‘You have to feel the confidence behind the wheel.’

Cookie Eichner has a husband, three children and three motor homes in Canoga Park. The children are almost grown, and the motor homes are part of a growing business that she started 16 months ago with a few investors. They can house a dressing room, a schoolhouse or an office for actors, clients or crew members on film and video locations.

The first time I drove a motor home, I remember they pulled it up in front of the house, it was 34 feet long. I decided that, either I’ll drive it today or forget it. We threw all the kids into the motor home. If you ever heard a pin drop, you could definitely hear it then. I decided we were going to the beach, which is my favorite place in the whole world. So we drove down to Zuma, going over Malibu with all those turns. It was a little scary, but I said, “This is fun!”

Driving a motor home for the studios the first time was also an experience. I had no idea what this business was, none at all. I drove my motor home down behind the airport where the hangars are. I was told to secure a parking lot in the airport. Somebody would be waiting for me at the entrance to the lot. Driving around LAX in a car is bad enough, but I was green driving around in the motor home. I got to the lot and there were cars everywhere and nobody was waiting for me. It wasn’t anybody’s fault, in particular, just lack of communications. We had to secure areas as the cars would leave, drive up and down those aisles and tie it off, and I said, “Oh my goodness, I’ll never do this again.” But I found myself wanting to go out the next day because it was fun.

I could probably drive this motor home with my pinky, because I love driving. I was on Highland for a job, and they wanted me on the other side of the street. They asked me to go down a couple of blocks and turn around. I told the policeman, “I don’t have to do that. I can make a U-turn here.” They stopped traffic and I just zipped around, and here it is in the middle of rush hour. The chances of ever making a U-turn in the middle of Highland between Sunset and Hollywood are about zero if you were going to do it by yourself. Then they said, “Not only did it make it, but that’s a woman behind the wheel. Oh, my God!”

It’s nice being in charge. I’m little: 5 feet 1. Men think you can’t do the things that you do when you’re driving this big vehicle. I have full command, and I know I do. You have to feel the confidence behind the wheel. Many times, truck drivers will do a double take when they see me behind the wheel.

After we decided to start this business, my first job with this new $100,000 motor home was with George Burns. I kind of figured that, if I had “Oh, God!” with me, I was going to be lucky. He set off my smoke alarm with his cigar. I didn’t even know where the smoke alarm was.

He was just somebody special. Everybody was absolutely in awe of him. Most of the time you’re on productions, and whether it’s a star or not, everybody’s just people--special, but people. You just treat them normally. But, on this day, I noticed everybody was holding a camera. They couldn’t wait for him to come. He was absolutely the friendliest, nicest person. Very down to earth, happy to stop and shake everybody’s hand. And, when he started to film, strictly professional.

Raising kids was instinctive. I knew exactly what to do. But this business was not as instinctive. I really had a lot to learn, from the business standpoint to taking care of the motor homes. There was a lot to do. Getting organized, knowing when and where and how, was a lot harder than I had anticipated. But I feel a lot more confident than I did. A year ago, if somebody would have called me for 10 motor homes for a job, I probably would have checked into the funny farm. This year, I don’t bat an eye and say, “Well, of course I can get you 10 motor homes.” And I know I can.