Be careful out there

[MaxwellD]

Leaving Cody WY last week we fell in behind 3 other RV’s heading West. The weather was clear and the roads were dry. As many RV’s as there are on the road right now, it didn’t occur to me that I was following a convoy of sorts - all traveling together to some common destination. Keeping it at 58-62 MPH, I allowed for about 5-6 seconds between my 2020 Dodge Ram dually pulling a Monty 3730 FL. Then, I saw a tap on the brake lights on the last RV of the convoy in front of me and in an instant I realized that he was coming to a full stop and turning off of the busy hwy to the right, no signal, no warning whatsoever - following an abrupt decision by the lead person in convoy. Even though I thought I was following at a safe distance, when I applied heavier and heavier brake pressure I came pretty close to rear ending the RV in front of me. To avoid a collision with the person in front of him, the RV I was following had to take evasive action into the oncoming traffic lane - thank goodness there was nobody coming! I veered to the safety of the shoulder. All three convoy members took off down an unpaved county road - I think they were lost. I am happy to say that my factory trailer brakes worked flawlessly - no locking up, no skidding. The Ram engine brake combined with braking pressure, actually caused my seat belt to tighten across my chest! ( I have the gain set at 9).
My point: There are a lot of RV drivers out there with varying levels of experience driving these things. We can get caught-up in the beauty of our surroundings and it is easy to get complacent with keeping safety foremost in our minds. I hope everyone has a great year traveling and that everyone stays safe. Things can go very wrong, very quickly!
Safe travels, 

Max