| One of the first things that a new RV owner faces is | | | | which will make it necessary for you to stop and go. |
| the prospect of driving a vehicle which is much larger | | | | It would be a good idea to try and avoid heavy |
| than a normal family car. It seems like an intimidating | | | | traffic and situations which will test your driving skills in |
| thing to do and a lot of people might find the task a | | | | the initial days. Keep the size of your vehicle in mind |
| little daunting initially. Undoubtedly driving and parking an | | | | and remember to allow lots of room and turn extra |
| RV is quite different from driving a family car requiring | | | | wide. Have two or three practice sessions in |
| some new skills, but learning them does not have to be | | | | low-traffic, open areas where you can work on your |
| a stressful experience. | | | | turns and also get used to your rear-view mirrors. |
| The level of skills required is directly proportional to the | | | | Parking is another test which you will have to |
| size of the RV - the bigger the size the more care a | | | | face,if possible try and practice backing and parking in |
| new driver has to take while driving it. A lot depends | | | | a large vacant lot, use traffic cones or similar markers |
| upon the category of the RV in question - ClassB and | | | | to help you judge curbs and obstacles. Proper |
| smaller Class C motor homes are hardly larger than a | | | | coordination with one's partner is a very important |
| van or pickup while the Class A and fifth wheel trailers | | | | aspect of driving a RV, ensure that that you practice |
| are much bigger in size. For the smaller vehicles - | | | | with your partner, try and build confidence in each |
| Class B and C - the only real concerns is learning to | | | | other by practicing hand signals, and/or learning to use |
| rely on the side-mounted rear-view mirrors and getting | | | | walkie-talkies. |
| used to the extra weight. It is the bigger Class A motor | | | | Driving on the highway will be the final test of your |
| coaches and 40 foot fifth wheel trailers which prove a | | | | driving skills. Safe highway driving will require you to |
| challenge for the newbies,those with no truck driving | | | | develop a number of skills including passing, negotiating |
| experience will face some difficulty in mastering these | | | | curves and grades, and managing your speed to meet |
| vehicles. Though there are RV driving schools which | | | | conditions. Due to the weight you would be moving it |
| offer driving lessons, driving a big RV should not be | | | | will take longer to speed up and slow down, braking |
| that difficult if a little care in taken and you practice the | | | | skills are very essential and you need to work out how |
| new skills required to do so. | | | | much time it will take for you to slow down and stop |
| Here are a few pointers and techniques which can | | | | from the speed you are traveling at. Do not attempt |
| make the task of learning to drive a RV a little easier | | | | driving on steep mountain roads on your initial trips; |
| and smoother. | | | | start out with something easy and go on to more |
| Your first test will be driving your new RV home | | | | challenging roads once you have got the hang of |
| from the dealer, depending on what your physical | | | | handling the brakes and negotiating curves. |
| location is this might prove a challenge. Plan out your | | | | Practice makes perfect, the more you practice the |
| route to minimise traffic, lane changes and traffic lights | | | | easier it will be to drive safely and confidently. |