Driving a Class A Motorhome

Camping in a Class A motorhome is all about mixing luxury, convenience, and proximity to the natural world. But before you can deploy the pull outs, light the campfire, and kick back with a cold one, you’ll need to actually get to the campsite. Doing that requires some driving, and if you aren’t used to driving 30+ foot vehicle in your everyday life, you might be feeling a little nervous about the prospect of piloting a big rig around America’s highways. Lucky for you, we here at RV Four Seasons Loveland have designed this short guide to help you learn some of the basics. Driving a Class A motorhome doesn’t have to be too scary if you follow these quick tips. If you need to service your motorhome, don’t hesitate to stop by RV Four Reasons in Loveland, Manitoba. We proudly serve the areas of Wheat Ridge, Denver, and Virden, Manitoba.

Braking

Once you start increasing the weight of a vehicle, stopping becomes a much more important and complex process. The heavier your RV is, the more inertia it will have, meaning you’ll need more force to stop it and more room to slow it down. This means that you’ll need to increase the follow distance between your RV and the vehicle in front of you, by at least double. Whereas in a car you’d be able to simply brake through the corners, in a Class A motorhome you’ll need to slow way down before the corner and take it at a much lower speed.

In addition to having to plan for an extended stopping distance, you’ll also need to get used to the specific stopping mechanism on many Class A motorhomes. These RVs don’t usually use the disc or drum brakes you’ll find in most cars. Those brakes respond to the amount of pressure you apply to the pedal. Class A motorhomes generally employ air brakes, which apply an increasing amount of pressure the longer you hold the brakes. So no matter how hard you slam the brakes, you won’t be able to slow down faster than the brakes allow.

Turning

When you need to hit a turn, you’ll have to deal with the fact that your vehicle is significantly longer than most standard cars or trucks. The longer your vehicle is, the wider the turn radius it’s capable of completing will be. This is an especially big problems in cities, as narrow roads will sometimes require you to turn into the oncoming lane of traffic simply to make a right-hand turn. If there’s traffic in the opposite lane, you might not be able to make the turn. Campgrounds can feature similarly tight turns in some areas. You’ll probably want to find campgrounds that are specifically designed to handle RVs.

Reversing & Parking

Because Class A are so much bigger than standard cars, reversing can be complicated. You’ll still have your side view mirrors to help you out, but it can be quite difficult to judge distances behind you, especially those in your blind spots. For the most part, you’ll want to reduce the amount of reversing you have to do as much as possible. Some modern Class A motorhomes feature backup cameras to make the process easier, and this is often a worthwhile investment if it is optional on your model.

When it comes to parking, pull-through parking is the best option. Instead of trying to pull into or back into parking spots, you’ll want to find places where you can simply pull up to a curb or parking spot.

Highway Driving

Considering all of the areas we’ve already covered, you can probably deduce what you need to know to drive safely on the highway. Since braking takes more space and time, you’ll need to give other cars way more space. Since turning quickly isn’t exactly in a Class A motorhome’s wheelhouse, you’ll want to limit the amount of passing you do. Keep an eye out for high wind warning signs because Class A motorhomes can act as sails and move quite a bit when driving in heavy winds. In general, you’ll want to slow down, take it easy, and reduce distractions.

Hopefully this short guide gave you some valuable pointers for driving a Class A motorhome. If you’re looking for the perfect Class A motorhome for your family, stop by RV Four Seasons Loveland. We’re located in Loveland, Manitoba, near Wheat Ridge, Denver, and Virden, Manitoba, and we’ll happily help you get into the perfect RV!