Pro trailer back up assist

I've seen enough people trying to back their trailer into a camping spot to know there are lots of people that would use it, including myself.

rhagfo wrote:
I think I would rather spend the time learning how to back up without the computer!
our youngest DD is an equestrian, has two horse trailers, both GN, one about 20' two horse, I call it her Daily Driver. She uses it for hauling her horses to riding lessons. She whips that around like it isn't back there.
The other is a four horse with small living quarters a bit over 30', but axles located near the rear of the trailer, she does just as well with this one.
This is it when we were picking it up with the old 2001 Ram 2500.

My daughter can do the same with her GN horse trailer but as I said, big trailers are easy. A trailer like this would be a test on anyone's skills and that is where I think the assist would be most useful. And once you learn how to use the assist you might find it more comfortable in other applications.

PWC on trailer

I think I would rather spend the time learning how to back up without the computer!
our youngest DD is an equestrian, has two horse trailers, both GN, one about 20' two horse, I call it her Daily Driver. She uses it for hauling her horses to riding lessons. She whips that around like it isn't back there.
The other is a four horse with small living quarters a bit over 30', but axles located near the rear of the trailer, she does just as well with this one.
This is it when we were picking it up with the old 2001 Ram 2500.

I have it on my new truck and would never think to use it... There is no way I am allowing a computer to do my work :B

Seriously,

I do have it but like above, I've been backing trailers for many, many years and have no need for it.. I DO see the reason its here as I have seen my share of BAD BACKERS ! ! !

Like anything else, I guess it has it's place

I have been backing up trailers the old way for 45 years and as a rule don't use backup assist. However, for people that aren't set in their ways it can be useful. And I suspect that if I were to tow smaller trailers I would find it much more useful. Big trailers that are easy to see and respond slowly are easy to back up. Small utility and Wave Runner trailers can be very challenging to see and they jackknife in a heartbeat. The backup assist can see the trailer all of the time, respond very quickly for that type of trailer and let the driver focus on where they want the rig to go and not running over anything else in the process. I see the value more for those trailers.

I cringe every time I see the commercial with somebody backing up a big toy hauler in a gas station. I have had too many people jump into the blind spot behind the trailer in those situations for me to even consider backing up more than a few feet.

Looks like back of truck is squatting pretty good.

Bionic Man wrote:
I'm not going to watch a 30 minute video on the system. But I do have it on my Expedition MAX. I've set it up to work with both my boats. Only used it once - when I went out with a group of people, and no one was comfortable backing up the trailer to retrieve the boat at the launch ramp.

The system worked well enough to have someone with limited experience successfully back down the boat ramp.

Spend anytime at a boat ramp (or honestly a campground), and you quickly see there is a real need for a product like this.

Why a limited experienced driver backing at the dock, I value my equipment more. First vehicle was 1885 and people have been backing them since, if you can't back without this you need more practice. Why do the manufactures think we need more trinkets? How many semis are on the road and they do not have backup assist. My backup assistant rides shotgun and watches as I back and lets me know I need to adjust. Simple but a little higher maintenance with food, cloths, housing, etc, but way better company.

I've never used the system myself or seen it used, but from what I understand it greatly simplifies the backing process by automatically initiating the countersteer required to get the trailer moving the right way, and then turning the wheels the other way to straighten the trailer out, while not allowing the front end to swing into anything or jackknife the trailer. All that stuff is pretty intuitive to an experienced trailer backer, but with this system all you do is turn the knob the way you want the trailer to go. I'd like to try it at some point.

^^^I haven’t seen the commercial nor have I driven a truck with this backup feature but my suspicion (which may be totally wrong) is that anyone capable of backing a trailer into a gas station stall using pro backup assist could, with very little practice, back up a trailer into a gas station stall using a steering wheel.

If you've seen the commercial of the girl using it to back her TT into a busy gas station you know the people this is intended for! I know of no one that would back into a gas station spot!