First Day on the Road

We purchased our truck and Montana fifth-wheel in the fall of 2005. Our Montana came in first and the dealership was kind enough to tow it the campground just down the street and set it up on the site for us. In the early spring, we hitched up and towed it back to the dealership for a few warranty issues. Then we brought it back to the campground.

Since we had towed the fifth-wheel about 1 ½ miles total before leaving Nashville for our summer journey to New England, you can imagine what our first day was like. We had to take the next day off just to decompress.

Our first “near miss” was just 5 miles from the campground where we spent the winter. Luckily we saw it in time to avoid taking off the front end of that car. Our second near miss was at the first Flying J we pulled into. Again, didn’t make a wide enough turn and nearly hit a truck which was double parked (not entirely our fault). Again, saw that one in time to avoid tearing a hole in the side of our Montana . Rush hour traffic through Knoxville was a learning experience. We finally reached Bristol, TN—our destination for the first night.

As newbies to the RVing lifestyle, we had read a great deal about boon-docking in Wal-Mart parking lots. We were eager to try it. When pulling into the Wal-Mart parking area we came in the entrance nearest the garden center. You know how they put all those flowers out on the pavement in the spring. You will be happy to know that Gene didn’t hit a single plant driving the S-curves through the flower garden. We needed more practice driving! However, the way I see it, if you can drive through the flower garden, you can drive anywhere.

Since that first trip we have driven over 15,000 miles towing our Montana and have taken the Dick Reed Driving course in association with a Life On Wheels Conference. Driving school was a great confidence builder, especially for me, but practice is the real key to feeling comfortable behind the wheel.