Learning to tow

[MudQueen22]

How did you learn to drive while towing?

I know this seems like a basic question, and you've all probably done it so much that it's nothing.
But I've been thinking about how it's done, and the only thing I have to compare it to would be my minivan that I drive daily, and the trucks I've driven in the past.
I make wide turns when driving a truck.
How do you turn when pulling a trailer? How do you stay in your lane without your trailer ending up in a ditch?

[kep5niner]

Good advice so far, but the reality of it is you need to find someone that is experienced in towing correctly, and have them TRAIN you on the proper way to do it. You're not going to learn from reading a forum.

While just hooking up and spending time in a parking lot may sound like the path of least resistance, you will be miles ahead when taught proper techniques and what "right" looks like.

For me, towing is second nature, but then again I was trained the proper techniques and procedures launching boats well before I was old enough to drive. The principles are the same. When I transitioned from a 29' TT to a 42' FW, I didn't break a sweat, to include 2k mile trip into the Rockies. Same concepts apply.

Again, proper hands-on training will be the solution and will ensure long-term success. Good luck.

[Jebby14]

same way I learned to drive stick.....

Roofing with my uncle when I was a teenager
U. Jeremy take my jeep and get more nails.
M. I cant, I don't know how to drive stick
U. you will by the time you get back

He was right. now I hate that nobody makes a 4x4 with a V8 and a stick 😞

[profdant139]

LIke the OP, I had done no towing up until fairly late in life (my early 50s). We now tow the trailer thousands of miles a year.

In addition to all of the good advice above, I would add the need for "heightened situation awareness," for lack of a better term. Check those mirrors like clockwork -- a fast clock. Look way, way ahead to see if traffic is slowing down, a light is getting ready to change, a fool is pulling out of a parking lot unsafely, etc. Because a trailer is so much less maneuverable than a single vehicle, you have to be hyper-alert.

The real challenge is at the end of the day -- you are tired, rush hour traffic may be building up, the angle of the sun is inconvenient, etc. That's why many of us choose not to tow more than 300 or 400 miles a day, if we can help it. When that hyper-alertness starts to become effortful, it is time to stop. I have done 500 miles into a setting sun, but not often, and not by choice.

[IdaD]

I grew up on a farm so I cheated. I was good at running all sorts of farm equipment and towing large stock and flat bed trailers around by the time I was 15.

[NMDriver]

Like most skills in life you learn the most from mistakes. After you have knocked over a few gas station pumps, crushed a few bicyclists, taken out a few power lines and bashed in a car door or two you will begin to feel like a pro. 🙂

Seriously though watch your trailers wheels in the mirrors and do not hesitate to stop in traffic and back up if necessary. Better a few honking horns than a damaging encounter with a post or curb.

Sometimes you will need to swing into the on coming traffic lane at a right turn to avoid that wheel chair person or bicycle waiting at the corner.

[DutchmenSport]

Start with a riding lawn mower and lawn mower utility trailer. Only difference between the lawn mower configuration and an RV configuration is the size.

[falconbrother]

We had a TT back in the early 1990s. I got real good at backing it.= but, it was short. Towing it's self is easy. Now this new trailer is twice as long as the last one and I have discovered that I'm not a great backer right now. It takes me a couple of tries to get it right. With my old motorhome I could back it right in, perfect, every time, night or day, rain or shine. With this TT I feel like a child backing the thing. For one thing there's a HUGE blind spot. Secondly the steering is backwards when pushing a trailer. Over time I'll get it. Not looking forward to backing in when the campgrounds are crowded and tight.

[lbrjet]

Focus on keeping your truck between the lines and the trailer will follow. No need to constantly be looking back at the trailer.

[rbpru]

I believe it is mental. I have always got in and drove. It was expected of me when I was a kid and never seemed all that hard too do.

When we bought our TT the DW and I just figured it out. If you cut a curve short you figure it out. If a space looked to tight the DW was a spotter.

I tell folks I can park in a space within 12 or 15 trys. Nobody ever gave to a metal for getting it in on just one try.

[Cocky_Camper]

I learned by riding with someone towing their TT. Then I had that same person ride around town with me some just to make sure there was anything that I should or shouldn't have been doing.

[deltabravo]

MudQueen22 wrote:
How did you learn to drive while towing?

Hooked up the trailer and drove.

[MarkTwain]

MudQueen22 wrote:
How did you learn to drive while towing?

I know this seems like a basic question, and you've all probably done it so much that it's nothing.
But I've been thinking about how it's done, and the only thing I have to compare it to would be my minivan that I drive daily, and the trucks I've driven in the past.
I make wide turns when driving a truck.
How do you turn when pulling a trailer? How do you stay in your lane without your trailer ending up in a ditch?

When turning, I look at the road and the spot where you would normally start turning without your trailer, then I add 2 to 3 ft. to the spot and then start turning. I generally place my tire on the center white line while I am turning, always watching for traffic and on coming cars.

[SpeakEasy]

MudQueen22 wrote:
How did you learn to drive while towing?

Boats.

Boats and a tractor.

When I was a kid I grew up at a yacht club. Everyone, and I mean everyone (except the ladies) was driving the tractor and launching boats from around age 13 onward.

It was a bit of adjustment switching from driving a tractor to driving a car, but the basics were there.

Unfortunately, this method of learning never helped me learn to back up using mirrors. I'm learning that now - through trial and error - 50 years later!!

-Speak

[Tvov]

Learn to use your side mirrors, even while driving a car - learn what they show you. Don't use the windshield mirror. You might already do this if you drive a truck.

Towing going forward is easy - just go. The trailer will follow. When you change lanes, make sure there is no vehicle alongside you. Learn to use those smaller curved mirrors! They will show if "something" is alongside you, even if you can't figure out what it is.

Backing up is the big deal. As people are saying, find empty parking lots and practice.

Stick to speed limits (or slower if needed), especially on roads you don't know. You may find that those seemingly slowish speed limits on side roads that seem annoying actually become important when you are towing. Pay attention to those "curve ahead" signs - they are talking about you! Not the sports car ahead of you.

Ask questions in this forum about towing. When you are ready to go on a trip, ask here about your route - suggestions, road conditions, construction, things to look out for. You will find that someone probably just drove that route yesterday!

See you on the road!

[SouthpawHD]

When making a turn, especially a right turn, you have to drive up to and part way through the intersection before making the turn - the trailer needs the space to follow and not hit the curb or other obstructions.

And braking takes a LOT longer, so drive a slower and leave as much space as you can with the vehicle in front of you.