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Old 08-12-2019, 02:10 PM   #1
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Honey, you drive. My wife can drive!

I know there is a lot of threads about the significant other driving while towing the Airstream, but I am excited to say, my wife wants to drive.

We took the Airstream to our nearby fairgrounds in Canfield. It has many crisscross roads to navigate and she jumped behind the wheel!

I showed her how to make wide turns and to watch for curbs, dogs, small children, and other obstacles. We spent an hour learning to back up. She did very well! Gave her all the tips I learned here and off we went to the next county. 55 mph on a two-lane road with lots of traffic. She did great!!

Hopped on the interstate and she drove back toward Canfield at 65 Mph. Had her passing cars and instructed her how to keep up the speed while getting on the interstate.

I told her I was impressed. I think she enjoyed herself. I know I will enjoy the freedom to pull over, wake her up, get her behind the wheel and then just fall asleep on the passenger side. I've been waiting to do that for years . . . .

Sorry! No pictures. No recordings. No pressure on the first run.
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Old 08-12-2019, 03:06 PM   #2
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Very happy for you guys!

We share the driving but hubby does not care to back but is great at directions. Being full-timers we usually do not travel more than 250 miles at a stretch. One thing we do as passengers though never nap or read. We feel we both need to watch the road..at least the passenger most of the time..but that is what works for us. Safe travels.
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Old 08-12-2019, 03:46 PM   #3
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Good for your wife and you turk123!

My wife agitated for an Airstream a few years ago with the idea she was going to be self sufficient. I'm try not to take it personally . She is just ending a 3 week trip with her sister and 80 yo mother for her mom's birthday. Hitching, dumping, driving - after a couple of years of practice she's as good as I am. Here's a photo of her park job this afternoon at the Indiana Sand Dunes National Park in Porter IN.

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Old 08-12-2019, 04:01 PM   #4
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Originally Posted by badkat View Post
We share the driving but hubby does not care to back but is great at directions. Being full-timers we usually do not travel more than 250 miles at a stretch. One thing we do as passengers though never nap or read. We feel we both need to watch the road..at least the passenger most of the time..but that is what works for us. Safe travels.
I probably will not sleep either. There's lots of navigation to do and the dreaded semi watch. We've get pushed over one lane by semi's all the time. It's a vigil.
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Old 08-12-2019, 06:19 PM   #5
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I know those roads....😂

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Old 08-12-2019, 07:50 PM   #6
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Honey, you drive. My wife can drive!

My wife was in the military and was trained on the M16. She’s been dropped out of planes and was responsible for setting up sophisticated mobile satalite telecommunication posts on the front line.

It never occurred to me that driving a vehicle with trailer in tow might in some way be a challenge for her haha.

She gets to drive us in the worst conditions like the time we did 700+ miles across northern California through the Sierra Nevada mountains into Utah in the pitch black night in the pouring rain.

I’m the one that learns from her [emoji4] tough as nails!
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Old 08-12-2019, 08:15 PM   #7
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I talked to my wife (Doty) tonight about the experience and she said: "Didn't you think I could do it?" She's right. I was not asking her to drive. I just got into the driver's seat.

Lessons learned. The more I think about this, I am realizing how important it is to get both parties trained in towing the Airstream. What if something happens to you?

I was in Lake Havasu last year and strained my back. It was horrible for over a week. I could not drive. We needed to get our trailer out of storage and moved to a state park we reserved. Could not do it. Missed opportunity. Missed opportunity because I had not let my wife drive.

That changes now and it should change for a lot of us. 550 miles to meet up at a campground and you're going to drive all of it yourself??? What, are you nuts? An eye-opener for me. Things will change.
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Old 08-12-2019, 09:02 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kpm View Post
Good for your wife and you turk123!

My wife agitated for an Airstream a few years ago with the idea she was going to be self sufficient. I'm try not to take it personally . She is just ending a 3 week trip with her sister and 80 yo mother for her mom's birthday. Hitching, dumping, driving - after a couple of years of practice she's as good as I am. Here's a photo of her park job this afternoon at the Indiana Sand Dunes National Park in Porter IN.

Attachment 349221
Indiana Dunes in Portage! I grew up in Hammond, just west of Gary. Friends and I would go to the beach there in high school and college. In winter we’d go there sledding and tobogganing down the hills. You should see that lakefront in winter.

Sorry. Not trying to hijack the thread.

My wife is really good at driving with the AS in tow. It’s nice to have her take over if I get tired. Although our gas mileage drops cuz her foot is a little heavier than mine. ��

She also watches and helps me set up the hitch so she can do it if needed...although getting the Equalizer hitch head into the receiver might be a bit too much steel for her to lift.
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Old 08-12-2019, 11:06 PM   #9
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My wife would get behind the wheel of our 38,000 pound Class A and get this evil smile on her face and just dare someone to challenger her. She probably put over 15,000 miles driving the Class A. The Airstream is piece of cake to her, she can back into a spot without pulling forward even once.
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Old 08-12-2019, 11:35 PM   #10
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We were 22 when we bought our first travel trailer, a 24ft. Fleetwing. Since hubbies work involved traveling it was a necessity I learned how to tow. So, I got in the driv ers seat and took off. I towed the trailer by myself for nine years. This was in the early 60's and everyone towed driving a car. Trucks didn't perform well...rear aend was too light. Of course no cell phones at that time. I always enjoy it...don't ever put limits on yourself. As my Mother always said if a woman can have a baby she can do anything!!
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Old 08-13-2019, 06:34 AM   #11
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I have tried everything I know from being Mr. Nice (encouraging) to also being Mr. Mean (important that she can do this) and cannot get my wife to drive. I have full confidence in her ability but some reason will not drive. We have good solid tow vehicle, hitch and trailer. She does know how to hitch the Hensley Arrow and is great at giving directions for backing into a campsite without a word spoken just friendly hand signals. Maybe some day....
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Old 08-13-2019, 08:02 AM   #12
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I am one of the lucky ones as well. My wife is a better driver than I am actually. She drove fire trucks and ambulances at code 3 speeds for 20 years. Off-road is a different matter. [emoji57]

We split the driving duties, switching at half tank intervals at fuel stops.

I still do all backing up however.

Get out there ladies, no reason at all not too!
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Old 08-13-2019, 09:09 AM   #13
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My dad taught me to drive with a travel trailer when I was 16. I taught my husband. We switch off at 2 hour intervals when traveling. I'm not the best at backing, and he's not the best with hand signals to guide me, so he does the backing but I CAN do it if I need to. I can also hitch, unhitch, set up and take down camp.
I think it's VERY IMPORTANT for both partners to know all of it! Just watching isn't enough. I know I will never get stuck somewhere with him sick and me unable to hitch and drive.

Kay
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Old 08-13-2019, 09:51 AM   #14
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Pilot and Co-Pilot can be Team Work options

Great variety of pilot and co-pilot when traveling.

We have a different reason why I pilot and Nancy co-pilots... experience. Not experience towing. Experience of the pilot to find 'potential exits towards potential Off the Grid Boondocking sites'. The co-pilot has the Atlas on her lap and I ask about any exits heading towards THAT area... coming up?

Fishing... knowing what looks favorable or not cannot be debated as you pass an area that was perfect and needing to turn around and get a second look. Let the person who is doing the fly fishing drive as you can slow down, stop, get a look... and decide in seconds to make a decision, see the pullout that the tow vehicle and trailer will fit, down or upwind from the dusty road... and on and on.

I am also following the Ford's GPS as some roads do not appear on a large scale map of miles/per inch.

Since I am looking at the stratigraphy and geology in the distance... it involves team work. Often a split second decision, right or wrong, is what takes us to discovering new OTG campsites in the distance. Often this is from many decades of understanding roads, all season or not road conditions, topography, elevation, walking potential turn offs, if the area offers what we are looking for or expected from previous experiences and so on.

....and when to call it quits, back up, find a turn around and get back to the main road.

Both tasks are important. Taking down odometer readings for distance traveled in the event we need to... back up... or turn around before we get too far into an area that looked better from a distance, but became impassable ahead.

Towing a trailer through rutted parts of a Forest or BLM road takes a different kind of driving skill.

I enjoy towing. Nancy enjoys 'not' towing. It takes two sets of eyes for low hanging branches, places where we need to stop and cut back brush hanging into the road. Moving rocks that have rolled down a hillside. Spotting deer, antelope, elk and ATV's entering our travel area. Understanding the angles of access and departure to avoid pulling off our rear bumper...

If I am tired, the co-pilot is also tired. Why swap positions? Find a good pull out away from the highway and make it a temporary camp site with time to look over the maps at our leisure.

There is compromise in the process. Everyone will discover their sweet zone. Mine is using experience for spotting potential access to places that look 'interesting' and the confirmation may be a time frame of ten seconds, or less.

Our travel is unique in most respects compared to the majority towing a trailer.

I have experienced women who would put other drivers to shame, towing. Not everyone has the ability to be a great driver. Sex has nothing to do with it. Men may think they are better drivers.. well, I would say some men are confused.

I recall a bumper sticker: "All men are idiots and my husband is their King." We still find that one funny.
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Old 08-13-2019, 10:15 AM   #15
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Never Occurred To Us That It Wasn't Both Our Jobs

What's the big deal? It's both our jobs to drive when needed: at the very least, for safety reasons. Now if I could only learn to back up the trailer like my wife.
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Old 08-13-2019, 10:38 AM   #16
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As long as she nows how to dump the holding tanks, that's the important part!!
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Old 08-13-2019, 01:23 PM   #17
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What a great group. It is great that both can drive. Only thing that gets me is when I back in and some guy stands there and claps like oh my that is a female..LOL!
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Old 08-13-2019, 01:54 PM   #18
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Well, Jan can drive, and has. But as a routine her very strong preference is the copilot seat. She’s a great navigator when we need navigation , and overall great second set of eyes 👀 when in horrendous traffic, or those parts of the country where the locals are plain ignorant.
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Old 08-13-2019, 02:13 PM   #19
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We’ve been full time for 16 months. We both tow, hitch up, back up, fuel up etcetera. My thinking is this is a partnership and don’t expect him to pull my weight in the driving arena and I don’t expect him to leave me to set up and clean up. It took me a while but now I can back up with the moderately skilled. He drove thru New Jersey I drove thru San Antonio during road work galore. I drove thru Chicago and remembered why we avoid freeways whenever possible. I am very happy that I jumped out of my comfort zone and figured out how to handle my 2500 Ram Diesel and 30 foot Classic with slide.
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Old 08-13-2019, 02:28 PM   #20
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My wife drove exactly once (for an hour). Can't get her to do it again even though she does great and I'd like the option of not having to stop for me to nap during my once or twice a week "nap attacks" that seem to hit around 2-3pm.
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