burlmart wrote:
we stayed at that park 1 nite when RV was still new, but a wicked thunderstorm kind of loused up the evening.
i am oblivious to big rig stuff. i read where dale mostly drives PP and you drive other vehicles. how different is it to drive the big rig?
we stayed at that park 1 nite when RV was still new, but a wicked thunderstorm kind of loused up the evening.
i am oblivious to big rig stuff. i read where dale mostly drives PP and you drive other vehicles. how different is it to drive the big rig?
Not sure how to answer, burlmart. I guess where the little one is like driving a car/truck, the big one is like driving a bus and towing a car. I do drive the big one and I drive the cars and the Trail-lite. But I am the only driver of PP since Terry's last cardiac events. My driving it was born of necessity. Terry realized that if he were to have an event while driving, it would be messy and deadly, so he voluntarily gave it up. I'm thankful he was able to do that.
The big one requires more concentration I think. I will not allow myself to be distracted. Correcting a move in a car or B+ is much easier, so I try very hard not to get into situations that would be scary. Longer stopping distance, wider turns and usually slower.Just gotta be content sometimes to not be able to make rapid lane changes, etc. My Dad drove an 18-wheeler and years ago I had reservations about launching boats on boat ramps with our Class C. He helped me overcome that and I've been fine every since. I have always loved to drive. I suppose a lot of people aren't comfortable driving big rigs and they shouldn't. But for now, I'm good. Dad eventually gave up driving big motorhomes and at 92, we don't encourage him to drive much, although he still does a decent job. I hope to be able to continue for a while yet.
Dale
Dale Pace
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Traveling with Brendon, my Scottish Terrier
2022 Honda Odyssey
2011 Mazda Miata MX-5
2021 Coach House Platinum III 250DT
Fulltimed for 15 years, now living in Florida
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sounds like you have PP under control, and that it does require more diligence. how carefully cautious do you find yourself driving ths B+? how would you compare terry's handling it to yours? (i realize i am treading on thin ice with the whole 'woman driver' thing, so i apologize in advance.)
2005 Trail Lite 213 B-Plus w/ 6.0 Chevy
burlmart wrote:
|---deleted stuff---| (i realize i am treading on thin ice with the whole 'woman driver' thing, so i apologize in advance.)
burlmart - what are you thinking. You must have had a brain hiccup? |---deleted stuff---| (i realize i am treading on thin ice with the whole 'woman driver' thing, so i apologize in advance.)
![[emoticon]](http://www.coastresorts.com/sharedcontent/cfb/images/biggrin.gif "biggrin")
I did not know about your mishap with the rear tire. Those inner duals are a little harder to contend with. I carry my infrared temperature gun to get some warning about low tire pressure - increased heat due to flex. It does not sound like you had that problem, merely tire failure.
2002 Trail-Lite Model 211-S w/5.7 Chevy (click View Profile)
Gene
Gene in NE wrote:
burlmart wrote:
|---deleted stuff---| (i realize i am treading on thin ice with the whole 'woman driver' thing, so i apologize in advance.)
burlmart - what are you thinking. You must have had a brain hiccup? |---deleted stuff---| (i realize i am treading on thin ice with the whole 'woman driver' thing, so i apologize in advance.)
thanks for showing me text malfunction, gene. the parenthetical comment was intended to be something like
(i realize i am treading on thin ice with all this sounding like the whole 'just a woman driver' thing, so i apologize in advance, as that isn't my point.)
martha has never dented a vehicle or caused an accident. she is very careful. but as a passenger w/ other drivers, i've observed many males and females that seem to effortlessly 'feel' where the vehicle's perimeter will be in a maneuver. then again, i don't know their complete driving histories!
burlmart wrote:
as you know, Martha drives for us since i have low vision. she does a good job, but is very carefully slow and makes many corrections when in proximity to things, even w/ our 4runner. i will watch her back it down the driveway and under its shed and get frustrated that it could be done more fluidly, but not w/ my eyes. so pretty sure our B+ is the upper size we could manage.
sounds like you have PP under control, and that it does require more diligence. how carefully cautious do you find yourself driving ths B+? how would you compare terry's handling it to yours? (i realize i am treading on thin ice with the whole 'woman driver' thing, so i apologize in advance.)
as you know, Martha drives for us since i have low vision. she does a good job, but is very carefully slow and makes many corrections when in proximity to things, even w/ our 4runner. i will watch her back it down the driveway and under its shed and get frustrated that it could be done more fluidly, but not w/ my eyes. so pretty sure our B+ is the upper size we could manage.
sounds like you have PP under control, and that it does require more diligence. how carefully cautious do you find yourself driving ths B+? how would you compare terry's handling it to yours? (i realize i am treading on thin ice with the whole 'woman driver' thing, so i apologize in advance.)
It's good to realize what one is comfortable with. Back in our "camping with kids" days, one would take the motorhome pulling the jetski and the other drove the van pulling the boat. We drove six hours to the lake we liked. Ah, yes, those were the days.
Terry does very well driving the B+. I never had a complaint about his driving the big rig either. He's a very good driver. We just always thought if there was an "event" while he was driving, I would haul him out of the driver's seat and take over. With 40,000 lbs going down the road at 60+ mph we realize it was foolish to think I could do that. So he navigates. But, his one concession is that when we get to the RV park, he takes over and parks it. I can certainly back it up, but like he says. . . . I give better hand signals to get him in. He watches me closely and I can squeeze him in places no one can get into. If I am parking, he's back there yelling and screaming, so we just don't do it that way anymore. Like I said, you learn what you are comfortable with and go with it.
I do love the freedom of the B+. When we went to Alaska, it was great to have everything we need and not have to hookup/unhook a car, etc. We kept MinnieMee and get her out a couple times each summer.
Happy Camping!
Dale
Gene in NE wrote:
I did not know about your mishap with the rear tire. Those inner duals are a little harder to contend with. I carry my infrared temperature gun to get some warning about low tire pressure - increased heat due to flex. It does not sound like you had that problem, merely tire failure.
I did not know about your mishap with the rear tire. Those inner duals are a little harder to contend with. I carry my infrared temperature gun to get some warning about low tire pressure - increased heat due to flex. It does not sound like you had that problem, merely tire failure.
i remember you discussing that years ago. i still am looking for a good dual head air gauge w/ one being a straight shoe. many just do not seat right and you let out air fumbling w/ it. i want to have it in my hands and test fit it to a valve stem extender from my pocket.
nite before the blowout, while removing the white vinyl wheel covers, i felt some alarming tread distortions on 4 rear tires. because all 4 had similar unevenness, i didn't know what to think. i told martha to keep it well under 60mph on the 30 mi stretch of interstate, and i wrote down phone numbers for some dealers and roadside assistance. 15 mi of interstate and bam. i subsequently discovered these uniroyal laredos were made the same time as others that were recalled. every fiber of my being tells me these 225/75/r16 load range E should have been included. uniroyal lawyers will not admit it, and NHTSA dropped the ball when not including them.
the interactions w/ all the tire dealer and manufacturer people, roadside assistance workers, insurance people, and RV shop managers/workers throughout this whole affair served to reinforce my long held uneasiness of being a citizen of a lawless land right in the midst of the rest of the world. maybe it comes from too much reading of other rv.netter's tales so similar to mine. but nothing about RVs seems regular.
RV (especially MH) ownership and travel puts one in this lawless land, or perhaps it is just the land of truckers, whose rules of business and practice are very foreign to the general public. it's like most people feel that regulation of car designs and competition among dealers for service makes the big country of auto motorists comfortable w/ their lot.
not so for us truckers/'specialty item owners.' within a few months of owning ours, i had the pleasure of learning, contrary to what the dealer said about class Cs, chevrolet dealerships would not align it. had to sit in tiny waiting area/office of a big rig alignment shop in an industrial park w/ martha and watch the in and out of mechanics reporting to and hobnobbing w/manager. 1st diagnosis: nothing seems wrong in test drive, even though steering wheel had become way off center. had them put it in work area, and 2nd report: lug nuts on both tierods were left completely loose by chevy or r-vision.
i don't foresee much changing until the number of RVers grows to a point where 1) safer vehicles and 2) better quality hardware and service can be had. better regulation and competition will result.
'06 Phaeton 40' QSH
'14 Ford Flex SEL AWD Toad
'04 R-Vision Trail-Lite 213
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Dale
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