TT Backing Tips......

[THE MEEKER]

And saving a marriage at the same time!

Last weekend I was camping at a nice state park a few hours from my home.

While sitting at my picnic table reading the paper and enjoying a few barley pops, a new camper and his wife were arriving at the campsite next to mine. As they surveyed the site, the husband was concerned but was quite sure that he could back his travel trailer into the site without much trouble and told his wife to guide him in. Right away, I can tell this guy was a TT newbie as he had very much difficulty backing in his rig. After about 10 attempts of backing in and out, which was followed with much yelling, screaming and weaving a tapestry of obscenities between he and his wife, it was time for me to go over and save the day.

I offered this tip to the newbie. “Grab your steering wheel at the bottom, and then turn your wheel in the direction you want your trailer to go.” After two attempts using my advice, he backed that trailer to the exact spot he wanted to be.

He was so astonished that tip made it so easy for him to back in his trailer. He thanked me over and over again for not only saving his camping vacation, but saving him from having to move into a one bedroom apartment while his wife lived in their home with her new boyfriend!

[mike837go]

Congrats on saving another's marriage.


Last time out, she guided me in so well, the TT was level left-to-right when I put the truck in park. We 'celebrated' thoroughly later....

[TWP723]

My wife uses these stupid little hand movements that I'm SUPPOSED to know. point left..point right...come back..just a little...too much..

OH C'MON!

Then she gets bent at me because I don't get what she's trying to say! I still have to get out and get a visual. Then..we're good.

[mike837go]

When I sold my old trailer, the wife had 1 finger pointing down at the hitch of the trailer and gave her husband signals to direct the ball on the truck.


Under a minute. No shouting.

[Tex1961]

I have tried to teach my twin boys the "spread hands" method. Start with your hands spread out as wide as they can go and then start bringing them in closer to match the distance I have left to back either into the spot or onto the hitch ball. Works really well until I look in my mirror and see one with his hands about 2 feet apart and the other about 6 inches apart, both looking at the same thing... I now use one for the backing and the other for my blind spots.. The wife now just makes sure that the hookups are aligned next to each other and no overhead obstructions.

[Hattie]

We learned to reduce the "lookie-Lou entertainment" by using our cell phones ~ so much quieter and of course, much less stress (no more yelling, cussing, or rude hand signals). The new TV has hands-free on speaker and the back-up camera is great, we're even faster than we were before!

[Old skipper]

We all have our backing stories I Use the wife as a target just have her stand where we want the left rear corner of the Fitch wheel, works for me.

[UPCamper]

Originally Posted by Tex1961

I have tried to teach my twin boys the "spread hands" method. Start with your hands spread out as wide as they can go and then start bringing them in closer to match the distance I have left to back either into the spot or onto the hitch ball. Works really well until I look in my mirror and see one with his hands about 2 feet apart and the other about 6 inches apart, both looking at the same thing... I now use one for the backing and the other for my blind spots.. The wife now just makes sure that the hookups are aligned next to each other and no overhead obstructions.

I still can't get my wife to understand this concept. With her it's back...back...back...STOP....TOO FAR.....

[Camper_bob]

We've got our system down by now. First it's get out and look, make sure we can BOTH see the difficulties and I tell her where I want it. 2 minutes, maybe 3 if it's a difficult site. Then back her in with DW guiding and looking, she tells me when to stop. DW checks for side to side level, places blocks as necessary, and we're done. We don't yell anymore, hell, we hardly even talk much during the process.

Usually it takes no more than 5 minutes on the worst day. Sometimes the site is so wide open or easy she doesn't even get out. I'll go and look briefly and then put the trailer where I want it, adjust once when needed, and done.

As for hitching up, my new truck has a camera on the tail gate, so DW does something else while I hitch up. But before the camera, she could put me right on the ball perfect first try every time. It doesn't hurt that I have references inside the cab that I can see in the mirror so I know when I'm centered; it's the forward and back I needed help with.

It just takes patience and practice and a healthy respect for what the other person is seeing. One time I was going into a site that had a very narrow drive at the front across a deep culvert. I kept backing up and DW kept stopping me. After 3 times, I finally got out (with a WTH look on my face) and looked to see she was stopping me from dropping the TT axles off a 3 ft drop into the culvert that I couldn't see in the mirror. Once I saw it, I reset and poked the trailer in first try.

[33 RLDS]

I want to stayed married so I don't require help. I get out and survey, and get in and back up. If I have to get out once or twice to look, I could use the exercise anyway..

[Griswald One]

For the Newbies reading this post.... Practice before the first trip. When I got my first Trailer, a 21ft hybrid, I grabbed some pylons and went to a school parking lot where I spent a couple of hours practicing backing it up and parking in avariety of situations.

6 years later as a seasoned "Reverser", I upgraded to a 34ft TT. First thing I did was get those pylons and go practice because new demensions meant a new pivot point and the rig was going to move differently then the old one.

I promise the first time you arrive at a State/Provincial park just after dusk and have to reverse into a site that is two whiskers wider then your rig...you will appreciate the the fact that you know exactly how the trailer is going to move when you start turning that wheel.

[Camper_bob]

Originally Posted by Griswald One

For the Newbies reading this post.... Practice before the first trip. When I got my first Trailer, a 21ft hybrid, I grabbed some pylons and went to a school parking lot where I spent a couple of hours practicing backing it up and parking in avariety of situations.

6 years later as a seasoned "Reverser", I upgraded to a 34ft TT. First thing I did was get those pylons and go practice because new demensions meant a new pivot point and the rig was going to move differently then the old one.

I promise the first time you arrive at a State/Provincial park just after dusk and have to reverse into a site that is two whiskers wider then your rig...you will appreciate the the fact that you know exactly how the trailer is going to move when you start turning that wheel.

+1!

Before I had my TT, I hadn't backed anything other than a smallish boat in YEARS. My 30' tandem axle TT didn't back ANYTHING like my 18' single axle bow rider! An eye opener for sure, and I learned the hard way; though I still have never hit anything with the trailer, bumped a fence with the truck once though ... no damage

[mike837go]

X2,3,4,on practicing!

I was a bit spoiled as a kid. I had unfettered use of the garden tractor and tip cart to do chores around the house. Many afternoons of backing that little rig into just the right place....

40+ years later, I can put any trailer exactly where I want it.

The most important skill is patience! And enough confidence to stop, pull forward and try again from zero.

[Lifespalette]

Griswald is spot on....practice, practice, practice before you ever go camping.

Start with just backing your trailer in a straight line. Pull forward 50 yards, back up in a straight line 50 yards....over and over. Get use to how your trailer end reacts to even the slightest movement of your steering wheel. There are 2 different methods...hands at the top turn in the direction of the hazard. Hand at the bottom, turn in the direction you want your trailer end to go.........they both result in the same responsive movement in your trailer end. Get familiar with how much response you get from the trailer with a quarter turn, then a half turn, then a full turn........

There are many keys to successful backing.....1. Set up - If at all possible avoid what is called a "blind side" back in... .that's backing in making your turn from the passenger side. As much as possible back in from the driver side if you can. If you have no option, keep in mind that phrase printed on your passenger side mirror...."Objects may be closer than they appear..." 2. GOAL! - ask any trucker driver what this means and he or she will tell you, Get Out and Look. Visualize where you want your trailer and what you will have to do to get it there......check for any and all objects. Clearance (side to side, top to bottom), hazards - utility pylons, trees, branches, poles, culverts, etc., etc.... 3. Don't over steer......remember as long as there is an angle between your TV and your TT, it keeps moving in the direction of the started turn. Getting back under (aligning your TV with your TT) stops that turn direction. 4. Back slowly....it's not a time trial. 5. Go back to step 2.....GOAL! 6. Don't hesitate to start over......it's better than filling out an accident report.

Backing is easy......the marriage partner thing is something else, that's one of the reasons I'm blessed. My wife can back anything from a 2 horse trailer to a 53' box as well as I can.

[Bucko06]

I have a camera on the back of the truck. I get the hitch every time first try that is nice. Otherwise, DW walks the kids and dog. It works out very well for everyone including the neighbors.

I do remember as a kid, my dad and I did a race trailer without even talking. Like a well oiled machine.

[Blue Deuce]

I have backup camera on the truck so hitching up is a fairly easy and simple process. I'm ready to go with truck and trailer by the time the DW is!


Backing up...we use cell phones to communicate and I use the hand on the bottom of the wheel technique. Truck has Bluetooth so she tells me where to back the trailer. This of course is after I survey the area with her.


I typically get the trailer in the spot on the first try but I'm not afraid to pull forward a bit and start over. No pride lost in trying again...pride is only lost when hitting something!

[tuckerdog1]

I suspect most of us new folks start a with smaller TT. Those are actually harder to back than a longer TT. The severity of a small error is multiplied because of the shorter distance from the hitch to the TT wheels. Learned this pushing aircraft ( everything from 727-100 to MD11s ) to the taxiway. The short ones bite you the quickest.

Tuckerdog1

[dewey02]

Here's an aid I use for backing into my curved driveway.
The driveway is at an angle from side to side. So I put a couple of 2x6 boards in the driveway for the wheels of door side of the trailer to climb on so I am level. Not only does this level me, but gives me a perfect target to aim the trailer wheels at. I get it in perfect almost every time with the target to shoot at and the boards and trailer wheels are always visible in my right side mirror.

[North of 49°]

When we got our new Jayco -- which is half-again longer than our old hybrid -- I also got a set of inexpensive Motorola walkie talkies. I didn't care about range or features or anything, just as long as they'd reach the 50 feet or so to the back of the trailer, and I told DW that there's only four words she has to worry about: left, right, stop, and STOP! I told her to keep an eye on overhead branches, and don't get run over. This has served us well in the half-dozen trips we've taken with the new trailer, and it's made the backing-in process almost pain-free. No mistaking what she means when using the radios, no confusing hand signals, just simple directions. If she needs me to get out and look, she just tells me so. Some of the best money I ever spent.

[Iraqvet05]

I second those cheap Motorola walkies. I bought a pair 12 years ago and they still work great. There have been CGs where my DW can't get a cell signal and other where I couldn't (different carriers). On our last trip to a Missouri SP, there was zero coverage for any carriers in the valley were we in.