Buying An RV That You Can Handle On The Road - RV-Dreams Community Forum

SnowGypsy · RV-Dreams Family Member

Buying An RV That You Can Handle On The Road

Lucky Mike · RV-Dreams Family Member

thu life I was lucky enough to drive almost every type of vehicle on the road and fly several others....each one took a little training.

Rv's should be no different....Alot of RVers seem to go from driving their Prius to climbing aboard a 40 ' coach or 50' of combination and just decide they can handle it. I find it totally amazing that there are some that buy commercial tractor units and stick 40' of trailer behind it and just jump in.

Its amazing....to go to work in the same vehicle combinations it requires a CDL lic. one would be required to learn proper operation of that vehicles and all its systems.....

thank the spirits most of us are in that age bracket that dont like to text or these rigs would get dangerous !!!

Answer to your question, yes you should get proper training to operate a rig

Howard and linda have had seminars with driving.....alot of rallys have been known to have RV rodeo's

The nice part about an RV is ....you will have the best viewing seat in the house during a crash !!!!!!

Most RV wrecks occur due to driver negligence , poor inspection practices , and not knowing how to properly handle the vehicle in an emergency situation

Terry and Jo · RV-Dreams Family Member

Gaylord Maxwell was the driving force of LOW (Life on Wheels) and after his death in 2008, the force seemed to go away from LOW. However, RVSEF has stepped in and offers courses on RVing and the lifestyle. If I remember right, Howard and Linda do weighing for RVSEF, so they can probably give a better idea of what RVSEF does. However, here is a link to their website, and if one explores the various tabs, one can find courses that are offered at the RVSEF conferences.

RV Safety and Education Foundation

Now, having provided that, I can't seem to find any future conferences to point out. Their website is still showing information about the May 2013 conference in Colorado Springs.

Terry

Bill and Jodee · RV-Dreams Family Member

Your confidence behind the wheel is a really important safety factor so it's critical you find the best way for you to get that. I am an excellent driver with experience driving a variety of vehicles and in fact do most of the driving in our travels. I have driven a 28' Class A with a small tow vehicle on freeways and backroads in California.

When we get our 35' Class A towing the Jeep I plan to take a full day's RV driving course. This is our home I'll be driving - with a loving husband, sweet doggie, and all our belongings depending on me to get them all safely from one place to the next. For me it's a no brainer. Having a friend or other experienced RVer show me how is a possibility, but they don't do it "professionally" and are bound to leave out something, or give me inaccurate information (with the best of intentions).

There is a school within 40 miles of us where we will both take the course which covers RV safety as well as the behind-the-wheel part. We have factored in the cost as part of our preparation to seeing our dreams come true.

Do I believe we could jump in and go and be just fine? Absolutely! Do we have to do that? No. So we'll take the course and head out with added confidence.

Best of luck!

Jodee

TRAILERKING · RV-Dreams Family Member

You may actually find it easier to handle a larger rig like a 40+ foot Diesel pusher than a smaller unit. They will have more power, more effective braking, better ride ability. With the weight factor they hold their own on the road when windy or just meeting other large vehicles on the road such as semi's. Definitely should have a training course if have no prior knowledge. Especially the air brake system and pre-trip inspection and required maintenance. One thing I've noticed is most people down in the U.S. just jump out of their Mini Van and hop into large air brake equipped vehicles with no real knowledge and pilot the 40,000lb mammoth down the road. That's not a wise thing to do and I don't know how most get away with it. Up here there is proper licensing required.

Selah · RV-Dreams Family Member

We took the "confidence driving course" at Lazy Days in Tampa and so glad we did. Neither DW nor myself had ever driven anything bigger than a Honda before getting a 36 ft gasser and towing a CRV. Turns out there is really not much to it once you are shown the basics. We have since moved to a 42 ft diesel and found that is is even easier to drive.
To get a preview of the driving course go the the Lazy Days web site and look for their "Better RVing" section. BTW, the dot system they teach for backing into sites really does work... Every time. Even of you don't take a driving course, watch that video and use it.
A "C" class might look more like a van but it does not handle like a van. Many class "A" coaches handle better than a C. Look at both and decide what floor plan would work best for you and don't worry so much about length.
The only length consideration would be that some state and national parks can't handle coaches over about 35 feet. Not a problem for us because there is always nearby camp grounds that can handle larger rigs.