So there we were at Lazy Days RV dealership in Tampa FL. We were on our way home to Madison from our winter home in Punta Gorda and decided to take the motor home driving course Lazy Daze offered.
My hope was that with some driving instruction Irene would feel comfortable behind the wheel and give me a break from time to time. If nothing else, I wanted her to be able to drive in the event of an emergency. As with most motor homes we tow a car behind the motor home. I was able to find a Saturn Vue which can be towed with no special equipment.
When the car is hooked up, it is an impressive sight. The total length of the RV and the car is about 55 ft. Now that’s a lot of equipment to be driving down the road at a high rate of fuel consumption.
The driving school was divided into classroom and road work. The classroom work was a real eye opener. Bob, our instructor, showed us how large the blind spots are all around the motor home. As it turns out, when I am sitting in my normal position in the driver’s seat, the blind spot in front of the coach is about 17 ft. I cannot see anything on the road closer than 17 ft to the front bumper.
Bob showed us a couple of little tricks to be able to gauge where the front bumper was in relation to a mark on the road. He also showed us how to put mark on the rear view mirror to help show where the fuel cap is located in relation to the gas pump.
Bob stressed that it is important that not to pull in too close to a fuel pump. When pulling away from a fuel pump we have to watch the rear end of the motor home. Because of the wheelbase, the rear of the coach can swing as much as 3 feet the opposite direction when making a tight turn. Be careful and do not take out any gas pumps….
Making a left hand turn does not present too much of a challenge because you can ’swing it wide’. Making a right hand turn onto a two lane road can be a little tricky. You have to swing wide so you don’t run over the curb with the right rear tire (looks pretty foolish, it does – it does) – and turning wide can put you in the oncoming traffic lane.
In most cases you would just wait till there was no traffic to interfere with your extra wide right hand turn. That’s when Bob introduced us to reality. There are going to be times when I will want to make a right hand turn into an intersection that is controlled by a stop light. What do I do when my light changes to green, but the far lane that I need to make my wide swing is occupied by traffic waiting for their green light?
Bob had the answer to this too. Pull about half way into the intersection to where you are about to swing into the oncoming traffic that is waiting at the light. Once you are half way into the intersection just wait for the light to change. The traffic will clear in the lane that you need to make your wide swing and everything will be OK.
All this time you will be blocking the intersection. Bob said we could expect to make a lot of new friends as everyone would be honking at us, shouting greetings to us, and waving with friendly hand gestures. We should just smile and wave back to then. He said that if we thought any of our new friends were offended or angry about the blocked intersection, not to worry because we would probably never see these people again in our lives.
He sure spun a great yarn. Perhaps he was practicing for his “Strawberry Onions” story that he told at brake.
Bob assured us that in city traffic most of the time we would be the largest vehicles at the intersection and most people try to accommodate us. He said another way to get more consideration is to put a sign saying “Student Driver” across the back of the motor home. Surprising how people stay clear.
The driving school was very informative and well worth the time and effort. Two days later out on the interstate Irene took the wheel for a couple of hours. I felt comfortable enough that I reclined the passenger seat and took a nap.
What a life…. "Life in the Slow Lane….. "
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