Backing Camper Tricks

[dj3spots]

I don't backup on the "drivers" side either. I've tried but doesn't work for me!


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[Cmmjmoore]

thanks for some really good ideas on backing. I think most of us realize that the more practice you have the easier it gets. When I started I took the trailer over to the high school parking lot on Sunday with a couple of orange cones and practiced knocking them over. I got really good at killing them. Four years now and wife and I have figured out trailer speak which helps a whole lot. I agree it is always better to get to your camp ground before dark but sometimes that doesn't work. Love camping in winter even though the days are shorter. Thanks again.


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[Poppy94]

A few years ago, I had to back up a few times while tandem towing. Yep, can do. Trick is patience, now I don't tandem tow anymore but I can now say "been there, done that"

[Mad Dog 7.62]

Unfortunately my wife is not helpful when it comes to directing me while backing, so I have to get out and check clearances myself. The place at home where I park my trailer when its not in use is extremely tight and its a long way back, so I have to be lined up perfectly at the start or its not gonna go. The main advice I have is...take your time. Don't get frustrated or distracted. When we get to a campsite, the dog is always excited so I have my wife get out and take the dog for a stroll while I get the trailer situated in peace! A few things that I have found that can be helpful are to lay out a guide if there is a hazard, such as a big rock near the back of the campsite that is out of sight while backing. In those cases I will lay a white water hose out to mark the furthest back I want to go. And yes, the longer the distance between the hitch and the trailer axle the less sensitive it is and usually the easier to back.

[kansas666]

My only suggestion is at all costs avoid the loop of shame. That's where you completely botched it and have to drive around the loop and try again.

[Ford Idaho]

Not so much a tip as it is a rule.

G.O.A.L.


I don't care if Mother Teresa is back there with a cell phone glued to her ear and is holding a 10,000,000,000 candle power spotlight.

If you are not sure, Get Out And Look!

[maxum1989]

Originally Posted by Ford Idaho

Not so much a tip as it is a rule.

G.O.A.L.


I don't care if Mother Teresa is back there with a cell phone glued to her ear and is holding a 10,000,000,000 candle power spotlight.

If you are not sure, Get Out And Look!

Nailed it! I get out almost every time even when I've got "help". My last darkness arrival I was backing in with "help" and would have been in a ditch if I didn't get out and look. When I asked at what point they were going to notice the ditch they just shrugged their shoulders.

[crunchman12001]

Here is a tip that I saw on YouTube from a trucker that clicked with me on using my mirrors. Some guys use the hands on the botom of the wheel ect...
The video uses a different method, no matter where you put your hands on the wheel always steer towards the mirror that you you want to see less of the trailer in. It works!
Here is the link.....

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=pACYTXk_DQ8

crunchman

[wmtire]

Pulling trailers most of all my life in both personal and business, I usually don't have any problem with using mirrors and putting the trailer where I want left and right fairly fast. It's depth that I usually can't see correctly at campsites, especially once I get in a straight track. This is the stage I have to exit, sometimes more than once, and survey the back of the spot to get the trailer at the depth I want.

Others have suggested using backup cameras with which I agree, and I keep a great little baby monitor wireless one in my truck. I just place it down at the spot I want the stabilizers to be and can see exactly where I want to stop when backing up. Here is a pic of that from another forum where we discussed it.

http://www.forestriverforums.com/for...tml#post305546

[ependydad]

Originally Posted by kansas666

My only suggestion is at all costs avoid the loop of shame. That's where you completely botched it and have to drive around the loop and try again.

LOL, so I'm going to go with this being said tongue in cheek in jest.. but, let me say- it's better to do the loop of shame than damage. I got to experience both because I didn't want to loop right away.

[Lefty59]

We had backing in with our previous travel trailer down pat...could hit almost any site with the DW doing all the directing from the back. After we got the 5th wheel, we struggled to figure it out and finally have found a method that works for us.

Now, when we arrive at our camp site, I use the swoop method to set the 5'ver up where I figure it needs to be to back it in and then the DW takes over the wheel from there.

I survey the camp site, decide on the desired location for the 5'ver and then stand by the TV window on the side we are backing to and give her right/left directions (each right/left I give is a 1/4 turn on the wheel by her). It seems I can better visualize the arcs the 5'ver needs to track along to get to the spot we want to be at. Occasionally, I have her stop the TV for a moment while I re-survey or walk to the opposite side to check that we are on track.

So far...so good!

[RVPP]

I'm the new kid on the block so it's ALL good. The hand at the bottom of the steering wheel and getting in before dark and if you get in late those lanterns :-)
WEST Marine sells 'Lucy" lights. Little, solar powered, inflatable lanterns, they should work great. Search lucy lanterns | West Marine.
We hang them on the awning.
Safe travels, Paul & Cindy

[MilCop4523]

Originally Posted by kansas666

My only suggestion is at all costs avoid the loop of shame. That's where you completely botched it and have to drive around the loop and try again.

AH but this beats the old military view of
"keep going until it sounds expensive and then give it one more push"

[Buck1032]

Originally Posted by MilCop4523

AH but this beats the old military view of
"keep going until it sounds expensive and then give it one more push"

I don't know when you were in but our motto in Naval Aviation was fix it till its broke.

[dcheatwood]

My trick is this. Tell the wife to walk the dog. Then I get out and take a good look at the spot. When wife gets back I'm hooking up power. She's never any help. She once stood in the pitch black, behind the trailer, where it was obvious that I could not see her. I Slowly backed up waiting for a shout to "whoa!" Backed right into the eve of our carport. Her comment was, I was waving my hand for you to stop. Well at least she was keeping the mosquitoes from biting.
So now I do it alone. I can't get her to understand that if she can't see me in a mirror, then I can't see her. She thinks staring at the rear bumper will control the fiver. Kinda funny.

[RVPP]

Oh good, now I need a dog :-)

[KyDan]

Our first trip in our first trailer- I backed in and wife gave directions!
It was UGLY. She would say things like watch out or move over....
WHICH WAY I would yell.... After 2 angry arrivals at different camping spots she said if I thought giving directions was so easy I should try it!

We swapped places and it's WONDERFUL! She drives and I walk around
and along side and tell her exactly which way to steer and when to stop or
move. It works great. She is like my own personal robot/remote control
behind the wheel. We get the hitch on the ball 1st time every time
and our arrivals are SO much less stressful.

We park in a shelter at home and in order to be able to open the trailer
door the other side has to be within 2 inches or less of the post. We make it every time and haven't so much as scuffed off the dirt!

It's worked great for us for the last 10 years.

[Gottawonder]

Others have mentioned lanterns or glow sticks, i have found those little cheap multi-LED flashlights handy...the worst place I ever have to back my RV is my own driveway. At night, I throw one of those in the grass close to where I have to get the rear wheel to cut into the driveway. It's enough to light up the corner and give me a good visual of the mark. Worst case I'd run over it and bury the $3 flashlight. I've also considered clipping the LED gooseneck grill light I have to the rear fenderwell to illuminate the ground at the rear tire.

Like others have said, take your time. Don't wreck your rig trying to keep someone from having to wait on you for 60 seconds. If unsure of where you're at, hop out take a look.

[Buckskin]

The hardest part I have is when we return home and have to do several backing maneuvers to get camper under carport - very tight area with trees and garage to watch out for. The best advice I can give is to go very very very slow.

[RVPP]

"very, very, very slow." Remind me of something I heard in a boat handling class many years ago. "pointy end goes forward and if you're going to hit something, do it slowly."
Have a great day.
Paul & Cindy