"Im never going to see these people again." Best thing to keep in mind when nervous or feeling anxiety take hold in public. That statement can be applied to many many things. People should worry less about what others think, or what failires one makes on front of people. We are all the same, learning or doing the same thing, just trying to enjoy life. You can put the truth on a tee shirt, No one has to panic about what others think of you, They dont pay your bills or help you with any mistakes you make. Just keep trucking, and learn the best way you can.
Just purchased our 37' DP RV. I was REALLY nervous about driving it, but watching this video was very helpful. I was comfortable in about 10 minutes of my first test drive. More importantly, the sales rep said he would not have known it was my first drive. Just use caution and patience on those tight rights. Getting your hips past the turn point was key! Thanks so much.
This has been so helpful! My goal is to be able to drive my RV comfortably with no one else with me except my dog! I'm going to do measurements and see how I could do the 3 in 1 without a spotter. My rear camera does have distances and path of travel trajectory which is super helpful but I'm still coming g in a little too close to hook ups. I'm also thinking of taking some lessons with a driving school to get more confidence. Thanks for the video!
I also will be traveling with only my dog and I’m supposed to buy my Motorhome next week. I’ve definitely been getting a little nervous about it. I’m hoping the cameras in it are really good too.
This is a very instructional video and audio must watch for all owners of RV's. It has made me feel much more confident about driving a large vehicle and it increases awareness for those times when I am driving a standard car in the vicinity of an RV. Give more room and consideration to RV drivers as their blind spots are sometimes large and we have to take this into account. All things considered I think that all drivers should see this video and our roads would be a lot safer
At the beginning of the video driving an RV seemed overwhelming. With the expert guidance of the narrator I feel confident that I will be able to follow all the steps in the video confidently.
This is by far the best RV Driving Tutorial I have found. Kudos to Lazy Days RV! One disappointment: In the backing up portion they demonstrate pulling up to the campsite on the driver's side and then later mention it is three times as hard pulling up on the passenger side. I would have loved to see that demonstrated.
This was a very good video. I went through CDL school and learned the importance of mirrors. I found this video very useful when learning how to drive a class A motor home.
Cannot thank you enough for this amazing training. I now understand what the heck the convex mirrors are all about and I love the reference points you can put on your rig, etc. etc. etc. Just terrific. Thank you SO much.
This is the best tutorial I have watched, and they are many. I just drove my new RV for the first time (only about 10 miles on a country road). THEN I found this video and I learned so much! Haven't tried my second drive yet because I want to do all the exercises first, but I feel much more ready now!
Fabulous, just fabulous!! I am a female who is thinking about buying a motor home and I am really worried about driving such a huge vehicle! Thank you so much for this video!
Patricia Mitchell I'm glad that you enjoyed it! You will be GREAT! You can do it! Good Luck! - Please Visit Our Website - www.RVs4Newbies.com Be Safe & Enjoy The Ride! Donny
Thank you for posting this video that most people including myself would have been satisfied to pay for. Having worked in film for many years, I can quality this video is not some rinky dink do-it-yourself handheld; it's a well planned production meant for serious students that want to master driving techniques in their large motorhomes. Well done! The information contained in the video has given me new insight into driving my long, large and heavy Class A motorhome. Thanks to the producers.
I wish this was up when we hired an RV. We arrived in LA from Australia at 9a.m. By about 11:30 we're driving a 32 ft RV through LA traffic. Biggest thing I've ever driven by far. And on the opposite side of the road! Knowing how to reverse just using the two mirrors is important. I cringe when I see people look over their shoulder when reversing. It's a just a bad habit from poor driver training, even in a little car.
Good info. Would be great to see the 3-1 reverse into park spot multiple times in a real campground/RV park from different perspectives. Also, understanding (and seeing) how Class A's of different lengths affect the 3-1 method.
Thank you so much for this wonderful video. I still intend to take an instructor class but this video really explains the tracking, and vision "angles" and blind spot geometry that will be so helpful in driving a motorhome.
This is such a great educational video. Will be getting a 32 footer motorhome soon and this sure makes us feel more confident! Thank you so much for so many great tips!💕
I have a couple of questions. I am a single RVer. I often won't have a spotter. 1- Is there a way I can judge where that 8' center mark (between the wheels) is from inside the coach? 2- Also, you said that when making turns and trying not to hit things in the process, if using your front bumper as your reference point (when your degree of wheel turn is 45 degrees), how do you use the bumper that is deep inside your blind spot? You can't mark it on your mirror as in other cases. I'm living fulltime in my 27' class c now and backing up is my worst thing so far, but I want to learn how to position my RV at all times, in all situations. One other thing. 3- You said that the back-up method in this video isn't to be used in parking lots. How do you back up in parking lots?Thank you. I hope you see this and can reply.
Take your time and you will do just fine! Thanks for the feedback! I'm glad that you enjoyed it! - Please Visit Our Website - www.RVs4Newbies.com Be Safe & Enjoy The Ride! Donny
I don’t understand how anybody could compair gas to deisel. If gas is so good why don’t they put them in semi’s. They don’t have the York or longevity. Deisel. 2million gas 200.000 if your lucky
I thought it would help a lot of people and maybe save a life or two! Glad you enjoyed it! Donny - Please Visit Our Website - www.RVs4Newbies.com Be Safe & Enjoy The Ride!
Thank you so much! This is a very well put together video that helps with the basic concepts. I greatly appreciate it. I have been looking for instructional video and/or a book to review before I take a driving course. I really appreciate it. I will look at your website for more information.
In Australia we teach to align your shoulder with the kerb or edge of roadway of the road you are turning into when making left turns, and the centreline of the roadway when making right turns. In most cases, that will position the rear of the vehicle to miss kerbs and traffic islands
Thank you for this video!! I’m purchasing a Class A Motorhome and the last couple days I’ve been a little worried about driving it since I’ve never drove anything this big.
Moved up from a Class C 25 footer to a Class A 35 footer. Very helpful. Thought I was doing great until I went into a town that squeezed at two way street into a single lane two-way. Though I was well in lane, I learned that signs on a side walk with no grass medium hang into the street 6 inches and clipped my passenger side mirror. Very discouraging and made me feel like I didn't deserve to be driving my diesel pusher. I really had been practicing though. So new lesson learned the hard way. I hope others can learn from this.
Hey Joe, Thanks for the feedback and your own history in driving a larger RV! We can all learn something new every day! I'm glad that you enjoyed it! - Please Visit Our Website - www.RVs4Newbies.com Be Safe & Enjoy The Ride! Donny
Hey Joe, I bought a 37 ft class a about 100 miles from home and when I got about 20 miles from home I bounced the right side off of a concrete bridge and did $16,000 worth of damage.. I wish I had seen this video before driving.. LOL
5:14...mirrors 7:25... Shown from above 9:28... Person eight to nine feet out, hands in front at chest level, simulates a car 17:48... Review how to handle curves 20:10... How to find where the center of your back tire is using the convex mirror, Mark the mirror with sharpie or white out. 25:52... 34:35
I've been thinking about getting a second convex mirror for my passenger side. I'd have the normal one adjusted properly and the second one aimed directly at the blind spot. I've got old school style mirrors held on by just thin metal rods so it's really easy to stick stuff on them, like CB antennas and other accessories.
as a CDL holder with full endorsements ( including Coach buses) this class should be mandatory before any one is allowed to drive a class A RV ( people like myself with a full CDL excluded of course )
I, personally, investigated an average of 1,000 crashes per year as a Colorado State Trooper, on highways, state and county roads, city roads, residential areas and parking lots. In my years, I have covered more crashes involving commercial vehicles (driven by CDL holders) than motorcoaches (both class A and C) and trailers being towed. That being said, CDL drivers (of every endorsement class) are among the safest drivers on the road, both in their commercial vehicles and their personal vehicles. New drivers, poorly trained drivers and careless drivers being the exception, whether CDL or non-CDL. I attribute safe driving behavior to attentiveness to their primary task (driving a motor vehicle), proper evaluation of and adaptability to road conditions and design, traffic, weather, visibility and vehicle limitations, as well as driver experience (in my opinion, the most important factor in this list). Inexperience and careless driving behavior contribute the most to becoming a statistic, whether CDL driver or non-CDL driver, and the more someone drives, the better they become at driving. I'll say that again, the more someone actually drives, in all kinds of conditions, in whatever vehicles they more often drive, the better he or she will become at this. Now, it is true that there are far more commercial vehicles being safely driven on the highways and roads than there are RVs (motorcoaches and such) on the same blacktop, but it still holds true that experience and attentiveness makes for safer drivers and safer roadways for everyone. Some training for drivers of RVs would be wonderful. It would definitely help in the beginning, but it is the act of driving that will improve their safety and skill more than any formal training they might receive. I think that experience and skills should be learned and practiced in safer environments (parking lots, noncongested roadways, etc.) before merging into mainstream traffic and into difficult to maneuver situations, with heightened alertness, but this needn't to be in a formal setting. Argue against my two-cents' worth of opinion above, if you want to, but I felt it necessary to chime in, based on my years as a crash investigator for many years, as well as a driving instructor for other law enforcement personnel. Thanks for reading. Oh, and the video was excellent. I would hope that everyone planning to get behind the wheel of an RV would seek out such training, but I argue against requiring drivers to undergo full CDL certified training in order to drive an RV.
Very helpful tutorial! Thank you. I have a Winnebago Class C, 32 ft long. Does your recommendations work the same (measurements, etc) for this type of RV?
Where on the wheels do you start the measurement for the 3 and 1 system for backing into a camp site if you have in tandem wheels on the back? Need to know where to start the 8 foot measurement. This video has been very helpful. Thank you.
+Phyllis Stokes It will always be from the center of the "pivot" point, which is the center of the "dual" tires on the rear, not the "Tag" axle. I know because I recently discovered this myself.
It’s the center of the hub of the most forward rear tires. The second set of tires are part or the overhang. Sometimes, you can lift the tandem axle for parking. Otherwise, they rub while making very tight turns.
Sorry to be off topic but does someone know a method to get back into an instagram account..? I was dumb forgot the account password. I appreciate any tricks you can offer me
@Cash Jaziel I really appreciate your reply. I got to the site on google and im in the hacking process atm. I see it takes quite some time so I will reply here later when my account password hopefully is recovered.
Seems like you are going to upset the already stressed car drivers on the roads and highways in a rv motorhome,using a whole lane on the off ramp and fully blocking the road i can see lots of upset drivers ahead,ive just moved to the countryside from the city and the drivers here are insane,ive been nearly killed 3 times already from a overtaking car doing 130mph missing me by 2 inches and road works with all the traffic stopped and a blind corner no road work signs we was in a heavy duty truck with animal trailer and we couldnt stop in time due to the blind corner and lack warning signs etc yeah bad in the country now imagine a rv at 40 feet jesus help us.
My only problem with today's RVs is their size. At between 35' and 40' in length, I don't know what their height might be, from the pavement to the top of the AC unit on the roof, but most I've seen are so large, you might as well be driving a 4 story building on wheels.
I am considering buying a 32 foot class A but I don't have anyone to spot for me when I travel. For reference, I back my 20 foot travel trailer into campsites on my own. Is a spotter really essential to backing a motorhome, or can it be done like backing a travel trailer, getting out and looking, and swearing softly a little from time to time? Watching this video made me question whether I should continue with my purchase of a Class A for my traveling lifestyle. Hmmm...
Excellent information and so clearly and coherently presented! Thank you! :-) One question, my motorhome has 3-part side-view mirrors; the top and bottom parts are convex and the middle (and largest part) is a flat mirror. How should I adjust the top convex mirror? Thank you!
Thanks for the question Mayra! I wish I knew of a hands on course, But I sadly don't. That's why I put these video together. They were scrambled all over youtube. I wanted them in one place so I can go back and review them at any time. Please let me know if you find a course and I will pass it on. Thanks so much! Donny Please Visit Our Website - www.RVs4Newbies.com Be Safe & Enjoy The Ride!
I have watched this great video several times, and driven my newly acquired 30' class A RV. One challenge I can not find a solution to is turning left at a fork when driving solo where I have zero view of traffic approaching from the right side. I am totally blind on the right side, anyone have any tips?
Does the length of RV figure into the "turn line" (front bumper or hip) when turning? My wheel cut is 60 degrees, but it's a 43' MH with a tag axle. Since it's > 50 degrees, I would use the hip as my line, but wonder if the length would be an issue.
Does all of this apply to Class C RV's we tried to back up using the 8' rule and it just didn't work. But we were pretending we were on a very narrow road to the campsite because I rarely see 24' two lanes . So if the road is narrow you can't pull as far forward to line the rear end up with the campsite. Is it just me or that rule doesn't apply to Class C because of their turning radius's. If I had to bet, it's ME!
Good video overall BUT, very few highways exit to the LEFT as this video demonstrates. Most highway exit ramps are to the RIGHT meaning that the PASSENGER side will be coming off the ramp and entering traffic first.