How to start driving a motorhome?

Robert Houghton

Robert Houghton

Joined
Jan 4, 2018
Posts
19
Likes collected
61
Funster No
51,853
We've got a slight dilemma. We've got a 6.5 metre long x 3 metre tall motorhome that up until now I've always driven. I didn't have too much difficulty getting used to it as years ago my daily vehicle was a long wheelbase Transit panel van, but my wife has no such experience and her daily car is a Fiat Panda, so about as far removed from our motorhome as you could get.
She is very keen, but understandably quite anxious, as am I 😀, to drive the motorhome, but as we live in Birmingham there are no quiet roads or carparks anywhere near for her to have a go just to get the feel of it and so get some experience of judging the much bigger size and much more restricted visibility.
My question is, what do any of you think of the various motorhome driving courses that are advertised by the clubs etc. I can see they are a good idea in some ways, but it sounds as though a great deal of time is wasted in theory and instruction with only very limited actual driving experience often in fields, around a few cones. It seems very far removed from the "real world" driving experience that she actually needs.
I'm thinking might be better me just instructing her and getting her to perhaps park the motorhome up next time we are on a site or spacious cl, to get the initial feel of it and using the mirrors etc and then just gritting our teeth and getting her driving on the most suitable quiet roads we can find. I don't want to give her a fright and put her off though. How have other people got over this slight hurdle??
 
Why not see if there is an HGV driving school near you with their own track? You could ask for tailored one to one tuition on one of their vehicles or your own motorhome.

I went from a mini to a minibus to a 7.5 tonne motorhome. I was always happier driving larger vehicles as the visibility is so much better.

I can't remember being concerned about driving a larger vehicle ....... the first time I drove any distance in our new van was after my husband became ill when we were away. I drove from north of Inverness to home (40 ish miles south of Edinburgh), I had driven it up onto ramps and short distances though. Martin will admit I am the better navigator which is why he tends to do long distance driving. I don't like motorway driving (far too boring) so when we are taking turns I tend to do the more minor roads and he puts the miles behind us.
 
My hubby is expecting me to drive ours at some point. I am not happy about but may give it a go in the future but he is also new to driving it as we have just got it. Sorry I have no advice
 
Find a large super / hyper market car park close to you and get her practising stop, start simple manoeuvres when it's empty at night / early morning / weekends. You can use the parking bays to practice reversing etc. Graduate to a large industrial estate - they usually have wide access roads for the hgvs and you can again practice reversing into loading bays.
Also explain clearly how the tail swing works and the importance of understanding the rear wheel pivot point for when to start a turn - There's a whole bunch of videos on YouTube which explain this.
Finally - a Golden Rule from yacht manoeuvring in crowded marinas we always bear in mind - Do it slowly. If shtf and you're going to hit something then hitting it slowly and gently is always better than fast & hard.
 
Drive to the most expensive area of Birmingham.
The roads will be wide and the traffic low.

Find a circuit that you can drive around again and again, so that she des not have to worry about the 'where we are going' and concern herself with the 'how we are going'.

As said above, learning to drive is best done with non-family members!
 
We had a similar dilemma with our 8.75L, 3m wide van as wife had only driven a Leyland mini and a Ford KA.

We found a motorhome instructor and booked a 4 hour session with the female instructor one afternoon.

It was well worth it, gave the wife the confidence she needed.

I believe there are many such like instructors around the UK. If you would.like the details of ours, I am sure I can dig them out. She was based near Colchester, but she was affiliated so may know others nearer you if too far.

Let me know either way and happy to help if needed

Dave
 
Another vote to find a HGV training, explain what you want and book a days course. 👍👍

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 
Fulham Dave said:
We had a similar dilemma with our 8.75L, 3m wide van as wife had only driven a Leyland mini and a Ford KA.

We found a motorhome instructor and booked a 4 hour session with the female instructor one afternoon.

It was well worth it, gave the wife the confidence she needed.

I believe there are many such like instructors around the UK. If you would.like the details of ours, I am sure I can dig them out. She was based near Colchester, but she was affiliated so may know others nearer you if too far.

Let me know either way and happy to help if needed

Dave
Click to expand...
Would this be Felicity (Fliss) Spink?
 
We both drive the van. We had the advantage of towing luggage trailers, trailer tent and caravans, before Motorhome. I find the van much easier than caravan. In fact I am now driving the van more than hubby.
After many years caravanning we did a caravan course with the CMHC and found it useful, especially the reversing practice. Yes there was theory we didn’t need, but it was good to get a refresher. I do think the advantage of doing a course is that someone neutral is doing the instruction, and you are well away from traffic. You are less likely to shout at each other!
I do believe that both parts of a couple should be able to drive the van, you never know when might be needed. You don’t want to HAVE to do it with the stress of an injured or ill partner.
It is certainly worth finding car parks, industrial estates etc to practice a bit.
Strange as it may seem, once she has more confidence, a bit of quiet motorway may be easier than ordinary roads. You can tuck yourself into the inside lane, there is room for others to pass, and no one coming the other way. Appreciate you may have go away from Birmingham motorways, but maybe M54? Even just from one service station to the next, or junction, provide you plan well.
I think it is more about confidence than anything else. Good luck and go for it!
 
Podney said:
If you want a divorce,show her yourself. Otherwise get her to go on a course.
Click to expand...
Elaine doesn't like driving, especially when I'm in the car, and she has avoided driving Brunhilde to date. In 2016, she had to drive to pick me up from hospital upon my discharge following a hip operation [discharge had been conditional upon my showing competence at walking up & down a short flight of stairs and a 75m walk along the ward area]. The driving involved a 9 mile trip, and, at about the4 mile stage, she missed a gear ...

ALL I said was, 'I quite like the way Peugeot built the gearbox, there's no need to rearrange it ...'

Barely had those words died on my lips than she retorted, 'In a minute we'll find out how far you can walk on your crutches, shall we? It's about 5 miles to the flat ....'

'Sorry, darling, that was uncalled for on my part', said I rather meekly, aware of a warning twinge of muscle spasm from the new hip .... :unsure: (y):LOL:

Steve
 
Last edited:
Robert Houghton said:
We've got a slight dilemma. We've got a 6.5 metre long x 3 metre tall motorhome that up until now I've always driven. I didn't have too much difficulty getting used to it as years ago my daily vehicle was a long wheelbase Transit panel van, but my wife has no such experience and her daily car is a Fiat Panda, so about as far removed from our motorhome as you could get.
Click to expand...
Same position here, except that my wife doesn't want to drive the van, and I wouldn't let her anyway. Her car is covered in dents.

How much is the course? £200? 2 minutes on Google shows a Mk7 LWB Transit with a 3-month warranty at £237.50. I personally would buy a runner, and then she can drive it till she's an expert or it falls apart. The theory part of the course will be completely useless anyway - all she needs to know is how big it is and how not to hit anything.
 
The first barrier is probably the belief that driving a motorhome is physically harder or the controls are somehow harder to use than a car. Getting over that mental hump is tough.

Next is learning the size when driving on normal roads. That you've got to pay a bit more attention when positioning yourself in the lane. And learning to take it a bit easier as you can't corner as hard, brake as hard or accelerate as fast. This takes concentration, but in most places it's not too hard. It'll get you to 99% of places without issue. I think most people can do this once they get over the first issue.

The last one is the more difficult, partly because you don't need to do it that often. It's learning how to behave when the road is too narrow for vehicles to easily pass one another (which might even be a residential street with parked cars). Learning how to position the van when you need to manoeuvre and remembering to visually survey the area before you commit, because your visibility is much worse than a car. This one I'm still getting to grips with. I've done the NC500 in a PVC without trauma. But I feel like I'd need more practice before I did it in our new 2.3m wide a-class... Off to Cornwall next week, which will be fun.

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 
The driving instructor that taught both of my daughter's was a woman.
When we bought our first motorhome my wife wanted to drive it but lacked the confidence.
We contacted the driving instructor and she was happy to take my wife out in our motorhome.
It turned out she had a motorhome too.
 
MrsW is a plucky sort and drives our moho too; but was understandably a bit anxious (and still is). She's only driven cars before, and never towed a trailer, so all a bit alien.

My advice - don't start off practising in a car park or narrow streets where she will be confronted with manoeuvres and reversing and judging width etc.

Take her out to a good dual carriage way she knows when it is reasonable quiet. The roads are straight and predictable. Let her get used to feeling how it drives, acclerates/slows, watching mirrors/corners to judge distance etc when things over take, how the van moves/rolls, etc etc. This is pretty familiar territory for most drivers and technically easy and confidence building - the size of the van isn't really a constraint on these typoes of roads. Once she is comfortable that it's just basically a long car and the key is to plan ahead, then you can take her to more difficult routes - single carriage wya or urban routes. The last place I would then go is a car park or site where you have to reverse and really "feel" the vehicle.

I wouldn't be spending money on courses until you know you really need to. Step-wise and slowly and she may take to it like a duck to water.

MrsW still prefers to drive on motorways and main roads, where despite the higher speed the driving is actually much less challenging.
 
It is very important that both of you can drive it . 3 years ago in La Rochelle I hurt my back and wife had to drive back, then 2 years ago in south of France I got shingles in my face and couldn’t see so once again wife had to drive back.
if she couldn’t or wouldn’t drive we would have been seriously stuffed.
 
Not a good idea to think about trying on a site am sure that the feeling that everybody is watching is bound to cause extra stress,even if nobody is actually looking
 
Yeap find an industrial estate, or quiet neighborhood with wide roads.

Down at Stratford upon Avon there us an airfield you might be able to use? I ran a marathon road it and it's was terrible!

Cheers James
 
I like the suggestions that you find a local instructor.

Personally I found that the first three left turns I made, taught me to pull out further to avoid the rear wheels going over the
kerb 😳

Happy motoring!
 
I am the main driver on our insurance...I don't do being driven-my family were driving instructors. I recommend getting an instructor to go out with your good lady. My Dad didn't teach me but my Grandfather did! Don't tell him but Mr Grasmere9 is s terrible driver 🤣🤣🙊
 
My better half used to drive an ambulance so she is pretty good. I’m such a bad passenger, that my nervousness inhibits her from driving. But she can and would if necessary. Also, she is a much better map reader than me and she enjoys navigating. The one and only time we left the van on our shared drive before a trip she did the reversing. 7.5 cms each side to spare!

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 
Unless you are a driving instructor already, get her on a course, being a good driver and being a good instructor are two different skills and Unless you are compent at both you may hinder her progress, once she's completed the course take her to an industrial estate on a Sunday and let her get some practice in with you there as a safety net, I'm sure it won't take her long to get an appreciation of the size, where the blind spots are and get some confidence to get out and about. I hope she enjoys the experience.
 
Glas Robin said:
MrsW still prefers to drive on motorways and main roads, where despite the higher speed the driving is actually much less challenging.
Click to expand...
The opposite to me then! But I agree that motorways and dual carriage ways are less challenging than the narrower roads, both country and urban.

Many years ago I was navigating for a friend when we were in France and he couldn't believe the detail in my directions (I had a very good map) ..... "stay on this road, it becomes dual carriageway in about 2 km" and "you need to turn right about 300 m after the dual carriageway ends" to "the road becomes narrower and more rural once we leave this village but don't panic as it's only for 3 km and we join a much more major road". Mind it was me who ended up driving through Paris :)
 
Last edited:

Join us or log in to post a reply.

To join in you must be a member of MotorhomeFun

Join MotorhomeFun

Join us, it quick and easy!

Join us

Log in

Already a member? Log in here.

Latest journal entries

Back
Top