Driving A Big Motorhome vs. Pulling A 5th Wheel

[Fish]

I currently pull a 41 ft Montana 5th wheel with a crew cab long bed Ram diesel dually.

We're moving to a 43 ft. Monaco Camelot 42pdq. Going to be pulling a 2010 Silverado Ext. Cab 4x4 with 6 1/2 ft bed.

I haven't moved the Monaco out of the shop yet and the last motorhome I drove was a 1971 26 ft Travco that I had decades ago.

Looking for tips on driving this thing, it looks like I'm actually sitting a little bit in front of the steer wheels or at least right on top of them. I've read not to start your turn until your hips are where you want to go but that's all I've read.

 

[AbdRahim]

RV Driving School. This was money well spent.

 

[MemoriesByTheMile]

RV Driving School. This was money well spent.

X2

I didn’t use this specific school, but the idea of getting training from a seasoned pro, worth every penny these schools cost.

 

[Fish]

Thanks but I won't be going to driving school. I don't like the idea and the nearest one is 2 hours away. I figure by the time I got there I'd pick up enough to get me by without spending God knows how much money.

Just looking for tips from people who went from big 5th wheels to big motorhomes.

 

[J&JD]

#1, you won’t be able to backup When towing wheels down.

 

[Gizmo]

The one tip that helps me the most is you are sitting on the wheels so unlike a car you have to further into the intersection before turning. Another tip would be to find a spot on the windshield to line up with the line and the shoulder of the road that centers you in the lane. I also found on the first dozen or so days we limited our travels to under 250 miles a day since it is stressful getting used to driving a motorhome.

 

[Old Bubblehead]

We went from 38 foot gasser to 45 foot DP. Gizmo has some great advice. Watch your speed. these things can run pretty well on the hwy, but doesn't mean you should. Took awhile before turning felt right. Use mirrors and cameras (if equipped) to confirm your place in lane and clearance on turns.

Slower is faster.

 

["EZ"]

The biggest difference between a 5th wheel camper and a 41' Class A is that the Class A doesn't bend in the middle. You'll see what I'm talking about the first time you try backing into a campground site without running over everything on both sides of you or turning a corner at an intersection in town. Gas stations are fun too. You have to look way down the road or into the parking lot before pulling in to make sure there is room for you to turn around.

 

[Headhunter]

Fish:
A good rule of thumb is, in a tight turn, when your have to get your rear end in and not wack the object you are trying to get around is start your hard turn when half of your coach passes the object. This is especially helpful when trying to line up your coach at a regular gas station. There are many motor homes with bent and banged up bay doors because the MH driver started his turn to early.

Also note when pulling a toad, you will have to go a little farther before you start your turn. I always watch the end of the Jeep after I make my turn through my side mirrors. It will follow the MH because it will bend or turn at the hitch.

Believe me sooner or later you will be pulling a toad behind your MH. That is a whole different discussion.

HH

 

[Fish]

Fish:
A good rule of thumb is, in a tight turn, when your have to get your rear end in and not wack the object you are trying to get around is start your hard turn when half of your coach passes the object. This is especially helpful when trying to line up your coach at a regular gas station. There are many motor homes with bent and banged up bay doors because the MH driver started his turn to early.

Also note when pulling a toad, you will have to go a little farther before you start your turn. I always watch the end of the Jeep after I make my turn through my side mirrors. It will follow the MH because it will bend or turn at the hitch.

Believe me sooner or later you will be pulling a toad behind your MH. That is a whole different discussion.

HH

I have a 2010 Silverado 4x4 extended cab with the 6 ft 6 inch bed I plan on pulling behind the motorhome.

 

[Headhunter]

You are going to be close to 70 ft long..!!! 43 ft MH, 4 ft tow bar, 6ft bed pickup 23 ft long ? Make sure you also have an auxiliary braking system. That pick up truck is going to be HEAVY to pull and most of all STOP.

 

[Fish]

You are going to be close to 70 ft long..!!! 43 ft MH, 4 ft tow bar, 6ft bed pickup 23 ft long ? Make sure you also have an auxiliary braking system. That pick up truck is going to be HEAVY to pull and most of all STOP.

I was planning to use the ready brake.

 

[Headhunter]

My choices were for Gas .... Demco stay & play.... for Diesel .... Airforce 1. Also remember what ever vehicle you decide to use, you have to have the brake lights and turn signals set up with some kind of kit that will work from the en-biblical cord from the coach.

 

["EZ"]

I pulled my Ram 1500 4x4 for a couple years with no issues whatsoever. I use Air Force One brake system. Never had any trouble stopping!

PS: I know the slide is out a little bit. I stayed in this rest stop for a few hours to get some sleep and was parked in-between 2 tractor trailers. I ran the bedroom slide out enough to be able to walk around the bed and get in it. But not so far as to get it hit by a tractor trailer leaving. Notice I'm still inside my parking lines.

 

[MapNerd]

All good advice here. Take it slow, practice in a big empty parking lot, double check, then triple check your tow connections.

Safety first. you’re going to be huge like me. Don’t be afraid of hogging 1.5 lanes or going up the middle of two lanes to make a tight right hand turn onto a single lane road. It happens. Truckers do it for safety and you’re just as big as them.

I think other drivers totally get it. Often they will honk loudly to give me encouragement and occasionally, when they pass they even give me a #1 hand signal to let me know how great I am doing. I just smile and wave back.

 

[Fish]

First drive, around 200 yards lol.

Pulled it out of the shop and drove it up to the house. Had to bring it up to the house in reverse. I can only pull it into my driveway from the north and the shop is to the south. And I needed to pull it in to hook up my electric and water so I couldn't back it up the driveway.
Useless Frontier has a phone pedestal right on top of the south side of my driveway and my mailbox is right across from it so if I tried to pull in from the south I'd either hit the pedestal or catch the mail box with tail swing.
Wife flagged traffic of which there was only one car (I live in the sticks). I didn't really have any problems but I can tell it will be hard to get used to figuring out where the side of the road is. When I got over to let the car by I really couldn't tell where the road ended and the ditch started on the passenger side going forward, spent a lot of time looking at the mirror and camera. I'll get used to it, I have to.

I'm going to call Frontier and see about getting this pedestal moved. I'm sure they'll blow me off but I'll try anyway. I'm not sure what the purpose of it is anymore. No one out here has a landline phone. I called them to try their slow internet again a few months ago and they told me that the speeds were so slow out here that they had discontinued offering dsl.

 

[Old Bubblehead]

Great job, keep practicing. Watch you speed, these beast can move pretty fast but your safety envelope reduces with speed. Look out for idiots on your right trying to get by you prior to return to right lane. Happens all the time to me. I move left to give safety equipment room and signal to move back right after we clear. Almost every time a car can't wait and tries to zoom by.