Backing Tips to save your marriage
I, like many of you, have a spouse that does not understand the art of communication through mirrors or windows. When we got our first camper (a popup), I needed no help because I could see over it an...
Forum Discussion
I have a pretty good spacial relationship sense and decent depth preception. DW, not so much. I love DW very much, and to keep the peace I just let her stay in her seat, get out and walk the site, and just back in slowly, getting out and checking as needed. I always hook up myself, just let her stay in the house or trailer with the kids until we are literally ready to roll. Done it enough that it only takes a couple minutes and couple checks to get the ball under the coupler.
The couple times I have tried having her help, she just kind of stands there, doesn't say anything. Finally I yell out the window "Am I ok?" and I get "You need to go that way some" with arms folded in response. Or I get the "OK stop" while I am still 6 feet from the object.
To park the TT at the house requires me to back it up the driveway at an angle between a corner of the roof of the house and a tree, and once the wheels pass the corner of the roof, turn in so I don't hit a retaining wall with the opposite back corner of the TT. Only a few inches of clearance. The tree has grown, so now I just have to brush the tree a bit. I used to have her stand and make sure I did not hit the roof, but responses ranged from "your too close" while being a foot away, to "ok stop" when I actually touched the roof. I learned how to angle the mirror to see what i needed to, and a couple stop and checks are all that is required now.
Once at a campground the guy at the next site immediately walked over, hung on DW's door and said "Hey I can help ya, ya just gotta turn the steering wheel the other way, NO the OTHER way (which I did) then "No No not that way, the OTHER way" At which point I told him thanks, I do this all the time and I will be ok. DW felt I was rude and wondered why I didn't accept his help. :R
Same goes for navigation. If I know I am going somewhere, I will look it up and usually know which way I want to go to get 90% of the way, and just need the close in map for the last few turns. DW will let Sury give her turn by turn, even if most of the drive is familiar, even if Sury wants us to make 5 turns on various streets to save 0.1 miles instead of a straight shot. Just the other night, we needed to pick up something from an unfamiliar house. It was only a couple miles above our church but DW didn't tell me this, just let Sury guide us. We made a bunch of turns, here and there (having to turn around because I got a "Oh you needed to turn left there") ending up at our church. I could have made 2 turns and taken 2 streets and ended up at the same spot, but Sury saved us that 0.1 mile!!
Ok i'll stop now :)
The couple times I have tried having her help, she just kind of stands there, doesn't say anything. Finally I yell out the window "Am I ok?" and I get "You need to go that way some" with arms folded in response. Or I get the "OK stop" while I am still 6 feet from the object.
To park the TT at the house requires me to back it up the driveway at an angle between a corner of the roof of the house and a tree, and once the wheels pass the corner of the roof, turn in so I don't hit a retaining wall with the opposite back corner of the TT. Only a few inches of clearance. The tree has grown, so now I just have to brush the tree a bit. I used to have her stand and make sure I did not hit the roof, but responses ranged from "your too close" while being a foot away, to "ok stop" when I actually touched the roof. I learned how to angle the mirror to see what i needed to, and a couple stop and checks are all that is required now.
Once at a campground the guy at the next site immediately walked over, hung on DW's door and said "Hey I can help ya, ya just gotta turn the steering wheel the other way, NO the OTHER way (which I did) then "No No not that way, the OTHER way" At which point I told him thanks, I do this all the time and I will be ok. DW felt I was rude and wondered why I didn't accept his help. :R
Same goes for navigation. If I know I am going somewhere, I will look it up and usually know which way I want to go to get 90% of the way, and just need the close in map for the last few turns. DW will let Sury give her turn by turn, even if most of the drive is familiar, even if Sury wants us to make 5 turns on various streets to save 0.1 miles instead of a straight shot. Just the other night, we needed to pick up something from an unfamiliar house. It was only a couple miles above our church but DW didn't tell me this, just let Sury guide us. We made a bunch of turns, here and there (having to turn around because I got a "Oh you needed to turn left there") ending up at our church. I could have made 2 turns and taken 2 streets and ended up at the same spot, but Sury saved us that 0.1 mile!!
Ok i'll stop now :)
