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Old 05-01-2015, 07:41 PM   #81
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Originally Posted by wendylys View Post
I do a lot of the driving, and most of the set up\take down on our Class C. I often head out to a campground several hours before my husband gets off work. By the time he gets there, everything is done.
Good for you. I did, too, with our first Class C. Then we went to a Class A and I was intimidated!! Big difference IMO
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Old 05-01-2015, 07:49 PM   #82
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My DW tows our TT on occasion when I need a break on a long trip or am following her to the campground on my bike. She does make me nervous as she tends to hug the side of the road. I keep reminding her that the TT is slightly wider than our truck and sometimes off the pavement on a tight right hand corner but for the most part does a decent job.
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Old 05-01-2015, 08:11 PM   #83
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Mr Dan, I'm with your wife. That is what I would do. My DH is 10 years older than me and it could happen he go first or he gets tired of messing with a trailer. I do like driving the class C and have done it 3 times in Alaska. But then it is a lot easier to drive around on those roads.....not like driving through Atlanta with 4-6 lanes of traffic. I have a friend or two that I would camp with and one is too short to lower and raise the bunk ends.


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Old 05-01-2015, 08:22 PM   #84
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Way to go Janet!!
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Old 05-01-2015, 08:52 PM   #85
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Unfortunately, our Georgetown 32' rig, F53 chassis was ergonomically impossible for my wife to drive. She's not very tall and short in the leg.

The crappy adjustability of the F53 controls and the Flexsteel seats made it not easy for me (5' 9" and 190 lb). The seat cushions were about 8" too long (fore/aft). For my wife. her knees were 6" back of the cushion edge and she couldn't get her feet within 9" of the pedals when the seat was fully forward.

That didn't matter, since the steering column had no telescopic adjustment and its angular adjustment was very limited.

After a couple of years driving transit on Gillig coaches, I was impressed by their ergonomic adjustments. The seat (a Recaro) could get you way too close to the steering wheel, but in the right place for the pedals. The steering wheel/column had two universal joints and an adjiustable wheel position. I could get it set up so that 9 hours behind the wheel wasn't a problem.

Had we kept our Georgetown, I was seriously thinking of going to a bus wrecking yard and getting a seat and a steering column to replace the crap we had. In retrospect, I'm not sure DW would have driven it anyway!
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Old 05-02-2015, 03:38 PM   #86
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Old 05-02-2015, 04:39 PM   #87
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I think that everyone should learn to hitch, tow and unhitch. While most couples have some a well worn division of labor regarding towing, you just never know when there will be a need for the other to take up the slack.
x2 on what Janet said. I also think it's wise for most people to have at least some explorer & experience, just in case. It's one thing not to be able to back the RV into a site but it's another not to be able to move it in a case of an emergency.

I'm a solo RVer. There been a time or two when I became pretty ill while camping but was lucky enough to have some days to recover before breaking camp & going home.

I'm a short gal too (5'1) so I can relate to challenges shorter people have. My truck mirrors can block my side view. Many times I didn't notice the other car to the left at a 4-way stop. When backing up I can't see the direction of my front tires unless I step out of the truck to look.
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Old 05-02-2015, 07:48 PM   #88
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...When backing up I can't see the direction of my front tires unless I step out of the truck to look.

Don't worry about that part Terie, at 6' I can't see my tires either while I'm in the truck.





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Old 05-02-2015, 08:04 PM   #89
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x2 on what Janet said. I also think it's wise for most people to have at least some explorer & experience, just in case. It's one thing not to be able to back the RV into a site but it's another not to be able to move it in a case of an emergency.

I'm a solo RVer. There been a time or two when I became pretty ill while camping but was lucky enough to have some days to recover before breaking camp & going home.

I'm a short gal too (5'1) so I can relate to challenges shorter people have. My truck mirrors can block my side view. Many times I didn't notice the other car to the left at a 4-way stop. When backing up I can't see the direction of my front tires unless I step out of the truck to look.
Do the Nascar thing......piece of tape at 12 o'clock.
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Old 05-02-2015, 08:07 PM   #90
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Don't worry about that part Terie, at 6' I can't see my tires either while I'm in the tr



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Old 05-02-2015, 08:16 PM   #91
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We have Good Sam insurance that will pay someone (one of our sons) to fly to where ever the rig is and drive it home. I don't want or expect my wife to hook up or drive the rig even if she volunteered, which she won't. It would be nice to have a relief driver, but if I get tired, we just stop for the day as we are not in a hurry any more.
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Old 05-02-2015, 10:22 PM   #92
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I always told my daughter if anything happens to me most the campgrounds we go to have storage pack the trailer up the best you can put it in storage we will get it home later
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Old 05-02-2015, 10:30 PM   #93
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Absolutely YES! She probably pulls better than I do LOL!
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Old 05-02-2015, 10:42 PM   #94
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Drive it! She took it out without me last week. She called me at work at1:30 on Friday afternoon and said "The kids and I want to gocamping". I had a commitment and could not get three until later. When I got three it was all setup exceptsewer. She left that for me to do.

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Old 05-03-2015, 06:15 AM   #95
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Talked my wife into driving it once, she's afraid of backing(weren't we all at one time). At least i know she can get it to campground 😄
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Old 05-03-2015, 06:47 AM   #96
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My DW grew up on a farm & but had four older brothers. She will tow one of our smaller utility trailers with a smaller TV but not the camper or anything with our truck. She might if she had to or did not have to back up.

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Old 05-03-2015, 07:34 AM   #97
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Scary thought, but based on your experience I need to encourage Susie to try.
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Old 05-03-2015, 07:36 AM   #98
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Yes my spouse can tow, hookup and setup our rig.
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Old 05-03-2015, 08:15 AM   #99
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I need to get my reluctant wife to do the same. As you said, you never know when she may have to take over and be confidant about pulling the trailer.
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Old 05-04-2015, 01:03 PM   #100
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My wife has always been reluctant to drive when the 35 foot travel trailer is in tow. She said she could do it if she had too. Recently she had to. I fell and broke my leg while on vacation. She needed to tow the trailer to a safe location, get it unhooked and secured to wait for someone from home to retrieve the trailer. This created a lot of stress for her as she had trouble maneuvering the rig in a small, crowded hospital parking lot. I ended up being in a hospital, 9 hours from home, for 5 days. Needless to say she will be getting "towing lessons" just as soon as the leg is healed!
Hey Paul,

We have had our truck and 5th wheel since 2011 and we both love the unit.

Since our first big trip was to go across Canada and back it was agreed upon that we would both be driving.

We got our tow vehicle, truck 6 month before the trailer. This way we could both get use to the truck.

My wife was a bit reluctant at first saying "Do we need a big monster (truck) like that"

I took the time to explain for my wife, Liz, about the "tow haul", "exhaust break" etc. and now with the trailer behind she appreciates the "big monster".

Here are her comments:

"Our truck is great for towing our 5th wheel. I feel confident that it has the power to get us up the mountains, and more importantly has the capacity to control the weight and push when we come down mountains.

At first I was very apprehensive to drive the truck pulling the trailer. But I feel confident, that the truck and I can handle it.

I have been driving through the mountains and passes no problems. In the cities with the trailer I am still a bit cautious. In the city without the trailer is fine, although in my opinion this truck is way too big and parking is a challenge.

I still call it the beast, but I have learned to tame it."
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After all these years and miles of RV'ing Liz is now very comfortable driving the truck. She even backs down the boat trailer on the boat ramp when we take the boat out of the ocean.

Just last year we did a 3.5 month trip up to Yukon and Alaska and drove about 15,000 km or 9,000 miles. I would say she drove over a 25% of that.

Good luck,

Cheers,
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