Your BEST Backup a Trailer tip

[kitchenclose]

Hi,
One day I would like to take my trailer out without my husband! My husband does the "backing up" into our camping spot. But before I can do that, How do you back up the thing? I tried and got frustrated because the trailer did not move the way I wanted.

Maybe you can help

What's your best tip for backing up a trailer?

Thanks
Karen

[klattu]

Put your hand on the bottom of wheel...
Turn in direction you want TT to go.

[Jim Clark]

Originally Posted by kitchenclose

Hi,
One day I would like to take my trailer out without my husband! My husband does the "backing up" into our camping spot. But before I can do that, How do you back up the thing? I tried and got frustrated because the trailer did not move the way I wanted.

Maybe you can help

What's your best tip for backing up a trailer?

Thanks
Karen

Use a pull-thru site.

Jim

[overlander63]

Originally Posted by kitchenclose

Maybe you can help

What's your best tip for backing up a trailer?

Thanks
Karen

Avoid it if at all possible. If you must, keep in mind that a small movement of the steering wheel equates a large movement of the rear of the trailer.

[yukionna]

Originally Posted by kitchenclose

Hi,
One day I would like to take my trailer out without my husband! My husband does the "backing up" into our camping spot. But before I can do that, How do you back up the thing?

Practice, practice, practice in a large parking lot with no obstructions.

Also, check out these threads for previously posted information on this topic:

1) Backing Up -- tips and tricks
2) Tips on backup up and turning radius
3) Backing methods, tricks, pointers
4) How to backup a trailer
5) Backing with a Hensley
6) Extreme angle backing

[azflycaster]

Originally Posted by Jim Clark

Use a pull-thru site.

Jim

You can't get better advice then that!

[Sugarfoot]

What everyone has said so far is right. Also, take your rig and a good friend/husband/coach to a large, mostly empty parking lot. Then practice, practice, practice. Use something like cones or objects to mark your boundaries, practice backing straight, then backing in at an angle, eventually right angles. Do away with the cones and use the parking space markings. Don't give up, the more you try the better. And don't depend on your mirrors. Try looking over your shoulders as you back. Get out, check where you are and where you want to go. Using my eyes instead of my mirrors probably helped me get the feel the most.

[Jim Clark]

Do a walk around and lookup. People do not lookup which is why you see a lot of trailers with dents in the top of the cap.

Jim

[bryanl]

Go slow in small steps, expect mistakes in steering, get out frequently and walk about to examine the layout and obstacles (both at ground level and at roof level). Take your time. Ignore those who offer steering advice while you are trying to do it. Trust yourself. Take care.

[overlander63]

Originally Posted by Leipper

Go slow in small steps, expect mistakes in steering, get out frequently and walk about to examine the layout and obstacles (both at ground level and at roof level). Take your time. Ignore those who offer steering advice while you are trying to do it. Trust yourself. Take care.

I have learned the best advice I can give when someone is backing up, is to keep my mouth shut unless I see them about to back into something, then yelling "Stop!"

[Sugarfoot]

Originally Posted by Sugarfoot

. . . take your rig and a good friend/husband/coach to a large, mostly empty parking lot. . . .

Originally Posted by overlander63

I have learned the best advice I can give when someone is backing up, is to keep my mouth shut unless I see them about to back into something, then yelling "Stop!"

TRUE! That being said, let me clarify. Take a good friend/husband/coach that will keep their mouth shut when you ask them to!

[firedog]

I need practice,thanks Nancy.

[Excella CM]

Silly as it sounds, the use of a chiild's toy car and trailer can teach you alot about the geometry of trailer maneuvering. Try it!

[overlander64]

Greetings Karen!

Your question has pointed to some great advice. What I might add, is have you considered how you will manage hitching and unhitching? As a Free Wheeler, this is one of the most often asked questions regarding traveling alone. There are numerous ways of dealing with this particular process, but it needn't be a great or unusual concern. Through the years, there have been a number of hitching aids, usually relying upon some sort of mirror mounted to a pole that either attaches permanently to the coach's A-Frame hitch with some sort of bracket or mounts temporarily via a magnetic base.

My favorite is a Hitch Helper mirror that I purchased at Camping World more than ten years ago. It is mounted to a large magnetic base to which is attached a 3.5' aluminum pole to which the 8" square convex mirror attaches via an adjustable clamping mechanism. This particular mirror has been out of production for a number of years, but something very similar is being offered by one of the web merchants at:

http://www.trailer-hitch.com/trailerhitchesspotter.html

I have purchased one of these as a back-up to my old stand-bye and find it nearly as useful. Getting accustomed to the tall narrow mirror rather than the large square mirror has taken some time. With one of these devices, the major headache of hitching is resolved as it is quite easy to get everything properly aligned via the mirror.

Good luck with your plans!

Kevin

[wheel interested]

Our drive is long and s shaped. I do a lot of small manuevers, it takes the trailer a bit of space to respond to a correction and pull forward along the way if I need to straighten the angle the rear of the trailer is going. Ideally you will be able to look over your shoulder and see the trailer, if not get out and peek if you have to. I am no ace at backing but I keep working on it. Like the toy car and trailer idea.

[urbanfood]

i'm going to call about one of these things tomorrow. http://www.powercaster.com/products.html

they're expensive as hell, but my driveway is barely wider than my airstream and it needs to go back a good 50' in between the house and the fence. i did it once the other night with my TV and i don't want to have to go thru that again. this way i can unhook in the street and hopefully use something like the powercaster, turn it and steer it straight back.

[overlander64]

Greetings David!

Originally Posted by urbanfood

i'm going to call about one of these things tomorrow. http://www.powercaster.com/products.html

they're expensive as hell, but my driveway is barely wider than my airstream and it needs to go back a good 50' in between the house and the fence. i did it once the other night with my TV and i don't want to have to go thru that again. this way i can unhook in the street and hopefully use something like the powercaster, turn it and steer it straight back.

I don't know whether you may have considered the other option that may be a bit less costly than the PowerCaster, but it is one that I considered when faced with similar circumstances several years ago. It is possible to purchase front receivers for most truck-based tow vehicles that permit maneuvering the trailer going forward rather than trying to back-up. Back in 2000, I believe the estimated installed cost for a front receiver on my Suburban was about $200. In then end, I moved from that location before getting the truck back to have the hitch installed.

Good luck with your decision!

Kevin

[Jim Clark]

Originally Posted by urbanfood

i'm going to call about one of these things tomorrow. http://www.powercaster.com/products.html

they're expensive as hell, but my driveway is barely wider than my airstream and it needs to go back a good 50' in between the house and the fence. i did it once the other night with my TV and i don't want to have to go thru that again. this way i can unhook in the street and hopefully use something like the powercaster, turn it and steer it straight back.

Call powermovers here is the link. The owner provided the best customer service I have ever rec.He will work a deal. I have a AC8. Works great. I have the same problem you have. I can put the trailer in a spot with just a few inches on each side.

http://www.powermoverinc.net/htmls/pmaccarts.html
Jim

[ticki2]

As has been said several times before , there is NO substitute for practice , you need to get a feel for how a trailer acts while turning . One method I have used to help people with this is to use another trailer for practice , like a boat trailer or landscape trailer . Put some sticks with flags at the rear corners , that way you can see the whole trailer all of the time and can get a better idea of how the trailer reacts when you turn the wheel. Take your time , you can do it

[CanoeStream]

A suggestion: The emptiest parking lot in our area is at the local Vo-Tech on a Sunday. Try starting a turn while backing. Back off the wheel and find the sweet spot that keeps the trailer at a constant angle, so the TV and trailer go in a constant curve as you go backward. You aren't aiming for a target with this maneuver but it gives you an idea of the control you have. This works for any number of angles. It will help you understand how to prevent the pinching between trailer & TV rear corner when faced with an increasing turn while backing.

We have an S-curve driveway with the entry being 2 tall brick pillars twenty feet apart. I enter at 60 degrees while turning, aiming to have the trailer at about 30 degrees in relation to the street when I'm done. I've got it down to a system but I'll do about anything to avoid coming home after dark. A nearby streetlight and the trailer's patio light don't help much.

urbanfood -- Those are interesting looking power movers. I'm sure Venice is all pretty flat. Don't know what I'd think of one of them on any significant slope. I have seen one person and read of a few others who had a hitch bar installed on the front of their TV.