Question Can someone sleep while your driving your RV?

[Rick Davis]

Hello my name is Rick Davis and am new to this site but not the RV experience.
I do have a question for fellow seniors. As we age we need to rest from time to time. Have any of you trusted your driver enough to actually sleep while your wife or husband continued to drive to your next camp site?
Thank you,
Rick

 

[Neal]

Hello Rick,

Solo driver here so I can't answer your question other than I'd have a hard time sleeping. Just wanted to welcome you to RVForums.com - great to have you join the super friendly group here. Welcome!

 

[Rick Davis]

Hello Rick,

Solo driver here so I can't answer your question other than I'd have a hard time sleeping. Just wanted to welcome you to RVForums.com - great to have you join the super friendly group here. Welcome!

Thank you for your input.
Have you tried one of the memory foam mattress?
The stock ones are just not comfortable when used many times.

 

[Neal]

My coach has a sleep number which I like.

 

[Jim]

Hello my name is Rick Davis and am new to this site but not the RV experience.
I do have a question for fellow seniors. As we age we need to rest from time to time. Have any of you trusted your driver enough to actually sleep while your wife or husband continued to drive to your next camp site?
Thank you,
Rick

Hi @Rick Davis, and welcome to the forum. And no, there is probably NOBODY that I trust enough to allow me to sleep while they were driving. So if I need to catch some zzz's, I just aim the coach straight and close my eyes. When I feel the bump, bump, bump sound of the wheels on the edge, I wake up and re-point the coach. Repeat, repeat...

OK, seriously. If I get tired we pull over and I get out, walk around a bit and that generally helps. But my wife is a terrible driver. She follows too close to the car in front of us, spends too much time looking everywhere except where she should, and doesn't see anything before it actually happens.

If I had to count on her to drive the coach, I'd walk

 

[Tjdave]

As a former over the road truck driver, almost every team driver does this. Is it legal to do without seatbelts? I do not know. But that is how they make a lot more money, and the truck never stops. One sleeps in the sleeper, one drives.

As far as our motorhome goes, I could not even sit in the passenger seat while my wife drives the motorhome for more than a few seconds. That is why I do all the driving! She has no interest in learning how to drive it, and I'm ok with that. Driving is half the fun of Rv-ing to me. She has gone back to try and sleep a couple times, but says it is too bouncy back there. Both in our previous Class C, and our current Class A gasser. She is more comfortable reclining the passenger seat with her seatbelt on and dozing off.

Welcome to the forum. Ours has a memory foam topper on it. It's pretty comfy.

 

[Akdare]

In our previous coach, the mattress was designed by the Spanish Inquistion. A 3-inch memory foam topper from Walmart solved that. I do all the driving, and my wife sleeps in the bed all the time,

 

[Rick Davis]

As a former over the road truck driver, almost every team driver does this. Is it legal to do without seatbelts? I do not know. But that is how they make a lot more money, and the truck never stops. One sleeps in the sleeper, one drives.

As far as our motorhome goes, I could not even sit in the passenger seat while my wife drives the motorhome for more than a few seconds. That is why I do all the driving! She has no interest in learning how to drive it, and I'm ok with that. Driving is half the fun of Rv-ing to me. She has gone back to try and sleep a couple times, but says it is too bouncy back there. Both in our previous Class C, and our current Class A gasser. She is more comfortable reclining the passenger seat with her seatbelt on and dozing off.

Welcome to the forum. Ours has a memory foam topper on it. It's pretty comfy.

Hello
Really appreciate your input
Thank you

 

[Rick Davis]

In our previous coach, the mattress was designed by the Spanish Inquistion. A 3-inch memory foam topper from Walmart solved that. I do all the driving, and my wife sleeps in the bed all the time,

Thank you for your help,
Rick

 

[TJ&LadyDi]

They can try, but the way I drive, I sincerely doubt they'd get much shuteye. LadyDi certainly doesn't.

TJ

 

[Rick Davis]

They can try, but the way I drive, I sincerely doubt they'd get much shuteye. LadyDi certainly doesn't.

TJ

Thank you guys, continue having fun.
Rick

 

[Bill Hunt]

When Sandy’ Driving I just prop my feet on the dash and go to sleep. The only thing is she gets upset because when she has a question about something she has to wake me up.

 

[Rick Davis]

So the front seat seems better than the bed while the coach is rolling down the road?
Thx for your input, I appreciate it.
Stay safe,
Rick

 

[Jim]

So the front seat seems better than the bed while the coach is rolling down the road?
Thx for your input, I appreciate it.
Stay safe,
Rick

I don't see anyone sleeping in the back while that big ol diesel is humming away. Very loud. It's not noisy up front but 40' back, no.

 

[Rick Davis]

Thank you
That makes total sense.
greatly appreciated

 

[syjsmom2]

I lay on the couch & read & size while my hubby drives - he loves to drive! I did try to stay in bed one morning - (3 or 4” Memory foam topper really is a MUST have) - it was hard to sleep with noise and bounce.

 

[syjsmom2]

That should say DOZE not size

 

[Rick Davis]

I lay on the couch & read & size while my hubby drives - he loves to drive! I did try to stay in bed one morning - (3 or 4” Memory foam topper really is a MUST have) - it was hard to sleep with noise and bounce.

Thank for your input.
Rick

 

[BigFunBus]

Okay - my first post so I'm a little late to the game...
I'd love to try to sleep in the back; and maybe there's hope!
Since buying the BigBus 3 years ago the lovely Mrs C has talked about driving - but - never took more than 1 turn around a parking lot. Imagine my surprise a few weeks ago when I returned to the BigBus from a rest area pit stop and found her in the driver's seat. She was ready to give it a try and away we went. She commanded a 20 mile segment on I-80 to the next rest area where she returned the controls to me. She did great (well - maybe hugged the right side too much when semis passed). We will hit the road again in a couple of weeks and I'm hoping she will continue her driving operations. Hoping after some experience SHE gets comfortable with me napping while she drives.
A couple of notes:
+She purposely chose this stretch of I-80 because she grew up a few miles away and was VERY familiar with the road.
+In our 40+ years together she ALWAYS has a smile. NOT while driving!! She was amazingly serious and quiet (as shown in the pic).
joe

 

[TJ&LadyDi]

First, welcome to RVF; glad to have you!

And, congrats to "the lovely Mrs. C" for getting behind the wheel. LadyDi gives a big as do I. As for the serious composure when driving a 43-foot coach, that's good; it is serious business requiring focus and concentration.

Now, a suggestion: give Mrs. C plenty of time to get used to driving before you head to the back of the coach for a nap. She will need to build her confidence over time.

LadyDi has been driving our coach(es) for several years and is quite proficient. I feel very safe with her behind the wheel. That said, we both feel that having two sets of eyes on the road is a big advantage, so neither of us does much napping while the other is driving.

Our routine is that the person behind the wheel commands the coach; the person in the right-hand seat is the spotter/navigator. We'd rather have two people spot a potential hazard than none! And, when it comes to making a navigation decision, the spotter/navigator has the GPS, map book (if needed), cell phone, etc. at hand.

Works for us!

TJ