There are a lot of things that you can control on your RV trips. You can make sure you pack everything and that your RV is tuned up, but weather is something you just have to deal with. Like a car or a bike, riding in the rain takes precaution and safety. I came across some useful tips to help you maneuver through the bad weather on your next trip over at rvtravel.com. Here are a few:
Be the middle-man: If you have an option of which lane to occupy, take to the middle. Most roads have a crowned surface to encourage water to run off to the side. The center lane is often on high ground, and so less water accumulates here.
Slick ‘em up: The places you’re most likely to encounter greater road slickness are where oil (from vehicles) can accumulate. Read that as intersections, parking lots, as well as on and off ramps. If it’s been some time since the last rain, you’ll also find high traffic areas are slick too. Why so? Take your typical freeway lane–after weeks or months of traffic dripping oil and fluids, the first rain to come along washes the oil off the drop spot, and mixes it with water, making for a slick trip.
The eyes have it: When it rains, make it easier on your own–and others–vision. Turn on your headlights for greater visibility. Yeah, there may be a bit more glare, but better to be seen. Turn on your windshield wipers, of which you’ll have changed the blades every 12 months. Seems extreme, especially if you don’t live in rain country, but if you’re a desert dweller, you’ll find UV radiation and heat eats up your wipers faster than using them like those folks in the Northwest do–every day.
Exercise self-control, not speed control: Time will tell whether or not vehicle speed control units may actually contribute to loss of control on rainy roadways, but this much is certain: Speed control use slows the driver’s ability to note and respond to changes in road surfaces. Save it for dry pavement.
Be treadful! Generally speaking, the deeper your tire tread, the less likely you are to hydroplane on a wet road. And other drivers’ tires can help, too. How? If you track behind another driver (at a SAFE distance) in his tire tracks, you’ll find less water there–he’s already “dried out the road” with his passage.
Give it a (correct) brake: If you have anti lock brakes and find yourself needing a slowdown, don’t pump–press and hold, the same as you would on ice. If you don’t have ABS, then indeed, pump-release-pump-release to keep yourself out of trouble. And if you’ve driven through water, to dry your brakes, lightly tap them a few times to dry the linings.
Don’t play Moses: You can’t part the Red Sea with your RV. As the good folks in Arizona will tell you, NEVER cross a flooded wash. It takes but a few inches of water to push a vehicle off the roadway and into harm’s way.
Safety is concern number one when traveling and should be treated as such. Hopefully you will take these tips seriously and be careful out there on the road!! Leave a message below and let us know if they left anything out.
