More fun than we could find on tv
We were at a campground over the weekend not surprise there for any of us. Anyway a way huge f'ver came in and they had a heck of a time getting backed in. By the time the dw and I realized what was g...
Forum Discussion
Backing things into places is something I have enjoyed doing since I was 13yrs old. That is because when I was 12yrs I worked for a neighboring cotton farmer and had the experience of pulling a cotton trailer (in the midwest know as a hay wagon!) down a quarter mile road and then discovering that there was no place to turn around and my only ottion was to back it all the way out the same way I came in.
Now for those that don't know their tailers/wagons it is double jointed like the trailer of a set of doubles. Think of a TT hooked behind a popup and you will have the geometriy reasonably close. I was using a late '40's John Deere manual steering, manual hand clutch tractor to do this.
Well, about 3-4 hours later, I succeded! But, in those three hours I learned just how things react when backing and so, with that crash training course, it has generally not been a problem since. I have traveled an hour and half to help a friend by backing a loaded trailer into a place where you only get one shot at it.
I also have spent 19 years selling and moving farm equipment of all types (15' to 45' long) so backing things into tight spots and around corners is not something unusual.
With all of that said, we are now moving from CA to OR to a mobile home park and they are known for narrow parking slots and narrow park roads. We are doing this over time with many loads with a 5'x10' tandem axel utility trailer. I arrive with the first load at night. I back it in first try no problem. I arrive two weeks later with the second load. It takes me four "jiggles" to get it parked into the same spot! I just wish I had a video of the first time!
Now all of you people that don't normally back up things should feel a lot better!
Also remember that something in the 25-30 foot range is the easiest to back up. Longer than that and the swing room needed gets longer which in an RV park means everthing needs to be more precise. And two or three "jiggles" may need to be planned into the parking process. You get shorter, and the fast reaction of the unit again means you have to be, again, more precise.
The most important thing about backing is to do it slow so that you can see and anticipate where you are going and have time to adjust. Do a forward "jiggle" sooner rather than later! I repeat, do a forward "jiggle" sooner rather than later!
In all of my years of backing, the only thing I have hit is a branch of the tree beside my driveway with the top edge of the coach. I got into a hurry and didn't follow my own "go slow" advise.
Have a good time regardless of your backing skills. One person I know of has a large, fancy motor home and just cannot back it up. His solution: pull up to his site, get out, walk around studying it, but all the while keepng an eye out for who is watching him. He then selects the person who appears to him to be the most likely to know how to back things and then he goes over to that person and asks "would you like to back it in for me?". He then watches it be easily backed in where he could never put it.
There is a solution for everthing!
Now for those that don't know their tailers/wagons it is double jointed like the trailer of a set of doubles. Think of a TT hooked behind a popup and you will have the geometriy reasonably close. I was using a late '40's John Deere manual steering, manual hand clutch tractor to do this.
Well, about 3-4 hours later, I succeded! But, in those three hours I learned just how things react when backing and so, with that crash training course, it has generally not been a problem since. I have traveled an hour and half to help a friend by backing a loaded trailer into a place where you only get one shot at it.
I also have spent 19 years selling and moving farm equipment of all types (15' to 45' long) so backing things into tight spots and around corners is not something unusual.
With all of that said, we are now moving from CA to OR to a mobile home park and they are known for narrow parking slots and narrow park roads. We are doing this over time with many loads with a 5'x10' tandem axel utility trailer. I arrive with the first load at night. I back it in first try no problem. I arrive two weeks later with the second load. It takes me four "jiggles" to get it parked into the same spot! I just wish I had a video of the first time!
Now all of you people that don't normally back up things should feel a lot better!
Also remember that something in the 25-30 foot range is the easiest to back up. Longer than that and the swing room needed gets longer which in an RV park means everthing needs to be more precise. And two or three "jiggles" may need to be planned into the parking process. You get shorter, and the fast reaction of the unit again means you have to be, again, more precise.
The most important thing about backing is to do it slow so that you can see and anticipate where you are going and have time to adjust. Do a forward "jiggle" sooner rather than later! I repeat, do a forward "jiggle" sooner rather than later!
In all of my years of backing, the only thing I have hit is a branch of the tree beside my driveway with the top edge of the coach. I got into a hurry and didn't follow my own "go slow" advise.
Have a good time regardless of your backing skills. One person I know of has a large, fancy motor home and just cannot back it up. His solution: pull up to his site, get out, walk around studying it, but all the while keepng an eye out for who is watching him. He then selects the person who appears to him to be the most likely to know how to back things and then he goes over to that person and asks "would you like to back it in for me?". He then watches it be easily backed in where he could never put it.
There is a solution for everthing!