Mrs. Professor had to get out and guide me as I painfully and slowly backed out of the lot. I had to retrace my route backing onto a busy road in order to extract myself. We went down the road and found another sandwich shop with more suitable parking.
Another time we pulled the 5th wheel up to an overpass on our way to an RV park and discovered we were too tall to pull through without removing the airconditioner. It was a two lane road with a ditch on either side of the road. I had to back the rig into a 45 degree angle, disconnect the truck, drive around so the truck was pointing in the opposite direction away from the overpass, reconnect and pull away. While I was doing this I managed to back up traffic in both directions, but the other drivers were gracious and simply waited while I entertained them.
Even experienced RVers can sometimes find themselves in this kind of predicament. The best thing you can do is remain calm, take you time and extract your rig safely. Ask for help if necessary and always keep safety in mind. If you're driving a motorhome with a toad you may need to unhook. Be careful and don't allow anxious drivers to prod you into doing something unsafe.
The best strategy is to slow down and look before you pull into a parking lot. The first thing I look for is entryway road clearance. If there are gouges in the crown of the road and a low drainage combined with a steep driveway, I pass it by. The next thing I look for is if there is plenty of space to allow my rig safe passage. This Burger King parking lot passes with flying colors because not only is there ample space, there are also other RVs present telling me it's RV friendly.
If you see commercial trucks at the establishment or other RVs it's a safe bet you can find a place to park and safely exit.
Some new WalMarts have engineered the parking spaces so it's difficult to manuver a big rig between the planters, light poles and raised dividers. 
A quick scan of the parking lot for other large vehicles is your confirmation whether you can safely navigate this type of parking maze. 
Sometimes I've parked on the street in order to visit a store provided there was enough space on the shoulder to safely do so.Parking in a WalMart I usually try to stay as far away from the main building as possible. I also find a nearby shopping cart and place it directly in front of my motorhome so someone won't park their Mini Cooper there.
I'm sure my readers have other useful hints to share with us about navigating parking lots with RVs. Please share your thoughts with us. Jim Twamley, Professor of RVing
1 comments:
My advice would be to swing wide and use your mirrors extravagantly when navigating a parking lot.
On our first long trip with a new 5th wheel, I spotted a great place to refuel as we were passing through Texarkana. Unfortunately, getting a good angle to go into the station required that I come in from a different direction, so I found a restaurant parking lot to turn around in.
Instead of focusing on what I was doing going through the parking lot, I was thinking ahead to what I would have to do at the gas station. Then I FELT something. I let off the gas, hit the brakes and looked to see what had happened.
As I was turning through the parking lot getting ready to get back on the road, I had failed to clear a compact car on the drivers side. Near the end of the turn, the side of the trailer came up against the car and pushed it up and over the parking lot curb. When I got out to look, there was water shooting up into the air from in front of the car.
It was just before noon and the water line break was from the water meter station for the Mexican cuisine restaurant. They lost their water supply during lunchtime. The owner of the car was an employee, but she wasn't there at the time.
Swing wide and use your mirrors.
We no longer have the fiver and now have a class C, which is much easier to maneuver, until you get into a dead end towing a car and have to back up, which happened to us in Wisconsin last September. Our GPS had taken us down a road to a state park entrance that had been closed for years. We just unhooked the car, I backed up the camper and turned it around. My wife followed me in the car to the real entrance.
Mike Goad (at home in Arkansas)
Haw Creek Out 'n About
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