Safety Tips for Driving an RV

Driving an RV, whether it be a fifth wheel, travel trailer, or a motorhome, is quite different than driving a car. That is probably obvious to anyone who looks at an RV. There are many more things to think about when it comes to safety, not just your safety but that of other drivers as well. After driving my motorhome around the country for almost four years, I have created a list of safety tips that every RVer and aspiring RVer should know.

RVs Don’t Stop Fast

RVs are heavy. They are carrying all of your stuff and sometimes over five hundred pounds of water on top of that. Fifth wheels can weigh over 15,000 pounds when loaded and motorhomes can weigh much more than that. It isn’t easy to take a 15,000 pound object from 60 miles per hour to 0 in a quick manner.

If you are driving a fifth wheel or travel trailer, it is important to make sure your trailer brakes are functioning properly. The gain on the trailer brake controller should be set so that when you slow down it doesn’t feel like the trailer is dragging you to a stop, nor should it feel like the truck is doing all of the breaking work. I personally drive a motorhome so my trailer experience is lacking, but Popular Mechanics has some great tips for towing.

Unless you are towing something, a motorhome does not have trailer brakes, but whether you have trailer brakes or not, all of these RVs are going to take longer to stop. It is important to leave enough extra space in front of you and the next vehicle to accommodate this. When I was first starting out, I would make a mental note of how long it took me to stop after getting off the freeway or when I approached a red light. Whatever distance it took to comfortably come to a stop was the distance I left between me and the next car on the freeway.

Related Read: Safety Tips For RVing with Pets

Get a Backup Camera

If you are not used to driving with a trailer or motorhome, you may find yourself missing the rear view mirror. It is, of course, possible to maneuver the freeways only using the side mirrors. Truckers do it all the time. I am not a professional driver, however, and neither are most RVers so having an extra view makes driving the road a little safer.

Back up cameras make backing up a whole lot easier as well. I once watched a person back up right into a propane filling station at an RV park. Having a backup camera has saved me countless times by letting me know if there were any people, pets or objects behind me before I threw the rig in reverse. Many RVs have backup cameras pre-installed now. If yours doesn’t, wireless backup cameras are pretty inexpensive and easy to install.

Related Read: Blind Spots—They Aren't Rocket Science

Read Overpass Height Signs

One piece of information that should always be in an RV driver’s head is the height of his/her rig. The US is full of overpasses and bridges. Some of them were built recently and take into account that large trucks and vehicles are common, but others were constructed before large RVs and commercial trucks. Most low clearance bridges are marked with a sign that states the clearance height of the bridge.

If you see a sign and it is lower than the height of your rig, you are going to need to stop and find another route. One way to avoid this entirely is to check your route beforehand. There are several apps and trucker maps that list low bridge clearance. Rand McNally Road Atlas for commercial drivers lists them as well.

Knowing the height of a bridge doesn’t help much if you don’t know the height of your rig. My advice is to measure it. Get on the roof with a measuring tape and measure up to the highest point. For many, the highest point is the top of the AC unit. I personally add a foot to the measurement. If the route I’m going has a bridge with less than a foot of clearance, I find a different route. Your comfort level may be different from mine so make your own clearance rule and don’t break it. Roaming Times has an article just dealing with bridge height and how accurate the signs are.

Related Read: Tight Squeeze: Top Ways to Bypass Low Overpasses

Watch Out For Low Trees

Knowing the height of your rig isn’t going to help you when it comes to trees because tree branches don’t have a special sign indicating their height. If it looks too low, assume it is. In some cases, you can use someone like your partner to get out as a spotter to avoid limbs you may find heading to your campsite whether it be dry camping or an RV park. It is common for new RVers to be so worried about looking in their backup camera and their side mirrors that they forget they are driving a much taller vehicle as well.

You are Longer

If you are used to driving a car, then looking in your mirror is an easy task. Unless someone is in a blind spot, noting any cars next to you before changing lanes is as simple as glancing in your side mirror. When pulling a trailer or even driving a motorhome, it is important to remember that you are quite a bit longer.

Make sure you mirror is adjusted so that you can view the entire length of your rig. Some motorhome mirrors have two styles of the side mirror, one that shows you what is directly next to the RV and one that acts as a regular side mirror. Adding to the safety factor, many motorhomes now come with side cameras.

If you are towing your RV, you may need to purchase additional mirrors. There are a whole host of mirror extenders and add-ons that will help in seeing what is next to you before you change lanes. Most states require towing mirrors by law as well. AAA.com has a list of mirror laws by state.

In a nutshell, you will get along great towing or driving your RV as long as you remember you are heavier, slower, and taller than you normally are on the road. It is important to make all of your driving decisions based on that information.