Which brand & model of walkie talkies for my "spotter?"

dave54 wrote:
I enjoy watching other people back into a site. A man and wife will start out, and pretty soon there will be a small army of helpers each giving hand signals. And no two people will be giving the same signal.

Quite entertaining! ;)

We have two cheap radios. DW is a good spotter ... even know that she needs to see me in the mirrors if I'm able to see her. Problem is, as I turn the truck, the view changes and as she's watching the back of the trailer, she doesn't realize I can't see her any more! Radios are just so much easier with no yelling!
Problem came one day as I was blocking the main road, trying to negotiate between trees right at both sides of the site entry. A couple of ladies were waiting, so decided to get out and "help"!
THREE ladies all telling me where to go! :E
Talk about CONFUSING!!

I finally got far enough back to be off the road, although nowhere close to where I wanted the trailer to be. Shut the truck off and walked to the back and waited till the "up front" spotters left.

Radios .. cameras .. years of experience ... NOTHING will help in a situation like that! :S

Having made my living using Radio's of some sort,I stick to Motorola/Cobra and Midland which I have found to be the most reliable.

We use ours alot including backing in tight spots but more for when we take two vehicles to the hills with the windy/narrow back roads with the front vehicle letting the tow vehicle know in advance of upcoming events and or breaks in driving.Works great and way less chatter than a CB.

fallsrider wrote:


For us, at least so far, it has worked very well for me to scope out the site before backing in, then backing in myself. DW does stand behind the TT as a spotter, but her sole responsibility is to holler, and holler loud, if I am going to hit anything I didn't see or anticipate. I always back with both side windows fully open, both so I can hear DW, and to get a clearer view through the mirrors. Even with DW not with me, such as when I just take DS, I still have both windows down.

We do the same, we both get out and scope out the spot, 95% of the time or more we boon-dock, very remote sometime needing 4WD to get in, so a lot of obstacle.

As for the communication...we must be very old school, I have not seen on this thread the suggested use of a CB. They are still used a lot, I run mine all the time while towing I have a mounted Cobra. So we bought a portable Midland CB radio 75-822 for a portable. This doubles when we are driving 2 vehicles on rare occasions. In the end the wife just provides a second set of eyes for obstacles.

We have the Motorola MT352R FRS Weatherproof Two-Way - 35 Mile Radio and have had no problems with them.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007FELOZO/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I don't know about 35 miles, but we used them about three miles apart in a heavily wooded area and could hear clearly.

They are really handy when driving in a caravan.

They also have a nice little built-in flashlight.

I back in, the spotter ONLY job if I start to hit something to cross there arms. They have to remember if they can not see the mirrors I can't see them. It works great and no hard feeling

profdant139 wrote:
Yeti, she can read my mind, but I can't read hers. Tragic asymmetry. Hence the need for walkie-talkies. And mosseater, you mention the need for lessons. The real question is this -- who is giving the lessons to whom? Does the spotter need lessons on spotting, or does the driver need lessons on how to read the spotter? Maybe a little of both?

Whatever works, that's my motto!

I understand your post was designed to make me think, "Hmmmm....". But, being the driver, being the responsible one for getting it in the hole without damage, and knowing how to back up, and understanding some simple hand signals, I am the one teaching. The spotter is the one learning. See? Very simple. The whole nuanced, touchy-feeling thing is lost on me. You see, I worked on a farm and I know what I'm doing. My only failure is being able to convey that to the rest of the ground crew. I've tried everything I know, including asking them what I'm doing wrong, what am I missing. I get nothing but blank stares and shrugs. So now, I do it myself and I allow them to think they're helping more than they are. It's the same place I was while they were "helping", it just that I've accepted it now.

I solo hookup and usually do all the backing in. My human spotter has backed me into wood piles and a tree. No doodad or cb will help. Hitching takes the longest. Backing into sites is drive past, park, look at site markers and opposing site, get in, and use mirrors.

Stickdog, you have pinpointed a puzzling and universal phenomenon -- often, when we begin backing up, folks from nearby campsites appear on the sidelines, just watching. Don't these folks have anything better to do? (Answer: evidently not.) What is so fascinating?? (Answer: this is an example of schadenfreude, a wonderful German word that means "taking pleasure in the suffering of others.")

We evolved our "stealth backup system" (no verbal commands, just a set of clear and simple hand signals) in part because we were tired of providing free amusement for the neighbors -- the frantic yelling used to attract a really big crowd. Plus, as we have gotten more competent over the years, we are less entertaining than we used to be.

Just to be clear, we have never wandered over to gawk at some poor newbie struggling to back up into a campsite. Instead, we very considerately sit in our trailer, sipping a recreational beverage, and secretly watch them through a closed window, so that they can't hear our mocking and our laughter. ;)

We use our cell phones. i put mine on speaker and put it on the console where I can hear, but leaves my hands and head available to turn and look at the mirrors etc. And it keeps the neighbors from hearing both ends of the conversation.

This thread is as much fun as watching someone back in to a site!!!!