Wife Driving The TV ?

[clutch]

Sallie always drives the truck and she tows the 5er with the quad trailer behind it.

[RickW]

Well after reading this thread as we were headed out for a 3 week trip. We are currently headed home and will be there on Sunday. First day on the road this topic came up. I have always setup the outside and the wife the inside. I always knew she could do it but never really thought seriously of the "What if". So on our first night stop I walked her thru everything. Every stop this trip she has been helping me setup. We are now both confident that she could do the complete setup by herself if needed.

As for the TV she is not driving it yet with the Monty hooked up. She will move the truck up at the pumps and such but has not really driven it yet. We will replace the TV in the next 12 months or less. I was originally thinking 3 years but the 3400 really is too much for the F250. Pulls fine. I can chase diesel pusher MH up the hills in western states. But the thought of a panic stop really scares me. I also fear the tail wagging the dog. Looks like we have made the decision on what the new TV will be, but that is a topic for another thread. We both agree once we get the new TV she will also start to drive so that she knows how and is comfortable in the event she has too.

I always planned on making sure she know how to drive and setup the RV but never said when I would actually take the time. This thread and the timing of leaving on a 3 week trip gave me the kick in the pants to get it done.

[KathyandDave]

Kathy is probably a better natural driver than me. When we met, she was a smoth driver of ordinary cars, but had the fairly-common womanly aversion to big vehicles. That didn't last long. She bought our Envoy XL (surprise!) and drives the dually effortlessly. She has been leery to tow the Monty, but last fall she bit the bullet and drove for two hours through small-town Ontario, including left turns through downtown intersections of country roads. I am confident that she can take up the slack anytime. Next, backing, unhitching and hitching.
Funny, now all of our kids drive SUV's and pickups handily. Hmmm...
We park the dually at the edges of busy shopping mall lots, close to the exit, backed in to minimize intrusion into the aisle and to make moving into the aisle safer. begin rant: I taught my kids to look for tail-lights and backup lights when walking through mall lots, but I see a lot of parents just walking their kids behind moving vehicles, oblivious to the danger of the drivers not seeing them while backing up. end rant. This times 10 in the dually with the high tail.

[8e3k0]

My DW has pulled the Monty with the Dually crew cab long box with no problems and has done an excellent job in tight areas etc., and I know if any problems come up, either one of can take the wheel and get us home or to a point for help. Ellis

[CasaDelSol]

I have driven a school bus, ambulance and a forklift. I even was able to parallel park a school bus. All that being said...I defer to DH for backing in the Monty. I bow to his proficiency which I will probably never possess. It has to do with the right/left thingy. I can drive it forward, but backing in...not happening without lots and lots of practice where there are no witnesses!! BTW I am 4' 11". They had to put blocks on my brake and clutch for the school bus!!

[richfaa]

Both being equally proficient in driving the rig makes trips more restful. Helen and I swap driving every couple of hundred miles or at every fuel stop. We can do a 500 mile day if needed and that means each of us will drive 250 miles. I can kick back the front recliner seat and nap for a couple of hours and be a fresh driver. Both sharing just makes for a much better trip.

[D and M On The Road]

We've had tent trailers, trailers, motor homes and a 5th wheel. I am the wife and have gone on trips by myself with all of them so that means I have driven, towed, backed-up and set up all of them by myself.

Of all the rigs we've had, I prefer to pull the 5th wheel. It definitely is a matter of personal choice of the people who are making the payments (as Glenn said) but it's also a safety and medical issue that both know how to drive and back-up any RV they own.

Backing up a rig is just a matter of confidence, practice and willingness to learn. Even the most seasoned veteran has a bad day now and then, with the exception of Bob Pasternak. There's also tricks people can use while backing up a rig that will help make them look like a pro.

Since we are "weekend warriors", we also have typed up a paper showing the steps of setting up the outside and breaking it down. This is in a plastic page protector and duct-taped to the inside door of one of our storage compartments so when the door is open, the paper is at a perfect height to read. It certainly helps us in remembering in what order to do things, especially when we get interrupted in setting up the rig. I also have done this for setting up and breaking down the interior of the rig. It's taped inside a cabinet door. Neither one of us has any problem referring to it.

If his wife didn't like driving the dually around as an everyday vehicle, he should buy her a small used car to use.

If it is a matter of his wife thinking that driving a dually truck while pulling a 5th wheel is a road-hog, he should take her to a dealership and let her test drive a motorhome. *LOL.... now that would really give her a feeling of "road-hog".

[Wayne and Carolyn Mathews]

Follow-up to an earlier post of mine: We just returned from the 7 Feathers rally in Canyonville. I drove nearly all the way there, about 954 miles. I do drive our Ford F-350 a lot anyway, and when we bought our Montana, I drove half of the way home from the dealership--my first time ever to pull a 5th-wheel. I'm working on backing it up into a "slot," and that's going fairly well. I just need a place to practice without having to drive to town; out where we live that slot would have to be a bare place between two clumps of sagebrush, and there's no such place around.

I've driven a motorhome twice, and I pulled a popup camper from Houston, Texas, to Glacier National Park, over the Beartooth Highway, and back to Houston by myself (just me and my mother). Driving our truck with the Monty is far, far easier, I think, than doing either of those two things was.

Carolyn

[rames14]

Although I do most of the driving (DW likes to read and play solitaire), Terrie is more than capable of driving the Monty and has on numerous occasions. She has also pulled the new Big Sky. She has pulled through the toll booths in Chicago and on the open roads at night with me sleeping. Although she hasn't backed in as yet, she would be able to in a pinch. Beside, most campgrounds have pull throughs now. Both of us share getting the Monty ready both before leaving and when camping. We usually split it up inside and out but overlap as needed. We feel it is just a good practice for both of us to know how to do things. Options, as someone said.

[richfaa]

For those going to the fall rally hopefully there will be the ladies driving school.Give it a try

[Bill and Lisa]

Lisa has done the outside setup and breakdown all on her own. She has driven the rig on her own although she hasn't done the backup into the site yet but will get a chance to this 4th of july as she is taking the rig to the campground and I am going to join her after work. like anything else you get better with practice. At this point in our travels I am more "practiced" than Lisa is but we both know she could do it.

I wonder if the friend mentioned at the thread that moved up to a moterhome if his wife is now comfortable driving the MH or if he is still doing all the driving.

[ray fischer]

My D/W towed for the first time this past week and did fantastic. She did the entire trip, from out of our seasonal site, thru the campground, down the narrow country roads and thru a small town with several turns on the way to the Interstate. We stopped at a rest area, went to the far rear so she could practice turning and backing up. When we got back to our seasonal site. she did the backing into our site which is a nightmare because of narrow roads, too many trees, and lining up next to our deck. We discovered that it was easier for me to guide her, than for her to guide me. Just from observing me she knew exactly how wide to swing to make all the 90 degree turns in traffic etc. She's been bugging me for some time to do this in case I got sick or hurt, but I'm such a control freak, I guess I didn't want to give up my last domain. I am so proud of her and it gives me peace of mind to share the driving from now on.

[richfaa]

"We discovered that it was easier for me to guide her, than for her to guide me. " Ray..that is exactly the way see it and why Helen does most of the difficult backing. Good for you and good for her. The trip will now be more relaxing.

[Fire1]

When we bought our Monty from Lazy Days we took the 5th wheel class and Robin did great. She loves to drive but I am to much a control freak to slide out from behind the wheel and let her go for it very often.
She does not want to back yet but heck I need to work harder on my backing to. I have not fear that if needed she could do it all as we reverse roles often in setup and breakdown with no problems.
I trust her driving 100% cause she told me I do!