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Backing a Trailer

T

Traditional Farmer

Well-known Member
Location
Virginia
Took a load of meat goats up to the Winchester Market yesterday,they were using only 1 set of scales so the cattle,sheep and goats were all unloading at the same docks.Had to sit in line
a while and kinda unbelievable how lousy some people are at backing up a trailer.There its about as simple as it gets come in swing to right and make a U turn and back straight back to which
ever hole is open.Some of these guys were all over the parking lot,quite a sight to see.
 
Have never seen any places out of Texas but down here we have drive thru unloading lane and chutes to back up also. Drive thru is nice since we also have people that back a trailer up.
 
...and backing a two wheel trailer is so simple. Just put your hand on the bottom of the steering wheel and grip it. If you want the trailer to go right, move your hand to the right, if you want it to go left, move the hand to the left.
 
Many years ago when my wife got her first horse trailer she would have me back it into the driveway parking spot. I told her she had to learn how to do it. She didn't want to but I made her do it. She was real PO'd at me and her first time took her 5 tries to get it in its spot. The next time took her 3 tries and after that 2 then only one. A few months later she was parking the trailers for all her friends at the horse shows and can back a short coupled trailer better than I ever could.
 
If you want trailer to go right you have to first turn front wheels left and then right to follow the trailer around . If you want trailer to go left you first turn front wheels right and then turn left to follow trailer around.
 
Just wondering Farmer, is there anything that you're not good at doing? Life is too short to sit back and enjoy someone else struggling with a task.
 
You got that right.

When we owned a boat, my wife and I had a routine when we'd pull it out of the water. I'd park the boat on the ramp side of the dock and stay in it, my wife would get the pickup and trailer, whip it down the ramp, I'd drive the boat onto the trailer as far as it would go, winch it the rest of the way on, and my wife would pull into the parking lot to finish tying the boat down. It would take us only a couple of minutes, max.

Now, when all the guys around saw a woman coming with the empty trailer, they all kind of groaned, like we'd be there for a half hour. My wife showed all of them up. Like you said, it was entertainment watching some of the guys. One guy once got his trailer crossways off the ramp to a point where even his wife was laughing at him.
 
Larry, you beat me to it!

Boat ramps are entertaining!

Unless you happen to be in line behind one of the Bozos!

I watched a frustrated driver blow the engine in a Ford pickup once.

He was stuck on the ramp, trying to pull the boat out.

He just stood on the throttle, engine screaming at full RPM for seemed like 5 minutes.

It let go, smoke, fire, the whole enchilada!
 
I used to watch the neighbor back a loaded hay wagon into one of his barns with the baler between the wagon and his JD 50- a narrow front with power steering. Now, I try it every once in a while, just to test myself. It certainly gets harder as I get less limber in the seat.

I just got started one time, and a friend pulled up in his truck and watched me- that particular attempt was the best I have ever done, just by sheer luck. I have since proven myself far from expert. One tip I learned was to throttle up the tow vehicle, makes steering easier, and keeps the load moving.

And we know, its all about getting your load moving.
 
Some people can't even back up a car. My Dad in the 60's worked in a receiving department and he quite often had to back a trailer up to the dock as the driver couldn't do it. In my younger days I could back up anything. Backing up a hay wagon with a wide front end tractor was no big deal. Now I have much less eye sight and can't turn my head as far and backing up to even hook up a wagon to a tractor is a challenge.
 
When you can't twist your body and neck you put a hitch on front of tractor to back (push) wagons around.
a250894.jpg
 
Anyone who says they haven't had a bad day
backing is lieing. Even so called experts
embarrass themselves sometimes. That said,
I have seen plenty of entertaining backing
jobs.
 
Same with my wife. I finally took the rig out in the field, and she played with it for awhile, until she could back it. I told her to learn to back with the side mirrors, because that works differently than looking over your shoulder. Didn't take her long, and at this point, if I need to back into a tight spot, I have her do it.

I did have some trouble backing my little boat trailer down the launch, because you couldn't see the rig with the rear view mirrors until it was crossways enough that you couldn't recover. Solution- remove the pickup tailgate.
 
I have a 32 foot flat bed, a 26 foot stock trailer and a 12 foot horse trailer. Both the wife and I can put any of the 3 where ever they need. The ranch owns a 16 foot stock trailer that stays hooked on to a 97 Ford, that has a cracked drivers mirror, a small passenger side mirror, and jumps out of reverse, so you have to hold it in gear. That outfit is a challenge to back up.
 
Local woman backs up semi's for some farmers at the elevator. I never had a problem backing a long hitch trailer like a boat but things have a way of getting you as you age.
 
I have a little trouble backing up my 12 ft trailer when it's hooked to my 30ft fifth wheel camper. Mainly because I can't see it behind the front trailer. It helped allot though pulling doubles for 35 years when I had a real job.
 
The county has a landfill receiving facility. I had a trailer load of landfill to dump with my dump trailer. They have a 14 ft door you back thru onto the scale then dump into the compactor. I backed my trailer right in and went up to the scale office. The operator couldn't believe I had backed is so effortlessly. He told me about 50% of the people have him back their trailers in and the rest take several minutes to get their trailers in. Amazing how so many people have so much difficulty backing a trailer.
 
LOL...LOL.. true test in backing a trailer is backing a hay wagon with 4 wheels, front two with stearing.. Now that will test your patience.

I was raised with backing trailers so were my boys. Both can do pretty good job at it. I think most try backing up to fast from what I see. I have folks come to get a load of hay and just hop out and let me do it..Saves alot of time..LOL
My equipment shed sits to the left of my house so you have to back on a curve to the right so the trailer curves to the passenger side of vehicle which is more difficult than backing from the drivers side trailer curving to drivers side..(hard to explain)
 
"true test in backing a trailer is backing a hay wagon with 4 wheels, front two with stearing.."

while still hooked to the baler. I've done this on numerous occasions.
 
Boat Ramps
After screwing around for an ungodly amount of time and finally getting lined up with the ramp. Trailer is now nice and close to the water, they stop and get the boat ready for the day's fun. Remove the tarp and straps. Load the skis and coolers. Clean out the garbage can and expired beer cans. Clean the windshield. Back the boat into the water. Pull the boat out of the water. Install the drain plug. Back the boat into the water. Leave the boat beached on the ramp. Park the truck and trailer. Push the boat off the ramp and tie up where the sign says 'No Stopping-Loading Only'. Celebrate the success of the operation and plan the day's fun and frolic in the water.
Grrrr
 
Can back 4 wheel wagons all day, can back one hooked to a baler. Happy to drive my old 27 ft bumper pull as fast as the truck will go in reverse a mile back along the road.

But my gooseneck trailer... - my word I look like an idiot trying to back that thing up. I can?t figure out why I have so much trouble with it.
 
Didn't say I enjoyed it,but if I had to routinely do something which I guess most of these guys do I'd take the effort to learn how.Backing up trucks,tractors,wagons,trailers etc is an
every day thing for me on the farm and I'd guess for most farmers you'd think they'd learn after a while.
 
If you do enough backing and know your truck it's easy. If you back in and out 40 times a day and no two places are the same you will get good at it. Being an LTL driver we backed into places that road jobs couldn't get into.
 
You learn to back up better when you don't have power steering . Drove semi from 1963 till 1974 before i drove one with power steering and i don't like i am chasen a snake around a parking lot backwards while backing .

And how many people can back in blind side or by using mirrors only .
 
My wife gets a lot of compliments on how good she is at backing up an empty boat trailer, she is very good at it! When we are done boating for the day I drop her off on the dock and then back away out of other folks way, sometimes there is a waiting line. She goes and gets the vehicle and trailer and backs it in the water. She likes the Subaru better than the truck because she can see the trailer better. Sometimes when boat landings are busy the DNR has an attendant, and you need to be ready to launch when you get to the ramp or get out of the way for someone who is!
 
Seeing that hitch on the front makes me think you may need to get pulled out of the mud sometime. You're not getting mud on that nice looking tractor are you? LOL
 
99% of the semi driving I have done has not involved backing to a dock so the first time I pulled a cattle pot I was more than a little intimidated when I got to the packing plant to unload. I got straightened up to the dock OK but judging the distance from the back of the trailer 60 feet back there to the dock was tough. I crept back ever so slowly till I finally bumped the dock. Soon as I got stopped another truck came flying backing up to the dock beside me, slowed down, bumped the dock, he set the brakes, jumped out of his truck with prod in hand and walked to the back of the truck. Made me feel like the true amateur I was. LOL
 
You guys seen the Ford commercial. Just twist a dial. Any body have one? I spotted trailers for a factory. We were supposed to use the hard spots. Like where a dumpster was. Etc. Sometimes I was good at it. Sometimes I sucked. We used a long hood Peterbuilt. No sleeper.
 
You know some things you do a lot are really simple but if you only do it once a year or so can be really difficult. Equipment makes a difference too. If a person has inadequate mirrors on their truck when you back a trailer there are times you can see the trailer or where it's going until it's too late to make a correction.
 

I have no problem backing my own trailers left side or blind side. But when I have to blind side a 30 ft. twelve wheel bumper pull into a narrow driveway behind a triaxle dump, where it is a good curve off the road, and all I can see in the mirror is part of the trailer and not the back of the trailer or ANYTHING of what I am backing towards, I admit to getting frustrated. If anyone can give me pointers on that I would be grateful.
 
(quoted from post at 07:27:35 12/19/17) I think I've got a trailer that will humble some of ya... It's this little 4x8 enclosed thing. You can't see it in your side mirrors until it's ready to jackknife.
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LOL got one of those too......behind a fell sized vehicle you just can't see it.

I too have been amused at the boat ramp.

Rick
 
Taught my 2 kids years ago to back a trailer by hooking a small 5x10 2 wheel trailer to my Farmall Cub,stuck two shovels 9 foot apart in the pasture told them to back between them. Practice made perfect. My daughter can back a gooseneck horse trailer better than her husband.Son has no problems . Wife struggles if someone is watching.If no one is around she can back my boat trailer down the ramp I load up,she pulls out in no time.So I learned just wait untill the crowd leaves.
 
Learned to back up at age 12 with a Ferg TEF-20 and a single axle trailer, in a big field with a row of fencing stakes knocked in in a line! My uncle just said 'go figure'! Soon went from there to reversing loaded hay wagons with 'mirrors only' visibility.
My elder daughter, also 'farm bred and raised' and now a veterinarian (well, a lecturer in veterinary anaesthesia and critical care, to give her her full handle) can reverse a horse trailer with the best of them!
 
(quoted from post at 10:31:33 12/19/17)
I have no problem backing my own trailers left side or blind side. But when I have to blind side a 30 ft. twelve wheel bumper pull into a narrow driveway behind a triaxle dump, where it is a good curve off the road, and all I can see in the mirror is part of the trailer and not the back of the trailer or ANYTHING of what I am backing towards, I admit to getting frustrated. If anyone can give me pointers on that I would be grateful.
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And I almost forgot, it is dark out and all you have for back-uprights are the two inch square ones that are covered with asphalt, and the driveway slopes away from the road. I would like to know how this is done.
 
Gotta tell this. Back about twenty years ago, we had a Romanian living with us. I had just built this house, and had sold my old house. I had a wagon loaded with garage junk, and moved it across the road to my tool shed. Mitch was helping me. I backed the wagon into the shed to unload it, after pulling in front and making a right turn to get it in. Mitch was just graduated from the New England Tractor Trailer Training School and pretty cocky at the time, and I couldn't help myself, but I asked him if he could do that. I had pretty much put it in right where I wanted it, and it came from years of experience backing wagons. Mitch says, "Oh, is easy for you. You have single axle tractor". So I pulled the 2520 back out of the barn, and parked it at a right angle in front. I climbed off, and told him to back it into the shed and show me how a pro driver does it. I laughed for the next fifteen minutes or more watching him try to back that wagon. At final count, he made 27 pull ups getting it into the shed, and still wound up in the shed almost sideways.........
 
Hi, I had a truck and trailer to haul my backhoe around for 30 yrs. I always used my mirrors. One time I was going down a ramp at a ferry dock when my trailer jack got stuck in the expanded metal on there for traction. They had an oxygen/acetylene set not 10 ft away. I said cut the jack leg .They would not. I had to back up about 500 ft around a 90? bend with a row of cars for the length of the dock on passengers side and dock rail on the other. It went smoothly but I sure was glad it was curving on drivers side. Ed Will. Oliver Bc
 
Back when I still drove truck for a living I had to back into place with many things and not have much of any room to do so. Worked more then one job driving a dump truck where the roads where to narrow to turn around so we had to load up and drive a mile or more backwards to dump the load. Made for a long hard day but at $55 per hour I guess it was worth it
 
We have a little 15ft jd BW disc that has the axles pretty close to the hitch. That darn little thing catches me off guard every time because it jackknifes VERY easily. It's also interesting backing up the corn picker and wagon. I can keep straight only long enough to give myself enough room to get out of the rows without running over corn.
 
When I first started driving a semi, whenever I had a little free time, I would go round and round the truck stop lot and back in. Then go around again and back blind side. Drivers probably thought I was crazy, but I learned to put a trailer into any tight spot!
 
How many here can back up a hay wagon? I for
one can?t. Anyone can backup a single axle trailer. Can?t believe people here are bragging about it.
 
My main shipping dock has four dock doors. We only use one the last few years. Delivery drivers can never seem to get square with the dock. One driver said I am going to get up here square if it is the last thing I do. I told him to try to use his right mirror after you get to where you can see rather than only the left mirror. They come in on the left of the dock, pull across the front of the docks, swing out away from the docks to be straight out, then back in. The next time he came in he said take a look at that job. He said he had never thought about using his right mirror. Some kind of optical illusion that looks square out of the left mirror alone.
 
Short wheelbase tow vehicle with a long trailer? I wouldn't brag about how good you are with that combination.

Try backing with a long wheel base tow vehicle and a short trailer. That will separate the men from the boys.

I back up this combo all the time. Not the easiest to do, but I do get it done even if I have to make a second try.

mvphoto7826.jpg
 
Slightly off topic maybe, but the one thing I could never reverse was our semi-mounted binder (see photo - this is not actually mine). Could never convince myself that it was just an extension of the tractor, not a trailed implement!!
a250907.jpg
 
Oldbuzzard, the freight line I retired from, at one time, had a few 23' pups. One of the guys had a really long wheel-base city tractor assigned to him. That was a mess to try to back into our dock. No power steering,,,,, gm
 
I have good days and bad days on backing stuff up, so I best not brag!

I have a bale basket (3 wheeled, front is swivel so it is sort of a short wheel base trailer) behind the small square baler ((short wheelbase with the wheels centered the hitch way out behind) that I back frequently around the silo to position to unload by the hay mow. With the hills and trees and buildings making it a tight area. That can be a challenge but often goes pretty good.

I need to back 4 wheel gravity boxes into sheds frequently (even 2 deep, one at a time) and learn to set up the rear about where it needs to be headed on a slow curve, then watch the wagon front axle very carefully for 90% of the backing and either it goes well or one can see where it goes wrong early in the process and easy to straighten out and try again, in small steps.

I laugh at others failures, but from time to time I know I'm the one to be laughed at too!

Paul
 
Sometimes I think you"re either born with the ability to back up, or not. Too many people wait too long to correct, and get hopelessly misaligned. With 30 years of haying, I"ve backed up baler/wagon, or chopper/wagon on countless corners while opening fields. Or hooking two loaded wagons (sometimes 3), behind the chopper- yes, one at a time but still hooked to the chopper. That farm was 3 miles from home, and I wasn"t about to make multiple trips. Youngest daughter had to teach some guys while in the army, how to back a trailer behind a truck. Made them quit smirking.
 
Used to be pretty good at the backing thing. Boats, semis and even worked parking aircraft with a ford 8n. Then I lost part of the sight in my left eye and later had a mini stroke. Now, it is not easy at all. Something changed, along with my loss of depth perception. Next pickup I get will have a backup camera, maybe even that fancy ford gizmo. So, the next time you see someone that can't back, it might be me.
 
The paper mill I retired from had some bad loading docks, around a corner and down into a pit, I felt sorry for the truck drivers. To back into the roll maintenance shop they had to back uphill through an airlock 75 feet and then into the shop. When we would ship out the biggest rolls that weighed 120,000 lb. it was a special trailer, they would add the jeep out in the street.
 
I used to practice backing hay wagons while they're still hooked up to the baler, and got pretty darn good at it too! Same with silage wagons still hooked to the chopper. Just stare right at the tongue of the wagon and try not to think too much.
 
Was at a grain elevator sitting in line to unload. Across the street was a alum. can collecting building. A fellow pulls in with his pickup and little trailer with about 15 sacks of cans. His truck is towards the building and trailer towards street. Has to carry cans past truck to building. Goes to back up to leave and couldn't do it. Finally pulled across yard through ditch to get to street.
 
(quoted from post at 15:28:02 12/19/17) Hardest thing for me to back up is the old Deere side delivery take. It's like trying to herd chickens.
Click to expand...

My experience with side delivery rakes is that they back just like two wheel trailers, which is basically what the front axle is.

I can back 4 wheel wagons fairly well, although my neck doesn't swivel the way it used to either. I like to do it at Farmamerica once in a while, just to show off. Their tractors have hitches on the front, but I tell them that those are for the guys who can't do it the other way! :)
 
(quoted from post at 22:09:33 12/19/17)
(quoted from post at 15:28:02 12/19/17) Hardest thing for me to back up is the old Deere side delivery take. It's like trying to herd chickens.
Click to expand...

My experience with side delivery rakes is that they back just like two wheel trailers, which is basically what the front axle is.

I can back 4 wheel wagons fairly well, although my neck doesn't swivel the way it used to either. I like to do it at Farmamerica once in a while, just to show off. Their tractors have hitches on the front, but I tell them that those are for the guys who can't do it the other way! :)
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WELLLLLL maybe the front axle is like a two wheeled trailer but those caster wheels waaaay at the back can push the front axle in directions that you don't plan on. You can't steer casters.
 
Wife and I sometime go down to the local marina to watch the launching. Take our bag chairs some treats and sit down to watch the fun. This is on lake Michigan, some sport boats some quite large cruisers.

A guy and gal taking out their about 24fter, seemed to do all the right things, tilt up , strapped up good, secured every thing.
Down the road they went.....motor still running.
 
(quoted from post at 07:09:47 12/20/17)
(quoted from post at 22:09:33 12/19/17)
(quoted from post at 15:28:02 12/19/17) Hardest thing for me to back up is the old Deere side delivery take. It's like trying to herd chickens.
Click to expand...

My experience with side delivery rakes is that they back just like two wheel trailers, which is basically what the front axle is.

I can back 4 wheel wagons fairly well, although my neck doesn't swivel the way it used to either. I like to do it at Farmamerica once in a while, just to show off. Their tractors have hitches on the front, but I tell them that those are for the guys who can't do it the other way! :)
Click to expand...

WELLLLLL maybe the front axle is like a two wheeled trailer but those caster wheels waaaay at the back can push the front axle in directions that you don't plan on. You can't steer casters.
Click to expand...

Whenever I've done it, the casters just swivel and go wherever the front end pushes them. I know not all rakes behave the same, and I'm certainly not trying to start an argument. Just saying that it's always worked for me.
 

I have no idea why people find it hard unless they don't practice. I don't think anyone here was perfect at it first time. I can back stuff up, but it's from practice!

Campgrounds are amusing, lots of yuppies or retired crowd with brand new trucks and brand new trailers that will do everything they can to avoid "R"

Bonus points for opening the driver's door and looking backwards!

Long wheel base tow vehicle and short trailer are worst.

I used to tow a 12 foot camper behind a 156" wheelbase 4x4 Super Duty, I could still put that anywhere I wanted in one attempt.

Four wheel wagons are easy with tractor. I used to be able to back up one with a manual trans pickup using mirrors, I wasn't as quick but I made a point of learning to do it. Front hitches are for those who can't back up the normal way.

I used to be good at backing up a four wheel wagon behind a baler, but I stopped towing a wagon a few years ago...was really handy if trying to pick up short windrows in a tight pie shape area of a field where you'd spend several minutes turning to pick up 40 feet of windrow. might hitch up next year for practice.
 
(quoted from post at 18:21:49 12/20/17)
I have no idea why people find it hard unless they don't practice. I don't think anyone here was perfect at it first time. I can back stuff up, but it's from practice!

Campgrounds are amusing, lots of yuppies or retired crowd with brand new trucks and brand new trailers that will do everything they can to avoid "R"

Bonus points for opening the driver's door and looking backwards!

Long wheel base tow vehicle and short trailer are worst.

I used to tow a 12 foot camper behind a 156" wheelbase 4x4 Super Duty, I could still put that anywhere I wanted in one attempt.

Four wheel wagons are easy with tractor. I used to be able to back up one with a manual trans pickup using mirrors, I wasn't as quick but I made a point of learning to do it. Front hitches are for those who can't back up the normal way.

I used to be good at backing up a four wheel wagon behind a baler, but I stopped towing a wagon a few years ago...was really handy if trying to pick up short windrows in a tight pie shape area of a field where you'd spend several minutes turning to pick up 40 feet of windrow. might hitch up next year for practice.
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Hey 495 man! How about you answer my question in my earlier post. So that I won't think that it is hard.
 
Some would really be in trouble backing a four wheel wagon, back in the day I could put a load of hay or corn anywhere I wanted it (or where my boss wanted it) with an old 44 Special , throttle wide open. Of course, the older I get, the better I was. Lol.
 
(quoted from post at 20:17:04 12/20/17)
(quoted from post at 18:21:49 12/20/17)
I have no idea why people find it hard unless they don't practice. I don't think anyone here was perfect at it first time. I can back stuff up, but it's from practice!

Campgrounds are amusing, lots of yuppies or retired crowd with brand new trucks and brand new trailers that will do everything they can to avoid "R"

Bonus points for opening the driver's door and looking backwards!

Long wheel base tow vehicle and short trailer are worst.

I used to tow a 12 foot camper behind a 156" wheelbase 4x4 Super Duty, I could still put that anywhere I wanted in one attempt.

Four wheel wagons are easy with tractor. I used to be able to back up one with a manual trans pickup using mirrors, I wasn't as quick but I made a point of learning to do it. Front hitches are for those who can't back up the normal way.

I used to be good at backing up a four wheel wagon behind a baler, but I stopped towing a wagon a few years ago...was really handy if trying to pick up short windrows in a tight pie shape area of a field where you'd spend several minutes turning to pick up 40 feet of windrow. might hitch up next year for practice.
Click to expand...

Hey 495 man! How about you answer my question in my earlier post. So that I won't think that it is hard.
Click to expand...

Closest recent example I have to your truck with 12 wheel trailer backing blindsided into driveway with markers example (if I understood you right), is backing my 24 foot travel trailer blindsided into my driveway (markers on edges of culvert). What works for me in my case is picturing the arc the trailer wheels need to follow and lining that up while I can see the trailer tail and wheels in my passenger mirror, then reverse. It helps having the convex mirrors adjusted for widest angle possible. Yes there is that moment of only seeing the side of the trailer in your passenger mirror, but if you've "felt" the arc right you have the trailer going straight down between the markers by the time your mirrors pick up the tail/wheels of the trailer again. If I think my clearances aren't right I will pull ahead and try again, or get out and look with my own eyes.
 
(quoted from post at 14:03:33 12/21/17)
(quoted from post at 20:17:04 12/20/17)
(quoted from post at 18:21:49 12/20/17)
I have no idea why people find it hard unless they don't practice. I don't think anyone here was perfect at it first time. I can back stuff up, but it's from practice!

Campgrounds are amusing, lots of yuppies or retired crowd with brand new trucks and brand new trailers that will do everything they can to avoid "R"

Bonus points for opening the driver's door and looking backwards!

Long wheel base tow vehicle and short trailer are worst.

I used to tow a 12 foot camper behind a 156" wheelbase 4x4 Super Duty, I could still put that anywhere I wanted in one attempt.

Four wheel wagons are easy with tractor. I used to be able to back up one with a manual trans pickup using mirrors, I wasn't as quick but I made a point of learning to do it. Front hitches are for those who can't back up the normal way.

I used to be good at backing up a four wheel wagon behind a baler, but I stopped towing a wagon a few years ago...was really handy if trying to pick up short windrows in a tight pie shape area of a field where you'd spend several minutes turning to pick up 40 feet of windrow. might hitch up next year for practice.
Click to expand...

Hey 495 man! How about you answer my question in my earlier post. So that I won't think that it is hard.
Click to expand...

Closest recent example I have to your truck with 12 wheel trailer backing blindsided into driveway with markers example (if I understood you right), is backing my 24 foot travel trailer blindsided into my driveway (markers on edges of culvert). What works for me in my case is picturing the arc the trailer wheels need to follow and lining that up while I can see the trailer tail and wheels in my passenger mirror, then reverse. It helps having the convex mirrors adjusted for widest angle possible. Yes there is that moment of only seeing the side of the trailer in your passenger mirror, but if you've "felt" the arc right you have the trailer going straight down between the markers by the time your mirrors pick up the tail/wheels of the trailer again. If I think my clearances aren't right I will pull ahead and try again, or get out and look with my own eyes.
Click to expand...

495man, The idea of getting the arc set up then keeping that arc is a good idea except that backing from a road you have to turn sharply at first in order to get the back of the trailer started into the driveway then quickly get into a less sharp turn to keep from turning too far. During this transition time all that you can see is the side of the trailer, and in the blind spot mirror anything near the back of the trailer is about sixty feet away and too small to see. Thanks for the answer.
 
(quoted from post at 16:40:22 12/21/17)

495man, The idea of getting the arc set up then keeping that arc is a good idea except that backing from a road you have to turn sharply at first in order to get the back of the trailer started into the driveway then quickly get into a less sharp turn to keep from turning too far. During this transition time all that you can see is the side of the trailer, and in the blind spot mirror anything near the back of the trailer is about sixty feet away and too small to see. Thanks for the answer.
Click to expand...

I guess I left out something important, I line the truck and trailer anglewise on the road, so the tail of the trailer is at the driveway and the truck in in the oncoming lane, that way I am not backing 90 degree, but only a 135 degree turn. There is only one smooth arc, instead of a sharp one.
 
(quoted from post at 17:09:41 12/21/17)
(quoted from post at 16:40:22 12/21/17)

495man, The idea of getting the arc set up then keeping that arc is a good idea except that backing from a road you have to turn sharply at first in order to get the back of the trailer started into the driveway then quickly get into a less sharp turn to keep from turning too far. During this transition time all that you can see is the side of the trailer, and in the blind spot mirror anything near the back of the trailer is about sixty feet away and too small to see. Thanks for the answer.
Click to expand...

I guess I left out something important, I line the truck and trailer anglewise on the road, so the tail of the trailer is at the driveway and the truck in in the oncoming lane, that way I am not backing 90 degree, but only a 135 degree turn. There is only one smooth arc, instead of a sharp one.
Click to expand...

Yeah, thats the way I do it.
 
(quoted from post at 20:31:10 12/21/17)
(quoted from post at 17:09:41 12/21/17)
(quoted from post at 16:40:22 12/21/17)

495man, The idea of getting the arc set up then keeping that arc is a good idea except that backing from a road you have to turn sharply at first in order to get the back of the trailer started into the driveway then quickly get into a less sharp turn to keep from turning too far. During this transition time all that you can see is the side of the trailer, and in the blind spot mirror anything near the back of the trailer is about sixty feet away and too small to see. Thanks for the answer.
Click to expand...

I guess I left out something important, I line the truck and trailer anglewise on the road, so the tail of the trailer is at the driveway and the truck in in the oncoming lane, that way I am not backing 90 degree, but only a 135 degree turn. There is only one smooth arc, instead of a sharp one.
Click to expand...

Yeah, thats the way I do it.
Click to expand...

If I was backing up your rig then I'd be watching what I could see of the trailer in the passenger mirror, and if it gets "too close" or "too far" in the mirror correct steering from there. You are backing by "feel" which isn't a great feeling in an unknown spot...
 
(quoted from post at 04:30:43 12/22/17)
(quoted from post at 20:31:10 12/21/17)
(quoted from post at 17:09:41 12/21/17)
(quoted from post at 16:40:22 12/21/17)

495man, The idea of getting the arc set up then keeping that arc is a good idea except that backing from a road you have to turn sharply at first in order to get the back of the trailer started into the driveway then quickly get into a less sharp turn to keep from turning too far. During this transition time all that you can see is the side of the trailer, and in the blind spot mirror anything near the back of the trailer is about sixty feet away and too small to see. Thanks for the answer.
Click to expand...

I guess I left out something important, I line the truck and trailer anglewise on the road, so the tail of the trailer is at the driveway and the truck in in the oncoming lane, that way I am not backing 90 degree, but only a 135 degree turn. There is only one smooth arc, instead of a sharp one.
Click to expand...

Yeah, thats the way I do it.
Click to expand...

If I was backing up your rig then I'd be watching what I could see of the trailer in the passenger mirror, and if it gets "too close" or "too far" in the mirror correct steering from there. You are backing by "feel" which isn't a great feeling in an unknown spot...
Click to expand...

Yes, that's the way that I do it, and it takes a few pull-ups. One of the brothers that I work for says that he is going to take me into his driving school. I can't wait to see how he demonstrates to back blind in an unfamiliar place
 
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