One of my (Beth’s) goals is to become “RV literate.” I have to say that at this moment, I am very clueless about the rig that is our wheels/home/school. I will begin a course called “RV 101” in which I teach myself all about the systems on this 15 ton machine (yeah, it weighs about 30,000 pounds. Not full of water and not including the car we tow).

Part of my education is learning how to drive this puppy. On our way out of Washington, through Idaho, and on to Montana I logged a whole bunch of miles behind the wheel.

What was it like? The good news is you’re really high so you can see a lot.  The hardest part is not the length (40.5 feet, plus car, plus bike rack). What’s behind us is really “invisible.” What makes the rig difficult to handle is the width. It’s about as wide as a highway lane, so just keeping steadily between the lines is a challenge, especially in major winds. And major construction sites.

As we went through the mountains of Idaho,  our half of the highway was being rebuilt. We had to share the other lane with the oncoming traffic We fit in the lane with mere centimeters between the oncoming traffic and the temporary restraining wall. There were times when Dan, in the passenger seat, literally thought he’d be skinned alive. But we made it.

When Dan took over after our lunch break, I literally passed out on the couch, exhausted. I was surprised at how physically exhausting it was to pilot that thing.