RV Driving Tips and Tricks | Fulltime RV Life | Five2Go

Learning how to drive an RV or motorhome can definitely be intimidating - they're tall, long, heavy, and expensive! We've got a few quick tips and tricks to help ease your fears and get you rolling down the road with confidence. Whether you have a 44' Class A Diesel Pusher or a 30' Class C weekender, we've got you covered!
⏱ Chapters:
0:00 Intro
1:20 Driving Through Campgrounds
2:45 Safe Braking
3:18 Approaching Intersections
4:40 Steering Stabilizers
5:50 Getting Cut Off
6:15 Cornering
6:45 Tail Swing
7:45 Examples via Drone
8:42 Maneuvering in Gas Stations
9:45 Turning Wide
10:10 Turning With a Towed Vehicle
11:31 Backing Into a Campsite
13:40 Tips for Spotters
15:06 Outro
#rvlife #rvliving #rvfamily
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[@unclerick4569]

I enjoy watching your channel... really good stuff! However, two of your videos are exceptionally well done (IMHO). The first was of the Stabelizer... with the GoPro mounted underneath where we could see and understand everything perfectly. And the other was this one. It is excellent! The instructor was perfect and got his point across clear as a bell! Thanks guys! Rick Doherty Yucca Valley, Ca.

[@unclerick4569]

I've always been a little surprised that you don't need special training or a special license for a big class a. I took a schoolbus driver's course a few years ago. It helped so much. Perhaps the biggest thing was learning how to parallel park a 40foot bus into a 46foot spot. If you can do that, you can do anything!

[@Five2Go]

Thank you so much Rick!

[@ThePartyof6]

Haha. “We are... today”! Reminds me of the saying forgive me for what I said when parking the camper! Great tips! So timely for us!

[@Five2Go]

Thanks Roadrunner!

[@Jaffet1990]

The fact that I know EXACTLY the road he was driving on intrigues me

[@mistyheyden]

Great illustration with the drone and the rectangles! Your math overly had me literally LOLing!

[@Five2Go]

Haha! Thanks Misty! 😂

[@jilllafferty9828]

One of the best tips I received is when turning, once your hips pass an obstacle (eg; a stop sign , car etc) you should be good to turn.

[@Five2Go]

That's a good measurement to keep in mind. Getting used to where your rear tires are in the mirror can be a little tricky but once you've got it cornering gets really easy.

[@MagentaRV]

The dip and mound issue is called approach (in the front) and departure (in the back) angle. RVs generally have a decent approach angle and a terrible departure angle which is why the back bumper or hitch is likely to drag quite often.

[@duaneroepke8840]

FINALLY!!!! You are ONE of a VERY FEW out there that have addressed "tail swing" in depth like you have. When I mention it while discussing RVing, I get a confused look like "what's that". Tail swing isn't only unique to motor homes but to ALL RVs. I also believe that tail swing will get more RVers in trouble than turning too short. One way that anyone can see this would to go to a large empty parking lot and make a tight turn. You will need help for this and some sidewalk chalk. 1 Start straight and mark the pavement beside the rear tire that is on the inside of the turn. 2 Eyeball straight down from the rear corner of the RV on the same side and mark pavement there. 3 Making sharp turn .

[@duaneroepke8840]

Sorry hit send early 3 Making sharp turn pull up about 3-4 ft and mark again 4 continue doing this till straightened out like a normal turn. I believe you will be surprised with the results of how much ANY rigs tail swing is.

[@Five2Go]

Both tail swing and cutting the corner were way worse on our previous RV (a 37' travel trailer). You're right too, most drivers will probably judge inside corners pretty well because it's easy to see but there is no way to easily judge how much your tail is swinging out. It's just something you have to develop a feel for.

[@duaneroepke8840]

@@Five2Go My wife and I practice what commercial truck driver trainers teach. ...G.O.A.L. Get Out And Look

[@janm8477]

Wow. You guys do a super clear, easy-to-listen-to educational session. Thanks so much for sharing your experiences this way. It's very helpful and encouraging to newbies like me, and a terrific service. Subscribed!

[@Kathleensailorgirl]

So true take your time and we always have a safety checklist and we never leave in a hurry 😊

[@Five2Go]

Absolutely! Take your time and everything will be fine!

[@sandydavis77]

Where did you get those beautiful mirrored sun glasses?

[@Five2Go]

Zenni!

[@Nurturing2]

AWESOME video❣️ The drone work is super cool!!! Thank y’all!!!

[@sharonwilson2450]

I've noticed tail swing on school busses! I almost got hit by one! It was turning into a school that I pass on my way home and the back of the bus came across the line and just missed me!

[@proudtexan5513]

Guys, GREAT INFORMATIONAL VIDEO! Great Job with Drone Shots too!!

[@Five2Go]

Thank you so much!

[@sherriweber7105]

Great tips thank you both so much. Glad you did this video on how to drive a big rig. It helps. Stay safe.

[@Five2Go]

Thanks Sherri!

[@debbiepacker.]

Great video! You do a great job of explaining everything.

[@tysonpowell2751]

One of your best videos, excellent information! *applause*

[@Five2Go]

Thanks Tyson!

[@jayfarino3721]

Thanks for a great video! Especially how much more pronounced the tail swing can be than a regular pickup truck. Didn't really think of that.

[@TomSpurlock]

Nice summary of the basics. Someday you'll enjoy the virtues of HD sway bars so the rig doesn't lean so much in turns, wind, and passing trucks, etc.

[@Five2Go]

We're not putting many miles on it right now so it wouldn't be worth the money at this point. Who knows what next year will bring.

[@julietteshore1118]

Thank you guys that was a very good video from above. Helped me enormously.

[@richardcoyle2635]

Loved the tips,. I have a 37 foot travel trailer and am learning a lot.

[@sharonriome2525]

That was an awesome video! Thank you!

[@Five2Go]

Thanks Sharon!

[@kimberleei]

Great tips! Thanks!

[@Five2Go]

Thanks Kimberlee!

[@robertrist2300]

Love the video always

[@Five2Go]

Thanks Robert!

[@lindahiggins9295]

Didn’t realise RV driving was so complicated, thanks for informative review. Hope your all safe and well x 👍🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿👍🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿👍

[@Five2Go]

Thanks Linda!

[@ComboGaming6]

Just started to watch one of your pull behind trailer vids (video was like 1 yr ago or so) , you have the best tips and tricks. I'll sure I will be trying some of them out. Thanks for your youtube channel. You will be helping me out alot.

[@Five2Go]

Thank you so much!

[@amandagoodwin7909]

someone jumped in front of my dad on interstate and hit brakes. the brakes in his 5th wheel malfunctioned and didn't work. dad dad drove semis for over 50 years so he knew how to drive. of course everyone blamed him because he couldn't stop on a dime when that car jumped in front and hit brakes. lost my stepmom and 2 strangers also passed away. dad was extremely lucky to live through it. PKEASE don't cut off trucks, trailers, semis motorhomes they need room to stop!!!!

[@chrisd4454]

Very awesome video! I'm in the research stage, but will be the driver. Thanks for the tips.

[@Five2Go]

Thanks Chris!

[@davejiannuzzi4160]

Great tips, the part about other drivers, you are right and don’t think they will ever change, as a 40 year truck driver, I feel your pain!

[@Five2Go]

It's like the only thing on their mind is "man, that guy is going to be so slow - let's get ahead of him", not thinking about how incredibly dangerous it is to pull out in front of large vehicles... That's why I rely on my own awareness and foresight instead of trusting other drivers.

[@kp2874]

Thanks for the drone work! in your first graphic, of how you might scrape the pump upon departure making the left turn, i was expecting to also see a graphic of tail swing into a parallel car at the pump to the right if the turn was started too soon. is a good rule of thumb that you should only start your turn once the rear axle is even with the obstacle, or in front of it?

[@isaiahbangura4421]

I saw a video of somebody driving a RV and I guess they weren't thinking about roof clearance and their AC got smashed off by the bridge.

[@Five2Go]

That's more common than you'd think. Knowing your height is really important!

[@chrisd4454]

Oh, I saw one too.

[@isaiahbangura4421]

@@Five2Go kzbin.info/www/bejne/ipmqlH6trKufl7M

[@jeremywalker1769]

Can you do a thousand trails update and how it works for your current situation?

[@Five2Go]

We're planning on it!

[@darkfireIrl]

Clap Clap 👏 👏 Stay safe

[@Five2Go]

Thanks!

[@GratefulGlamper]

Someone in California brake checked us in our RV - I was livid.

[@Five2Go]

That's awful! I've thought about getting a dash cam just for that...

[@dinofamily8268]

I stumbled across y'alls channel as i was researching. Back in May i all the sudden had a calling that my family and are are supposed to hit the road. I started a channel a few weeks ago for it just to start building it while we get prepared. Channel name faiths journey. I'm a family of 6 and this is a major change for us but i believe this is the path we are supposed to be on. Is be real interested to learn more about y'alls journey and look forward to watching your other videos.

[@Five2Go]

Thanks guys! Good luck, and let us know if you have any questions - our Discord channel is full of great and helpful people too! www.five2go.com/discord

[@fide3411]

The thumbnail made the top of the RV look like a Wii remote😂

[@lennyjonas5417]

Looks like your tow bar is super low. You ever drag it? We pull a 2” lifted Wrangler still use a 4” drop receiver for the tow bar setup on our 2017 Bounder 33C.

[@jeepsandrvs]

I found our motorhome very easy to drive versus our truck and 36ft 5er. A good co-pilot spotter + clear communications is key - remember to also look "up" for trees, etc. Once you get a good feel of what the MH can do (a few thousand miles) - it becomes fun to drive. I also found that looking further ahead on the road in the MH is key - anticipate other vehicles, road debris, construction, lane changes, etc. At 60+ feet with our TOAD attached, I cannot move over quickly like I can in a car. I think driving a MH has made me a better, more defensive driver. Safe Travels. I hope you are enjoying this central Florida heat. We are between Orlando and Tampa ourselves since mid-August and we have been cooking. We keep telling ourselves that we will not return this early again, but we have done it 3 years in a row now.....

[@Five2Go]

Being up high and seeing father down the road is pretty great. We've been cooking here too but it should cool down soon 👍👍

[@carolcooley2157]

I am a new subscriber to your channel. Did you do a follow up to your video about lack of safety features in class As and class B's? I see you got a class A. How did you resolve the child car seat issues? Such an important informational video. I saw it 3 days before we were to pick up our new class A. Yikes. Pretty frightening!

[@Five2Go]

The short answer is that the littles don't ride in the motorhome. More details here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/l3TRloythayspsU

[@dontazz2003]

I am going to be driving a class a for the first time at the end of month I have never driven one.

[@Five2Go]

It's really not that bad, and way easier than towing a trailer. Just take your time and if you're questioning anything, get out and look!

[@dontazz2003]

@@Five2Go it will be 38 feet long. The biggest I have driven is 24 class C. Once we hit the road will let you know LOL

[@GatorBiteDesigns]

Am I missing your link to the steering stabiliser?

[@Five2Go]

The in-video links don't show up on every platform. Here's the video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/bYO6d3Rvq96coZI

[@tedhill7017]

Sounds just like driving a tractor trailer, having to deal with impatient drivers.

[@Five2Go]

Absolutely! It's a pain 😕

[@samanli-tw3id]

More like driving a bus

[@lancewulfers2502]

Spotter: OK does not mean STOP. Commands should be clear and concise. Backup one more foot, instead of backup a little more. Stop means stop, OK means nothing. Don't be ambiguous, and remember even a celll phome has a little delay and a humans reaction time is in the order of seconds not milliseconds.

[@johnbjorkman4144]

Just started following you guys, but I have a question: I understand you have another vehicle (or two?). Do you tow one, drive it separately, or rent when you arrive somewhere?

[@Five2Go]

We tow the car and Erin drives the van with the two youngest and the dog. Motorhome living rooms are not a safe place to ride. If you go back through our uploads a little bit you'll find a video all about why we have two vehicles with us.

[@David-im1fp]

What is the clearance of these bridges? Thanks for driving tips.

[@Five2Go]

Those bridges are all unmarked so they're at least 16' 6". A few are way higher than that.

[@David-im1fp]

@@Five2Go thanks for reply. If there is no clearance sign, does it means it is well above all RV heights and all other vehicles? For 5th wheel of 13.5 feet, any clearance issues when driving on streets and highway?Thanks

[@Five2Go]

My rule of thumb is that if it's a route that delivery trucks would be taking, I'm good. Unmarked bridges are supposed to be a minimum of 16.5' which is way taller than any RV I've heard of.

[@MagentaRV]

11:50 we don't have a backup camera yet, so we instead actually do a video chat call on some platform (Discord, Facebook Messenger, etc) so I can see what she (doesn't) see (because she's legally blind). LOL

[@darkfireIrl]

Terra still has better eye drawing than me,lol,but she doesn’t agree

[@Five2Go]

We all think she did a great job on it!

[@darkfireIrl]

Yee

[@terran5502]

What do you mean. It looks terrible.

[@Five2Go]

No it doesn't!

[@williamsneedjr4129]

Why are you both don't have your seat belts on

[@Five2Go]

We do, but the attachment point on the wall is kind of low so it's hard to see the shoulder strap. Our vehicles don't move unless everyone is buckled.

[@AngelaRPierce]

"Anticipate stupid". Cars have a "body language" and 90% of collision avoidance is anticipating that the other driver is going to do something stupid.

[@outdoorsdon]

A pro? Hummm

[@Five2Go]

We never said we were pros. We're just trying to help out with some tips and pointers because we get asked all the time how difficult it is to drive a motorhome.