Hitting the trail ball first time

Back up camera makes me 95 out of a hundred.

I have one of those magnets on a long telescoping handle for picking screws off the floor. I stick it upright on the ball and back up till I knock it over.

After about 15 years I discovered a key piece of information. There is no bonus for hitting it in one shot. If it takes a few times no one is keeping score.

I have a back up camera with guide lines for hitching up....I still have to get out and look to get it just so...sometimes once, sometimes 3-4 times .

No problem. It's part of the adventure.

Had many types of trailers and sometimes its 2 times and other times its 6. Don't no why.

Before backup cameras I never planned on “first shot”. I just backed toward the trailer trying to center the tow vehicle as best as possible until I thought I was a couple feet away. Got out and looked to see how far back and how much to which side. Backed another foot or so. Looked again. Backed a few inches. Looked again. If I got it in four tries I was happy.

Fizz wrote:
I have one of those magnets on a long telescoping handle for picking screws off the floor. I stick it upright on the ball and back up till I knock it over.

X2, before camera this system worked well.

Actually it works better than camera, but the guide pole is fragile. One broke from the magnet, another just telescoped right apart.

I have a back up camera in the tailgate of my truck. What really helped was putting reflective tape across the front ball area of the trailer hitch. Now i can see the hitch easily in the backup camera in any light.

Before backup cameras I would just get the trailer centered in my side view mirrors. When I unhitched I would leave the coupler around an 1/8" lower than the ball on my truck so I could feel it as I pulled away, also helped with hitching up as I could feel the little bit of drag as the ball slid under the coupler.

I just use my wife....