehicle.
You may well want to use a lower gear when descending a hill, to let the engine limit your speed. Riding the brakes for long period may cause the brakes to fail – you can even boil the brake fluid.
Watch out for side winds, particularly when the road cuts through hills. RV’s are worse than vans in this regard.
How about going to a RV dealership and asking about a lesson?
Since you don’t stop as fast as a car, always go about 10 MPH under the posted speed limit, and to prevent collisions with lane-changers and freeway ramp users, stay in the far left lane as much as possible. :smack:
To help cut down on all that rattling, place paper towels between all of your plates, etc…
Don’t know anything about driving them, but according to the Banff info booth staff last week, the biggest danger to cyclists around town isn’t bears, it’s wayward side mirrors on rented RVs driven by people who forgot how wide they were. Watch out! :eek:
Even better is if you don’t put yourself in a position where you have to back up blindly. In most parking lots, you can park a little farther away and pull straight in and straight out.
If you are going to use a spotter, practice in an empty lot until you’re both comfortable with the process.