“Learn how to drive an RV before you get on the road!”
I’m sure you’ve screamed that at someone on the highway before.
You seen them approaching your lane on the highway. That lumbering slow-moving RV that you just KNOW is going to want to get in front of you. And then (of course) creep along at 45.
They tick you off don’t they? And how about JUST as you are getting ready to swing around to get past them, they move left also so you’re STILL stuck behind them!
Then the RV drives down the highway with their turn signal on for m-i-l-e-s and you mutter under your breath “get OFF the road already!” as you whip around them?
You know what I mean?
Of course you do.
But now you’ve got the RV. And while you haven’t gotten a clue on how to drive it, you know you don’t want to be one of them.
Here are the worst RV driving habits and how to avoid them. I hope this article helps you in learning how to drive an RV so you can get on the road safely!
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Pin me for later. Your insurance will thank you.
1. Hitting the road with no RV driving experience.
Realize that most RV owners are probably NOT experienced at driving their rigs. If they just bought the RV they may not have spent any time watching videos or learning about how to drive an RV.
How annoying, right? (Not to mention unsafe!)
Don’t be that guy. Just don’t.
There is something called RV Driving School believe it or not.
And EVERY RV owner should be willing to take a class to learn how to safely and confidently operate their own RV. No matter how big or small it is.
The truth is, safely operating a vehicle is not second nature. This is why teenagers are required to have a permit before a license, or take Drivers’ Ed in school. They make mistakes and gain valuable experience with a mentor to learn from.
Just like you weren’t born knowing how to drive a car, RV owners don’t walk away from the purchase transaction knowing the tips to driving their RV. This includes you!
Get the experience you need to drive an RV safely down the road. Go to an RV driving boot camp or the RV Driving School.
It will save you (and the other cars on the road) much more peace of mind.
Most of the certified RV trainers for the RV Driving School are former truck drivers or at least have been driving – and backing up – RVs for many years. They are able to share their perspectives and tips with new RV owners.
The RV Driving class is scheduled online, a date is agreed upon where the trainer drives to the RV park or campground to begin the class. The trainer helps the owner learn how to set their mirrors correctly, where their pivot points are, how to measure the length and height of the RV and other key points all RV drivers should know. The owner(s) do ALL of the driving, with the direction of the trainer.
In my opinion, RV owners should be REQUIRED to pass a driving test and given a special license, just like professional truck drivers are required to pass.
2. Driving an RV like a car.
Oh my gosh. We’ve all seen this guy driving down the road like a maniac…passing you at 75 miles an hour in a 40 foot diesel pusher, dog on his lap, cigarette in his mouth.
#rebelwithoutacause
I beg of you, please do not do this. An RV is not a car.
In fact, an RV is more like a semi-tractor or pick-up and boat. This means they take much longer to stop or get up to a speed. And don’t forget corners. It will take more skill, thought, and time to maneuver around a corner.
When you drive an RV, it’s vital to remember you can tip over easily going too fast around a curve or making a tight turn.
Seriously, there’s nothing like going through the Appalachian mountains in your rig to remind you of your mortality.
It’s also really important to know you may need to borrow someone else’s lane when navigating a concrete curb or center island. Try your best to ensure you have the room to do this!
And always always always go under the posted speed limit, especially when entering a curve!
Even if your rig is a small Class C, it’s still an RV. It’s heavier with a lot more to break inside. Err on the safe side, my friend.
3. Embracing road rage
If you are a hot head, traffic gets your blood pressure up, and otherwise easily irritated, maybe you should give up driving all together.
Driving an RV while ticked off is just about the scariest thing ever.
Your focus is not on safe driving, but on remaining angry. And you are definitely making it an uncomfortable ride for everyone around you.
And when you’re not worried about safety, it can be easy to affect the other drivers on the road. So keep this in mind:
When you cause damage to someone else because you weren’t thinking clearly, that is just plain irresponsible.
You need to get your emotions 100% under control before you get behind the wheel or get off the road immediately.
Guess what else, Grumpy Gills?
When driving, there will be traffic and there will be construction delays. And of course, there will be idiots around you.
Just accept it.
Plan your travel time accordingly. If you are running late, it is no one’s fault but your own.
I use an estimate of 1 hour for every 60 miles of drive time. So if my trip is 330 miles, I figure it will take about 5.5 hours to drive. Give yourself 6-7 hours to make that trip and plan to get out and walk around for 5 minutes every 2 hours. It gets your blood flowing again and clears your mind.
Check your tires, go potty, walk the dog, get a bottle of water…whatever! Just get OUT of the vehicle and move around.
Many RVers follow the “330 rule” – Never drive an RV more than 330 miles or get off the road by 3:30 pm on travel days.
YOU are in control of your 24 hours every day, so learn how to plan for your benefit. If you have a great travel day and all goes as planned with no delays, great! It’s time to celebrate! If the day doesn’t go perfectly, it’s OK – don’t play victim. It happens.
Take a few breaths, go for a walk to let some steam off, and don’t forget to plan for a great travel day tomorrow.
4. Not knowing how to back up the RV
As an RV driving school instructor most of my students tell me backing into a site is their biggest challenge.
That is understandable as many car drivers never back up unless they absolutely have to.
On the other hand, RVs have to back up a LOT. Unless you want to pay top dollar all the time, the majority of sites at an RV park or campground are back in.
Knowing where your obstacles are and using the GOAL method (Get Out And Look…often) is 1 key to being able to safely and successfully back up the RV.
Practice makes perfect: Learn how to set up the maneuver correctly, then practice it until you can back up like a pro. This will help you avoid being the great entertainment in the campground – the couple who scream at each other for 2 hours, then pull out giving up.
For couples who RV together, figure out (polite) hand signals to communicate with each other.
I recommend BIG arm movements like you are guiding a helicopter or airplane. These are more visible to the driver looking in the mirrors. If the spotter is just wiggling fingers in the wind 50 feet behind the driver, it is useless. If the spotter doesn’t drive, the spotter MUST AT LEAST sit in the driver seat before directing the driver to get a perspective of what the driver sees.
Ideally, both RV owners should take a class to learn how to communicate AND maneuver the RV correctly. Yes, there are many different ways to do it correctly, but only one way to do it wrong. And an “oops” is expensive.
A lot more expensive than an RV driving class!
Be a smart RVer – take an RV driving class.
5. Never inspecting your RV.
When you drive an RV, it’s important to remember this really is a home on wheels. There are many moving parts to your rig. You’ve got to take a lot into consideration. And you’ve got to inspect your RV often to make sure it’s road-ready.
RV weight distribution can affect the safe handling of the RV. Just because there are cabinets under the sink doesn’t mean you should fill them up with heavy items. Distribute the items in the RV evenly from front to back and from left side to right side. This is essential! Store your items so they will travel securely without popping open doors or sliding around.
It’s also important to know how much your rig should weigh and how much it actually weighs. An RV that’s overweight on 1 axle or 1 side is more prone to a tire blowout. Not only can blowouts be expensive, they can be fatal.
ALWAYS check your tire pressure on travel days.
Under inflated tires are more likely to blow out. Use a Tire Pressure Monitoring System to get a constant reading on all the tire pressures and temperatures. It works via a bluetooth sensor that is installed on each air valve for each tire which syncs to a small digital monitor in the cockpit. If you are towing a car behind your RV, make sure those tires are monitored as well.
Perform your pre-trip inspections regularly on travel days – save yourself hassle, stress and expense.
RV travel can be a great joy, or it can be a stressful experience.
YOU are what determines which it will be for you and your family.
Now, GO RVing!
Share your worst RV driving story below!
Candace has dabbled in many interests over her lifetime. From boating, horseback riding and gardening in South Florida, to driving tractor-trailer across North America in her middle years, she has embraced what she is truly passionate about. When people ask about her full-time RV traveling adventures or how to manifest a life you love, she often replies “your thoughts today create your future”, “there is no such thing as a coincidence” or “we all are given the same 24 hours in a day, spend them wisely”.
You can find her over at rvingft.com
Yes, it is soooo interesting seeing persons on the road with any type and size of RV doing some of the most amazing things!
Having been a School Bus Driver/Administrator/Driver Trainer/CDL 3rd Party Examiner for 34 years it has been a consistant pet peeve that there are no standards for anyone to get any training for vehicles other than a simple car. The RV Industry and the general public would never agree to it, but there should be a national standard for private Driver Licensing to get training/endorsements for trailers and vehicles of different sizes AND Air Brakes so that our HiWays would be 10 times safer and persons would be competant and comfortable in their driving and even more, so comfortable in makeing simple maneuvers to park their rig in a campground for the end of the day to enjoy their travels instead of getting ulcers and stressed out and yelling at each other!
At the very least, a new “virgin” RV owner (even if you get a new/different RV than before) should go to a BIG open parking lot somewhere and practice ALL maneuvers. I know people don’t have orange cones, but save/collect plastic milk jugs to set boundries and learn and know what happens and how to make it do what you want. Most of all, yes, try to finsd a school, it’s worth 100 times it’s cost.
When I retire in two years I may start one of those schools and be mobile to teach groups or individuals for my satisfaction but even more to help others and know that someone, somewhere is safer on the road.
Enjoy your travels and have fun!
Drive your car like you are driving your RV. Learn how to drive your RV 24/7
Good advice, need to be able to drive the RV in day and night, in many conditions.
Other things to consider:
Respect the weather. RV’s are even more challenging to drive in bad weather. If in doubt, pull over somewhere safe and wait it out. Otherwise you could end up upside down in a ditch.
Plan your route carefully. RV’s are taller, heavier and longer than cars. Does your route take you under low bridges, muddy roads, small bridges, or places where it will be impossible to park?
The person in the front passenger seat is not just there for the ride. They are your co-pilot. Instruct them on how they can make the journey safer for everyone (I.e. navigate, blind spot monitors, road signs reader, etc.
Over estimating capabilities of tow vehicle. Just because manufacturer rated the tow vehicle to tow 5000 lbs, doesn’t mean you should buy a 5000 lb trailer.
Great advice!
The best way to learn is just hit an open parking lot and stick to major highways. Small towns are the worse place to get stuck. I like to tape a note of my height to the dash so when I go to gas stations to fuel up I know I have the right amount of clearance.
I like your suggestion to create hand signals so we can help each other back up the RV accurately. My husband and I want to buy an RV before the weather heats up so we can start going on adventures with our kids. Your advice should help us avoid issues when we get to the point of driving to RV parks for camping!
I’ve made nearly all the rookie mistakes! Now after 12 years of driving a 32′ Class C, I wished I had mastered using the side mirrors better sooner and getting out and looking when backing up! When backing up I use familar landmarks, rear bumper, rear wheel wells, side marker lights in relation to stationary landmarks to judge where I am going and adjustments. No back up camera yet but getting one
Good for you Chris! Those are tips I teach my RV Driving students. Often the backup camera is not clear, so learning how to use a landmark is a GREAT way to know where your spot is. For example: if there is a tree or planter or shrub way out in front of, but lined up with the edge of the space you are backing into, use that as a reference point you can see from the drivers’ seat. Adjust your mirrors so that only 1/4 of the inside of each mirror shows your side of the RV, then the rest of the mirror (3/4 on the outside) should show the lanes on either side of you. Set the convex mirrors for your blind spots on the left & right AND seeing your wheel wells. There is nothing wrong with putting out a small cone on the front edges of your own spot either. A spotter helps IF they are dependable. When using a spotter, make sure you have the hand signals determined in advance 🙂 If you are using a spotter, and can not see them in your mirror, everything comes to a STOP until you have eye contact again. But ALWAYS, ALWAYS, get out and look first – before you set up for the backing maneuver. Safe Travels!
Pull a 24′ trailer for 20 years no problem; bought a 32 foot first trip gas up at Costco turn in parking lot in the back hit a parked car turning to sharp! the back end swings out a couple of feet more then I knew. $ 500 out of my pocket not a good way to find out needing more room!
Yikes Tony! I’m sorry that happened to you…but it definitely happens to the best of us! I really recommend a driving school for everybody, even an “ole” RVer of 20 years!
I would just love for drivers to be aware of others around them in stead of being completely self involved. Usually someone driving an RV is being careful but, ya, if you have a line of cars behind you pull off and let them pass. Here’s my webpage about towing an RV safely: https://tinylifeconsulting.com/towing-tiny-home-safely/
Thanks for the link Kevin. And yes, if it’s safe to pull over, I agree we should pull over for a few and let some cars go by!
I’d love to learn from an RV driving school. But where I live, despite the popularity of RVs, it takes 2 hours just to get to the nearest Walmart, so such an institution of learning just isn’t available.
That is a bummer. I took lessons before we hit the road through a truck driving school. It helped give me confidence.
Look in the mirror more often, if you’re holding up traffic find a place to pull over and let the traffic pass. Oh and slow down in passing lanes so anyone who wants can safely pass you! That’s how we do it so we don’t get the road rage single finger salute!
I love this Rich! Such great tips. I am also in the mindset that you should definitely just let people pass you!
I`m 70 yrs old and just getting back into long distance driving after a 30 yr break. Now i seem to get sleepy way toeasy. Any ideas?
That totally makes sense. Driving makes me sleepy and I’m only 30! haha I would definitely pull off and take advantage of truck stops where you can nap for 20 minutes and then hit the road. And definitely try to plan only a few hours of driving a day if it gets too much!
Fill a resealable gallon bag with ice and a damp washcloth then use it on your neck and face , it helps me. Another thing is you may be dehydrated .
Thanks for the tips, Candace! You are an awesome RV driver!
You assume everyone has access to RV driving classes. I would LOVE to take a few classes. But the nearest ones are states away from me. There are a few virtual ones on YouTube but not much.
Thank heavens I have some experience hauling trailers and driving big Uhaul trucks when moving (even in a snow storm) and know to slow down!! But my 30’ motor home is a different animal. I will have to get used to driving her. I appreciate the good advice you gave. I’m sure it will help.
Hey Louise! I’m sorry you can’t seem to locate a driving class in your area!
I think if more people demanded them, there’d be more, right? But that’s a whole different story.
I hope you got something out of the article even so! Let me know if you have any questions along the way with your rig!!!
Always be aware of safety when you’re at your campsite or at home. I was uncoupling my sway bars before backing my trailer into our campsite, and didn’t pay attention to the angle my truck was at compared to my trailer. Trailer was flat , truck wasn’t. When I went to drop the chain with the handle, the pressure pulled the handle out of my The force threw the handle to the ground, and into my thigh. I had a bruise like a got kicked by a horse.
Yikes! Thanks for sharing that experience for the rest of us James!
Similar scenario. While checking everything after connecting WD hitch my Daughter noticed the Sway Bar not connected. The truck and trailer were not level, and the tongue jack was disengaged; and as she released the pressure on the bent bar, the “Extreme” pressure snapped the pipe out of her hand and took her “finger tip” completely off… Mis-communication on our part… She was unaware that I had disengaged the tongue jack, and I was unaware she was making the correction by releasing the bent bar…. Not a good way to end a Labor Day trip…. WD bars have EXTREME pressure;…. always engage the tongue jack before releasing the bent bars…. It was a lengthy healing process for my Daughter and a valuable lesson about the importance of communication, and safety.
DO check the http://www.RVSchool.com website often Louise. Many of us are traveling and change our location and dates available as we travel. And if there is an RV rally near you there might be classes offered as well. Sometimes the school is contracted by the rally host to provide RV Driving lessons before or after the rally. For example, 8 of the RV Driving School mentors just spent 2 weeks at the FMCA rally in Perry, Georgia. NONE of us live there, so we all committed to giving lessons 10 days before the rally and we met in Perry. Many of the instructors travel extensively during the spring, summer and fall months so you might locate a mentor close to you during travel months. Keep checking!
I took the liberty of linking to your site on my website rvsforsalebillings.com. If that is unacceptable, please let me know and I will remove it.
No worries, Andy! Thanks for your link, my friend!