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Old 10-07-2020, 05:26 PM   #1
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Why Wife/ traveling partner needs to be able to drive Rig.

This is my reason. Suddenly had retinal detachment in one eye.Cant see well enough to drive 7 hours home. Chance of you having this happen is slim. Right eye last year, Left eye this year. My wife can drive a truck, 5th wheel trailer, and boat in tow. Taught her how to do it .
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Old 10-07-2020, 05:52 PM   #2
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There have been many posts here about this subject.
Unfortunately the majority state that the wife refuses to drive the truck/trailer combo. For those that own a Motorhome, the responses were better.
My wife has no problems driving our combo but is reluctant to back it up.
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Old 10-07-2020, 06:04 PM   #3
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Thanks for posting. This is a good point about having an alternate driver. I do the over half of the motorhome driving but the wife does a fair share so she can be relieve me at times, and be comfortable handing the RV.

Same way with the boat. She drives it often and puts it on the trailer. It sure is easier when you have a team effort.
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Old 10-07-2020, 06:06 PM   #4
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My wife passed away 4 years ago this month. I travel alone but my emergency plan is to buy my Son a plane ticket to wherever I am and have him drive me home.

At my age the plane ticket is definitely less expensive than a "Traveling Companion" or new Wife.
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Old 10-07-2020, 06:13 PM   #5
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Why Wife/ traveling partner needs to be able to drive Rig.

Quote:
Originally Posted by TitanMike View Post
My wife passed away 4 years ago this month. I travel alone but my emergency plan is to buy my Son a plane ticket to wherever I am and have him drive me home.

At my age the plane ticket is definitely less expensive than a "Traveling Companion" or new Wife.
Sorry for your loss TitanMike.

True words.
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Old 10-07-2020, 06:19 PM   #6
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Every time a new thread appears on this subject, I mention it to my DW. She has a similar answer as TitanMike's ==> "Nope... no way. I'll pay Nathan's way (our son) to come wherever we are to drive the rig home."
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Old 10-07-2020, 06:40 PM   #7
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Quote:
At my age the plane ticket is definitely less expensive than a "Traveling Companion" or new Wife.
true, so true
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Old 10-08-2020, 01:11 PM   #8
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I like towing our 35 ft TT. The 2500 Ram is easy to handle. I can tow our 24ft 6000 pound boat too but like the way the trailer handles much better. My father gave me the best advise. Point the truck where you want to go, swing her wide, and the trailer will follow you! I admit to not backing either of them much, but if needed I would try or find someone to help. We tow from Ohio to Maryland so it is important my DH gets a break!
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Old 10-08-2020, 01:14 PM   #9
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My wife has no problem driving to give me a break. But, she has no interest in hooking up, or backing up. We tow a travel trailer with a one-ton van. Were I to buy a truck and fifth wheel, I doubt she would want to drive at all, much less hook up or back up.
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Old 10-08-2020, 01:25 PM   #10
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My wife LOVES to camp.

She is absolutely great at a lot of things but has ZERO interest in driving the truck and the 5th wheel and IMHO would be a poor candidate to learn since she wants NOTHING to do with it.

We often travel in a group so I (we) usually have someone around or I'd fly someone in. It is what it is.
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Old 10-08-2020, 01:48 PM   #11
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My wife can do it as well .. Shes towed all of our toys . Backing them up is another story lol
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Old 10-08-2020, 01:57 PM   #12
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My wife was a firefighter/paramedic for 26 years and she rarely lets me drive.

I was a firefighter/paramedic for only fifteen years so she outranks me on this. So I nap in the passenger seat.

Works for me.

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Old 10-08-2020, 02:17 PM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TitanMike View Post
My wife passed away 4 years ago this month. I travel alone but my emergency plan is to buy my Son a plane ticket to wherever I am and have him drive me home.

At my age the plane ticket is definitely less expensive than a "Traveling Companion" or new Wife.

Alzheimer just took my wife. This is info I never thought of since I will be traveling alone for the first time in 20 years. Use to do that a lot in the Army. Anyway thank you for the emergency plan.
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Old 10-08-2020, 02:21 PM   #14
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About 54 feet of rolling stock going down range. Wife would never drive at all. I think she backed up one time. Got her to drive the 22ft long truck once and only once. She was a city mouse and I was and still am a country mouse. So emergency plan call son.
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Old 10-08-2020, 04:11 PM   #15
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Originally Posted by bikendan View Post
Unfortunately the majority state that the wife refuses to drive the truck/trailer combo.
This describes my wife. We would be in deep doodoo if anything happened to me on the road.
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Old 10-08-2020, 04:38 PM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TitanMike View Post
My wife passed away 4 years ago this month. I travel alone but my emergency plan is to buy my Son a plane ticket to wherever I am and have him drive me home.

At my age the plane ticket is definitely less expensive than a "Traveling Companion" or new Wife.

I'm in the same position as my wife passed away 19 months ago so I will call my son in law and pay to fly him to take my rig back home. I like traveling but you never know at our age when something will go wrong. Later RJD
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Old 10-08-2020, 05:12 PM   #17
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Actually, a medical emergency is why we joined FMCA and now Coach-net who also have put 'RV return' into their coverage.... as long as you are over 150 miles from your home. While both of us can drive the rv and we have someone we can fly in to help if necessary, we like to have another option.
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Old 10-08-2020, 05:22 PM   #18
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Actually, a medical emergency is why we joined FMCA and now Coach-net who also have put 'RV return' into their coverage.... as long as you are over 150 miles from your home. While both of us can drive the rv and we have someone we can fly in to help if necessary, we like to have another option.
I agree, my wife would never drive the DP nevermind with the toad attached. She insisted on insurance that will drive it home if there's an emergency. Worth a piece of mind that she doesn't have to worry every time we head out.
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Old 10-09-2020, 07:21 AM   #19
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Our adventures in our MH are more peaceful with me at the wheel. Sorry gentlemen, but I'm the better driver. My hubby is the backup.
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Old 10-09-2020, 07:46 AM   #20
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I'm the one stuck driving all the time. My wife could, if I taught her the basic stuff- trailer wheels make tighter turns than the truck, wait till headlights are way back before moving over, etc. Alas, she has no desire to pilot a 21k 62' missile down the road. She drove a bus for a year for crying out loud. Lol.
At my age (young) the greater chance is that I will be injured racing. So we will already be parked somewhere, and the race community is good about taking care of our own. Most of us have taken a trip to go pick up a rig for someone that cannot drive it back. I do want to convince my wife to give it a go. I just dont want to push it because that would make the experience more of a chore. Which would not be good for either of us.
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