Newbie driver

[putzinaround]

My brother-in-law is going to be a NEW RV driver. We took him out for the first time yesterday. Any pointers or suggestions to make this learning process less challenging. How did you handle large cities?

[msmith1199]

I tried to teach my wife to drive once, and could not get her to hug the centerline on a two-lane road so she was almost taking out trees on the side, and she couldn't get used to the stopping distance. So after about 10 miles she gave up and didn't want to drive anymore. But it takes longer than 10 miles to get used to those things. For a new driver I'd say go out to a rural area and just drive around a lot and get used to it. Figure out how long it takes you to stop and how much it's going to cut in on turns. On a Class A you are sitting in front of the front wheels so many people tend to cut corners too tight, especially right turns. You have to get used your turning clearance. Once you get comfortable with the basics then get out on busier roads. I wouldn't pull a toad or a trailer until you've got a few hundred miles under your belt.

[10forty2]

Another quick way to get your mindset on being centered in the driving lane.... your right knee should be visually riding over the oil line on center of the road surface. That's just a general way to swag it. Also, using your knee as a point of reference, don't start turning until your knee is past the edge of the turn, or about center of the lane you're turning into.

[JFC]

When we transitioned from our gas to DP, we had already been driving a class A for more than a year. With the DP, we enrolled in an RV driving school for a two day class at a CG near our home. The folks were very cooperative in coming to us for the class and it was a great class. Well worth the cost. We also hired them for an afternoon several years later to develop a method for us to park our new coach in a tight storage garage. A great investment for the new driver.

[Goldencrazy]

I like going to prking lot with cones. Several pointers. Remember the rear wheels are way back and you can't turn until they clear. Right turns can produce tail swing that can hit something. The vehicle is heavy. You don't stop quickly. Practice, practice.

[joraz]

I like that concept of thinking of your butt and tire as being in the same location. And to continue with the butt concept, another trick when turning is to wait until your but passes the curb and then begin your turn. That way you'll never drag the tires over the curb.
jor

[rockhillmanor]

Look up and call Good Sam, Escapee's or FMCA, RV Clubs to find a chapter in your area.
They have MH safety and driving instructions at their rallies/meetings.

[frankdamp]

Maybe get a school bus or transit coach driver to give him lessons. I was fortunate to have taken a job, after "formal" retirement, as a transit bus driver. I got the bus company training, then drove for two years before real retirement.

We got our Class A rig a few months after I started. After driving a 40' transit coach with 60 passengers through city traffic, a 32' Class A was no big deal.

[rockhillmanor]

Empty parking lot FIRST.

Practice parking, backing in between the lines and going up and down the aisles and turning.

The most important thing to teach him is how to pull away from a gas station pump so he doesn't take out a gas pump when he leaves.

Buy a couple of orange traffic cones and line them up in the parking lot and have him pull up along side of them like when fueling and then teach him out to pull away from the cones without knocking them over.

THIS alone will be a surprising learning curve for him. Better a couple of cones versus a gas pump. :W

Have him keep the cones on board and use them at CG's when you have to back in. Place a cone on each side of the site and how far back you need to park.

Aim for the middle, stop when the end of MH is in line with cones.
You don't need no stinkin spotter when you have your orange cones with you. :B

[Mr_Mark1]

Mike and Nancy,

Is the BIL driving your Newmar or does he have one if his own? If so, what is he driving? (Class B, B+, C, Super C, or class A?

Safe travels,
MM.

[doxiemom11]

This helped me: In a regular vehicle you are sitting behind and inside the front left tire. In a motorhome you are sitting right over the left tire. You want to put yourself where you want your left front tire to be.

[DaveG39]

many have gone on weekend to a large empty parking lot with orange cones and use them as a forward and reverse maneuver challenge. Understand hand signals and always have a backup guide. When you can no longer see guide STOP until you can see the guide again. Use white lines to be guides forward. many videos available on line.

[Ivylog]

Look further out than in a car and give steering inputs a couple seconds longer to take affect. Marking on bottom of windshield for where the white edge line is for those tight construction zones.

[joraz]

A lot of Class A drivers tend to drift to the right rather than stay in the middle of the lane. Some affix a paper dot or something to the bottom of the windshield in front of the driver to mark about where the center line should be. If he has this common problem, this will likely give him some relief.
jor

[John_Wayne]

Watch the you tube driver training video's from Lazy Days in Florida. Remember tail swing when turning. Give your self stopping distance. Drive 300 miles a day or less. Enjoy the trips.