Familiarize yourself with the motor home before driving it. Adjust mirrors and seats for comfortable and safe viewing. Find out how wide, high and long the motor home is, and how much it weighs. Each of these factors will determine which roads you can legally drive on.
Take into consideration the slower speeds you will be traveling in a motor home. Many states require lower speed limits for motor homes. In addition, the weight of a motor home forces drivers to drive slower uphill, and use their brakes and low gears more frequently when traveling downhill. Leave plenty of passing space for other vehicles traveling at higher speeds to pass you on any road.
Allow a minimum of a four second braking distance between vehicles. The weight of the motor home increases the following distance required between vehicles. A higher weight requires a higher braking distance. Select a point that vehicle in front of you passes and count four seconds until you pass the same point. It helps to practice braking at various speeds and under different driving conditions to determine the safest braking distance of your motor home.
Make wide turns to accommodate the length of your motor home. The comfort and ease of driving motor homes frequently makes new motor homes drivers forget the length of the vehicle they are driving. This results in damaged paint jobs and in worse case scenarios, the overturning of the motor home.
Always have someone outside the vehicle help guide you when backing up your motor home, if possible. Blind spots, telephone poles and over hanging trees can impede the safe maneuvering of motor homes. It is better to take the time to be safe when maneuvering something as bulky as a motor home.
