Instruction or White Knuckle?

[Kirk W]

Safety should be your first priority! Even if nobody is injured, it would not be good to start your fulltime experience by wrecking the new trailer. Be especially careful in turning corners, by both swinging wide and also be very aware of the swing of the rear of the trailer. The RV will take a much wider path in a turn than does your truck so do be careful. I also suggest that you travel slowly, probably 50 mph would be a good first-time speed. Your truck will take far more distance to stop with the trailer so drive as far ahead as possible, anticipating all stops, turns, and traffic conditions as early as you are able. 

[Ray,IN]

I'm assuming your truck has factory towing mirrors, if not I highly recommend having towing mirrors installed. I got by with strap-on towing mirrors (nearly 80K miles), but they shake a lot. Most state towing laws require mirrors extend beyond the width of the load being towed.

Watch every video you can find about cornering, backing, etc, then find a vacant parking lot and both of you practice-practice-practice. For instance, a 40' 5er,(ours anyway) in a sharp city corner turn, will track about 6-8' INSIDE the truck rear wheels. The real-world way to visualize that is in a gravel or dirt lot-you can see wheel tracks.  Anticipate upcoming turns and adjust your road position to compensate,once again,  watching videos will be helpful .

Perhaps the single most important advice I have to offer is; take your time, don't let anyone or thing rattle you. If if doubt, get out and look, especially if you lose sight of your ground-guide!

I kinda rambled on, but I hope this is somewhat helpful.  

 

[WeBeFulltimers]

23 hours ago, bruce t said:

This is where I'm going to upset many folks. Why is that anyone wishing to drive a 'big rig' for money has to get the appropriate CDL yet anyone with the money can buy a large RV and hit the road with zero driving experience?

Call me mean. Call me crazy. Call me anything you like. Just don't drive anywhere near me while your are learning. It's simply irresponsible to hit the road without any sort of lessons or experience. When you are in a 45mph zone and the lights turn red how will you manage the braking? When you find yourself up a narrow country road, and you will, how are you going to pass vehicles and turn around? What about that righthand turn at the lights in a small country town?

Anyway don't many states require class driving licenses for larger rigs?

Sorry to be mean. But you aren't the only other road users. Please consider them as well.

regards

 

 

I'm in total agreement! As a retired OTR trucker with 3,000,000+ safe miles let me add that getting the CDL is only part of the story. I also had to test and pay an endorsement fee to transport hazmat; pull a tanker; and pull doubles/triples (3 separate tests and fees). To transport Hazmat we also had to have & pay for a background investigation to include fingerprinting and each license renewal had to retest and pay fee again.

We also were subject to random drug screening at any time and believe me it did happen even if you had been up all night making a run.  We also had to account for and log our time 24/7 in 15 minute increments to include off days/vacation (in 24 hour increments).

The above makes it hard for me to understand how a person can work any other type of job for 40+ years and then suddenly deciding to get a class 8 tractor and 40' trailer and hop in it and merrily and safely "go trucking" without regard for the safety of others. Yes, I did have 2 months Commercial Driving School and another 8 weeks running team with a company trainer. 

[Nomad Hiker]

30 minutes ago, WeBeFulltimers said:

The above makes it hard for me to understand how a person can work any other type of job for 40+ years and then suddenly deciding to get a class 8 tractor and 40' trailer and hop in it and merrily and safely "go trucking" without regard for the safety of others. Yes, I did have 2 months Commercial Driving School and another 8 weeks running team with a company trainer. 

I'm glad we aren't getting a class 8 tractor!  

[Nomad Hiker]

9 hours ago, Ray,IN said:

I'm assuming your truck has factory towing mirrors, if not I highly recommend having towing mirrors installed. I got by with strap-on towing mirrors (nearly 80K miles), but they shake a lot. Most state towing laws require mirrors extend beyond the width of the load being towed.

Watch every video you can find about cornering, backing, etc, then find a vacant parking lot and both of you practice-practice-practice. For instance, a 40' 5er,(ours anyway) in a sharp city corner turn, will track about 6-8' INSIDE the truck rear wheels. The real-world way to visualize that is in a gravel or dirt lot-you can see wheel tracks.  Anticipate upcoming turns and adjust your road position to compensate,once again,  watching videos will be helpful .

Perhaps the single most important advice I have to offer is; take your time, don't let anyone or thing rattle you. If if doubt, get out and look, especially if you lose sight of your ground-guide!

I kinda rambled on, but I hope this is somewhat helpful.  

 

Yes, we have towing mirrors that extend another 3 inches if necessary, and a 360 degree camera system.  Thanks for insight.  We have been watching videos.

[Nomad Hiker]

13 hours ago, Kirk Wood said:

Safety should be your first priority! Even if nobody is injured, it would not be good to start your fulltime experience by wrecking the new trailer. Be especially careful in turning corners, by both swinging wide and also be very aware of the swing of the rear of the trailer. The RV will take a much wider path in a turn than does your truck so do be careful. I also suggest that you travel slowly, probably 50 mph would be a good first-time speed. Your truck will take far more distance to stop with the trailer so drive as far ahead as possible, anticipating all stops, turns, and traffic conditions as early as you are able. 

Thanks, 50 sounds good to me or less if necessary.  No rush.  I'm hoping we can just get in the slow lane and stay there most of the trip.  Well, what I'm hoping even more is we can get this training place to hook up with us in Phoenix.

[Bill Joyce]

http://www.rvschool.com/ is the websire of RV Driving School and the instruction locations and dates are listed here - http://www.rvschool.com/school-locations/ .  The current driving instructor out of Yuma is Dan Sheppard, a long time friend.  There was another instructor in Yuma, but he is no longer teaching due to poor health.  You will be in good hands with any of the instructors.

[bruce t]

Correct me if I'm wrong but didn't Oregon try to change the licensing for RV's some years back and all heck broke loose in the industry?

FWIW. In Australia what you can drive is determined by your license. No one can drive anything over 4 tons without a step up in license. (Has nothing to do with commercial or not). Then the next step is 8 tons. Then so on and so on. Then articulated etc etc. And you need experience with 4 ton before you can get the 8 ton. So in effect it can take quite awhile before you can get a 'full' license. (There are some exceptions). So someone who works at a desk for 40+ years cant simply walk into a dealer and buy a 40ft motorhome, hook up a toad and hit the road. Someone retiring at 65 could be in their 70's before they get the appropriate license. And by then age restrictions may come into play. So Americans are blessed that they have the opportunity to go RVing so easy. But IMHO that blessing comes with a large amount of responsibility. I'm not saying you should have the Australian system. But I do think it's currently too easy to hit the road in what could be a deadly weapon.

Nomad Hiker you asked for advice. That's a great step and something many many many others never do. Good luck and I hope it all goes well for you.

regards

ps. In Australia ALL vehicles over 4 tons have to pull into the scales. An interesting exercise for many over weight RVs. They also have what they call 'shakers'. You drive your rig on these contraptions and they shake the %$#$%@ out of your rig. Any play in your wheels and you are hitch hiking. Scary hey?

 

[sandsys]

On 3/26/2017 at 5:55 PM, Nomad Hiker said:

Do you have his name?

Still can't quite remember it. It might be Jerry but I'm not even sure of that.

[Nomad Hiker]

9 hours ago, Bill Joyce said:

http://www.rvschool.com/ is the websire of RV Driving School and the instruction locations and dates are listed here - http://www.rvschool.com/school-locations/ .  The current driving instructor out of Yuma is Dan Sheppard, a long time friend.  There was another instructor in Yuma, but he is no longer teaching due to poor health.  You will be in good hands with any of the instructors.

Spoke with them today and they are trying to get us in on the dates we need.

 

[Lou Schneider]

2 hours ago, sandsys said:

Still can't quite remember it. It might be Jerry but I'm not even sure of that.

Jerry Ray.  A great guy, unfortunately he passed away a couple of years ago.

[Jimalberta]

Nomad Hiker.....just the fact that you are asking and researching says a lot. A lot of people just get in and go with no thought to being prepared. You will be ok. Just go slow...continue to learn and remember to do things in your comfort zone....dont rush it.

[sandsys]

Dan Shephard was our instructor in Yuma. Good guy. I have no idea where I got the name Jerry. Must have met him some other time.

Linda Sand

[GlennWest]

Bart interesting name. There was a poster on here that had an HDT named that. Not seen a post in a long time by him though

[Alie&Jim's Carrilite]

1 minute ago, GlennWest said:

Bart interesting name. There was a poster on here that had an HDT named that. Not seen a post in a long time by him though

Now that we can't see the signatures, nobody knows that our BART was probably in the original Volvo Bart club back in 2000.

[Nomad Hiker]

3 hours ago, Alie&Jim's Carrilite said:

Now that we can't see the signatures, nobody knows that our BART was probably in the original Volvo Bart club back in 2000.

BART = Big @$$ Red Truck!  Why did they take the signatures off? 

 

[Nomad Hiker]

On 3/28/2017 at 1:30 PM, sandsys said:

Dan Shephard was our instructor in Yuma. Good guy. I have no idea where I got the name Jerry. Must have met him some other time.

Linda Sand

So here is an update on our driving instruction.  We could not get it through the recommended place out of Phoenix.  When we went to Pamona RV show last year, we talked to some folks there who do the same.  I called them to get it set up for when we return to CA.  The gentleman who does the 5th wheel training has family in Phoenix.  For a manageable additional fee, he is going to meet us at the dealership in Phoenix, drive with us to the RV park, then meet with us the next day for more training.  We are much happier!  

[Kirk W]

58 minutes ago, Nomad Hiker said:

  Why did they take the signatures off? 

 

Software update by the server host which made some major changes. We may well get it back when the IT department finally gets around to looking at what they can add or customize. It takes a while to happen and unfortunately, the IT here doesn't make the forum a priority. 

[Nomad Hiker]

10 hours ago, Kirk Wood said:

Software update by the server host which made some major changes. We may well get it back when the IT department finally gets around to looking at what they can add or customize. It takes a while to happen and unfortunately, the IT here doesn't make the forum a priority. 

Ya I noticed some of the changes, such as now I can "Quote" and reply from my iPad.  I was glad to see that.  I've not poked around enough to see what else is different. 

[sandsys]

Signature blocks are back!!!

Linda Sand

[Nomad Hiker]

2 hours ago, sandsys said:

Signature blocks are back!!!

Linda Sand

Woohoo!

[GlennWest]

On 3/27/2017 at 8:29 AM, Nomad Hiker said:

I'm glad we aren't getting a class 8 tractor!  

And I am very glad I have one.

[Nomad Hiker]

6 minutes ago, GlennWest said:

And I am very glad I have one.

Yup whatever "floats ur boat" or "pulls your trailer"

[phillyg]

I assume you're talking fifth wheel here.  Don't know if the training is worth it as I've never done it.  I recommend you find a big vacant parking lot to practice turning, and especially backing up and turning. While some don't advise it, see if you can get the truck and FW near to 90 degrees. I've occasionally had to do that in tight sites.  I'm assuming you have a long bed truck.  If not, a sliding hitch, preferably an auto slider, will be needed to allow such tight turns.

[TwoTiredTeachers]

My sister went to a high school parking lot on a Sunday afternoon and backed for hours.  When we first started, she avoided interstates because of construction and narrow lanes; we drove a lot of state highways.  What we learned is that often those are faster than interstates anyway because there isn't so much traffic and the speed limit is still 65 or 70 on many of them.

She also avoided high profile overpasses.  She'd never towed and didn't know how the wind would factor in.to the drive.

We chose campsites that were pull through with full hook ups.  We weren't sure about emptying the tanks and wanted a sewer hook up at the campsite so we could take as much time as we needed.

Finally, be sure the campground has sites long enough to fit your fifth wheel.  We were in Dangerfield last summer with a 27' fifth wheel.  The park ranger put us in the site for the camp host because "that rig is so big."

Hope this helps,

TwoTiredTeachers