Save a marriage. (Backing Up a Trailer)

[Marcm157]

Originally Posted by jsims

Boy does this thread bring back some backup memories when we first picked up our trailer.

Luckily when I purchased my new F150, I had the Pro Trailer Backup Assist installed. With the backup assist even my kids can hop in the pickup and backup the trailer no issues. You literally just turn the knob on the console and work the peddles and the computer turns the wheel. Anyone can pretty much thread the trailer in any spot. Love it.

I'm in the minority I'm sure but absolutely HATE Pro Trailer Backup Assist!. I wish I could rip it out of my truck. I am very old school and have no issues backing my trailer the conventional way. I hear lots of positive feedback on the system but I can't stand it.

[justman]

My wife stays in the truck until we're parked. I've never asked her to spot or anything. Figured I would just take it real slow and get out often to take a look if needed. Never hit anything in the past 9 years, so my track record is pretty good!

[Rustysocket]

Originally Posted by Kim Gass

Confidence comes from practice.It may be that the Original Posters just need to find a big space, send the other one out for beer and practice alone.

This, other than some basic tips about how to place your hands on the wheel to move the rear end of the trailer in the proper direction, is probably the best advice in this thread.

Practice is the only way to get good at backing and it is best done alone. I have taught many people to back up trailers. The one's that learn the quickest, and have the least amount of trouble generally speaking are women.

Take a water hose along and lay it on the ground in the path you wish to take and simply make the trailer tires follow the hose. Eventually you will get to the point where you can use an imaginary hose.

I've done this for decades, I still go slow. I still have to pull forward occasionally and take another go. It's not a race. When I go to a new spot I still get out, and lay down my mental hose. I might place a couple of rocks at some key locations and I always remember to look up and check overhead clearances as well. Sometimes I have to get out a couple of times and look again to make sure I'm where I want to be. Sometimes the guy behind me in the loop has to wait a few minutes. It is all part of the fun.

But no matter what happens I never yell at my wife or my daughter for trying to spot for me. Because they only person in control of the rig is me.

[dmward]

My wife watches my "blind side". So, if I am backing into a spot, with the trailer turning to the driver side, I can't see the passenger side of the TT in my mirrors. She is responsible for making sure I don't hit anything by standing so she can see my mirror (so I can see her) and advising as needed.

Before starting the back in process, we both hop and out and pick where the TT needs to be, so we are on the same page!

[mike837go]

Originally Posted by need-a-vacation

Well, I hate to admit this, but we all just gave the wrong advice....

Pull through site- all issues solved!!! Lol

...snip...

That is the world SWMBO would love to live in! She always looks for such opportunities. Even when not trailering.

I'm so used to backing (both with and without a trailer), all I need is a competent spotter.

Another subject we have agreed to disagree on.

[33 RLDS]

Originally Posted by justman

My wife stays in the truck until we're parked. I've never asked her to spot or anything. Figured I would just take it real slow and get out often to take a look if needed. Never hit anything in the past 9 years, so my track record is pretty good!

For me that is also the best way. I need to see and survey myself. Wife and kids stay in the rig. I rarely have to get out to look more than once. If I don't get the mental picture of where I am going, no amount of direction or arm waving is going to help me

[Marcm157]

Originally Posted by need-a-vacation

Well, I hate to admit this, but we all just gave the wrong advice....

Pull through site- all issues solved!!! Lol

I have found in many cases the pull throughs are not as private as the back ins.

[jenoble99]

If you really want a toy of some type to simulate backing with a trailer try looking for a tractor/farm implement set. They typically have steerable fronts, just make sure it isn't a hay wagon type trailer with a pivoting front axle, whole 'nother ballgame.

Another option is to borrow a lawn tractor with a yard cart trailer to practice backing with initially. The short trailers can be challenging to back up at first and will give you a good feel for how it responds.

Best bet would be to find an open parking lot and get completely familiar with how the trailer responds to steering inputs without fear if trees in the way( watch out for light poles though).

I generally back the camper in unguided. My wife watches for obstructions that I can't see, and will tell me when to stop as there are typically trees behind the site that I can't see.


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[tshirtman]

We had that problem and solved it REALLY EASY. Get the dam back up camera...
Problem solved

[Doboy Dawg]

Originally Posted by Doboy Dawg

Kiss method, keep it simple. Place wife behind trailer back up until screaming stops, park trailer and enjoy peace and quiet.

Originally Posted by Duke_26

I got a good chuckle out of your sense of humor [emoji4]




X2. Walkie talkies are standard issue in the truck before we leave the house so that they are ready to go when we arrive at the campsite. We both do a quick walk around the site, I tell her my plan and she keeps an eye on the blind side. Works out good (so far anyway [emoji6]).



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Originally Posted by CampFlyer

Okay, so maybe I take some of the comments in these types of threads too literally, but the derogatory comments many guys make regarding their wives drive me crazy. Maybe guys if you didn't treat her like she was an incompetent, helpless ninny (at least that is how you come across as treating her) and gave her the keys she would back the trailer in better than you ever could. Good grief, many of the posts on this subject make it sound like the guys' worth is somehow measured by his trailer backing ability. Both my husband and I (and we are not unique in this), can and do, hook/unhook, pull and BACKUP all of our trailers - 5er, gooseneck, and bumper pull. When our son was about to turn 14 and wanted to get his drivers license, a requirement was that by himself he could hook/unhook and back up every trailer. We were at the DMV on his 14th birthday.

Rant over

To answer the OP original request - check out Maisto Diecast cars.

Thanks Duke for recognizing a joke!

Ranter:

May I suggest the G.A.L. Method? Get A Life

Seriously my first post was a joke!

Moral to this story; Don't step between a tow vehicle and trailer and don't step behind a trailer! If you cannot BE SEEN by the DRIVER you are in DANGER!

This post ain't no joke!

I had a friend almost killed at work stepping behind a tractor trailer at a loading dock to give the driver signals, the driver did not see him. He was crushed between the trailer and the loading dock. The 8" rubber dock bumpers was the only thing that kept him from being completely crushed. It was a miracle that he survived with a crushed pelvis and femurs.

[JFlightRisk]

A lot of good ideas, here. Practice in a place with no other traffic or obstacles, with your OWN rig, 'cause different combinations of length will react differently. Long trailer with short truck, long trailer with long truck, short everything, etc. 5'ers react differently that trailers. A spotter is a great idea, and may stop you from placing a trailer wheel squarely into the steel fire pit ring one day. Just my .02 worth.

[BillMc40]

The following rules:
Place hands at bottom of steering wheel, then it goes where you want. I always try to back into a drivers side spot. Second you have two cell phones? then she calls you, you put on speaker then no yelling more relaxed and it works.
BillMc

[North of 49°]

DW has absolutely no interest in driving my truck, trailer connected or not. Which suits me fine; it would stress me out too much to see someone else doing it, which leaves me to do all of the backing-in. I'm confident enough in my abilities that it goes pretty smoothly.

Last year we bought a cheap pair of Motorola walkie talkies. No more screaming back and forth, no misunderstood hand signals, nothing. I can back in well enough on my own, but it really helps to have an extra set of eyes at the back of the trailer to avoid "parking by feel". She tells me what's needed and I comply. If she needs me to come out and take a look, she just tells me; no more getting out half a dozen times to check the clearance. It makes things a lot less stressful. Likewise when we get home. The trailer is high enough that if I back in to the driveway too far, the ladder will hit the eaves. She tells me when to stop. Money well spent, IMHO.

[Duke_26]

Originally Posted by North of 49°

DW has absolutely no interest in driving my truck, trailer connected or not. Which suits me fine; it would stress me out too much to see someone else doing it, which leaves me to do all of the backing-in. I'm confident enough in my abilities that it goes pretty smoothly.

Same here. Have had my current truck over 4 years now and she has never driven it. I have offered many times over the years. No interest.


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[Rootus]

Originally Posted by Duke_26

Same here. Have had my current truck over 4 years now and she has never driven it. I have offered many times over the years. No interest.

In our case the truck is my wife's daily driver, and she loves it. I do all the driving & backing when the TT is hitched, but she did insist on doing it once -- everything from hooking it up, driving it back home, and backing it up in front of our house. I gave her checklists and told her I wouldn't say anything at all unless I thought she was about to create a real safety problem or hit something. It was stressful for me to watch, but she did great, and now she has a plausible claim to being able to deal with the TT if for some reason I am unavailable.

My nefarious longer term plans seem to be working, as well. She was unsure about daily driving a pickup, and now she loves it. Just the other day she mentioned that the next pickup should be a super duty . Ding!

[Camper_bob]

Just this weekend, DW offered to drive us home from the CG. She never offers to drive, so I was ready to jump on this opportunity. I told her the first part of the drive was a bit technical (winding roads and lots of hills), and that if she wanted me to, I would get us out of that and into the flats, and we could switch out. We never stopped, so I drove us all the way home ...

I told her next trip (in two weeks), she's driving; I need a nap!

[secal48]

In my mis-spent youth I drove a semi for a year. Now I don't have any qualms about backing the trailer. But the DW does get out with a cell phone to do the pin point final adjustments. Making sure the slide out is clear of obstructions and that the trailer is turned to the angle that she wants for the views out the windows. It works for us and no headaches.

[John7349]

My DW is very good at spotting me at the campsite. We use hand signals and she tries to stay in view in the mirrors.
I asked her if she would like to drive sometime. "NO WAY" was her response. I said "What if I am sick and couldn't drive?" She said " Don't worry... I'll call a Taxi!"
I took that as a no.

[bansai]

I like this thread. My wife has taken over every truck I've ever owned for her daily driver, leaving me with the econo-car (which I don't mind at all in the city). When I switched out our 250 diesel for the 150 ecoboost, I drove it for 3 days before she took that one over too. I love it. There's something pretty cool about a 100 lb vegetarian woman driving a 'mans' vehicle with authority that just turns me into butter. I am still the back seat driver when she's driving 'my truck'.. I can't help it, but she does just fine with it... 300K accident free miles on several trucks her friends cannot believe she actually drives. I just have to teach her how to back the TT in to our tight camping spots and it's all gravy from my perspective. I've decided though that next time I buy a truck, I'm not trading 'her's in. I want one too. If I'm lucky I'll get "my" F150 back in the process.

Edit, I don't get all the acronyms people use for their husbands / wives, whatever... I'll just call her my wife, and she can call me her husband it that's ok. SWMBO. DW DH, DWTF.. Spouse ok still?

[Dropnaduece]

Originally Posted by jsims

Boy does this thread bring back some backup memories when we first picked up our trailer.

Luckily when I purchased my new F150, I had the Pro Trailer Backup Assist installed. With the backup assist even my kids can hop in the pickup and backup the trailer no issues. You literally just turn the knob on the console and work the peddles and the computer turns the wheel. Anyone can pretty much thread the trailer in any spot. Love it.

I have that on my truck but I have not attempted to put it together because of the dual propane tanks. I thought they would get in the way of the camera that reads the stickers that are placed on the trailer. Did you have this problem? Will the dealership help install the system? I have no problem backing up but I would love to use this feature on my truck.

Thanks in advanced!o