my curse

[nephi007]

Howdy. Never was able to master backing up well enough in 7 years of owning my Jayco to make the knot in my stomach go away, we we were always looking for pull through sites and generally found them.We had a 4 point equalizer hitch which was fine but I wonder if other wdh are better for backing up ease.Hope I am not barking up the wrong tree with this question.Thanks

[Ole_Man_Dan]

There is a video of a guy using what he calls 'The Swoop'
when he backs up. I tried it and it works.

Basically you aim your truck into the spot headfirst, then at the last moment pull it hard out of the spot. Pull up, you are at the right angle, back in slowly. I put a traffic cone back there to tell me I'm back far enough.

FWIW... I tried having my wife assist, wanted to kill each other.
NOW... I have her go sit at the picnic table till I'm parked.
No shouting back and forth, no miscommunications...
She's still speaking to me. Married 39 yrs now...

[Doug33]

Some days I have it and some days I don't. It usually depends on how many people are in the vicinity watching me. The more people that watch, the worse I am at backing up! LOL

[Bisker]

Caveman, one of the sites where we recently camped was a bit like you describe, I told the DW, make a not of that site number so we NEVER get it!

[CavemanCharlie]

To put my trailer in the shed I have to back up around a corner, up a really good incline, and then into a dark hole. Even though I have done it dozens of times I still have to GOAL (Get Out And Look) before I can get it into position. Besides not being able to see At All, I'm always worried that the front of the TT will hit the back of the pickup due to the fact that the trailer is going up the steep incline while the pickup is still on level ground and this is happening with the trailer at 45 degree angle to the pickup. Kinda hard to explain. It's kinda 3 dimensional.

[Dennis_Smith]

At my house I have to back up a hill (8 foot rise over 35 feet) into a 12 foot gate. Practice practice and more practice. I have the wife spot me. She tells me if I am going to hit something, other than that she doesn’t tell me how to back up. Find a parking lot and spend a day learning how to do it. I promise you after 8 hours of practice you will be able to back up

[time2roll]

The hard part is moving the wheel in the opposite direction to start the turn.

[rexford]

I think most of us still share a common level of respect and a little fear while towing. Practice and experience adjust your comfort level so that most backing situations are second nature. However I
also think we all share a fear of that dark, unfamiliar, single lane road that just keeps winding down,
down never to offer a pullout. Throw in some rain, cliffs and a bunch of spectators and my trailer is
FOR SALE

[boosTT]

Use cell phones like walkie talkies and go slow are the best tips.

[CavemanCharlie]

Tvov wrote:

As to someone helping... I make sure that if someone is helping me back in, they ONLY tell me which way the rear of the trailer should go. If they start trying to tell me which way to turn the truck, things just get confused quickly.

As to hitches - different hitches don't really change backing in (although I've never used or even seen a "Pullrite" hitch), BUT remember to disconnect sway control bars. Sometimes backing into tight campgrounds can mean almost jackknifing the trailer, which can bend a sway control bar. Also, depending on your setup, it may be easier to disconnect weight distributing bars before backing, in case when you are done the truck is at an odd angle to the trailer.

Practice, practice, practice!

I agree, my brother would always confuse me by telling me what he wanted me to do with the pickup and not what he wanted me to do with the trailer. After a couple of good swear words he now lets me do it on my own and that's a 1000 times better then him confusing me with bad instructions.

[Tvov]

CavemanCharlie wrote:
Growing up on the farm my dad would yell at me if he saw me backing up a trailer by looking out the side window. He insisted I use my mirrors only. I still don't do it that way religiously but, the practice was good.

Yes! Actually, in many states you will fail your commercial driver's license test if you look over your shoulder. Learn to use your side mirrors, understand what they are showing you.

As to someone helping... I make sure that if someone is helping me back in, they ONLY tell me which way the rear of the trailer should go. If they start trying to tell me which way to turn the truck, things just get confused quickly.

As to hitches - different hitches don't really change backing in (although I've never used or even seen a "Pullrite" hitch), BUT remember to disconnect sway control bars. Sometimes backing into tight campgrounds can mean almost jackknifing the trailer, which can bend a sway control bar. Also, depending on your setup, it may be easier to disconnect weight distributing bars before backing, in case when you are done the truck is at an odd angle to the trailer.

Practice, practice, practice!

[2012Coleman]

We have inexpensive walkie talkies. That way I don't have to learn fancy FAA hand signals or practice landing an carriers - whew! As others have stated, don't over think and go slow. Backing into my driveway is what makes me th emost nervous, but I know that my TT's wheels have to do slightly off the drievway at the front corner. If they don't, then I need to try again. Don't let it ruin you camping - you will get it sooner or later!

[Duck]

When I, not a great backer, pull up to my site and there are campers standing around watching I get out of my truck to look the site over and say to all of the onlookers "Pull up your chairs the entertainment starts soon".
Don

[nephi007]

Howdy Well thanks to all for input. Since we took our 22 foot Jayco out only 2 weeks per year I didnt get a chance to practice "iive" backing and hooking up to practice wasnt something I gave much thought to. We sold our Jayco a few months ago and we are now looking at buying the Passport 252BH which is 26 feet 9 inches. I saw a back up camera named Switch Hitch but its for coupling trailer to tow vehicle. I never had any trouble hooking up though. Believe me we have tried all the suggestions mentioned here and I guess the common remedy is practice practice and more practice plus go slow.

[CavemanCharlie]

Growing up on the farm my dad would yell at me if he saw me backing up a trailer by looking out the side window. He insisted I use my mirrors only. I still don't do it that way religiously but, the practice was good.

[69_Avion]

Many folks think that backing up a long coupled trailer is more difficult than an short one. The opposite is true. A short coupled trailer will turn sharper with less movement of the TV. This makes it much more difficult to maneuver when backing up. Long trailers are much easier, but you need to either have a camera, spotter, or really good depth perception.
Even though I've never had a backup camera, I'm thinking about getting one. Not because I can't back a trailer up, but more for safety and being able to see a little kid or something that shouldn't be back there.