Tags
driving a RV, Driving your RV, RV Life, RV Safety, RV tech tip, RV tech tips, RV Tips, RV travel, tech tip, tips, Travel Safety, Travel Tips
Although there are several unique driving and towing tips when comparing driving a motorhome with a “toad” and driving a truck pulling a trailer, there are many generic tips and tricks that pertain to both. For the past 10 years I’ve conducted driving seminars throughout the country and not only do I get new owners or people looking to buy for the first time, but I am amazed at the number of seasoned veterans I get to attend the class. And they all say the same thing; “I learned some new things and did not realize some of the changes in road use laws”!
Before You Ever Hit The Road
Over the years I have seen too many customers jump in the driver and passenger seats and take to the open road with the mindset; “I can drive anything”. Driving a motorhome or towing a trailer is not difficult, it’s just different and you need to be prepared for those differences. For the new owner, get to know your rig before pulling out into the wide open spaces. Take a tape measure and actually measure the height, width, and length and write them down! What is printed in the brochure is not correct and it’s important to know how tall your rig is before you try to test the low clearance sign! I can guarantee if you see a sign that says 12’6” and your rig is 13’2”, it will be 12’6” when you come out!!! I also recommend you weigh the rig and put all the information on a label on the visor or dash for quick reference.
Next, take some time to sit in the driver’s seat and get familiar with all the functions such as the windshield wiper button, speed control, even the radio. You don’t want to fumble around at the last minute finding these things. Position your seat in a manner you can see the dash, especially the speedometer and can see your mirrors. I’ve seen way too many motorhomes that have the “A” pillar or window bar in the line of site. You may need to adjust the seat to a different position or even move the mirror. Now adjust your mirrors with the inside inch showing the side of the rig. For truck owners, purchase a quality set of towing mirrors rather than the add-on kind, they do not stay tight and will jiggle horribly and you will not be able to see. You need the mirrors out far enough to see the sides. Adjust the main mirror so you can see the floorline of the unit and use the convex to see the wheels. This will give you the best field of vision and the fewest blind spots. Now have someone walk around the rig to see where your blind spots are located.
Practice In A Safe Environment
One of the most important components in driving is negotiating the right hand turn. It’s easier to make a left hand turn as you have open real estate, the right hand turn has the curb and obstacles in the way. So you will need to understand how your rig cuts with the back wheels and how your trailer tracks behind your truck. Typically bumper towed trailers track or follow the tow vehicle closer than 5th wheels and motorhomes. You need to know how far into the turn you have to go to safely make the corner. City streets are typically 12’ wide so find a parking lot at a large church during the week or a Junior College on the weekends and place cones at 12’ and then make a corner with more. Practice making the corner and soon you will find how far to go before starting the turn.
Keep in mind there are times you will not be able to make a “legal” right hand turn, meaning starting in the inside right hand lane and turning into the inside right hand lane. Due to traffic, a tight curb, or other obstacles, you may need to move slightly into the left lane like semi trucks do or take up some room on the left lane after the turn. It’s easier to stay out of trouble than it is to get out of trouble meaning…be prepared. Look ahead, if you know the turn is coming, scan the area to see if you might have a tight fit and need to steal a little space from another lane. Looking ahead will allow you to determine if you do it on the first part of the turn or the second due to traffic. Being prepared and planning ahead will help tremendously.
Stay In The Middle Of The Road
Most first timers have a tendency to hug the right side of the road with the passenger almost riding on the shoulder! When they first start driving, they place themselves just like driving a car or truck, however, you are now driving or pulling an 8.5 foot RV and it’s much wider. Use the white line on the right side and the center line on the left to gauge where “center” is. You do not want to drop the wheels off a high shoulder and come back up to fast. If you do drop off, slow down and wait for a good opportunity to bring the unit back onto the road with less height.
Stayed tuned for Part 2 where we will discuss your RV tires and weight ratings.
About the author:
Dave Solberg: Managing Editor, RV Repair Club
For the last 25 years, Dave has conducted RV maintenance and safety seminars, developed dealer and owner training programs, written RV safety and handyman articles, authored an RV handbook reference guide and logged over 100,000 miles on the road in an RV.
RV Repair Club is your go-to online resource for enthusiasts who want quality RV maintenance, repair, and upgrade information – a community where passionate RVers can come together to gather knowledge and share their experiences.
Learn more about RV Repair Club.
W.B., Green Cove Springs, FL ~ “We didn’t need a tow but needed a new tire brought to our location. Coach-Net coordinated it very well.”
Before setting out on that “Maiden Voyage” with your brand new, or new to your RV, there are some things you should know and be prepared for. Here are some little tips and tricks the seasoned RVer learns the hard way such as campground restrictions, where to find dump stations, great gadgets you should never leave home without, and much more.
Something unusual happened this past winter that rarely happens here in Vancouver. We found ourselves in a snowy deep-freeze. Although most of the rest of Canada and many areas of the United States would find our 15-degree Fahrenheit temperature and 3 feet of snow laughable, it is something that rarely happens here on the West Coast. We normally enjoy fairly mild winters with very little snow, in fact, it is uncommon to get much below freezing.
Make sure you have propane in your LP tank instead of butane. While propane will continue to vaporize down to -40 degrees Fahrenheit, butane condenses at around 32 degrees Fahrenheit so it will start to become ineffective below freezing. If your RV is equipped with electric heat such as heat strips or a heat pump, use it as much as possible and minimize furnace use. Although electric heat is less efficient and doesn’t work well at very low temperatures, it is effective as a supplement to gas heat and will save propane. NEVER use your stove or oven to heat an RV.
Wearing mismatched clothing is a big no-no for most of us. But when we let our RVs wear mismatched tires, most of us don’t think twice – until something like a tire blowout happens. Don’t let a roadside emergency teach you the importance of having a matching set of RV tires with correct load range. That’s what happened to me. Several months and almost a thousand dollars later, here’s what I learned about buying the right RV trailer tires for my 2010 Arctic Fox fifth wheel.
After two trailer tire blowouts in less than a year, we knew we had a problem. Our first strategy to determine the cause was to 
At some point it happens to most of us, and when it does it’s good to be prepared. I am referring to what happens when your RV breaks down and you need to have it towed. It is important to understand the processes involved in and how to prepare both your recreational vehicle and yourself in the case of a breakdown.
At Coach-Net, your safety is their top priority. As an RV owner, you owe it to yourself to have the protection you need when you need it most. You can rest easy knowing that Coach-Net has you and your family covered.
Personal safety is always important, especially in these days of heightened security awareness. For those of us who travel by RV, it’s imperative to always be aware of our surroundings in order to keep ourselves and our property as safe as possible. This starts with where you choose to park your rig at night.
The happy RVers left Kansas with their brand new fifth wheel in tow, but by the time they ascended into the Rockies, they knew something wasn’t right. With every twist and turn the truck was losing power and as the husband did his best to stay calm, he remembered what the sales guy said on the showroom floor: “Sure, your truck can pull it!” At that moment, he knew he should have done his research before buying . . .
There’s only one way to get your RV weighed properly: go to a professional RV weigh station. Many RVers think that CAT scales will do the job (and save money too), but those “platform” truck stop scales only weigh the load over each axle. That’s fine for big rigs, but the average RV weighs much less than a Freightliner and our tires are much smaller. For RVers, measuring the load over each wheel is far more critical in determining a safe load distribution.
Professional RV weigh scales can be found around the U.S. From the non-profit 
Recreational vehicles are very safe as long as owners follow general guidelines and don’t neglect their rigs. This article will cover a few safety-related topics.
The dealership is not trying to hold your coach “hostage”, they are simply trying to ensure the safety of your family and those around you.
If your CO or LP detector goes off, turn off all appliances, exit the vehicle immediately, and turn off the propane source. Have your propane system checked before using it again.
Even though fuel prices have dropped significantly over the past several years, some RV owners still wonder whether their chosen way of life continues to be affordable. Traveling by RV is a lifestyle choice that is not largely driven by fuel prices, but visiting the pump is a fact of life.
One of the best ways to improve fuel economy is to drive slower. As a vehicle increases speed, it takes more energy, and therefore more fuel, to overcome the increasing air resistance. The relationship is approximately three-to-one. What this translates to is that for every 5 m.p.h. over 60 that is driven, the fuel economy drops roughly 8% for an average passenger vehicle. This number is slightly higher for a large gas vehicle, or gas vehicle towing a trailer. It is believed by many that 55 m.p.h. is an appropriate speed to maintain maximum fuel efficiency. This of course depends on the vehicle, but slowing down is a sure way to improve fuel economy. Besides, as RV’ers, we want to slow down and enjoy the sights!
Last, but certainly not least, eliminate unnecessary idling. When a vehicle idles, it is getting zero mpg, and it’s bad for the environment. Turn off the engine when stopped or parked.
If you own a motorhome, you generally don’t have to worry about whether the correct tires are installed on your unit as long as you are having a certified tire shop do the work. However, it is worth mentioning load range ratings. The load range is a measure of the ply rating, indicating the relative strength of the tire plys and therefore how much load the tires can safely carry. The load rating is indicated on the sidewall by a letter, with higher letters indicating a higher load range. When replacing your tires, always make sure the load rating is the same or higher than manufacturers specification. If in doubt, contact a tire center or the RV manufacturer.
Another important metric for trailer owners is tire type. There are distinctly different requirements for the tires on a towable than for the vehicle doing the towing. The towing vehicle requires a lot of traction, so the tires must be designed to allow for grip, acceleration, cornering, and braking. The sidewalls are quite flexible to contribute to passenger comfort.
Most motorhome and trailer tires are designed for a maximum speed of 65 mph. Although many people like to travel at speeds higher than this, it is important to bear in mind that fuel economy suffers significantly at speeds above 55 mph, so slow and steady is never a bad thing when it comes to RV travel. Plus, it allows you to enjoy the scenery more.