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

[Wicked ace]

Cairenn my Irish Setter is great at helping to unhook and set up the trailer as she will jump out to scout the area for deer, squirrels or other animals that may interfere with the operation. Then she will sit off the passenger side of the trailer acting as a marker while I back in. After the trailer is unhooked it's back to purging any errant wildlife and/or relieving herself. Then she will stare me down until she gets a treat for her good work. Followed by a nap on her favorite shag rug.
Much the same when we decamp, patrol is priority with a final circle of the wagon before hopping in the truck cab. I still don't trust her to drive as many campgrounds are filled with distracting wildlife that cause her to take her eyes off the road and possibly follow with the truck.
I'm always curious why she's best buds with the bunnies in our back yard but can't stand the sight of the rabbits sitting quietly in Narraganset. She just loves to sneak up and chase them away.

[ckreef]

It was my wife's (Mrs skreef) idea to buy a pu truck in the first place. She drives it every day to work since I drive a company pu truck. We both have a class A CDL license. She drives an 18 wheel truck pulling a 24' dump wagon backing up multiple times a day for her job so am completely confident she could pull and back up the new TT. The TT is brand new so once we get going on a regular basis I'll teach her how to do the setup and take down just incase.

[D2Reid]

It's been an evolving decline for my wife. BITD she had no problem towing our little TT while I towed the boat so long as she only had to go forward. Backing a trailer is something she just couldn't get. Over time she has become more disinclined to attempt these things. And it's getting worse, she will no longer get out of the truck when it's raining or blizzard snowing to spot. She will drive the truck/5th wheel from rest stop to rest stop (or truck stop). So long as there is no close in maneuvering involved. If it starts to get tight we do a "Chinese Fire Drill" and quickly change drivers.

I purchase the Good Sam Travel Assist insurance each year. I recognize that she would be a little stressed about moving the RV should I meet an untimely demise. This way should things go really badly she has a resource to get the RV someplace it can be managed by others.

[Rob+Kath]

The wife and I share duties setting up and taking down. Then we cross check each other until we're both happy.
As far as the actual driving (towing), I do 80% and she does 20%. She does not mind the driving, just prefers not to do as much. She navigates, finds fuel stops when I call for them and provides time and distance updates.
I am self taught and only have limited experience towing. Once I had the basics down, we spent a Sunday driving around an industrial park to give her a feel for the trailer. We worked on starts, stops and corners. The only issues were understanding the whole truck - trailer as a unit. i.e. don't accelerate hard until both truck and trailer are around the corner and learning to judge the stopping distance. And hour of going around the block and she was doing just fine.

I think of it just like flying. Someone else in this thread mentioned being a pilot. When you are up in the air and something bad happens to the pilot, you have very few choices. My wife did about 5 hours of flight training (pilot in a pinch) so she can get it on the ground if I am incapacitated. It may not be pretty or in one piece, but she can walk away from it.

It's a kind of insurance that she can pull the trailer to the nearest campground or parking and make it safely. Makes me feel better and her too.

[SGT ROC]

Cairenn my Irish Setter is great at helping to unhook and set up the trailer as she will jump out to scout the area for deer, squirrels or other animals that may interfere with the operation. Then she will sit off the passenger side of the trailer acting as a marker while I back in. After the trailer is unhooked it's back to purging any errant wildlife and/or relieving herself. Then she will stare me down until she gets a treat for her good work. Followed by a nap on her favorite shag rug.
Much the same when we decamp, patrol is priority with a final circle of the wagon before hopping in the truck cab. I still don't trust her to drive as many campgrounds are filled with distracting wildlife that cause her to take her eyes off the road and possibly follow with the truck.
I'm always curious why she's best buds with the bunnies in our back yard but can't stand the sight of the rabbits sitting quietly in Narraganset. She just loves to sneak up and chase them away.

LOL - the cats are going this next season due to some health issues with one. One is good with outdoors, one is not, and neither would chase another critter away. I'm pretty sure they have both made friends with the occasional mouse we find in the house. The bunnies in your back yard are probably friends of hers...

[Bill & Jeri RV Travels]

I grew up on a farm, drove semi’s for a short time and I just simply love to hook up the fiver and tow it, the further the better. My wife does her share of most things, but absolutely will not tow the trailer. We have the FMCA Travel Assist if I become incapacitated, so the rig will get home with or without me.


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[WhittleBurner]

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...

I only have a couple iches on her, seats are so adjustable in the truck that being short makes no difference. She need to shake the fear off, I learned early on the more you obsess about what is attached the harder the drive is.
It can be comical at dump stations or gas pumps when Gary hops out of the passenger seat. Some men get envy because their wives won't touch the steering wheel. Or I get the... you drive towing the trailer look of amazement.

We stopped at a super tight CG this fall and backing was really really bad at the angle in the direction we were going . I backed down the road and drove aroud to come in the opposite way. It was still tight but there was no vehicle parked in the way on the opposite side. Gary got out to direct me and another camper (man) came to help spot. We got parked with very little jogging. We sat around the fire the next night with that guy, he looked at me and asks...where the heck did you learn to drive like that!! He did not think I could back the trailer in.


OH, no one "trained" me. Our first camper had to be picked up and Gary could not get the time off. Never towed a thing but went and got it (pop up) and had fun trying to get the thing in the drive. Quick lesson and towed ever since even as trailers grew,

[theburgerts]

Whatever works for each couple is all that matters!

That's all that matters. [emoji16]



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[Roll With The Changes]

My wife pulled the Montana like a champ. But she never got the hang of pushing it backwards. The Solitude is a little wider so visibility in the mirrors was a little intimidating for her, but she finally got over that and tried it... Found out it really wasn't a big deal.

She knows that with our life/travel plan, she will need to get fully up to speed with all of it (hook/unhook, set up, tear down, parking... Everything), but it is taking longer than expected. We need to try harder to get her practicing.

[Houndbb]

We both know and follow the procedure from start to finish. The checklist is in my head (as Bruce has some CRS). At home, I’ll change the various hitches among vehicles (SUV, PU truck, tractor) hook up to the landscape trailer or the boat and go out and about. I avoid having to back up, however, as I don’t have a lot of practice at it. I can do it, but it’s slow, and I always figure I’m causing aggro for the parking public. At least with the landscape trailer and boat, I can see what’s back there. I draw the line with Granny, though. If anything happened, I’d hire someone to drive it home, and go along (because I know exactly how everything works). I may, someday, tow Granny on the highway, but neither a hired driver nor I would ever attempt to take it up our driveway! Only Bruce is crazy enough to do that!

Our first time out with our new trailer, a couple wives showed up at 10pm next door. We gave them light to set up. Their husbands both had to work all weekend, so they decided to hook up the trailer and have a nice weekend. At their age, yeah, I would have, too.
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