VIDEO HERE (4:21 minutes)
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That's a good tip for somebody that's never backed a trailer, but what the gentleman fails to mention is the closer the trailer axle is to your hitch, the harder it is to back that trailer up without jackknifing it or having to pull forward time after time to straighten the trailer out.
Seriously, check out videos of how easily a semi can back a trailer in to some incredibly tight spots sometime, then look at how far back the trailer wheels are from the hitch.
I can back a trailer for a 12 foot boat like it was second nature, but I can't back my 8 foot cargo trailer more than 10 feet without it heading off in a different direction like it had a mind of its own.
And if I can’t look over my shoulder and am forced to use my mirrors, I am really screwed.
ReplyDeleteConcur Wirecutter… Backing my 4’ cart using my riding mower is an experience.
ReplyDeleteI have a small plastic trailer for my ride on - it is everything awful for backing and worst when empty and light. I told wifey to help me out and back it. It was hilarious until she worked out I was laughing at her.
ReplyDeleteA tip for beginners: Don't get frustrated with an empty tandem axle trailer.
ReplyDeleteThey can be going just fine, but if the terrain is the least bit uneven, one axle will suddenly take over and off it goes where it wants ( boat and flatbeds are the worst offenders ).
The best behaved loaded trailers turn on you like a ( fill in the blank) in a second.
You wouldn't think that two feet between the wheel centers would make much difference, but it will.
Yup. Backing my 30' camp trailer is pretty simple. Backing the rubbish cart with my lawn mower makes me look like an idiot.
ReplyDeleteI can do my best when my wife isn't around giving directions.
ReplyDeleteDaryl
Good advice (bottom of steering wheel) that I learned from an old country boy many years ago....after driving 2.5 ton work trucks and fire engines, what's a rear-view mirror?? (side mirrors is all we had)
ReplyDeleteI have a 35 foot fifth wheel that's a fairly recent purchase, a 19 foot boat on a single axle trailer I bought in 1977 and a double axle jeep trailer I've probably had for 15 years. I've gotten adept at backing those in wherever I needed and never gave it a second thought. My sister in law bought a little short fifth wheel trailer and I got asked to bring it home. I had an absolute bitch of a time trying to back it into her driveway. Back and forth I don't know how many times.
ReplyDeleteI have helped many people with backing their caravans into parking spots. Hand at the bottom is the first tip and the second thing I get them to do is put the suv into low range if it has it. It slows everything down and gives time to correct the wobbles without over-correcting. If they don't have low range I get them to keep their hooves off the gas pedal. Slow as possible.
ReplyDeleteBill The Bunyip
It's also easier to back up 2 axle trailers than single axle trailers.
ReplyDeleteBest way to back up a trailer is put a ball hitch on the front bumper. I'm not saying this the practical way by by damn it's the easiest. I worked a Marina. We never drug a trailer. We had a jeep with the ball on the front and it worked slick. Had a big old Dodge power wagon for the bigger boats. That too a hitch on the front. Of course hitches on the back too if we left the yard and went down the road.
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteI drove 5 /10 ton tractors in the Army and could backup whatever was behind them. Put me in the co’s keep with a trailer and it was easier to pick it up! It was jackknife city😂
ReplyDeleteSame.
Delete5 ton, demo trailer, night time, in the woods, blackout, snow, 20 below, chains on everything, Wildflecken Germany, 1974-77
My tip is to either use your mirrors or look over your shoulder.
ReplyDeleteGoing back and forth always screws me up.
If at all possible, when starting up a backing procedure, try to begin with the tractor aligned with trailer, and the intended spot you're backing to.
ReplyDeleteReading the above comments, I'm relieved to know that I'm not the only one who has trouble backing a short trailer with the lawn tractor.
ReplyDeleteWhat's weird is years ago (when I had a front-wheel drive) I got in the habit of driving my car with my hands on the bottom half of the wheel, but when I back up the tractor, my right hand jumps to the top.
Duh.
Simple way? Get a man to do it.
ReplyDeleteYep, all true. Had a short camper trailer that I struggled to back up but had a longer flatbed I could parallel park (exaggerating) into tight areas.
ReplyDeleteGood Tip #1 - (Bill The Bunyip) - Use Low Range if you have it. The slower you go, the easier it is to make steering adjustments.
ReplyDeleteGood Tip #2 - (Handy Handsome) - Start off with your truck and trailer aligned in the direction you want to head. It doesn't make it any easier starting off having to make adjustments from the beginning when you're not experienced.
Great Tip #3 - Ignore advice from the Old Lady. (Daryl) - Tell her only one of you can drive the truck at a time, and that it might be a good time for her to go get herself a glass of wine and relax.
Put your hands at the bottom of your steering wheel. Problem solved.
ReplyDeleteBest way to back up a quarter-ton (jeep) trailer is unhook it and push it where you want it.
ReplyDeleteThe same with the wood splitter. By the time you see it in the mirrors, it's too late.
DeleteShortly after I got back from Germany, my beloved 65 F100 shot the motor. Decided to make a trailer out of it. I had the welder make the hitch extra long. FiL and BiL both thought I was nuts.
ReplyDeleteI left it at the FiL's while I was reclassifying. He used the heck out of it and discovered that it was easier to back, easier to hitch and less abusive on rough roads.
I still have it and use it for hauling feed.
When it comes to backing, I have a 9 ft tilt bed that is the worst. The little bit of wiggle at the hinge point translates into every bump being a headache.
Low Gear is the way to go. Mistakes happen slower and easier to correct. I taught my boys using 4 low. It also helped with over steering because it doesn't feel right when its locked in 4 low and cut tightly.
ReplyDeleteHe will impress me if he can back up a trailer (or baler) on a wobbly 3 point hitched to a tractor with sway chains and not bars. Now that takes skill.
ReplyDeleteOnly counts if the baler hitch is opened to the field working position so the baler sits offset from the tractor. And you have to back it down between the sheds and make a 90* turn into one of the bays, that's 18 inches wider than the baler. And it's starting to rain, so you're in a hurry, 'cause grandpa doesn't want the knotters to get wet and rust.
DeleteI have a short trailer, but what makes it really tough is (a) I can't see it over the truck's toolbox, (b) it's narrower than the truck is, so I can't see it in the mirror either and (c) did I mention my trailer is short? My truck is a Club cab, full length bed. I usually end up sticking a broom in the back so I can see the dang thing. Thanks for the video Kenny.
ReplyDeleteBeen driving semi (articulated, and wagon and drag) trucks for 46 years now and counting, though this is England where cab over engine design rules and makes life easier, given how tight the roads are here.
ReplyDeleteEvery trailer is different, every prime mover is different.
Easiest when the trailer is at least as long or longer than the prime mover, and preferably with the trailer wheels set further back than the half way line, also easiest when the trailer is a similar width to the towing vehicle.
Since my earliest days on the road, i've opened the drivers door and leaned out whenever possible, it's much easier to see, and sense, what's happening than trying to twist your neck round out the window, reversing by mirrors is fine but many can't even reverse well by mirrors without a trailer attached so no chance with, and the mirrors on some cars are only useful as girl's make up mirrors anyway.
On the subject of windows, and mirrors, keep them spotlessly clean inside and out, if you can't see clearly you're already losing.
20 year experience driving tractor trailer over the road... absolute WORSE thing to back up in the entire history of backing up is a lawn trailer behind a lawn tractor...
ReplyDeleteBecome an expert at pushing a shopping cart backward, it's a way to condition your mind to think about the angles involved in backing a trailer. Try it the next time you're at the grocery store. I learned trailer principles driving a wrecker with a sling in the late 70s, talk about your short trailers.
ReplyDeleteIt's always ideal to line up your mover/trailer combo with the space you're backing into, but sometimes this just isn't possible. In this case, it becomes a sort of two-step process---'jacking' the trailer toward (but not quite even with) the open space, then 'chasing' or following the trailer into the space with your car/truck. Try to always back to the same side as your steering is located (i.e. to the left side in US vehicles) so you can watch the side of the trailer out the side window as you back. (IT'S WELL WORTH A TRIP AROUND THE BLOCK FOR THIS, IF NECESSARY.) Then, as others suggest, go slow, be patient, and practice whenever possible.
ReplyDeleteHere in the red dust land of OZ you have to back a B Double for 100 yards to get your MC/road train licence. https://www.startpage.com/av/proxy-image?piurl=https%3A%2F%2Fencrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com%2Fimages%3Fq%3Dtbn%3AANd9GcSBXANoiqKuQ0Mm0L0uqlgLGaYrUhfeDyrL8Knl81HiRQWpOa4U%26s&sp=1663200989T14c70e36eed9422ed42ce37d6fcf8ac7216ac4201745db0bb4adad2e50f42bbd
ReplyDeleteEasy Peasy.
One day I hauled a triple road train of premix to a new minesite. The drop off was near the stockyards on the cattle station. I watched a young fella back a triple stock train up to the ramp. Made it look simple he did. https://www.startpage.com/av/proxy-image?piurl=https%3A%2F%2Fencrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com%2Fimages%3Fq%3Dtbn%3AANd9GcRINUSoR3Gphc0RfiQtxs_lvPalg40UZNlnpF3FotPUrCpH-fNq%26s&sp=1663201228T3d0abf8697dc0ab0d9e2ce2909e41f59cc328942919afdc04da81a31bb50dcf7
after all it is only a B double with an extra trailer.
Not being entirely stupid I waited until I was 100kms or more away before trying it.
That extra trailer makes adds jelly trailer to a B double!!
Fortunately no one saw me and I quickly abandoned the silly idea.
Since then I have manged it a couple of times but as I said earlier slow is your friend.
Bill The Bunyip
As a teenager, I learned to back a short stock trailer behind a Ford 8N tractor. Passed the licensing course for driving a tractor on a farm other than family owned.
ReplyDeleteLater in life, I drove tractor trailers. Piece of cake compared to that stock trailer.