Comments on: How to Back Up a Trailer…Like a Man!

By: Ray Burr

Ray Burr — Wed, 01 May 2013 14:32:15 +0000

Nice article, I remember when I picked up the new fifth wheel, the sales guy said best thing to remember is back up slow, because of the length the fifth-wheel will be slow to respond and if you are going too fast you won’t have time to correct the path of the trailer. That advice always stuck with me.

By: Howard Williams

Howard Williams — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 21:31:48 +0000

Forgive me for being a little over a year late but, as I say, “if you haven’t read it yet, it’s still news to you”.
I saw the question twice but, throughout all sixty-six comments, there appeared no answer identifying the boats in the photo. I’m guessing the era was the first half of the 60s due to the clothing and auto styles. I recall an amphicar at about the same time this little houseboat appeared.

By: Sarah

Sarah — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 09:23:10 +0000

Great article. It goes perfectly with our own which talks about how to hitch up and tow a trailer. This is full of some great detail and extra tips. Thanks for sharing.
Here’s ours if you fancy a read.
http://www.inspiredcamping.com/caravan-towing-tips-and-reversing-advice/
Sarah

By: John

John — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 18:33:54 +0000

Hi Colin: Great article; I have found that the easy explination is to face forward,hold the bottem of the steering wheel looking in the mirror and move the bottem of the wheel in the direction you want the trailer to go. Everything else is length of the trailer ,length of the tow car/tractor and if it dosen’t look right stop pull up get out to look and back slowly to give yourself a break

By: Mr. Nutter

Mr. Nutter — Fri, 14 Dec 2012 21:46:53 +0000

Great discription of the S turn. Its all about the set up. Had to learn this quick when I started working on a feed lot in college. Cock the trailer in the direction you want to go and chase it in, dont think about which direction you are turning the wheel. In order to chase the trailer into the spot you will naturally steer it correctly.

By: john

john — Wed, 21 Nov 2012 04:36:52 +0000

At first practice with a long trailer, not a short one.
Get really good at going straight backwards for a long distance.
See how slow you can go and still keep it straight.
Do these three things first and you will learn to “follow the trailer” as mentioned above.

By: Andrew Parsons

Andrew Parsons — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 21:03:18 +0000

I learnt to back a trailer when I still riding a trike the had a trailer with it and I’ve been doing it ever since

By: Rich

Rich — Sun, 26 Feb 2012 14:25:44 +0000

Okay. That’s how you back a single axle trailer. Now let’s try backing a double axle wagon type, such as farm hay wagon or those wagon-style horse trailers that were popular in the 1950′s and 1960′s. They had zero tongue weight, and could be pulled by a medium-sized car. A tractor company told me it was the backing up, more than anything else, that doomed them to history’s dustbin. But we farmers still back up four-wheel wagons,

By: Brad Campkin

Brad Campkin — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 17:13:28 +0000

Having been in the RV towable industry since 1973 I would say this is one of the best articles I’ve seen on this subject. Knowing when to follow it around in the “S” turn takes some practice to get the timing just right, also starting in the right spot will make or break a smooth back up.

By: Brad Campkin

Brad Campkin — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 16:36:29 +0000

Having been in the RV towable industry since 1973 I would say this is one of the best articles I’ve seen on this subject. Knowing when to “follow it around” in the “S” turn takes some practice to get the timing just right, also “starting in the right spot” will make or break a smooth back up.