omg!!!!!!!!

caysea7254 wrote:
So we picked up our 2015 Grand Design Reflection last night and hubby had a very hard time backing into our driveway and told him he was too close to the mail box but of course he was at wits end by now cause that was about his 5th try backing up and guess what he scraped the side of our trailer with the mail box!!!!!!! Now we have to get it fixed!!!! He was very upset, but he thinks it is much harder to back 5th wheel than our trailer. But it is tight squeeze for him to get in driveway. Anyway that is our happy little story bringing home the new 5th!!!! Lol it is what it is:)

Okay, Just relax! It happens! Get it fixed and learn from it!
Tell your hubby to watch the wheels with an eye on the mail box! Start backing just like with a TT but this time when the wheels get even with the mailbox, he begins his turn! In time he will hit it the first time every time and maybe there will be days when the juices just aren't flowing the right way and he will have to make a couple pull ups to get it in the drive straight. We all do it and he shouldn't let one little dust up shake his confidence!
If your confidence is gone then the good camp sites might be also because they all aren't easy to get into! Once he heads the advice, he will love the way a 5er handles, forward or backing up!
Just keep in mind that the 5er has a quicker response time when turning which is especially nice when backing into a camp site!
You can take it from me, I was a truck driver in my other life and hauled lots and lots of over sized, heavy and wide loads and had to back into some precarious places! I have driven dump trucks with a low boy trailer and then LO Boys as in semi with as much as 6 axles!With some jobs, you can only learn by the seat of your pants and pulling a 5er is one of those jobs
Confidence is key and to say to ones self, " I can do this" is a positive affirmation! I am a self taught truck driver and use positive affirmations in all aspects of my life! KEEP ON RVING!

I too have struggled moving from a tt to a 5er. I could put that tt anywhere I wanted. I have been great entertainment with the fiver at a campground to the point where I almost hit a tree but thanks to a passerby I did not. I almost got trapped between a tree and a truck on an opposing site. Both times I made it in embarrassed but unscathed. It's hard for me to not be able to do it easily but then I think back to my learning curve with my old tt and realize that didn't come overnight either. As others have said, practice is your friend. Also we use walkie talkies to communicate, this way dh can tell me mailbox 3 feet back on drivers side or whatever. We also use drivers side and passenger side to avoid confusion. He still hasn't gotten the hang of understanding how far in advance I need to correct to get where he is telling me. I am usually way ahead of him on where I want to be and am already correcting when the call comes thru but I stimulant white correct in time. I have learned it is easiest to correct by pulling forward as you will never straighten out a hard turn backing up. Just remember to take a deep breath each time and not worry about who us watching you. Good luck.

NC Hauler wrote:

ford truck guy wrote:

NC Hauler wrote:

tomman58 wrote:
Backing up a 5er is always a topic. Next will be tripping up or down on the steps or going to the bathroom. This is also followed by the need of a step ladder to get into the cabinets.

Happy trails....................................

.......busting one's head on the bedroom slideout..........multiple times BEFORE I put the styrofoam "thingy's" on it to where it didn't hurt when I did it a few more times..:o

lets NOT forget about the dreaded Hitch Head far head.. To the OP.. tell DH to find a large empty school parking lot and some orange cones.. Visit that on some weekend and practice..

YEP...that's happened a couple of times also.

Yep feel your pain. Really the things we endure to enjoy this life style. Isn't it GREAT.

I have had the issues adjusting to the fifth wheel as well.. We park it at our house. Tight street, neighbor cars etc.. Add in to that, people wanting to pass through and getting anxious.

I block them out, ignore them and make sure I hit my marks, back up some, let them pass and then put it in its spot.

Its weird, I have landscaping rocks that are the end of my pad. If I need to move the trailer over a foot, I can do it. If I am off by 3 inches, I can never hit it!

As for your "mark" on he trailer, I have a shed on one side of ours. I opened instead of closed the slide out, and put a wrinkle in the side.

Well $1000 damage, that was covered by my insurance. Will not do that again.

I consider it a victory, if my wife and I get it in the spot without me snapping at her! LOL

He will get it, it just takes practice!

Tim

You could always contact the Postal Service since they require you to locate your mail where it is. Such as the story goes a year or so ago at a campground in Florida a couple were attempting to back their TT in a camping spot and they hit a tree. The couple went to the office and complained and wanted the campground to cover the repairs since the tree hit their camper. It's one of those times you just had to be there.
As Mabynac said once your husband gets use to the fifth he'll not want to pull a bumper pull again.

There are many youtube video's that show how to back a 5th wheel. This is one example. Many of the video's are for CDL training and pertain to any kind of 5th wheel trailer.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jRZa8cDKk-0

"I'm quitting my job so I can learn to backup my Rv trailer better. I'll be poor but way less entertaining to the full timers." The other option would be to become a trucker. No thanks to both.

My thinking is ,most folks only use their TT a few weeks a year so their expertise is really limited no matter what the rig.
I mean how many times a year do even go to a camp site and back in without aide from the camp worker?
We go to no less than 25 sites a year and each is unique.
Bottom line want to back up your rig better, use it more.

The hardest thing about backing a new trailer up - it doesn't react like the one you had earlier in the day.

Adjustments you've been making for months/ years are wrong for the new trailer. I scraped the rear corner putting my current trailer in the spot where the old one had been.

caysea7254 wrote:
Orion LOL but I was nice when I said it :) All about the tone you use!!! Us wives mean well :)

My tone must have been real bad 18 years ago when my rig was new because DW has never helped by spotting since. I move some then get out and look. Folks get more fun out of watching wife not helping than my parking. Try this trick. When you get messed up, just pull forward 3 feet. Rig straightens right out. Then resume your backing.