By Bob Difley
Though becoming more balanced among couples, more men still drive their RVs than women. If you are the female half of a couple, imagine if you were out in the boonies and the driver were to become ill.
You would have to learn how to drive the rig quickly – and at a most difficult time while under extreme stress. Don’t wait for that moment to happen. Start learning to drive the rig now, and then share the everyday driving to stay in practice.
Don’t limit yourself to learning just how to drive: There are other things the regular “pilot” does to get the rig ready to travel. Do you know how to disconnect the power and water systems? Raise the automatic levelers? Hitch up the rig? All these are important aspects of getting under way with your RV. You and your other half should draw up a checklist together, and thoroughly practice “how-to-do’s” before the need arises.
If you are the male driver, start giving your other half driving time – along with constructive and helpful assistance and encouragement. If you can’t provide the support and the temperament to make it work, hire a driving instructor. Do it.
You can find Bob Difley’s RVing e-books on Amazon Kindle.
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There are more women traveling solo than men so there are a large number of women who drive every kind of rig. I agree that both members of a couple should be able to drive the rig whether they are a woman OR a man.
My wife is a great driver, but she cannot back up for anything, gives me a break on the highways , been teaching her the hookups and unhooking,
My husband and I went to Tucson with our 5th wheel so he could see a specialist there at the hospital. We were there a week as the doctors worked with him. All went well for a while, then I got a call from the doctor that he was going in for emergency surgery. Something went wrong. After the surgery they had to revive him 5 times and the doctor met with me and said he wasn’t going to make it. That evening he died. I was in shock after 3 days of making arrangements, I had to hitch up our RV and drive home with his ashes in the seat next to me. I was glad he had taken the time to teach me every thing about our trailer so I could get back home.
So sorry to hear about your husband, Jane. But thank goodness he taught you about your trailer so you could make it home safe and sound. Take care. —Diane at RVtravel.com
Answer to question.
Not with me in the passenger seat.
Two reasons for that.
#1- I’m a backseat driver, AND
#2 – I would be scared to death – LOL!
We own a Class B, which is basically like driving a large car. I do all the driving (she drove for 40 miles on the interstate once) because she does not feel secure about doing so — even though she drove a small truck for work at one point. Her problem is confidence, not skill. I feel that she would be just fine if she had to, though the advice about teaching her how to disconnect is good (currently she does the inside and I do the outside).
As a longtime OTR trucker (and now retired), I started ‘teaching’ wifey long ago how to pull our trailer(s), back them in, and how to get in and out of fueling stops. When we head down to Quartzsite we take two trailers – our travel trailer and our enclosed side-by-side trailer. Kind of a pain, but it works. No thoughts of EVER getting a toy hauler either. This system works fine (except the part where we HAVE to go through Las Vegas!).