Now I've seen it all...

[gijoecam]

This has GOT to be the most ridiculous 'feature' I've seen on any vehicle. Ever. There are no words to express my disdain for this 'feature.'... If you can't figure out which way to turn the wheels, maybe you shouldn't be towing the trailer in the first place?

Ford Pro Trailer Backup Assist Feature

Now, is the technology that enables this cool? Yeah. The nerd in me marvels at it. Is it at all practical? As far as I'm concerned, it's utterly useless. I'm confident that I'd be able to do it faster and at least as accurately...

[Community Alumni]

It could be a pretty nice feature, especially with those who struggle with backing. I foresee lots of front end damage from those paying too much attention to the monitor and not the surroundings. If they paired it with something like Kia's Surround View then they could eliminate that. In Surround View your backup monitor is split between a backup camera view and a overhead view of the vehicle and its surroundings.

My problem with all of these new doodads that they're putting into vehicles isn't the features themselves, but the fact that people eventually start to rely on them. Things like proximity warnings, blind spot warnings, lane departure, parallel parking, etc. People put all their trust in the system. I've had cars start to merge into my lane because their blind spot warning failed to detect my motorcycle. Since their little triangle didn't light up they assumed that it's ok to move over. All these features are meant to be aids, but people don't treat them that way.

[thomasmnile]

dvitale300 wrote:
I think my biggest problem with learning how to back up the trailer is not in turning the wheel in the right direction, but multitudes of overcorrection once the wheels are in the right direction.

Agree. Response to steering input when backing a bumper pull trailer is much quicker than when backing a fifth wheel. All the conventional wisdom I've read here that a fifth wheel is much easier to back was not my experience. Have a bumper pull now that is about the same overall length of our previous fifth wheel and I find backing it to be much easier for whatever reason..........

My 'finest hour' backing our fifth wheel came at Suwanee River SP in North Florida. First visit there, assigned campsite very tight with lot o' trees, posts and assorted obstructions including vehicles parked right at the edge of the road. Took a loooooooong time, but I got the trailer in without knocking down the forest. Did take 3 Miller Lites in quick succession to unwind afterward. :B

[4X4Dodger]

TInmania wrote:

4X4Dodger wrote:


In my view people need to keep control of the vehicle, learn to back and park and repair everything possible. Otherwise we mortgage our future to those few who have specialized knowledge. And worst of all it endangers our very independence.

While I very much admired Carl Sagan I don't really agree with that assertion.

There really isn't just a precious few who have specialized knowledge: there are legions of them. The skilled tech who can fix your hi-tech washing machine will likely be lost trying to work on the turbocharger in his car. So would a proficient programmer used to dealing in software.

Speaking of cars, back in the 1950s and 1960s you generally needed to work on your own car: they weren't nearly as reliable as today. Not sure I would even classify much of what the "average man" did as knowing the ins and outs of the car. They could change points and plugs, replace a generator or alternator, and a myriad of other things that regularly failed. But rebuild a transmission or engine? Not likely aside from gearheads (who are still around).

In a way technology is just an extension of the centuries old division of labor. Even the westward pioneers of the 19th century couldn't have made it without someone else making nails, wagons, fabric, wire, tools, etc.



Michael

I understand your point but would point out that most men of my generation have a complete technical knowledge of the internal combustion engine as it existed in the 50's 60's and 70's and could tear one down and put it back together. I will admit the transmission was another matter for most if it was automatic.

While the "precious few" I mentioned number in the millions you have to set that against the multiple Billions of people without the true understanding of how things work. This ratio still gives us a "technological preisthood" and means most of us are mere "operators" of technology without a basic understanding of it's underlying science.

In the 1700's and 1800's even your average farmer could make nails and most of his other tools. He could also understand the basic science underlying the Steam Locomotive...the technological wonder of it's day.

This is not to say that technological advances are not positive rather our educational system has not kept pace with the technology and teaching its underlying science.

[K-9_HANDLER]

Seen/ heard quite a few heated words exchanged at busy boat ramps due to difficulties in backing. I will keep my eyes open to see if a detect anyone using this feature. I guess there is no badging on the truck to indicate it has the feature.

[Grit_dog]

Ffffnnn dumb!
Just another electronic gadget to break.

[rhagfo]

smkettner wrote:
Anyone complaining about this gadget had better not be driving an automatic transmission :B

We then I will take that statement as license to state that if you try to make a vehicle idiot proof, only an idiot will want to drive it.
One will never learn how to backup with gadgets like these.

I drive a 5speed manual TV, and use my mirrors to back and change lanes.

Just had a couple great weeks visiting DD, DGD, and DSIL. About 98% of rental cars in Ireland come with manual transmissions and Right Side drive.
Shift with your Left hand, the peddles are the same order.

[time2roll]

Anyone complaining about this gadget had better not be driving an automatic transmission :B

[RobertRyan]

Wrong Lane wrote:

RoyF wrote:
If you are supposed to watch the video screen while backing up, then I foresee many an accident! My new four-wheel car has the backup screen, and I have already scraped the back fenders on both sides because I was watching the screen and not the side mirrors.

The body shop guy said that backup cameras and Walmart parking lots are what keep him in business!

So, why wouldn't you use the side mirrors when backing your trailer instead of the back up camera screen? Nothing says you can't use it while using your mirrors in the traditional way.

Look in your side views and use the alternate back up control, seems simple.

Volkswagen had it as a feature on backing Caravans in Europe, but I thought if you cannot back anything you should not be towing it
Volkswagen Trailer Assist Video

[TInmania]

4X4Dodger wrote:


In my view people need to keep control of the vehicle, learn to back and park and repair everything possible. Otherwise we mortgage our future to those few who have specialized knowledge. And worst of all it endangers our very independence.

While I very much admired Carl Sagan I don't really agree with that assertion.

There really isn't just a precious few who have specialized knowledge: there are legions of them. The skilled tech who can fix your hi-tech washing machine will likely be lost trying to work on the turbocharger in his car. So would a proficient programmer used to dealing in software.

Speaking of cars, back in the 1950s and 1960s you generally needed to work on your own car: they weren't nearly as reliable as today. Not sure I would even classify much of what the "average man" did as knowing the ins and outs of the car. They could change points and plugs, replace a generator or alternator, and a myriad of other things that regularly failed. But rebuild a transmission or engine? Not likely aside from gearheads (who are still around).

In a way technology is just an extension of the centuries old division of labor. Even the westward pioneers of the 19th century couldn't have made it without someone else making nails, wagons, fabric, wire, tools, etc.



Michael

[gijoecam]

ShinerBock wrote:
I am guessing a lot of you land loving RVers in here have never been on a boat ramp before. I would encourage some that say this is a bad feature to get a lawn chair and go sit for a day at a busy boat ramp.

Know what's funny? I've done exactly that at the ramp in the video! I used to live about a mile away from Elizabeth Park, and on Sunday afternoons, I'd ride over there with a six pack cooler and a sandwich, and watch the antics. Man, I could tell you some stories!

[toedtoes]

There's a great novel (Cliffard D. Simak's A Choice of Gods) on that subject. Yes, if something happens, we will lose the technology we've gained - but what effect would that really have on us. Necessity is the mother of invention. If we are suddenly without vehicles because there is no one capable of fixing them, we will learn new ways (or old) to get around that).

To me, most technology (other than medical advances) has simply made life more convenient - it hasn't changed the way we live. If I couldn't figure out how to fix my car, I'd walk, ride a bike, etc. All a car has done is make it faster to get from point A to point B.

[4X4Dodger]

This is really not about whether or not one is a Luddite or a Super "Technologist". What this is really about is an idea that Carl Sagan the Astrophysicist made a case for in one of his later books.

His position is that for centuries the average man was able to repair and fully understand the technology that surrounded him. An example: In the 50's and 60's MOST men could repair anything in they owned including their TV and their car.

No longer is this the case. Now most of us cannot repair and do not have a full understanding of how the technology that we use everyday works.

Sagans take was that this is creating a "priesthood" of "technocrats" that is overall a small percentage of our population who hold information and knowledge that the rest of us have little capability of understanding or using. He thought this was a dangerous trend and that our school systems were doing a very bad job in training our kids to not just USE the technology but truly understand it's inner workings.

This new feature from Ford like so many of the other features now on the market that will park your car for you and find your way are just an incremental step in the process that Sagan was talking about. It's the next logical step and it will result in a generation that cannot park or back a vehicle, just like most of our generation and the one younger cannot begin to repair their own cars. The motor skills necessary to drive park and back, which are learned and honed over time with practice will be lost. And the new generation will be saying..."My Grandfather could fix anything on his car..but I cant even back mine up"

In my view people need to keep control of the vehicle, learn to back and park and repair everything possible. Otherwise we mortgage our future to those few who have specialized knowledge. And worst of all it endangers our very independence.

[FishOnOne]

toedtoes wrote:
I wonder if anyone can actually point to a specific item/program that has resulted in the "dumbing down" of the public and resulted in disaster.

Seems to me that the argument of dumbing down is simply more about making those who fight the change feel better about their choice.

Seriously, has anything really changed with cars that parallel park themselves?

Ha Ha .....

[2012Coleman]

BurbMan wrote:
Dave, I asked you to let go of the steering wheel while I am parking, Dave. You must let me steer the vehicle, Dave.

Thanks for the laugh! You know how they came up with HAL's name? They used the preceding letters for IBM - H(I) A(B) L(M)

It's full of stars!