Just for fun... Women who drive their GD rig.. What's your level of experience?

[WhittleBurner]

All you ladies should get out there and tow your trailers. You never know if a situation will put you behind the wheel, better to be prepared to take the wheel than to get in and be afraid. It really isn't that difficult and with a 5th wheel hooking up is even easier than it was with the travel trailer.

I still need a spotter backing up, likely always will because theres almost always that point of not seeing everythig in the mirrors and i don't want to take out the sides of the trailer.

I think the biggest thing is to plan your moves ahead, both going forward and backing up and not stressing yourself out with fear.

Besides then you can plan your ladies campout and not have to depend on your man to get you there and set up. It's a great feeling to have the ability
and maybe even a little empowering .

Get out there and drive!

[Justaguy]

One Winter we were driving to AZ and I was getting tired. It had been a long day and we were between No Where and Some Where, Texas. I had just filled up the fuel tank and I told Cindy we were going to have to stop so I could get some sleep. I didn't like the idea of resting at a highway rest stop at 11 pm but I felt I was putting us a risk with me getting tired.

Cindy said she could drive while I slept for a couple of hours. I thought about it for a minute and gauged her statement with sleepy enthusiasm. Now, Cindy is a 5'1", 120lb, blonde headed stick of dynamite and once she gets it in her mind that she will do something, an M1 Abrams tank can't persuade her otherwise. I decided to pull over and let her give it a go. After about a 10 minute course on the nomenclature of the truck and rig we were off. An hour later I felt comfortable enough to nod off and catch a cat nap.

A couple of hours later I was awakened by the feel of gentle deceleration and the turning of the truck. She pulled right into a fuel island of an all night truck stop and perfectly maneuvered the rig around 30 or so idling 18 wheelers. She was acutely aware of the islands awing height. We pulled up to the pump and she positioned the truck. She did great.

We no longer travel at night and we have learned our lesson on time behind the wheel. But, when the hours grow long and the only thing on the radio is static, I have no hesitation getting her behind the wheel for an hour or more. She loves it.

A side benefit is that if something happens to me she knows now how to set -up and take-down the rig and she can drive it if she has to.

[CaseyKey]

My wife grew up farming and driving tractors and backing wagons, so driving our boat and trailer or our 5th wheel is in her blood. We prefer to drive at night to avoid traffic when we have a distance destination to get too. It doesn't matter who is driving, we stop every 2-3 hours and switch drivers. Most of our trips are from Ohio to Florida, so 1200 to 1500 miles and 24 to 30 hours and we drive straight thru. We started doing this when our kids were young and they would sleep while we drove. We are now in our mid-60's and this just seems to work for us. It's nice to have another driver.

[L&L Jackson]

Marcy....

Count me in if you consider giving lessons!! How 'bout a campout this winter on flat open territory and girl lessons? I would happily pay to learn from someone who is NOT family and learning from another female is a bonus!!

I can drive down the highway with no problem but I won't back the thing up and I really - really don't like driving on a highway in city traffic, although I've done it to give my husband a break when he needs it. One of those times...

I took over and drove our old 5th wheel at night down a winding, mountain pass in Utah that was under construction with constricted lanes, divided by the big cement barriers, in a blizzard. Ohhhhhhholycow. It seemed that there were millions of cars on the pass, definitely there were herds of 18 wheelers taking advantage of night driving, shining their bright headlights into my rearview mirror as they snuck up to pass on the downhill side. It took over an hour to get down off the pass, a whole hour of white knuckling, heart pounding adventure. Once in awhile, I'd quickly glance over at the dog and my husband peacefully sleeping, blissfully, trustingly, completley unaware. I'd stare at the highway in front of me again and wonder what our euologies would look like if we went over a cliff and were found strapped into our truck with the 5th wheel on top of us ... (morbid) ... but no, you think about things like that at times like that LOL!!

I didn't want to drive the rig for a long time after that but I'm over it and I want to be good at it. I don't want to be fearful when I drive, I want to enjoy it and know that I can trust myself to do a good job. So, if you'd consider lessons Marcy I'M IN!!

"When I die, I want to go peacefully like my grandfather did–in his sleep. Not yelling and screaming like the passengers in his car".

Bob Monkhouse.

[WhittleBurner]

Katy if you made it through that pass in a blizzard the rest from that moment on should be gravy , that would white knuckle just about anyone. I hate constricted lanes with a passion,less than a foot on each side 😲

I hear ya on lessons from family. I learned the day we brought home our 1st camper. Gary couldnt get out of work so that left me to bring it home, get it in the drive (which was slightly entertaining) and I had never towed a thing before. We were going camping in 2 days. . Glad it was just an Aliner . That was the longest 20 min drive I ever had, but towed ever since without a 2nd thought.

We will be camped out in FL for the winter, bring your truck and trailer ! All it'll cost is a bottle of red wine, we can drink in celebration of you towing at the end of the day🍷
The best thing I find that helps with backing up is to ALWAYS use your mirrors, not turn your head to look. Hand on the bottom of the wheel and turn in the direction you want the back of the trailer to turn. That takes the guess work of which way to turn the wheel when your hand is on top. It's when my hand is on the top of the wheel i mess it up.

[mandolin57]

Marianne, I didn't know they offered classes for this sort of thing. Something I should investigate.


Roggie, yes there is actually schools. I know that RV-Dreams Rally's have had it several times. They have it scheduled again for the April 2016 Rally. Here is the website for the school that offers it. http://www.rvschool.com/driving-lessons/ I'm sure that Escapees, and several other organizations that have rally's get them so that you can go through it. If we were attending RV-Dreams in April I would go through it...but with listing the house in March, I'm not sure we will be able to attend next year. I'm thinking I'd rather have an outsider teaching me.....no offense to DH but when he taught me to drive stick shift, I almost killed him! Just because I stalled it in the middle of a 4 lane highway is no reason to scream at me.....lol!

[Russ & Reen]

Russ does the driving, and most of the outside stuff, I manage the inside things. I can do it, I was an OTR driver for 15+ years. It's much easier than a big rig. Now I navigate, or irritate, depending on which of us you are asking.

[rwebby]

Karen will drive with truck and trailer. She's drove more with the old one, then she has with new one yet, But she's comfortable enough to pull into gas stations, on busy interstates, and through major cities. I occasionally have to tell her to move over a bit, but she does it. She will however, not back the trailer into a campsite or the driveway at home. I would like her to learn, in case there's ever a situation where I can't, but she said I'll find someone to back it in.
Her advice, try driving for a short time, on a road that's not as busy, just to get the feel of it. Do that a few times and eventually you'll have no problems going longer distances. Practicing is the best way to learn.


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[Martin&Roggie]

Wow! thanks everyone! Love love all the stories, suggestions and tips! Especially appreciate all the positive comments on the capability of we women!!

Martin and I just talked about it again yesterday. Our first big trip of the season is always our Florida spring trip. He'll be getting more help from me come next spring!

[HBOMB900]

Lauren doesn't drive either, but I'm sure she will sometime over the next year. "Big Black" (our Suburban) is her daily driver, so I think she will probably ease into towing on an open road sometime.

Like some of yall, we have a pretty good site departure system worked out so far. She has the hardest part; packing the kids up (1 and 2) and getting the living area ready to ride. I just take care of the outside "custodial" duties when we are leaving.