We just purchased a new Tiffin Allegro 33 ft RV after trying a much smaller rental. Given the large size of our new rig, we considered it imperative to take lessons in how to drive it. I forget exactly how we found your company but it was online. Within a few hours of registering our interest, Joe reached out by email. He was polite and professional, and we soon agreed on a date and time for our training.
I was dubious at first that it would take two full days of training but subsequent events proved me wrong. We arrived on time at our rendezvous to find Joe already set up and waiting. We were very happy to see that he took coronavirus precautions as seriously as we did, and he conducted almost all training in a mask. The only times he was not wearing a mask he performed social distancing.
I will not review each step of the training but would like to highlight the following aspects:
- Joe jumped right in to practical learning without wasting time with a lot of theoretical knowledge. We were continually practicing what we were learning.
- Joe’s standards were set to the highest reasonable level: in other words, we had to achieve more than almost any other RV or truck drivers would do in daily circumstances. This meant that our turns needed to be sharper, our braking better, etc. etc. If we didn’t achieve it the first time, we did it again and again till we got it right.
- Joe always maintained great enthusiasm, vigor and good humor. Most of the time he was out on the hot tarmac directing and coaching us, but never showed any sign of flagging (or irritation).
- Joe identified from the beginning the various traps and pitfalls that other drivers can create for an RV driver and taught us how to avoid or worst case, manage those situations.
- Although Joe clearly has a vast experience of RVs, trucks and driving, he did not bring in his own war stories except once or twice for a very clear lesson. In other words, he focused the training on us and our needs, rather than his personal history. In my experience, this is extraordinarily rare for experienced professionals when they teach.
After our training day was done, Joe spent up to another hour each day helping us learn about features of our RV and answering questions about the RV life. I was particularly struck by this since he must have been exhausted and it went well beyond the call of duty.
A week later we set off on the long trip to Vermont which continues today. I am convinced that without Joe’s training, we already would have had at least one accident if not several.