Charlie Camper ???

I wouldnt feel too comfortable tailing a tractor trailer just because you think all truckdrivers know how to drive safe.Well not everyone drives safe and anything bad can happen and in the summertime with hot highways you might get a blown re cap through your window and run yourself off the road.I seen this happen before and the driver just keeps
on going....Have Fun!!!

 

The first thing I was taught when I started driving larger vehicles (tow trucks) was to hold my lane. Someone does something stupid in front of you, apply the brakes and hold your lane. If you LEAVE your lane, YOU are responsible for whatever damage you cause. If there is a family in the minivan next to you, and you take them out swerving to miss the knucklehead that just cut you off, it is YOUR ticket. The knucklehead that caused the wreck is on down the road...he doesn't exist. If you leave the road and turn yourself over in the ditch to avoid someone that pulled out in front of you, it is YOUR ticket. That other driver is probably oblivious to what just happened. Maintain your proper following distance, and use your brakes if something happens in front of you...and if you can't stop, at least the knucklehead that pulled the stupid maneuver ahead of you will be involved in the wreck.

The second point I'd like to make, is that if you can't see at night, don't drive at night. Driving at night is no excuse for tearing up your equipment. Being in a motor home, you have more options available to you than we do in commercial trucks. You can pull into pretty much ANY parking lot, go in the back, and lay down to wait for the sun to start coming up and few will say anything about it. Don't wait TOO long, though...otherwise the cars will be out and about and you won't have the streets all to yourself as you get yourself out of the jam you found yourself in the night before.

Third, GPS lies. Use it as a general guidance tool, but never turn onto a road you are unsure about. If it doesn't look right, keep going and find another way...or stop and ask somewhere (gas station, for example) for directions, or consult a paper map or directions provided by wherever it is you are going. I've had good luck inquiring at fire stations when I find myself in a jam....they know where their trucks can go, and I'm not that much bigger. The gas station attendant may not recall that the bridge they are sending you under is only 10' high.

 

Get a truckers atlas, the GPS does make mistakes. You can also check restricted routes on the atlas.

 

I think you're way wrong to follow trucks. You can't see around them and alot of truckers are actually total morons who should not be driving a car. It's also easy to miss highway signs from back there because it's like being behind a brick wall...

i'd just pass em all and thats what i try to do in the big truck myself..

 

I couldnt agree more with phroziac

 

There are good & bad points listed here. I speak as both truck & motorhome driver. I would rather be behind a truck because of their predictability as 1st stated. However, I do leave plenty of room & cruise at 60mph. This allows them to pull ahead to reveal signs & beautiful landscape.

Holding your own lane is also a good idea. But I will leave the road I believe the situation could lead to a fatality.

Yep, recaps suck. Don't care how cheap they are, they'll never go on the motorhome.

 

Any time a crash occurs, especially when large vehicles are involved, there is a very real possibility of a fatality. If somebody is going to die, and I have any say in the matter, it ain't gonna be me. Leaving the road and crashing to avoid another wreck just doesn't make any sense...too many unknowns that could wind up making the wreck a lot worse than if you had just held your lane....except then you are the only vehicle involved and it is YOUR ticket!

If I'm involved in a wreck, whether I can walk away from it or not is my first concern. Second is any collateral damage...other "innocent bystanders" caught up in the carnage, and whether they are OK. Third is my truck...is it still driveable. Fourth is the freight...whether it was damaged or not.

Way down at the very bottom of my list of concerns is the knucklehead that caused the wreck....so low that they almost aren't even a concern.

 

I have only one major problem with RV's and it's out west. I'll be behind one on a two lane road and the RV will be going about 40mph. Then when it comes to a passing lane they'll speed up and I can't get around them. I think it's because they don't feel safe on the two lane and when they have the extra lane they feel safer. And I agree with the others about following the trucks. You should keep your distance just like a truck because you can't stop as well as a car.