Backing In Tips - Ten Feet More Trailer

[PlayersZ28]

We have a 40' fifth and when I park it at home I have a narrow road with no shoulders and deep ditches, a slope down off the road into the parking driveway and two very large pines about 16' apart that I have to go between. Biggest issue is the tail swing and getting the rear end in and turning before it hits one of the pines. It also tilts nicely as it turns on the slope in.

I just take my time and get out to check a couple of times. My wife watches the corner of the truck cab as well as the offside tree while standing out on the road.

Sometimes I can hit it first time and impress the neighbours, others it takes a couple of extra maneuvers.

[ggilbert]

Roll the window down and stick your head out. When you can see the trailer wheels or back end then it is easy. lay a stick or something on the ground as a land mark of the direction angle you are shooting for. Backing without being able to see what the trailer is doing when you are backing I think is the worst part.

I like the GOAL part mentioned earlier. nothing better than going and looking for yourself

resenting pulling forward and starting all over is often best.

i have a tough place to park at home. if I cant park it in 10 minuets. then i turn the jeep off; and go home for a hour and take a break. then come back. usually goes in first try after that.

[ggilbert]

Originally Posted by PlayersZ28

We have a 40' fifth and when I park it at home I have a narrow road with no shoulders and deep ditches, a slope down off the road into the parking driveway and two very large pines about 16' apart that I have to go between. Biggest issue is the tail swing and getting the rear end in and turning before it hits one of the pines. It also tilts nicely as it turns on the slope in.

I just take my time and get out to check a couple of times. My wife watches the corner of the truck cab as well as the offside tree while standing out on the road.

Sometimes I can hit it first time and impress the neighbours, others it takes a couple of extra maneuvers.

if i had to do that very often i would cut those trees. before we got our camper i did some major tree trimming to get some of those hazards out of the way.

[GrumpyDad]

My wife and I had a few of those classic confused shouting episodes early in our trailer ownership years. I decided that I like my wife and I wanted to keep her so I either drop her and the kids off elsewhere in the campground, or she sits in the passenger seat totally silent while I back in. Decoded I'd rather take extra time and have to get out ten times than divorce her (or just triangle her to death right in the campsite).

Mostly works fine. I never back in with one try, but I'm usually not too dramatic about it.

Although maddeningly, I regularly camp at my in-laws cabin, and my spot there is really awkward. It's not small, but just doesn't fit my eye somehow. Drives my father in law nuts to see me go back and forth for fifteen minutes, which doesn't reduce my blood pressure any.

[PlayersZ28]

Originally Posted by ggilbert

if i had to do that very often i would cut those trees. before we got our camper i did some major tree trimming to get some of those hazards out of the way.

I had to trim branches off them to even fit thru the gap. They're ~50' tall so they have to stay.

[2edgesword]

As mentioned, hand at six o'clock on the steering wheel and move that hand in the direction you want the end of the trailer to go. When you do that the trailer movement in that direction may not be instantaneous but you will end up with that being the result. Do everything slowly and have an extra set of eyes on the outside guiding you in.

[Bassdogs]

Originally Posted by jpgale

I am very new to this as well, in fact you have more experience backing then I do. I always back on my own, as SWMBO would be utterly useless and I am sure she would agree with me. It helps when I need to move the trailer from the storage yard on my own. My biggest thing is go slowly anyone with a trailer on the back will understand and GOAL (get out and look)

For professional tips (Mike is currently a Class A Instructor/Examiner in Ohio) watch this video, when I remember the advice in this video my backing goes so much better. https://youtu.be/p1B5d_K2__4

Not clear who swmbo is but suspect its the wife. With that said its a mistake to take your sidekick out of the equation when a spotter is such an important element in backing up. Stopping and starting as you get out and check your progress is basically a hit or miss plan. We all start somewhere and my wife was pretty worthless as a spotter until we learned to work together better and she mastered the art of communications and passing on meaniful directions. The handheld radios are a key to the process as it is very difficult for the spotter to stay in sight of the driver. Keeping a partner off the team may seem like the right thing to do early on but if you work together you will soon findout that two is better than one when it comes to backing an RV.

[oldmanAZ]

SWMBO = She Who Must Be Obeyed

[jpgale]

Originally Posted by Bassdogs

Not clear who swmbo is but suspect its the wife. With that said its a mistake to take your sidekick out of the equation when a spotter is such an important element in backing up. Stopping and starting as you get out and check your progress is basically a hit or miss plan. We all start somewhere and my wife was pretty worthless as a spotter until we learned to work together better and she mastered the art of communications and passing on meaniful directions. The handheld radios are a key to the process as it is very difficult for the spotter to stay in sight of the driver. Keeping a partner off the team may seem like the right thing to do early on but if you work together you will soon findout that two is better than one when it comes to backing an RV.

I think in general you have great advise for anyone. It also should be acknowledged that not everyone has the same circumstances. My wife suffers from optic nerve atrophy as such her eye sight is extremely bad, she can not pass the eye test to get a drivers license and could have only gotten a drivers license with special glasses and training then she would be limited to daytime driving or night time from work to home. So basically she can't see well, has no idea about driving. If it is an option then go for it, for me it is not an option.

[sirrealone]

Thanks to all for the great advice. I was not expecting 27 responses. Got some good info and some great laughs as well.

[PlayersZ28]

Originally Posted by oldmanAZ

SWMBO = She Who Must Be Obeyed

I don't have one of those. I do have a wife though and if she thinks she should be a SWMBO then it would be more likely she'd be a GONZO cause I prefer a 50/50 setup

[harryjr]

"Honey. Can you see me in the mirror? No? Cause if you can't see me, I can't see YOU!"

Watch where the trailer wheels are going. The trailer will go where the wheels go. Not the other way around.

[Gogrampa]

Just a thought ,
Face time your spotters cell phone , use painters tape and “stick” it to the rear of TT
Then spotter can stand to side to yell “STOP” when nessasary and you have a backup camera which makes the backup so much easier.......

[videoarizona]

Some great advice here. I too use the hand on the bottom of the wheel. I look in the mirrors and go. Been backing my sailboat (28ft overall) in crowded launch lanes for 14 years using this technique and it's never failed me. My Admiral looks on in disbelief when I back in beside the carport onto our 10 foot wide pad with a 9 foot wide boat and trailer. (yea..it's grandfathered from the 70's...overwide today)

I use the same technique now on my TT. TT is 1 foot longer...

So if I can do this...you can too. Take your time. Work out the hand signals. And if you doubt anything...stop, get out and look. Especially look up! Some sites have trees for shade and slide outs and trees don't really like each other!

[ifallsguy]

Here are a few suggestions:

1) just use pull through sites

2) two way fm radios and make sure you know when she says right, she means the trailer's right.

3) have the wife learn to back up trailer

4) backup/observation camera. An observation also lets you see what's going on behind you while driving

5) take your time backing up and make sure you are aware of what's in the spot you want to back into

[Dave A]

Originally Posted by sirrealone

For the last 7 years, I had a 2004 Jay Feather 23B. We decided to upgrade and in a couple of days we'll be picking up our 2018 Jay Flight SLX 284BHS. This is ten feet more of trailer.

Backing in and such has never been my strong suit. I'm wondering if there are any tips or anything I should know to make this process easier. I'm nervous about many different aspects involved with the newer, bigger trailer, but for right now, the backing in part is my biggest worry.

Get a couple of walkie talkies (that's two way radio's) . Give one to the significant other and keep one in the cab when backing, it makes things a lot easier. She can stand behind and make sure you don't hit anything.

[PlayersZ28]

Originally Posted by ifallsguy

1) just use pull through sites

If you do that you're going to miss out on some awesome sites that back into the trees, up to the water, mountain views etc. I've never seen a pull thru site that had any kind of view (beyond other RV's). I'd rather back in than do a pull thru.

[oldmanAZ]

Originally Posted by Dave A

Get a couple of walkie talkies (that's two way radio's) . Give one to the significant other and keep one in the cab when backing, it makes things a lot easier. She can stand behind and make sure you don't hit anything.

Agree.
Be aware that there is a delay between the time the mic is 'keyed' and the voice can be heard on the other radio
AND only 1 person can talk at a time. So if both key the mic, neither will hear the other. This seems minor until the driver is keying the mic asking a question and the spotter is screaming 'STOP' into their mic. Yes, that did happen to us.

What works for us.
The DW as spotter keeps her mic keyed and keeps talking. I just listen. If I have a question, I stop and get out and we talk.

Before backing, we also discuss where the trailer should end up. Also, I stop moving if I can't see her.

[oldmanAZ]

Originally Posted by PlayersZ28

If you do that you're going to miss out on some awesome sites that back into the trees, up to the water, mountain views etc. I've never seen a pull thru site that had any kind of view (beyond other RV's). I'd rather back in than do a pull thru.

Agree.
We have a large rear window...
- With pull-thru sites, the view through that window is always of the road we just drove in on.
- With back-in sites we've had panoramic views of mountains, lakes, forests, etc. And, yes, occasionally the large rear window of the trailer behind us, or a site in Ft. Wilderness, a clear view of the 'comfort station'.

[LuckyDuck]

Our a JAYCO is just 26 feet, so I guess it would qualify as a smaller one. Lots of great tips here that I would echo. A couple of others: don’t forget to keep an eye on your TV front fenders. You can get engrossed in angling the TT into that tight spot and forget about that pine tree off your left front. Also, on uneven sites, I’ll remind DW that I likely will have to back in just a tad farther than final position to enable pulling forward onto levelers. Lastly, for us Andersen WDH users, keeping the TV square to the trailer when finally backed in makes hitching up again later a lot easier.