First timer....survived. (1 Viewer)

[Fifiwi]

Well, having had our Moho since March, and having avoided driving it, apart from a 40km section of autoroute in Normandy last September, I have finally ventured out on UK roads...we are just back from a round trip from Junction 9, M27, to the ferryport roundabout at Portsmouth....OK, not exactly a long trip, but it's a start.
This was prompted in part by booking a Moho manouevring course, which is set for May. I feel I should have a bit of driving experience under my belt before then.

Apologies to anyone who was stuck behind a Hymer B544 in the area today, your patience is appreciated.

I think Mr. needs a drink.....

 

[Riverbankannie]

Well done, there'll be no stopping you now!

 

[Fifiwi]

Awh, Thank You, Riverbankannie. It's been preying on my mind, needed to just get out there and give it a go. I think it's the sheer size of the Moho (my own car is an MX5) and the Moho being LHD...but I've got to try it.

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[Hils and Glenns]

Hi I'm the sole driver of our MoHo now as my other half has had his licence revoked. Fortunately just after we bought it I got a two hour lesson from a very nice instructor in Consett. Mark gave me a lot of help with parking and driving on the wing mirrors. After the lesson I drove home through Durham in the rush hour no probs. Its actually easier to drive than my car once you get used to it. So just go for it.

 

[Paul an Jane MK]

Hi and good luck, just take it easy and you will get used to the size, empty car parks and industrial estates at the week end can be a good place to practice.

just remember with left hand drive don't get too close to a stationary lorry parked on the road you need to get around/overtake you need to leave yourself plenty of room to see around it from the left side of vehicle.

Probably obvious to you but thought it was worth a mention.

 

[Madeinengland]

Well done, good for you. Small steps......

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[Fifiwi]

I have a fear of kerbing the Moho....especially after Mr explained that the back wheels are slightly wider apart than the front ones...took me a while to get my head around that one... Motorway driving is fine, but narrower roads still worry me, especially the one near us which has some pretty tight "chicanes"..and there are some road works on the A27, which had to be faced. Little country lanes I will keep for when my confidence has grown a bit. Daft, really, I passed my test 33 years ago, and I drive for a living, though not this size of vehicle, obviously!

 

[Chris]

My wife drives ours a lot ( 8 metres).

She is better at reversing it than I am I must admit.

Obviously I am the better overall driver, but credit where it's due.

Just drive it lots and you will soon get the hang of it.

 

[The Dudess]

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[Pia]

Well done you....I'm feeeling a tad nervous about taking ours out when we get it later this week. I think the idea of practice on an Industrial Estate is a brilliant one and I shall definitely do that. We've booked a CC MH maneuvering course for March 5th but I would like to have got a feel for it before then. My OH does most of the driving as he is a sickly passenger he drove and towed our caravan for years....but I'm determined to have my turn in the MH...he can lie on the bed if he feels poorly I love driving so am expecting to overcome the nerves with practice and enjoy the whole experience.

 

[Jim]

Well done, you'll soon get used to it, just keep going out, it will only take a couple more trips and you'll wonder what the fuss was all about. Just do the drinking after and not before .

 

[buttons]

My wife drives ours a lot ( 8 metres).
She is better at reversing it than I am I must admit.
Obviously I am the better overall driver, but credit where it's due.
Just drive it lots and you will soon get the hang of it.

I can only think she must be looking over your shoulder...

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[2spritelyislanders]

I started driving our van nearly 2years ago, having been firmly fixed in the passenger seat for many years I drive it all the time now and haven't looked back (except to reverse ) I thoroughly enjoy driving the van and can honestly say fantasy is worse than reality. All the things that worried me at the outset were never as bad as I imagined (and if worrying was a sport I'd have a gold medal) in fact I find driving the van more enjoyable than driving the car Good luck and happy travels

 

[Camping Gaza]

Will not take you long getting used to it, then you will be handbrake turning into parallel parking spaces! My mate who has been driving vans for years said to me " Just do every manouver slowly and deliberately, and if in doubt, don't."

Here's some tips I picked up here and there:

Use them mirrors and remember you are long. That means pulling in a bit later when parallel parking, pulling out a bit more on T junctions etc.

Keep a note of your height and width in big letters stuck to your dashboard

Do not always follow the Satnav, if you think its taking you down a narrow dead end, pullover,stop and walk up the road and check. (my satnav fitted to my van is rubbish, its a tomtom and thinks my van is a bicycle ! The places it has taken me has been embarrassing especially in France and Spain.)

When navigating tight spaces I always line up on one side, as long as you know your width, like going through tight lanes and I keep an eye on my back wheel on the kerbside to stay well over on narrow roads.

Do not be intimidated by other drivers, let them honk and gesture if you are driving slowly and safely.

If up a narrow lane, and you are blocking and some one honks and gestures and will refuse to reverse, turn off engine get out, start winding out the Awning and getting your chairs out!

 

[Baldeagle7470]

Well done you,I wish I could get my other half to have a go!!
She is Canadian and before being with me has only driven automatics,our van has 6 speeds,I will try as then maybe I can have a drink if she succeeds good luck for May,sure you will be fine.

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[SGNV]

Good on you! I just got the van 6 weeks ago, there is no other driver but me. I have no intention in trying to park in a tight spot (yet) and it just takes remembering that I need some more time to set off and accelerate, take corners a bit wider. Don't be intimidated, just smile sweetly if need be. And I agree about Madam SatNav, I'm still working on that relationship. I am hoping though to also book in for a driving course day.

 

[Fifiwi]

Well done you,I wish I could get my other half to have a go!!
She is Canadian and before being with me has only driven automatics,our van has 6 speeds,I will try as then maybe I can have a drink if she succeeds good luck for May,sure you will be fine.

Ah, we specifically opted for an automatic van, as we reckoned it'd be one less thing to worry about, and Mr has been driving an automatic car for nearly 10 years now, and isn't keen to go back to driving a manual anything. Having said that, I find the Ducato automatic a bit "odd" compared to that of his car. So, it till takes a bit of getting used to.
Thanks for the good luck wishes for May.

 

[Fifiwi]

@Camping Gaza ..parallel parking?? not for a while yet, I hope! Ours Satnav is a "lorry" one, and it's set up for our dimensions, though we did also have a "dodgy" moment in a French village, which resulted in a 3 point turn, and some words said to the Satnav...though on reflection, we maybe misunderstood where she was sending us...benefit of the doubt, and all that.
I can see me going at a snail's pace on the smaller roads, till I get more experienced...hey ho..I will pull over, when I can, to let the Man/Woman in a Hurry get past...

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[Camping Gaza]

My sat nav is S%$& It has taken me in spain looking for an aire, off a motorway down a one way road into an area that had 3 ways out.

1 up a ramp to a locked gate
2 a dirt road that ended at a low bridge that was lower than 6 feet
2 another dirt road that ended at a low bridge that was lower than 6 feet

So back down the one way road the wrong way, and up onto the motorway, where of course no one would let me out because of the gesturing and honking!

Into a Spanish village where I had to turn in my mirrors to squeeze through alleyways then another low bridge at 2 meters high (van is 2.7) Thankfully a small square packed with cars allowed me to do a 20 point turn and then back down the one way... no signs indicating low bridge by the way.

It loves taking me off a motorway at a junction, around the roundabout and back on the same motorway for some reason, and across mountain ranges namely the Pyrenees, on very narrow roads and Spanish coastal roads where you have to drive up the bank to allow goats to pass.

The point of this? Don't buy a TomTom! (unfortunately mine is set in the dashboard and is a part of the radio system.)

 

[scotzsue]

We have tom toms, one each and also had a tomtom rider motorbike one, have rarely been sent down unsuitable roads, just need to check route on map first and use your instinct,not unusual to see where we are meant to go and saying not going down there and carrying on.

 

[Camping Gaza]

Used to have a Chinese one, much better than the one in the dash now. I know what you are saying scotzsue, (by the way why do you have one each? Do you keep losing each other??? ) and I do normally stop check and use instinct and have avoided a lot of the stupidity from the tom tom by doing this, BUT there are times....! And its still crap! Perhaps its the European mapping system it cant cope with? Need to see if I can update the software or hack it like I did on the Chinese one.

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[irnbru]

Need to see if I can update the software or hack it like I did on the Chinese one.

How did you do this and what was the advantage? I have a chinese sat nav and would like it to be as modern as possible. Thx

 

[Camping Gaza]

Can't tell you how as its illegal, and of course I did it only for educational use and after the experiment I quickly returned it's normal operating software. (cough)

a lot of the chinese ones are based on windows CE, once you know that you can often get in and change things around.

it means you can choose what software you run on it, navigo, garmin whatever (once you buy or obtain the software)

One word: Google.

I will not hijack this thread anymore so back to driving motorhomes.........

 

[Marcus75]

Well, having had our Moho since March, and having avoided driving it, apart from a 40km section of autoroute in Normandy last September, I have finally ventured out on UK roads...we are just back from a round trip from Junction 9, M27, to the ferryport roundabout at Portsmouth....OK, not exactly a long trip, but it's a start.
This was prompted in part by booking a Moho manouevring course, which is set for May. I feel I should have a bit of driving experience under my belt before then.

Apologies to anyone who was stuck behind a Hymer B544 in the area today, your patience is appreciated.

I think Mr. needs a drink.....

Hi Can I ask where you have booked into your manouevering course? I think wife and I would benefit from that! We also have a hymer b544 and we are in Southampton, so we will give you a wave!

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[Fifiwi]

@Marcus75 ..the course is held at Sparsholt College near Winchester, though it's run by The Caravan Club- we're members of the other one, but that wasn't a problem. When I told Mr, his response was...."oh, that's good, you'll be fine driving there" he even "helpfully" checked the route on Google Maps for me.
So, he will drive us there, then, weather permitting, he may go for a bike ride round the area, or whatever...depending on how the course goes, I may drive us home afterwards....no promises, though! Ooh, another 544 in the area..will look out for you, too!

 

[Fifiwi]

I will not hijack this thread anymore so back to driving motorhomes.........

Not a problem, it's like RL conversations...we go off on tangents.