Your BEST Backup a Trailer tip

[RedSHED]

I second the toy car idea. I also second the empty parking lot idea. I also note that it does get easier with practice.
It should be noted that long trailers with long wheelbase tow vehicles are much easier to back up than, say, a little wagon behind a lawn mower. That gives me fits :-)

[Excella CM]

Yes, Venice is pretty flat. It's the residents that have all the contours! We also use cheap voice activated walkie talkies and a front hitch when we're feeling puny.

[the ponz]

If you have a ground guide, a two way walkie talkie (or Nextel) can be helpful. If it's dark, remeber there usually is a tree involved.

[trea]

First off do not take your husband or someones elses husband! Take another woman friend that knows how to back up and have her help coach you. I have been backing up all sorts of trailers for a long time and have found that putting your hand at the bottom of the wheel and turning the wheel the way you want it to go works great for me. Also a large space where there is no presure that you might hit something will pay off. Practice, Practice, and more Practice

Nicole

[Fyrzowt]

Walkie talkie's are a great idea that I've seen before. Some couples should definately use them - nothing worse than sitting in camp watching the new-comers scream instructions, or just scream at each other.
As mentioned above, My wife and I have a system worked out: I look over the spot I need to put the trailer, then proceed. She signals me to stop if I'm coming too close to something. At that point, I get out and re-evaluate. It works for us, we've been married for 26 years.

[CanoeStream]

Originally Posted by Fyrzowt

My wife and I have a system worked out: I look over the spot I need to put the trailer, then proceed. She signals me to stop if I'm coming too close to something. At that point, I get out and re-evaluate.

I get out all the time -- moving the trailer in trusted increments before I get out again. It is difficult to salvage if you're in a tight spot and coming into it wrong. I pull back out and aim to perform according to the original plan. Check and double check.

[Fyrzowt]

Take another woman friend that knows how to back up and have her help coach you.

Having been married for 26 years, I can say that you men need to be very careful here...

[dieterdog]

Hi from a single woman,, alone,,, no partners,, no helpers,,, basic thing is to keep the wheels of the tow vehicle straight,,, or in the direction you are wanting to turn,,, lots easier,,, and get out and look,,, mark a stopping point with something fairly easily seen,,, you can do it,,, donna

[RedSHED]

Lots of good advice.

One thing I haven't seen, although I may have scanned past it is this...

We get somewhere, I get out, take a look, and try to envision how the trailer will fit into said spot. Once I have a vision of where I want it to be, I try to imagine how it got there. Sometimes I just look for a minute or two before I "get it."
Then, while backing the truck up, I compare the picture I want to see to the picture I am seeing, and adjust accordingly.

[kitchenclose]

These are great tips. I'll try backing up in a LARGE lot.
K

[SteSpot]

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.

Hello, fellow Venice resident. Please let us know how this works if you get one. You are lucky that you at least have a driveway that you can park your trailer on....pj

[jcanavera]

My best tip is to make sure you pull far enough forward of the spot you are backing into. Most of the failures I have seen is the fact that the rear end of the trailer is usually right at the edge of the site when the back in starts. Dependent upon the width of the site, this forces the driver to create an extreme angle to get the trailer into the site. Once you get into these extreme angles, it becomes more difficult and you end up doing countless small pull forward then backward maneuvers as you attempt to remove that severe angle that you initially create.

Pull well forward of the site you are backing into and go in at a slight angle. You will find that it goes much easier and your corrections will be much smaller. It may look funny that you are pulled up so much further from your site but the backup is so much easier.

Jack

[TIMEMACHINE]

Wow, I have really learned quite a bit from this thread on backing. I guess my old method of slamming the truck into reverse and backing until I hear someone scream or something breaking is just plain outdated. I am looking forward to trying all of these techniques.

John

[HiHoAgRV]

To me, backing expertise comes in steps with the final one when you are actually driving the trailer. I have a short, sharp turn into my drive, then a 90 degree kink to the parking area. I have done this at night towing a 15' enclosed trailer. Oh yea, the tow vehicle was a 34' RV. The trick is to get to a point where you are only concerned with the direction of the trailer. Watch the side of the trailer and imagine the arc or direction it's headed and push it (with the tow vehicle) in the direction you want. It's very easy with the suggested front mounted hitch. As far as the tow vehicle, only worry about if it's about to hit something! I mess up when I stop and think...

[RichWoodward]

While I am a newbie here, and with the Airstream, I, in one of my past lives, drove over the road and have close to two million miles pulling trailers.

Two things you should always do.

Stop and look it over.

Then, once started, if there is any doubt about what you are doing?

Stop and look it over.