Driving the Motorhome

We have settled in nicely at the KOA campground in Petaluma, California and are on call for the imminent arrival of grandchild #5.  The campground has nice sites among the redwoods and has more of a campground feel than some of the RV parks we have stayed at that are oriented towards seniors.  There are families staying here, campfires at night, cabins, and many activities for the whole family.  We have been exploring the area but don’ t want to stray too far in case we get “the call”!  More on the places we have been in the next post.

As a contrast to Carolyn’s last post about life from the passenger (aka co-pilot’s) seat, I’d like to describe what it is like to drive a 15 ton, 53 foot long (including  towed car), 13 foot high, and 8.5 foot wide rig.  I have to admit that while sitting in our motorhome, especially when it is fully opened, it is a somewhat daunting thought to imagine driving it down the highway or navigating tight turns.  When walking around the exterior, I have similar thoughts  – it is so tall and wide.  These thoughts were foremost in my mind as I sat down in the driver’s seat for the first time.  The driver who delivered it, who would later become our driving class instructor, had given me a few tips and words of encouragement before he drove off and then it was just the two of us.  We were left to hook up our Honda CRV “dinghy” to the back of Meriwether (our motorhome)  and drive to Las Vegas, our first destination, which was about an hour east.

Hooking up the dinghy turned out to be uneventful.  Then it was into the driver’s seat.  We were at a truck stop with a large parking lot that was almost empty so we decided to do some practice slow speed driving, turning, and and stopping before getting on the interstate.  I had done a lot of reading on the subject so I knew a little about what to expect.  One of the biggest differences from driving a car is the braking system.  On a car, the brakes are applied via a hydraulic fluid (which does not compress), so braking is almost instantaneous with pedal pressure.  On a diesel pusher chassis, however, the braking system uses air pressure to apply the brakes.  Have you ever been next to a tractor trailer and heard the hiss of escaping air?  That is the air being released from the braking system.  Our coach makes the same noises.  Anyway, how did the air brakes make a difference to me?  Well, unlike fluid, air compresses under pressure which causes a slight delay in braking action when applying pressure to the braking pedal.  It turns out this is about a 1/2 second delay.  This doesn’t sound like much, but if you are not accustomed to that delay, it seems like a lot longer.  My first instinct when nothing happened was to press the pedal even harder.  Now we come to the second difference – the brakes are a lot stronger.  So for those first few stops, we were grateful we had seat belts on!  It turns out that I quickly got the feel of the brakes so it became a non-issue.

After driving around the lot for about 15 minutes, I decided there was only one way to do this and headed for the interstate.  I instantly had sensory overload due to the many “inputs” available to me.  First there was the road ahead of me. With no “hood” to look over, all I could see was road, a lot of road, through the huge windshield.  Since I sit rather high (six steps up to the motorhome floor), I can see much further down the road as well.  Then there are the (also huge) left and right mirrors – flat on the top and convex mirror on the bottom.  On the dash, there is the camera system that can monitor the rear view (good for making sure that our dinghy Lewis is still with us) or the view down the left or right side of the motorhome.  In addition to the usual gauges (engine temp, oil pressure, tachometer, speed, voltage, and fuel level), there are two air pressure gauges which are important to check since the brakes rely on proper air pressure.

Turns out that on the first trip I ignored everything except keeping the RV centered in the lane.  Since our motorhome, like most, is 8.5 feet wide (minus mirrors) and the standard width of a traffic lane is 12 feet, that leaves about 42″ total or 21″ on either side of the coach when centered.  The mirrors add another 10″ per side, so now we are down to 11″ available on either side of the coach.  That is not much considering that our coach, like all high profile vehicles, are subject to side sway due to gusty winds or trucks passing.  Most first time motorhome drivers, including me, drive too far to the right and end up having the tires running on the rumble strip to the right of the fog line.  Without the visual cue of the hood in front of me, it became much harder to center. With a little bit of experience and utilizing a few tricks (like looking way ahead instead of directly in front of me), it has become a lot easier lining up the coach in the lane.

Now fast forward a couple of months after driving about 1000 miles in the coach.  Many of the driving tasks that at first were stressful have now become more or less routine.  In fact, on a calm day with not much traffic and a smooth road, the coach becomes a dream to drive – it is quiet and has a smooth ride.  I can never let my guard down though.  I always scan far up the road looking for brake lights or other dangerous situations.  On the interstate, I drive at 55 to 60 mph both for safety (stopping distance) and fuel economy (we are getting over 10 mpg!).  At this speed, I always allow 5 to 6 seconds of space in front of me to maintain adequate stopping distance.  Of course, cars or trucks pass and pull back in the lane right in front of me, so I invariably need to coast to regain the spacing.  In situations like this, I “cover” the brake pedal (my foot hovers over the brake pedal) so I may apply it immediately if required.  Of course. monitoring the rear camera is also important to look for “tailgaters”.  Turns out that many autos like to closely follow our rig.  Drafting behind us for fuel economy?  I’m not sure but I like to know if something is back there.

I also periodically scan my left mirror looking for traffic passing me, especially semi-trucks.  If I know one is coming, I can be prepared when the invariable “bow wave” off the front of the truck hits the coach and moves it right.  You may have experienced this effect in your car, but with a tall motorhome it is magnified by about 10x.  This bow wave hits before I can see the truck through  the driver’s window so it is important to use the mirror as an “early warning system”.  It just requires a small steering correction but it is much easier to manage if I can anticipate it.  Similarly, there is a “vacuum” behind the truck that moves the coach left.  This movement is not nearly as bad, plus I always know it is coming since the truck by that time is ahead of me.

As I mentioned, Carolyn and I took a motorhome driving class a few weeks ago that included both classroom and over the road.  We learned many valuable techniques and tips and Carolyn got to drive it!

The bottom line is that driving a large vehicle like this will probably never be a relaxing activity.  It requires a lot of concentration and is a big responsibility.  I remind myself all the time that I am driving our house and most of our belongings down the road.  But it no longer stresses me out as much as I gain experience and know-how.  I will never be able to enjoy the sights as we drive down the highway, however my co-pilot and chief navigator describes everything to me.  Carolyn also controls the music selection and sometimes “sings” along.  Since the coach’s entrance door is in front of her, by necessity her seat is mounted about 2 feet further back than mine so I can’t see her while driving.  But that configuration allows a much better floor plan for the coach when open (like having her seat turn around and be part of the living space).

We  plan on driving only a few days per month and enjoying ourselves when parked like we are now.  And the good news is that a whole new adventure awaits at the end of every road we drive!