Is driving or backing in the RV/Trailer a shared job?

I due the bulk of the driving, but my wife is quite capable and periodically asks to take over to keep her skills sharp. The one driving when we reach a new park also handles the backing in chore. We only rarely use a spotter...

 

I'll make it simple.................

Me - All driving, parking, hookups, unhooking, all maintenance and servicing, make all reservations, exterior wash/polish, etc., Make sure windshield is bug free at all times, help with laundry duties when we get home (see below), help with meals and grocery shopping, all gas up and propane fill duties, take out and put away all outdoor stuff when we reach/leave our destinations, take all trash to dumpster, open the wine, pour the wine and refill her glass as needed, be quiet while "Raymond" is talking (see below), use air horn only if it will prevent impending death, and lastly be as good a trip worker as I can possibly be................

Her - Relax while I drive and take in the passing scenery, bring me food and drink while I am driving, crochet, phone and talk with relatives and family while I drive, use the "facilities" while I drive, decides which rest stops we use for the dog, helps with meals and shares cleanup duties afterwards, uses her cellphone to keep me advised of weather conditions in the areas we are passing thru while I simply look out the window to see what's going on, tells me I cannot turn around in a specific area that I have already decided I can (she is the navigator after all), makes the morning coffee, drinks the wine I open and pour in the evening, makes sure the TV is locked onto the "Everybody Loves Raymond" channel and then hides the remote, allows me my five minutes to shave and shower and get the heck out of the bathroom so she can have her two hour bathroom time, helps strip the bed when we get home and then hands me half of the sheets and towels, etc. to wash and dry, and lastly be as good a trip boss as she can possibly be..............

Yep, that about sums it up...............

 

Mike, I'm with you on this. My wife will help with the hitch/un-hitch process and spot when we need to back in to a site but beyond that I am at the wheel. While I'm driving she's usually knitting and as I wouldn't have a clue how to knit, I'll happily leave her to do that.

 

Up until a few years ago, my wife didn't want any part of driving the motorhome. Then I injured my right knee and couldn't drive without a lot of pain. Fortunately, we were staying put long enough that I recovered before we needed to move, but soon after that she suggested it would be a good idea for her to learn to drive the rig "just in case". It didn't take her long to get the hang of it in a vacant parking lot, and now she's quite comfortable behind the wheel. And we have the peace of mind of knowing we can cover for each other if needed.

 

I forgot to add that my "navigator" has said many times that "someday" we will find a place, like a big empty parking lot, for her to take a spin behind the wheel but so far that hasn't happened. In all fairness however I do have make a slight correction to my above post. She does man one of the walkie talkies we use when backing into spaces, etc. so I need to give her credit for that tough job.

BankShot..............(aka Terry)

 

That is hilarious BankShot! I'm sure that description sounds familiar to many in here, and most wouldn't have it any other way.

 

My better half would really like to get behind the wheel. I let her drive our first Class C years ago and she scared hell out of me. I have been very leery about letting her try again but I'm going to bite the bullet and let her play around in a large empty parking lot soon. It would be nice to have a plan B should we experience the un-expected.

We have our "chores" down pat. I plan the route and she keeps us on track. I hate the telephone and she loves it thus handles both of our calls when we're on the road. Upon arrival, she is not a spotter. She stands where I want the left rear corner to be. No communication required. It doesn't matter if it's a pull thru, back in or nose in. Our set up and pack up chores are: pretty much "everything inside is hers and everything outside is mine". First things first though. No one gets a glass of wine until we are properly settled. It's amazing how fast that can be sometimes. Normally it only takes about 10 - 15 minutes though.

Darrell

 

My other half will, on occasion, drive while towing, but I will not let her back it up. She can't back the car up often without a few retries, I am not letting her have ago at backing the trailer.

She does help with setup and break down, and we have a pretty good system there so once in the site we are good to go in minutes. She is not a good spotter though. I usually get "Keep coming, keep coming, OK, good... I think," which means I still have to get out and have a look

 

My wife is a hands on gal. When we owned motorcycles she would change the oil/filter, helps out or does any maintenance that needs to be done on our stuff. I drive the truck and pull the trailer. She has driven the truck but never with the trailer attached. Has no interest. Sure she would do fine, she is an excellent driver. Motorcycles are gone and now we have a car, my wife leads and I follow. Have two way radios. She plans the trips, where we are going to stop, what campgrounds we are staying in, does the navigating. What we are going to do when we stop for a few days or longer. Get to a campground, she goes in to pay. We get to the campsite, she navigates me with hand signs into the site. Set up, unhook if staying more then three days (air drops out of the truck after three days) She gets the electric cord hooked up and goes inside to get the slides out and sets up inside. I do the rest outside. Including cleaning the bugs off the truck and car windshield. When sight seeing sometimes I drive most of the time she does. Fine by me. As when leaving in the morning. She works inside putting everything away, then comes out and helps finishing up with me. We check the tires on the truck, trailer and car every day we move. Air them up with the compressor if need be. She will do this also. Checks to be sure the trailer lights are all working. No complains, she does a great job.

 

Bankshot, you and I should go on that "Wife swap" show, because you and I wouldn't miss a thing! My wife is the same way, and "helps" with the driving by telling me everything I'm doing wrong.

There is someone, on some forum (possibly here), that has a signature that says "my wife does all the driving, I just turn the wheel", or something like that. I can relate.

-- Chris G.

 

Hey Chris - Real men know who runs the show in our RVs.............

 

Same here except the other half doesn't crochet,instead she takes hundreds of selfies. We don't have walkie talkies so she stands behind the trailer and waves her arms

 

I'm so fortunate to have a DW who can do it all with respect to MH duties excepting being a good navigator. She barely knows which end of the map is right side up. Fortunately, we have GPS. And yes, if she reads this, I'm going to catch all heck.

 

Oh so very true...

 

This thread is hilarious! Love the quote, "my wife does all the driving, I just turn the wheel." HA HA HA!!

We're still working out the details of who-does-what since we've only taken one long trip. Hubby does prefer to do all the set-up outside and he prefers to do all the driving, although I was the one who test drove the RV when we bought it. I used to back a long bed F150 with a 26' boat trailer on the back down the boat ramp and then park the truck and trailer once the boat was in the water, so I'm capable of driving a 26' Class C, but so far hubby has not let me drive. I don't do selfies or crochet, but I definitely have the navigator responsibility. I do take care of the inside ... cook, wash dishes, put away, cook, wash dishes, put away. He unloaded the RV when we got back from our last trip but I was responsible for putting everything away in the house. Backing up is not an issue with the back window and the backup cameras. It's all good.

 

Hey Cyclonic, had a good laugh over the "OK, good.... I think" part. Have heard that more than a few times myself and yes I too find that comment also gets me out of my seat to go have a look..........

Push on, BankShot..........(aka Terry)