AARoads Forum

Just completed my trip to Asheville NC and back.  Had no problems driving (mechanical or otherwise), but the two big peeves I noted were the behavior of most U-Haul drivers and RV drivers.

Based on your experiences, who do you think is worse?

I vote U-Haul. At least with RVers, they could get to know their how their rigs handle for weeks on end.

RVers. Neither know what they're doing. Uhaul drivers typically realize they don't know what they're doing, while RV drivers end up thinking they know what they're doing but they still have no idea how to drive a large vehicle. RV drivers also tend to be...beyond their prime in terms of general driving skills

I agree with Corco, and this is despite having had relatives and family friends who own RVs.  My own reasoning is that, unlike U-Haul drivers who are generally in the process of relocating their personal belongings and wish to limit their exposure to theft by taking the most expeditious route possible--which tends to imply high-capacity routes such as Interstates and other freeways--RV'ers are generally there for the scenery, and are more apt to choose routes where large vehicles are especially burdensome to other drivers.  Besides tending to be somewhat up there in years, they are more likely to be on fixed incomes and thus to drive lower than the speed limit in an attempt to save fuel, which further aggravates the inconvenience to other drivers.  A RV'er is also more likely than a U-Haul driver to tow his or her car, which increases the length of the vehicle combination and complicates overtaking maneuvers by other drivers.

Regarding this last point:  RV'ers must really hate the automatic transmissions in the towed vehicles--only a very small minority of the vehicles I see towed have the drive wheels locked and raised.

Quote from: J N Winkler on August 14, 2013, 08:17:07 PM
I agree with Corco, and this is despite having had relatives and family friends who own RVs.  My own reasoning is that, unlike U-Haul drivers who are generally in the process of relocating their personal belongings and wish to limit their exposure to theft by taking the most expeditious route possible--which tends to imply high-capacity routes such as Interstates and other freeways--RV'ers are generally there for the scenery, and are more apt to choose routes where large vehicles are especially burdensome to other drivers.  Besides tending to be somewhat up there in years, they are more likely to be on fixed incomes and thus to drive lower than the speed limit in an attempt to save fuel, which further aggravates the inconvenience to other drivers.  A RV'er is also more likely than a U-Haul driver to tow his or her car, which increases the length of the vehicle combination and complicates overtaking maneuvers by other drivers.

Regarding this last point:  RV'ers must really hate the automatic transmissions in the towed vehicles--only a very small minority of the vehicles I see towed have the drive wheels locked and raised.

I must agree. Being stuck behind an RV who's going 25 while on Skyline Drive is pure torture.

Changed my vote, remembering how freaking annoying those RV's were around Estes Park :banghead:

I dislike people who "go RVing" by default. They're both pretty terrible though, especially combined with people who already don't know how to drive on mountain roads.

Quote from: J N Winkler on August 14, 2013, 08:17:07 PM
I agree with Corco, and this is despite having had relatives and family friends who own RVs.  My own reasoning is that, unlike U-Haul drivers who are generally in the process of relocating their personal belongings and wish to limit their exposure to theft by taking the most expeditious route possible--which tends to imply high-capacity routes such as Interstates and other freeways--RV'ers are generally there for the scenery, and are more apt to choose routes where large vehicles are especially burdensome to other drivers.  Besides tending to be somewhat up there in years, they are more likely to be on fixed incomes and thus to drive lower than the speed limit in an attempt to save fuel, which further aggravates the inconvenience to other drivers.  A RV'er is also more likely than a U-Haul driver to tow his or her car, which increases the length of the vehicle combination and complicates overtaking maneuvers by other drivers.

Regarding this last point:  RV'ers must really hate the automatic transmissions in the towed vehicles--only a very small minority of the vehicles I see towed have the drive wheels locked and raised.

It's especially bad in the northeast, where there are few two-lane roads with low enough traffic counts to make passing easy.  Every time I see an RV, I know I'm facing a choice of driving well below the speed limit for the next 100 miles or recklessly attempting to pass before slamming into the oncoming traffic that's inevitably just around the next corner.

/me shrugs, not having much experience with either
I can imagine RV drivers being worse, just due to the greater size than a Uhaul.

QuoteIt's especially bad in the northeast, where there are few two-lane roads with low enough traffic counts to make passing easy.  Every time I see an RV, I know I'm facing a choice of driving well below the speed limit for the next 100 miles or recklessly attempting to pass before slamming into the oncoming traffic that's inevitably just around the next corner.

That's what gets me- in Idaho there's actually a state law that requires you to pull over at the next safe place if you are delaying more than three vehicles (http://law.justia.com/codes/idaho/2011/title49/chapter6/49-639). This law is even well signed in mountainous areas. Very, very few RVs actually do this. Uhauls generally do.

RVs, and I own one!  but I do make it a point to pull over if someone wants to go fast.

Quote from: agentsteel53 on August 14, 2013, 10:38:56 PM
RVs, and I own one!  but I do make it a point to pull over if someone wants to go fast.

I'd actually trust you to be a competent RV driver- you seem like you know what you're doing in a normal sized car, and since you like driving fast in a normal sized car and seem like a reasonably considerate person I suspect you would accommodate that

Neither.  Cartage carriers (articulated dump trucks) are the absolute worst assholes on the road.

Quote from: Brandon on August 14, 2013, 11:04:42 PM
Neither.  Cartage carriers (articulated dump trucks) are the absolute worst assholes on the road.

those guys? apart from literally taking up two lanes, they've never given me trouble.

I vote U-Haul drivers.  I have seen more accidents with UHaul drivers than almost anything else.  They do not know how to handle the rigs they are driving.  One just ran off the road in front of me near my house just last week.  I have seen one take the canopy off a store at a gas station that was just not designed for trucks.

I'm gonna vote U-Haul, if you'll allow me to include similarly sized non-rental, commercial-use vehicles. Here in NYC, box trucks are the lifeblood of just about anybody with a small business and some inventory, and most of them are small enough not to require special licensing, nor to be restricted from most streets. Thus, you've got a lot of drivers who, for assorted reasons, aren't excessively concerned with obedient driving and who have the biggest vehicles around, save buses. Also, midtown traffic rules actually favor commercial vehicles in many ways, including permissive double parking, so they are just as much an obstacle when stationary as when in motion.

That, of course, plus I don't recall ever actually seeing an RV in the city. :-)

I really hate RV's because they drive way too slow, obstructing traffic and endangering others. Very selfish. My bleeping neighbor was parking their RV on the street illegally right at an alley intersection, and of course, it was blocking the view coming out of the alley.

Quote from: Brian556 on August 16, 2013, 01:18:35 AM
I really hate RV's because they drive way too slow, obstructing traffic and endangering others. Very selfish. My bleeping neighbor was parking their RV on the street illegally right at an alley intersection, and of course, it was blocking the view coming out of the alley.

Welcome to AA Roads, Jeremy Clarkson.  :spin:

I voted u-hauls, although if I had to go with RVs, I would say the rented RVs are driven more horribly than owned RVs, simply because they're not used to an RV and how it handles.

U-Haul drivers can drive me nuts on the highways, especially those people that forget they're in a u-haul and feel they can drive the left lane when they should stay out of it.  Then again, most of those drivers probably drive their personal vehicle in the left lane, when they should stay out of it!. 

I've personally never had an issue with a U-Haul. I've passed plenty of slow ones,  but they've always been in the right lane.

I've also driven a U-Haul, so I recognize that they are difficult to drive for many people, and most just want to make it where they're going intact.  U-Haul drivers are therefore generally more careful.

RVs on the other hand are just being assholes. I've been stuck behind enough of them in places like coastal Maine,  Cape Cod, the Outer Banks, and Skyline Drive that I think I can truthfully say none of them are considerate or accomodating to anyone but themselves.

I'm tempted to go with the Top Gear hatred of RVs (caravans), but at least most RV and 5th Wheel drivers have enough experience to know what they were doing, whereas few people drive a UHaul often enough to know how to handle them, empty or full.

Quote from: TEG24601 on August 16, 2013, 10:48:22 AMI'm tempted to go with the Top Gear hatred of RVs (caravans)

Have you just had the episode (you'll know if you did)? From that it was quite clear that Top Gear love caravans as they can fill an episode mocking their owners. And there was another (a while ago) where they make caravans.

RVs are surely different (basically not a flimsy trailer, but a coach-sized vehicle) to the caravans that Top Gear love-to-hate.

And James May is happy with an RV to tour the vineyards of California (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FVzeW9uMRmM&list=PLB90BB3004C8511FB&index=13), and even spent a summer touring Britain in a caravan (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=go3rIKghpIE&list=PL0NvcyFyIYbY4Rw9xgZinKdnOpYsFc3t7). OK the alcohol helped, but he actually chose a caravan as the play to stay while doing it...

Quote from: english si on August 16, 2013, 11:24:27 AM

Quote from: TEG24601 on August 16, 2013, 10:48:22 AMI'm tempted to go with the Top Gear hatred of RVs (caravans)

Have you just had the episode (you'll know if you did)? From that it was quite clear that Top Gear love caravans as they can fill an episode mocking their owners. And there was another (a while ago) where they make caravans.

RVs are surely different (basically not a flimsy trailer, but a coach-sized vehicle) to the caravans that Top Gear love-to-hate.

And James May is happy with an RV to tour the vineyards of California (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FVzeW9uMRmM&list=PLB90BB3004C8511FB&index=13), and even spent a summer touring Britain in a caravan (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=go3rIKghpIE&list=PL0NvcyFyIYbY4Rw9xgZinKdnOpYsFc3t7). OK the alcohol helped, but he actually chose a caravan as the play to stay while doing it...

Yeah, I saw that one.  What the hell were they doing pulling them with a vehicle as small as a VW Tiguan?  You can't really pull a travel trailer (one type of RV) with a four cylinder engine.

RVs are not different, but travel trailers (aka caravans) are one type of RV.  Others include the Class A (the bus type one that May used), the Class B (a conversion van), the Class C (the one with the sleeping area over the cab), the toy hauler (carries ATVs, motorbikes, etc as well as living quarters), the tear-drop trailer, the pop-up camper (a travel trailer that folds out), and the fifth-wheel trailer (hooked into the bed of a pickup truck like a Ram 3500).

Top Gear also seems to enjoy burning RVs - the RV train caught fire, Hammond's RV-Range Rover caught fire (in the kitchen area), Clarkson managed to set fire to one while cooking.  I'm surprised the recent one lacked the travel trailers catching fire.  Although, Clarkson did manage to turn his into a flatbed trailer.

Quote from: Brandon on August 16, 2013, 12:50:49 PM
What the hell were they doing pulling them with a vehicle as small as a VW Tiguan?  You can't really pull a travel trailer (one type of RV) with a four cylinder engine.

At least in Denmark, they'll pull travel trailers with anything. There simply aren't as many larger cars. Of course, things could be different in the U.K.

Quote from: english si on August 16, 2013, 11:24:27 AM

Quote from: TEG24601 on August 16, 2013, 10:48:22 AMI'm tempted to go with the Top Gear hatred of RVs (caravans)

Have you just had the episode (you'll know if you did)? From that it was quite clear that Top Gear love caravans as they can fill an episode mocking their owners. And there was another (a while ago) where they make caravans.

RVs are surely different (basically not a flimsy trailer, but a coach-sized vehicle) to the caravans that Top Gear love-to-hate.

And James May is happy with an RV to tour the vineyards of California (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FVzeW9uMRmM&list=PLB90BB3004C8511FB&index=13), and even spent a summer touring Britain in a caravan (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=go3rIKghpIE&list=PL0NvcyFyIYbY4Rw9xgZinKdnOpYsFc3t7). OK the alcohol helped, but he actually chose a caravan as the play to stay while doing it...

I consider "DIY RV" to be the funniest Top Gear segment yet.  For those who haven't seen it yet, I highly recommend you watch the full length version, not the edited one featured in the "Top Gear Top 40" special.

Quote from: roadman on August 16, 2013, 01:14:56 PM

Quote from: english si on August 16, 2013, 11:24:27 AM

Quote from: TEG24601 on August 16, 2013, 10:48:22 AMI'm tempted to go with the Top Gear hatred of RVs (caravans)

Have you just had the episode (you'll know if you did)? From that it was quite clear that Top Gear love caravans as they can fill an episode mocking their owners. And there was another (a while ago) where they make caravans.

RVs are surely different (basically not a flimsy trailer, but a coach-sized vehicle) to the caravans that Top Gear love-to-hate.

And James May is happy with an RV to tour the vineyards of California (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FVzeW9uMRmM&list=PLB90BB3004C8511FB&index=13), and even spent a summer touring Britain in a caravan (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=go3rIKghpIE&list=PL0NvcyFyIYbY4Rw9xgZinKdnOpYsFc3t7). OK the alcohol helped, but he actually chose a caravan as the play to stay while doing it...

I consider "DIY RV" to be the funniest Top Gear segment yet.  For those wh haven't seen it yet, I highly recommend you watch the full length version, not the edited one featured in the "Top Gear Top 40" special.

Clarkson's three-level Citroen has to be seen to be believed.  :rofl:

Quote from: Brandon on August 16, 2013, 01:19:01 PM

Quote from: roadman on August 16, 2013, 01:14:56 PM

Quote from: english si on August 16, 2013, 11:24:27 AM

Quote from: TEG24601 on August 16, 2013, 10:48:22 AMI'm tempted to go with the Top Gear hatred of RVs (caravans)

Have you just had the episode (you'll know if you did)? From that it was quite clear that Top Gear love caravans as they can fill an episode mocking their owners. And there was another (a while ago) where they make caravans.

RVs are surely different (basically not a flimsy trailer, but a coach-sized vehicle) to the caravans that Top Gear love-to-hate.

And James May is happy with an RV to tour the vineyards of California (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FVzeW9uMRmM&list=PLB90BB3004C8511FB&index=13), and even spent a summer touring Britain in a caravan (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=go3rIKghpIE&list=PL0NvcyFyIYbY4Rw9xgZinKdnOpYsFc3t7). OK the alcohol helped, but he actually chose a caravan as the play to stay while doing it...

I consider "DIY RV" to be the funniest Top Gear segment yet.  For those wh haven't seen it yet, I highly recommend you watch the full length version, not the edited one featured in the "Top Gear Top 40" special.

Clarkson's three-level Citroen has to be seen to be believed.  :rofl:

Exactly.


The Caravan Race actually had me falling off of the couch laughing.

^ agreed. The best part of the segment was when they were going back and forth to the tip and throwing new things away. Hover van was still my favorite segment of the series, though.

I can't write in Zipcar drivers?  I suspect that's not something they have in much of the country -- cars you rent for a few hours then return to its parking spot.  In Boston, it brings out the multitudes of unaccustomed drivers to figure out the counter-intuitive road network here.  There are a lot of slow cars with drivers making confused back-and-forth glances at stop signs and lights.

Otherwise, I choose U-Haul, if only because I was riding along in one last week with someone completely unaware of the size of his truck or the speed he was going (as he told various interesting stories and gathered a line of cars behind), and because I'll be pulling a U-Haul trailer for the first time this weekend, and I expect to be a menace to 200 miles of innocent passersby.

Quote from: Pete from Boston on August 16, 2013, 08:43:00 PM
I can't write in Zipcar drivers?  I suspect that's not something they have in much of the country -- cars you rent for a few hours then return to its parking spot.  In Boston, it brings out the multitudes of unaccustomed drivers to figure out the counter-intuitive road network here.  There are a lot of slow cars with drivers making confused back-and-forth glances at stop signs and lights.

You're talking about tourists.  The zipcar has nothing to do with it.

Quote from: vdeane on August 16, 2013, 10:24:11 PM

Quote from: Pete from Boston on August 16, 2013, 08:43:00 PM
I can't write in Zipcar drivers?  I suspect that's not something they have in much of the country -- cars you rent for a few hours then return to its parking spot.  In Boston, it brings out the multitudes of unaccustomed drivers to figure out the counter-intuitive road network here.  There are a lot of slow cars with drivers making confused back-and-forth glances at stop signs and lights.

You're talking about tourists.  The zipcar has nothing to do with it.

I think most of their users are local who don't own cars.

Quote from: vdeane on August 16, 2013, 10:24:11 PM

Quote from: Pete from Boston on August 16, 2013, 08:43:00 PM
I can't write in Zipcar drivers?  I suspect that's not something they have in much of the country -- cars you rent for a few hours then return to its parking spot.  In Boston, it brings out the multitudes of unaccustomed drivers to figure out the counter-intuitive road network here.  There are a lot of slow cars with drivers making confused back-and-forth glances at stop signs and lights.

You're talking about tourists.  The zipcar has nothing to do with it.

Zipcars aren't for tourists.  People (mostly residents within a city without a vehicle) register for the program.  They reserve a car from a local parking garage or lot, then head out to do whatever they need to do.  Usually the Zipcars are used to travel to a point not served by mass-transportation.  The average rental is only a few hours; less than a day at best.