Tips and Tricks from the Rally

Well, we learned lots of things at the rally...Here are some of the tidbits we REMEMBER from some of the seminars.....notice I didn't say LEARNED!

From the RV Driving Tips seminar that Eldy attended---positioning your mirrors...you should see very little sky in your top mirror and very little of the sides of your motor home.....When you are driving in town traffic, EXPECT THE LIGHT TO CHANGE...WE'VE been caught several times trying to brake hard for a red light, with everything coming crashing forward that wasn't tied down...Don't climb hills with cruise control on, use your gas pedal rather than the cruise....raise RPMs...(Dennis recommends about 1800-1900 r.p.m.'s for climbing hills or descending hills.) The higher RPMs slow you down as a natural brake when you are descending....Again, Dennis, the RV driving instructor of the RV Driving School of fame, says that women should do the backing up of the rig and men do the signaling at the back...He says women follow directions better than men...(Hm-m-m-mm, I have noticed that on occasion, being the signal giver for backing Eldo into a spot)....Don't drive through mountains in economy mode....Tail swing--measure the distance between the center of your rear wheel to the end of the coach, divide by 3, that will tell you how many feet your rear end is going to swing out. Dennis says go out in a mall parking lot early some morning with some orange cones and practice if you are new to driving a big rig...If you have a tighter turning radius, such as on the newer rigs, your rear end is going to swing out more....Got this, ladies? It's all Greek to me!  But I haven't been able to attend Dennis's "Driving Tips for Women" seminar, I had to man my vendor booth...So, next rally, I'm gonna find out what all this means! Dennis stresses taking your time and having the attitude while driving your rig...."I'm just driving my RV...lah-dee-dah....Don't worry about it...Hey, I'm relaxed, I'm retired, I'm in no hurry!" I'll have to remember that the next time we have concrete barriers on both sides of a single lane construction zone, and Eldy's got white, bare knuckled hands on the steering wheel as the orange cones start coming closer and closer to the sides of the coach!

From my friend Jan White who attended "Staying Married and Happy in an RV".....basically, it's all about two things....communication--don't let things fester, and there's no blue or pink on the journey. Jobs are shared and traded and maybe bartered?  In other words, the guy doesn't have to do all the MANLY jobs like driving. Women, you NEED TO LEARN TO DRIVE THE RIG. (WOULD YOU REPEAT THAT? says E.  Sparky, you haven't set behind the wheel since we bought the darn thing last September!) I know, honey, but I'm waiting for you to put the first dent in it, THEN I'll drive....Where was I? Oh, yes....women can dump the tanks, it doesn't have to be the guys all the time...ok, let's add some more....and men can wash dishes, make the bed, and fix supper (whew! That last one let me out, says E. I don't know how to cook..Does taking Sparky out to dinner count?) Yep, it sure does, sweetie.....There were a few more things about loud TV (wear headphones when you watch or get those gadgety things called T.V. Ears) and snoring issues were a draw as far as solutions go....

Yvonne and Jack Root

Today was the last day of the rally. We've met some wonderful people. These people were representing the Journal in a Box company. Yvonne and Jack Root were the kind of people that you instantly warm to and become friends. And we did. We definitely plan on staying in touch..It's going to be sad to say goodbye to all our new friends tomorrow. I have to remember that you don't say goodbye, but you say, "See you down the road..." And we have....the last time we saw our friends, the Longwells, was at the Gypsy Journal rally last summer in Elkhart, IN.

Our friends Gayle and Chet Longwell from Passport America

Towards the end of the day, there was a golf cart derby which was one of the most fun things we did and saw while we were here...we'll tell you more about that tomorrow as we wrap up our stay here in Yuma. (It needs its own blog page!)...See you on  the cart tomorrow! Here's the teaser---women are blindfolded, husbands or better halves sit beside the women and have to instruct us around an orange cone obstacle course!)