4-7
SECTION 4
TRAVELING WITH YOUR MOTOR HOME
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Use care when passing other vehicles. Your
motor home is a longer vehicle than a car, and
you may have a more difficult time knowing
when to pull back into your lane. If possible,
have another person in the coach help you
watch while maneuvering your motor home
in traffic.
MOUNTAIN DRIVING
Special techniques must be used when driving
in mountainous or hilly country.
Climbing A Hill
The transmission will automatically down-
shift as needed to climb most hills. If the hill is
long or very steep, however, you may need to
manually shift to a lower gear to keep the trans-
mission from repeatedly upshifting and down-
shifting. Select the lowest adequate gear range
for the duration of the incline. See your chassis
operating guide for more information.
Descending A Hill
When going down a long grade, you may need
to manually shift to a lower gear, rather than
keeping your foot on the brake pedal. A lower
gear will allow the engine to provide a degree of
braking action. Holding your foot on the brake
pedal for an extended period may cause brakes to
overheat, causing you to lose control of the vehi-
cle. See your chassis operating guide for more in-
formation.
CAMPSITE SELECTION
Try to pick as level a spot as possible on which
to park your motor home. Whether you nose into
a parking site or back into it depends on personal
preference and the location of the site’s utility
hook-ups. Remember that the utility connections
on your motor home are on the left (driver) side
of the vehicle.
LEVELING
Leveling the motor home is very important,
not only for your comfort but for appliances and
plumbing as well. Some refrigerators are ex-
tremely sensitive to being off level. The ammonia
vapor cooling system used in most RV refrigera-
tors can “lock-up” and damage the refrigerator if
it is not level. This is both inconvenient and cost-
ly. Also, water and holding tank level indicators
may give false readings because water level is
greater at one side of the tank than the other.
The refrigerator is installed level at the facto-
ry. So, if the refrigerator is level, the motor home
is level. A small bubble-level sight is included in
the refrigerator to help you determine refrigerator
leveling.
Blocking
A motor home can be leveled using several
methods, including sophisticated electronic-hy-
draulic systems. The most common and inexpen-
sive method, however, is “blocking.”
This is done by stacking various lengths of
planking (blocks) into a ramp-like formation in a
low spot to drive the wheel onto, thus leveling the
coach as shown.
Wedge a pair of wheel chocks or similar de-
vices in front and back of a tire that is on the
ground as shown to keep the coach from rolling
forward or backward off the leveling blocks.
Observe the engine temperature
gauge more frequently than normal.
If overheating occurs, pull off to the
side of the road and allow the engine
to thoroughly cool before refilling the
radiator and restarting the engine.
CAUTION
