Why do truckers seem to dislike motorhomers so much? - Page 6

thrushl · 07-24-2013, 08:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by baraff

I'm not sure why we should care what truckers think of us. Stay out of their way, exhibit some common courtesy, and drive defensively. Beyond that, there isn't much we can do. I'm certainly not going to give up my motorhome because some guy is jealous.

Here Here....

HD_RIDER · 07-24-2013, 08:38 PM

In my humble opinion (and here you get what you pay for), there's a couple of things I've observed towards the end of my 20 years of driving commercially, which ended about 10 years ago. The "new crop" of drivers are very different from the generations that were referred to as "Knights of the road", the friendly truck drivers that songs referred to. Any of you old enough to remember when you could leave your CB on channel 19 and playing in the family room knows when the change started. Along with the loss of civility on the CB came the same loss when it came to courtesy on the road. Those today don't just dislike campers, they dislike four-wheelers, motorcycles, and anything else that gets in their way, since they feel they are a privileged lot.

Changes in DOT regs have just made this worse; more regulations, fewer hours they can drive in a week, etc. add to the grumpiness mentioned above. And yes, there exists a certain amount of animosity towards those of us that can use essentially the same tractor they drive (converted to RV, of course), pulling rigs that are nearly equal in size, yet not required to go through the many requirements they have to, to operate on the same roads. As you all know, in many states, a simple operators license is all we are required to hold, no log book, no expensive training, no DOT physical every two years, etc. Whether any of those requirements could or should be applied to us in some form is subject to debate on its own.

Even if we were held to the same standards, I doubt it would make any difference in their attitude these days. That's just the way it seems to be these days.

Jess

menoble · 07-25-2013, 04:34 AM

A truckers job is to haul the freight from Point A to Point B on time and on budget, and there are many, many out there that love their chosen way of life. There are also those that hate the job, but that's what it takes to pay the bills, ain't no rest for the wicked. These are likely the 'haters' you meet out on the road, you can't appease them. Don't bother, just follow the rules. And don't hang out in the left lane all the time, cars can easily pass on the right, big trucks not so easy.

jpf · 07-25-2013, 06:09 AM

I've never had any problem with truckers, was one myself for a while. I flash them in and they do the same for me. Of all the traffic on the road, truckers are the best because they tend to be consistent.
be courteous, be consistent and don't retaliate and you'll have the satisfaction of knowing you're a good citizen on the road.

Izzyblueye · 07-25-2013, 02:18 PM

Have any of you that has a broad minded wife listen to the down right nasty conversations between truck drivers on the road. They fight about everything, I realize it just mostly a way to chase boredom away, but sooner or later two of the same nasties are going to end up in the same truck stop. I have invited a nasty mouth tail gator to get off at the next ramp and settle up. He wouldn't do it. I called the State Police with his license number as a menace to normal traffic, don't know what happened.

nomansland · 07-28-2013, 04:39 PM

I think a lot of those guys are anti-social and that is why they sit alone in a truck all day, resenting everyone else on the road.
I know that is a wide generalization though as I know a few well adjusted truck drivers but have also dealt with the former.

bachler · 08-01-2013, 09:18 AM

I must share my experiances;; Done some over the road trucking . and a lot of Moterhome traveling Alone and in caravans;; . Motorhome drivers, need to keep some Fundamental things in mind. Truckers. That is there job to get from ponit A to B in the least time... ( We were in a caravan once 22 rigs The Leader ????? did not stress the fact to keep the coaches no more then 4 in a group. And NEVER run it the fast Left Lane) In our Travels Over the past 50 years . The Best thing that happened was Our caravan Leader was pulled over and Given a ticket For traffic obstruction . Speed limit 60 we were traveling 62. There was a line of trucks behind us.. He stated Altho we were traveling the limit we did/do not have the atthority to inforce the law;;. he stated It would be better to drive in the slow lane;; WE as RVers must respect Workers/truck drivers... Life is good;

HD_RIDER · 08-01-2013, 10:39 AM

I agree, speaking from experience there's nothing more aggravating than to get trapped behind slower vehicles when you're trying to keep on schedule. It doesn't matter whether it's a camper, school bus, or farm equipment, the people waiting on your delivery don't really care. They want their product, and they want it on schedule. As RV operators, we have just as much right on the road as they do, but that also means we need to be considerate of those that are making a living on the roads that they help pay for... in most cases, they pay a whole lot more for those roads than we do. No, they don't own them, but that's how they make their living and it's sometimes easy to forget that when we're sightseeing as we drive. Even if some of them have lost their civility, that doesn't excuse us for poor behavior. I've been on both sides of this fence, and I enjoy this side much better...
Jess

Duner · 08-01-2013, 03:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bachler

.....We were in a caravan once 22 rigs The Leader ????? did not stress the fact to keep the coaches no more then 4 in a group. And NEVER run it the fast Left Lane) In our Travels Over the past 50 years . The Best thing that happened was Our caravan Leader was pulled over and Given a ticket For traffic obstruction . Speed limit 60 we were traveling 62. There was a line of trucks behind us.. He stated Altho we were traveling the limit we did/do not have the atthority to inforce the law;;. he stated It would be better to drive in the slow lane;; WE as RVers must respect Workers/truck drivers... Life is good;

That raises an interesting question for me, since I've never been on a rv caravan before. If you're caravaning, say 22 rv's, on a two lane highway in hills or mountains....

How do you deal with backed up traffic when the turnouts only accommodate 2 or 3 rigs at a time?

Ustamiata · 08-01-2013, 07:53 PM

If you are on a caravan, and can see the rig in front of you - you are too close. The last one we were on had us leave the campground 5 minutes apart.

monkey · 08-02-2013, 09:03 AM

I'll throw my pennies worth in Again here... I am a current trucker that pulls a set of doubles 5 nights a week.. Last night (Thurs) on my way to Little Rock., on I 40, I passed a Nice Ford pulling a 5'r .. Again, nice rig. He didn't speed up, to keep me from passing in my goverened truck, he flashed his lights to let me back over when I was passed him. I (as always) flashed my clearance lights to say THANKYOU... That's the way it "should" be... You treat me nice, I promise I'll treat you you nice,,, guess I'm old..... Don't care if I'm driving my work truck, or our class A ... We need more NICE in this world now days.......

bachler · 08-02-2013, 10:41 AM

I guess I really don't under stand, The mentality Of some drivers on the Road.. They think they are the only ones using it.. HELLO;; If you have an accerator on your rig , which Most of them have. What in the heck is Wrong with slowing Down a Bit when some one is on your Bumper.... ( wake up, they want to go faster then you) You are NOT the law enforcer;;; slow down a bit,And let them pass; Am I the only person that has heard the saying, WE SHARE THE ROAD; . some feel that way Just as Long as they are out front.. I feel sorry for those drivers. and lord knows there are plenty of them __-_----__ around.. Life is good..

Steve Ownby · 08-02-2013, 10:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by monkey

I'll throw my pennies worth in Again here... I am a current trucker that pulls a set of doubles 5 nights a week.. Last night (Thurs) on my way to Little Rock., on I 40, I passed a Nice Ford pulling a 5'r .. Again, nice rig. He didn't speed up, to keep me from passing in my goverened truck, he flashed his lights to let me back over when I was passed him. I (as always) flashed my clearance lights to say THANKYOU... That's the way it "should" be... You treat me nice, I promise I'll treat you you nice,,, guess I'm old..... Don't care if I'm driving my work truck, or our class A ... We need more NICE in this world now days.......

My wife and I are going on 7 years full time and have put about 50k on our current class A coach. I have generally found truckers to be professional and responsive to over the road courtesy like light flashing to return to the right lane. I have never encountered a bad actor at a truck stop and I usually fuel at the truck pumps. They are on the clock and I'm not so I do try not to impede their progress.

WDK450 · 08-02-2013, 11:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chuck 1935

The last thing we need are more rules, more licenses , more permits !
The real problem is RV'ers that are trying to get 9.5 mpg so they drive at 57.76 mph and are a real PIA. There are plenty of threads on irv2 that talk about speeds traveled and why 61.2 is much safer than 62.5. All of which are under the flow of traffic .

Chuck:
I see you are a fellow Californian and have a towed vehicle. I pull a 5th wheel with a dually diesel. I drive at the California State Mandated Maximum Speed Limit for ALL vehicles towing of 55 mph, using my cruise control. I also do this in other states, regardless of their MAXIMUM towing speed limits. I believe I am being prudent, obeying the law, avoiding accidents due to trailer tire blowouts 40 feet behind me from excessive speed, being easier on my engine and drive train, and conserving fuel. Being retired, I can afford the 10 minutes an hour travel penalty.
Last month, towing Westbound on I-80 in Wyoming, I had a 5th wheel rig pass me going about 65 mph. One half hour later I saw them at the side of the road with 2 blown right trailer tires. I kept rolling along at 55 mph.

mjeffrey · 08-03-2013, 08:24 PM

We are fairly new fulltimers... only been living the lifestyle for a year. So far we have found the truckers on our travels to be awesome and do our best to extend the same courtesies to them.

We had one nice trucker top them all recently though. While both of us were refueling at a Pilot, the driver of a refrigeration rig came over and knocked on our door. He had delivered his load and had some damaged boxes containing undamaged single-serving containers of ice cream that he was going to have to throw away. If we had room in our freezer, we were welcome to have them for free. Thank goodness we had lots of room as it was Haagen-Daz chocolate fudge brownie! NO JOKE!

WDK450 · 08-04-2013, 08:22 AM

I had a lady trucker come up to me at a rest stop in Iowa on I-80 West as I was heading back to California. She was concerned enough to tell me that one of my trailer wheels looked extremely out of alignment. This prompted me to get the trailer axles computer laser aligned (bent) at a good shop in Nebraska the next day before I proceeded further.

JoeP · 08-04-2013, 01:32 PM

We were fueling up in a Northern California Truck Stop, when a trucker approached. He asked some general questions about the rig we have ( Newmar DutchStar 2011) size of engine, transmission, how many miles a year we do, when he stopped, looked at me kinda funny and asked if we have a governor set up. I told him there is one set at over 80mph. "Then why do all you guys drive at under 60mph" I mentioned that the speed is 55 but the most important fact is that we pay our own fuel costs. You could see the lights come on ....

Izzyblueye · 08-05-2013, 08:05 AM

JOEP: Great answer, just shows to go you the mind cannot wrap around what it is not familiar with.

Chuck 1935 · 08-05-2013, 10:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WDK450

Chuck:
I see you are a fellow Californian and have a towed vehicle. I pull a 5th wheel with a dually diesel. I drive at the California State Mandated Maximum Speed Limit for ALL vehicles towing of 55 mph, using my cruise control. I also do this in other states, regardless of their MAXIMUM towing speed limits. I believe I am being prudent, obeying the law, avoiding accidents due to trailer tire blowouts 40 feet behind me from excessive speed, being easier on my engine and drive train, and conserving fuel. Being retired, I can afford the 10 minutes an hour travel penalty.
Last month, towing Westbound on I-80 in Wyoming, I had a 5th wheel rig pass me going about 65 mph. One half hour later I saw them at the side of the road with 2 blown right trailer tires. I kept rolling along at 55 mph.

As you know, In Calif. the max when towing is 55 mph, semi's included. Having trucks doing 55 across the desert is just plain stupid and is just done to collect more revenue !
I assume the moral to your story is that if you are going to drive OVER 55, you better have the equipment and the skills necessary to safely handle those speeds. Most trailers have the wrong tires, wheels and suspension which is why you see so many with blown tires.

FreedomDream · 08-05-2013, 11:41 AM

... We need more NICE in this world now days.......

Amen!