Emergency Motorhome Driving

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DaveRB55

Well-known member
Joined
May 19, 2017
Posts
45
Hello Everyone,

My wife and I have been full-timing since last March.  We sold our home in Dallas and have been doing pretty well this summer throughout the NW and currently in Durango Co.  Unfortunately I ruptured my achilles this morning playing pickleball and as luck would have it, I did it to my right leg.  Emergency room doc says I need surgery in 7-10 days.  We were planning to return to Dallas at the end of the week for other annual checkups.  I'm trying to assess options.  My wife has never driven the rig (40 ft gasser with toad).  I feel I could drive but wondering whether that is a safest plan as my foot is pretty heavily wrapped.    Have a couple of friends that might be contacted but would hate to put this on them.  Also will be contacting my dealer in the am as I believe they may have drivers.   Does anyone out there have any suggestions that I might consider? 

Thank you
Dave
 
I was glad my late wife was not only willing but eager to drive the rv. It gave me a welcome break during the day and backup in case anything like this ever happened. Is she willing to try it and are you willing to trust her?
 
If you are a Good Sam or FMCA member, they have volunteers who will come and drive for you in an emergency like that. I don't know how it works, but I presume you would cover their out-of-pocket expenses somehow.
 
Thank you for the replies.  Have some options to seek out in the am.  Have been meaning to get the wife driving, just haven't gotten around to it.  Not sure now is the right time.

Also looking for the easiest drive out of Durango.  South on 550 to I40 or go east on 160 to Pagosa Springs then south on 84 to 40.  Would like the easiest drive possible if I end up driving.  Any input would be welcome.

Dave
 
We did the route from Dallas to Durango in early summer.  We came across on US160 from I-25.  I-25 will take you to Raton and from there, US87 takes you to Amarillo and from there US287 take you straight to Dallas.  Going across on US160 does involve going through Wolf Creek Pass (>10.000 ft), but it's difficult to go anywhere in that part of the US without climbing a mountain or two.
 
I was just in that area last month.  US 550 has one short climb onto the plateau as you leave Durango, then there's 25 miles of flat 2 lane road through farmland.  South of that US 550 is an easy and mostly flat 4 lane highway all the way to I-25 north of Albuquerque.  Just be aware of the left turn in Aztec, NM and the jog to the west at US 64 in Bloomfield.

Wolf Creek Pass is northeast of Pagosa Springs.  You won't cross it if you turn south on 84, but 84 is a winding two lane road through the hills.
 
I don't suggest that you have the wife drive for the first time as the sole driver.  My wife wanted to drive from day 1 and when we went to the Winnebago Rally in 2014 they had a driving school for the ladies using new motorhomes.  She says that the school really opened her eyes to the things she would want to know for driving a motorhome.  Now we split the driving on all long trips and I drive through all the cities.

I hope you can find a volunteer or paid driver to get you back home.  I assume that since you are a full timer you need to have the coach to live in even in Dallas.  If not, flying home would be an option.

Bill
 
Driving a motor home FORWARD is not much different from driving a car.  Just wider (That will take about 20 minutes to get used to)

Now pulling into a gas station or backing into a campsite may take "Skills" but forward driving is easy.
 
Bill N said:
I don't suggest that you have the wife drive for the first time as the sole driver.  My wife wanted to drive from day 1 and when we went to the Winnebago Rally in 2014 they had a driving school for the ladies using new motorhomes.  She says that the school really opened her eyes to the things she would want to know for driving a motorhome
Bill
Did you take a class before driving it?
 
RVMommaTo6 said:
Did you take a class before driving it?
No but I had driven trucks of all sizes including semis before I owned the motorhome.  I was also a driver license examiner for 10 years and had conducted hundreds of road tests in buses and trucks. 
I guess one point I failed to mention in that post was that she would have no relief driver once she started out.  Having never driven a coach before I have little doubt that she could drive down a highway with little trouble but encountering a variety of situations like narrow lanes of construction, large city driving in multiple lanes, etc would be a real challenge. 
Why put her to a major test without some exercise or practice first.  Personally I hate driving the thing but it becomes necessary to get from Point A to Point B. We relieve each other every couple of hours driving and it makes it much more tolerable.  I am sorry that you seemed to take the post as an affront to women.  I would make that same recommendation for anybody - male or female.

Bill
 
I really encourage you to let your wife drive. If you are there with her to guide her, it will work out ok. Remember, driving is actually easier than you think it will be. If she gets into a tight spot, you could hop in the drivers seat and help her out if need be.
 
Bill N said:
I am sorry that you seemed to take the post as an affront to women.
No hard feelings! I actually do that myself. I was married and I never would have batted an eye if my husband were to have tried to drive a motorhome. Before I drove mine (1300 miles from Florida to NY with just myself and my 10 year old daughter and moral support from forum friends) I was nervous and did as much research online as I could find including this forum, you tube "classes" and lots of reading. I think her comfort level would make a big difference too. If she was like, sure I'll drive! Then it would be different than someone resisting it and scared to try.
 
Most of that route can be done on major highways with few if any significant sized towns, though I would scout our road construction.  I drove through Lamar Colorado last summer and it was a mess, with narrow lanes downtown, pavement dug out  and no curb protection dropping down more and a foot on the edge of the pavement into the dug out areas.  Some of it felt like threading a needle.
 
I think I'd be finding a place to store the coach for a month or so and jump in the toad with the wife driving. Stop at a motel for the night and keep heading to Dallas.
 
John From Detroit said:
Driving a motor home FORWARD is not much different from driving a car.  Just wider (That will take about 20 minutes to get used to)

Now pulling into a gas station or backing into a campsite may take "Skills" but forward driving is easy.

While I don't disagree in principle, in practice there are a number of factors that I think make driving a 40 ft gasser with toad quite different. The width alone is something that might well take over 20 minutes to feel comfortable with. Also braking distances, shifting practices for hills, how to navigate turns, etc. etc. Quite a bit different IMO.
 
SeilerBird said:
Let your wife drive. It is not brain surgery to drive an RV. She will do fine.

Tom is right with one caveat.  Not everyone is comfortable driving an automobile.  If you're wife is not totally comfortable driving a car, then driving the motorhome, which takes considerably more focus and awareness, might not be a good idea.   
 
When I broke my right ankle I drove with my left foot on the gas pedal. Hyper cautious with frequent rest stops got us home. My wife didn?t drive at all and still doesn?t.
 
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