Driving a motorhome for the first time

[Malabarbob]

If you buy from some large dealers, they have a short driver program. It not take baby steps and ALWAYS use your mirrors to see where you are in your lane and watch the rear tires in turns. Best to equip RV with backup and side cameras. Good luck

[camaraderie]

Let me say X2 to Bend302's recommendation of the lazy days video course. You will be amazed at how a few simple tricks will give you the confidence to drive the road and park the RV...neat stuff...don't use it much now but it sure helped until I got the feel of the coach!

[Neanderthal]

40 ft and toad wife drives 95% of the time. This rv is our third. All have been 36+.

[SternHappens]

From your post it sounds like you don't have much experience with anything larger than a regular passenger vehicle. As a trial run of sorts to a motorhome I would suggest renting the largest Uhaul box truck, think about 25' for the weekend and hit the road drive it around town, on a local highway, on the interstate, etc. If you feel comfortable with that you won't have a problem with a class A.

[BobHanke]

Or you can rent a motor home. Test for real.

[Navy81]

I moved up from a Diesel F250 TV and 33' TT to a Legacy 340 BH diesel pusher towing a Mini Cooper on a tow dolly. The Class A is 10X easier to drive - many fewer white knuckle moments and much easier navigating in campgrounds, etc. You'll be fine! Listen to everyone's recommendations about Lazy Daze free video courses, help backing up, etc.

[poppoplou]

It can be a little intimidating. When I picked up my 39 footer I was a little concerned. The fellow that sold it to me said " its easy, you just point the front where you want to go and the back just follows"

[Vince and Charlette]

The mere size was intimidating to me. But, a lot of it was self-inflicted. I gained confidence when I realized that little ol' lady or guy driving your local school bus is driving the same size vehicle, and their routes are in residential areas! If they could do it, so could I. Remember, each one of us had our first time just like you.

[F and E Damp]

We had a 26' class C initially and it drove like a slightly longer vehicle than our 1970 Mercury Colony Park Wagon, which I think was 22'. Transition was minimal. A few years later. after early retirement from Boeing, I did a couple of years driving transit coaches for our county transit system.

After horsing 40-foot coaches through Everett rush-hour traffic, our 32' Georgetown was no trouble, apart from being perched above the front axle instead of 5' ahead of it. Soon learned the difference and had four good years with the Georgetown.

Financial realities finally hit home and we had to give up the lifestyle. We miss it, but living in Anacortes, WA makes up for a lot. This is a wonderful place to live!

[conceptumator]

I noticed you're located in Ormond Beach. Not sure where you're looking to buy, but we just got our new MH from Lazy Days in Tampa. The reason I mention this is they offer classes on many RV related subjects, including a day long driving course. They're free to customers but there may be a small fee for others. You might check them out. Good luck!

[jkoenig24]

There are schools and teachers that teach safe RV driving. A Google search will return multiple results. Some teachers will come to you and, teach you (and your spouse) on your RV. I consider it money well spent. Such training may also qualify you for a discount on your insurance. At the very least, watch a DVD on the topic.