How to drive a motorhome: a first-timer's guide

Before you move

Everything here happens while you are parked. Set it up once, then check it the same way each day you travel.

• The mirrors are set for the coach, not for the cab. You need side mirrors that carry your view down the length of the vehicle and out behind it, positioned for vision at least 200 feet to the rear. Large mirrors with a separate convex mirror below, mounted as wide apart as practical, give the widest rear view. A rear-view camera helps, but it works alongside the mirrors rather than instead of them.
• The seat and the steering wheel are adjusted while parked. Do not adjust the driver's seat or the tilt steering while the coach is moving. Do it first, then leave it.
• Learn the controls before you need them. Sit still and find the gauges, switches and indicators on the panel. The driver should know them all before the coach moves.
• Walk the coach. Check the propane gas is off at the tank. Check the wheels, with the lug nuts tight. Check the tires, with pressure set cold to the figure on the vehicle label, and look for wear or damage. Check every light: headlights, tail lights, brake lights, clearance lights and turn signals. Check the escape window and both locks on the entrance door. Check the seat belts work and that any swivelling seats are locked in the travel position. Check appliances are off and their doors latched. Store anything loose, including small items on the counter, which can become dangerous in a sudden stop. Disconnect and stow the electrical, sewer and water lines. Confirm the entrance step is retracted.
• Never drive with a slideout room extended. A room that is partly out is not sealed and is not held the way it is held when it is fully in.

The height problem, and why it comes first

Most people have never had to think about how tall their vehicle is. Once you own a coach, you think about it constantly, and you keep the number where you can see it. Learn the maximum road height of your coach, then post it somewhere on the vehicle so it is always handy as a reference. When you plan a route, plan it around that number.

• Low bridges and overpasses. These are marked, but only if you are looking for the marking. Heights that mean nothing in a car matter to you.
• Drive-through canopies. Service station forecourts, banks, pharmacies and fast food restaurants all have roofs sized for cars. Some older forecourt canopies are short. Read the clearance sign or do not drive under.
• Car park barriers and entrances. Multi-storey and covered car parks are the wrong buildings for a coach, on height and on turning room.
• Branches over campsite roads. A tree branch that clears a car can take your roof vent, your air conditioner or your antenna. Look up as well as ahead on the road into a campsite.

Roads and tunnels also have posted weight and clearance limits. Read them and believe them.

The rear overhang and tail swing

The back of a coach sits a long way behind the rear axle, and that overhang does something a car does not. When you turn, the tail swings out in the opposite direction to the turn. For every three feet behind the rear axle, allow for about one foot of tail swing. So if your coach has twelve feet of overhang and you turn hard to the right, the tail swings out to your left, and whatever is on your left is in the way.

This is what clips fuel pumps and parked cars. When you start a tight turn at a pump or in a car park, watch both mirrors. Watch the side you are turning toward, because the body can catch a fixed object there, and watch the other side, because the tail is swinging toward it.

Weight and stopping distance

A loaded coach is heavy, and it takes far longer to slow down and stop than a car. Give yourself more time and more space than you would in a car, and brake gradually.

• Know your own gross weight. The figures you need are on the vehicle certification label: the gross vehicle weight rating, which is the most the coach may weigh with driver, passengers, water and cargo together, and the gross axle weight rating for each axle. Keep a note of them where you can see them.
• Never load past those numbers. An overloaded coach can fail a tire or lose handling when you need it most. Distribute weight evenly left and right, and remember water and full holding tanks count as weight.
• Set tire pressure cold, to the label. Under-inflation or over-inflation both hurt handling and can lead to a blowout. Check tires before every trip and at least once a month.

Air brakes, if your coach has them

Many diesel coaches have air brakes rather than the hydraulic brakes of a car, so the pedal feels and sounds different, and the system needs a check before you drive. A coach with air brakes has a pressure gauge, and you watch it the way you watch a fuel gauge.

• Build pressure first. With the engine running, the gauge should rise. It should stop rising at a value no higher than 130 pounds per square inch, and the compressor should start pushing again once pressure falls to no lower than 85 pounds per square inch.
• Check for leaks. With pressure in the normal range, shut the engine off and watch the gauge for a minute. A single vehicle should not lose more than 3 pounds per square inch in that minute.
• Test the low-pressure warning. Pump the brake pedal to let the pressure fall. The warning light or buzzer must come on while the pressure is still between 55 and 75 pounds per square inch. If the warning does not work, or you hear air escaping, do not drive the coach until it is checked.

Once you are moving, the brakes themselves work on air, so a full brake application feels different: keep pushing and the coach keeps slowing. That is normal, but it is another reason to leave a large gap ahead of you.

Turning, lane position, and the wider line

A long wheelbase means a coach cannot turn as tightly as a car. If you turn at the same point a car would, the rear wheels ride over the curb or the inside of the turn, and the tail swings into whatever is beside you.

• Turn wider. Go further into the intersection before you begin the turn, and adjust your lane position to open up the turn.
• Set up for the turn before you reach it. On a right turn, stay nearer the centre of your lane so the rear wheels do not run over the curb. On a left turn or a curve, stay nearer the right of your lane so the back of the coach does not track into the oncoming lane.
• Slow down before the curve, not in it. A tall coach leans in a turn, so corner and curve speeds must come down.
• Take your time and use the mirrors. Judging how much room the coach needs takes practice, and a spotter outside the vehicle helps while you learn.

Hills: go down in a lower gear, not on the brakes

Engine braking means using the engine and transmission, in a lower gear, to hold your speed back instead of using the brake pedal alone. On a long or steep descent, gravity wants to speed you up, and brakes that are used the whole way down get hot. Hot brakes do not work as well and wear out faster.

• Select a low gear before you start down, and let the engine do the holding. The brakes are a supplement to the engine, not the other way round.
• If you do need the brakes, use them in short applications. Press firmly enough to feel a real slowdown, release, and let the engine hold the lower speed before you press again.
• If you smell the brakes, pull over and let them cool.
• Climbing is slow. A coach loses speed on a grade, so stay in the right-hand lane if you cannot keep the limit, and drop to a lower gear rather than straining. If a line of traffic builds behind you, use a turnout when it is safe to let them past.

Wind, and being passed by trucks

A coach is tall and has large flat sides, so crosswinds push it more than they push a car. Crosswinds are the biggest wind threat, because they can push the whole vehicle toward another lane. Going slower is the best defence, and a strong headwind simply means you need more power to hold your speed. If the wind is more than you want to fight, pull over and wait it out. If you can, park with the wind hitting the front or the back rather than the side.

A coach also moves when a large truck passes it. As the truck comes alongside, the air it pushes can shove you; as its low-pressure wake passes, you can feel pulled the other way. You correct, and then you correct back. This is worst when a truck passes fast, when its front is blunt, and when there is already a crosswind. Keep both hands on the wheel, expect the push, and make small steering corrections rather than overcorrecting. Passing under an overpass in a crosswind can cause the same sudden drift, because the structure briefly blocks the wind.

Reversing

Reversing is the manoeuvre that damages more coaches than anything except height, and most of it can be avoided. Reverse only when you have to, and set it up before you start.

• Get out and look. Walk the path you intend to reverse down before you begin, and agree where the coach will end up. Look for low branches, posts, hookups, picnic tables and soft ground. If you are in doubt at any point, stop and get out and look again.
• Use a spotter. One person stands outside and guides you. Agree on the hand signals before you start, so you both read them the same way. Walk the path together and agree where the coach will stop.
• Keep the spotter in sight. The spotter stands where you can see them, not directly behind the coach. If you lose sight of the spotter, stop at once.
• Go slowly, and signal clearly. The spotter keeps their signals slow and clear and stays visible. The driver follows the spotter and stops if in doubt about directions.
• The camera is not a replacement. A rear camera does not show everything behind and beside you, and it cannot show what is above. Use it with the mirrors and the spotter.

Fuel stops

Fuel stops are where a new owner most often hits something, because the forecourt is tight and built for cars. Plan where you will stop rather than pulling in at the last moment, and look at the entrance and the exit before you commit.

• Match the pump to your fuel and your size. If your coach runs on diesel, the truck lanes at a truck stop are built for large vehicles: they have more room, and the traffic through them is usually one-way, so you are not backing out. Truck lanes dispense diesel only.
• If your coach runs on petrol, you cannot use the truck lanes. Use the car side, or a dedicated RV lane where a station has one. Some truck stops set aside RV lanes that carry both fuels.
• Do not rely on the car side of the forecourt for a diesel coach. The turning space and the canopy are sized for cars, so getting back out can be the hard part. Check the canopy height before you drive under it.
• Fill up, then pull forward. Once you have finished at the pump, move forward clear of it before you go inside, so the next vehicle can use the pump.

Fatigue

Driving a coach is not like driving a car. It asks for constant small corrections for wind, camber and movement, and that wears you out faster than you expect. Most experienced owners plan no more than about 200 to 300 miles in a day, which is four to six hours of actual driving once you allow for the slower cruising speed of a coach.

• Break the driving up. Take a rest of fifteen to thirty minutes every two to three hours, get out of the vehicle and walk around, and use the stop to look over the coach.
• Pull over rather than push on. If you are tired or sleepy, the only cure is to get off the road and rest. Slowing down or turning the radio up does not work.
• Stop before dark if you can. Setting up and reversing into an unfamiliar site in the dark is where the damage happens.

The first drive is the hardest one. Set the mirrors and the seat, write down the height, walk the coach, and then take it slowly on quiet roads before you join anything fast. Everything in this guide gets easier with a little practice.

Sources

• Winnebago, 2026 View Operator's Manual (PDF). Fetched and read. For the driving safety rules (do not adjust the seat or tilt steering while moving, do not drive with a slideout extended), the pre-departure inspection list, and the definitions of the gross vehicle weight rating and gross axle weight ratings on the certification label.
• California DMV, Recreational Vehicles and Trailers Handbook (DL 648, PDF). Fetched and read. For mirror adjustment and the 200-foot rear-vision figure, the wider turning pattern and lane position, winds, mountain driving and engine braking, the air brake pre-trip test with the 55 to 75 psi low-pressure warning, the loading and GVWR/GAWR guidance, the fatigue break schedule, and the instruction to post the maximum road height on the vehicle.
• Newmar, 7 Tips on Driving a Diesel Pusher Motorhome. Fetched and read. For the tail swing ratio of about one foot out for every three feet of rear overhang, clearance and route planning, following distance, staying in the right lane, engine braking, and not driving tired.
• WorkSafe New Zealand, Reversing using a spotter: spotting signals quick reference guide. Fetched and read. For agreeing the hand signals before you start, walking the reversing path, the spotter standing where the driver can see them, the driver stopping if the spotter disappears from view, and the standard daytime signals.
• Jayco Towable Owner's Manual, 2027 (plain text copy supplied at /tmp/jayco-towable.txt). Read. For the points that an RV takes longer to reach highway speeds, that you should plan extra time to pass, that you should descend hills in a lower gear to reduce reliance on the brakes, that you must know your weight and size and obey posted clearance limits, and that a coach turns tighter than the vehicle pulling it.
• RV LIFE, 6 Tips for Driving a Class A Motorhome in Windy Conditions. Fetched and read. For crosswind push on a tall, flat-sided coach, the extra correction needed when a truck or an overpass blocks the wind, and keeping both hands on the wheel.
• Drivin' and Vibin', 5 Rules for Using Gas Station Truck Lanes. Fetched and read. For truck lanes being diesel only and built with more room and usually one-way traffic, for short canopies on older car forecourts, and for pulling forward after fuelling.
• RecNation, How Far Should You Drive an RV in One Day?. Fetched and read. For the planning figure of 200 to 300 miles a day for most drivers, and for taking a break every one and a half to two hours.