navegator wrote:
Reply to Terryallan. ... maybe you can give us some pointers in backing a trailer in pitch black and a strange location, we can all learn something usefull.
navegator
I am not Terryallen, but I can give a few pointers, as I HAVE backed into sites after dark.
1. Be confident you can do it (most important of all, is your own self confidence).
2. The worst that will happen is, you'll hit something. That's what insurance is for.
3. So, taking #2 into account, always back in SLOW ... I mean ... an inch at a time if you have to. This is the second most important step! You are not in a race! Remember that. It's not about speed, it's about getting in the spot!
4. Don't listen to anyone else except your spotter. Tell every one else you appreciate their efforts, but you have your designated spotter. And if you have a family, still take directions form only 1 person. This greatly reduces confusion and anxiety! If you have other family, they can respond with only 1 word and 1 word only! That word, yelled from the top of their lungs is "STOP!" Nothing else should come out of their mouths. You listen to only your spotter. "STOP" is the only word you listen to from every one else. Make sure they all know that. But if all is going well, they keep their mouths shut. Always!
5. Don't loose your head. Keep calm and relaxed. Consider the mission ... getting that camper backed into the spot. It's not about your self-ego or macho-ism or trying to prove to the neighbor camper you are super hero or anything. Self-ego is the worst enemy. Swallow it, and keep the mission foremost! Backing into that spot!
6. If you have any kind of lights at all, like flashlights, place them at the end of the campsite, off to the side, from the side of the camper you can see. (right or left). A single reference point will help tremendously. Keep it in sight all the time. Move your mirrors around to keep them in your mirrors as your engaging your turn angle. If you loose the light in the mirror, STOP! Get out and regroup. Check the back end where it's going. It is OK to move the light back a little farther and farther as you begin to back in. So you set up the light about 10 feet inside the pad. Back up to it, and then move the light another 10 feet. Move it again 10 more feet. This is OK, and will really help. If you have several light, you can set them up in a row and it will accomplish the same thing. Or plug in a rope light and create a runway.
7. It also help to set up a marker or a light at the pivot point where the campsite pad starts at the edge of the road. You know this is the spot where the trailer tires have to pivot. You should always have this reference point in your mirror also until the tires pass, then you know you want to keep the rest of the trailer in line with the light from behind and the pivot point.
8. If you don't have a flashlight, have someone stand at these two spots, but have only 1 give you directions.
9. It helps to start the angle for backing when moving forward, doing that "S" maneuver with the tow vehicle and trailer. You probably already do this in daylight. This helps position the camper before you even start backing.
10. Last, if it's not going well, pull forward and start over! Regroup, go slow, wipe the sweat off your brow, and once parked, break out that bottle of beer!
