Who has "Trained" the "other half" to Tow

[GeoffnCheri]

I have absolutely encouraged "She who must be obeyed" to tow our rig. She can hitch up, unhitch, set up and do everything necessary to set up and break down. She is not comfortable towing down the highway. I respect her decision. When she is comfortable she will let me know.

[ccwbrd]

Please anyone that has not had their spouse “trained to drive” I pled to you to work with them to help teach them. Learn on quite roads but please do.

We had friends of ours on a camping trip a couple years ago that he had to have an emergency gallbladder surgery. My wife drove our rig and I drive theirs back home with their children so he could recover in the hospital. I have also heard of a gentleman the hurt his right ankle and could not drive. His wife had no interest in learning and they were stuck.

Please learn. It’s not that hard.


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[Drolaw]

My wife will not drive the rig and won't even think of it. She had a bad experience as a child when her dad was pulling a boat and somehow she thinks the experience will happen again and she doesn't trust herself. It's a confidence issue with her. The most she's ever done is drive the boat (once it's on the trailer) out of the water but only to go straight from the launch area.

[Bill & Jeri RV Travels]

My wife did drive our F-350 diesel (without the fiver hooked up) once and did very well, but absolutely has no desire in driving while towing. We are a team in all other respects. She is the only person I trust to guide me while backing into a site. I politely refuse any assistance from anyone else. She walks the pups while I unhook, then after I level (auto level) she puts the slides out and does the inside stuff while I do the outside. When we are breaking camp she again does all the inside stuff, including prepping the tanks when we dump. I do all the outside. I always have her do a walk around to make sure I haven’t missed anything outside and I will usually take a peek inside before locking up. It works well for us.


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[Jerryr]

My wife isn’t easily intimidated but she leaves most of the RV driving tasks to me.

She also holds a Pilot License with complex and High Performance endorsement. She has logged over 1,500 hours of pilot in command.

We share RV driving on longer trips but she prefers to leave the backing up to me.

[SGT ROC]

We've been pulling boats and campers for over 30 years and I'm still paying for the time I had her pull our pop-up over the Thousand Island bridge 25 years ago while I pulled the boat.

That said, I don't want anybody other than her guiding me when unhooking or hooking up and launching and/or loading the boat. After 30 years we've got that part almost figured out.

I am really surprised that there are not more wives/significant others towing.... I had forgotten about the time she pulled our pop up when I was pulling our boat. She missed the entrance to the campground (in the driving rain) and decided to back up. She jackknifed the trailer into the side of the van. It turned out to be a great weekend, even though it rained hard the entire time. She has towed since then, but will not tow anything bigger than our utility trailer with the car. I too try to convince her to try to pull the camper but it's not going to happen any time soon. As others have stated - she is the guide into the site, and the inside person/outside double check person.

[Woods'nWater]

This is "the wife" here. Just to let everyone know, there are thousands of capable "others" who tow and do all hook up and departures without help from anyone. When I back it into a campsite you guys look at me like I'm a freak of nature. When I dump the tanks my husband gets disapproving looks. I'm not going to explain our situation to anyone, not your business. Just enjoy your own travel experiences and focus on living life to the fullest with whatever situation you are in. To those afraid of becoming stranded, make a plan now of how to get the rig home without the main driver. Everyone has different stress triggers and I will not judge anyone for there decisions. It's all part of the adventure....I think that's why we're all here anyways.

[SGT ROC]

This is "the wife" here. Just to let everyone know, there are thousands of capable "others" who tow and do all hook up and departures without help from anyone. When I back it into a campsite you guys look at me like I'm a freak of nature. When I dump the tanks my husband gets disapproving looks. I'm not going to explain our situation to anyone, not your business. Just enjoy your own travel experiences and focus on living life to the fullest with whatever situation you are in. To those afraid of becoming stranded, make a plan now of how to get the rig home without the main driver. Everyone has different stress triggers and I will not judge anyone for there decisions. It's all part of the adventure....I think that's why we're all here anyways.

Good post. And you're right. I have not been able to get on top of our rig yet - absolutely afraid of heights over about 8 feet. My wife on the other hand has no fear at all. So you are correct, and I do not judge at all. I also stress in traffic. BADLY.

[phonemannn]

OMG! I have tried to teach my wife to just drive the tow vehicle, let alone with a RV! She is only 5ft tall, and is intimidated by the large truck. I gave up...

[bertschb]

I don't think this has anything to do with the capabilities of our spouses (husband or wife). I see this as more about what roles couples are most comfortable with. My wife wants nothing to do with emptying the holding tanks. She says she will do all the cooking and clean up afterwards if I'll empty the tanks. I've told her several times all I do is pull a valve and wait (it's a little more involved than that but not much!). Still, she is HAPPY to do all the cooking and dishes so it's a sweet deal for both of us! I crawl under and on top of the RV for maintenance and again, she wants nothing to do with that but she cleans the toilet. See? Win-win!

Whatever works for each couple is all that matters!