Reversing a boat trailer - tips please.

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peter2407

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Made a complete hash of reversing my 7m trailer with a RIB on it yesterday. Have googled and found tips like 'if more of the trailer is in the right window, turn the wheel to the right while moving and then straighten up while moving'.

Any others?

TIA
 
Hold the steering wheel at the bottom, push the wheel in the direction you want the trailer to go.. dont over think, dont work out left and right.
Look at the trailer wheels, see where they are going, unless you need a tight turn, forget the car, it will just follow the trailer.
 
The most basic thing I had not understood for a long time was turn the vehicle to get the trailer turning in the correct direction then STRAIGHTEN UP so as to just keep it going in that direction.
Practice where no one can see you!
 
Find a big empty carpark to practise in. After 20mins of doing figure eights you will feel like a pro.
I do it all on the mirrors, if the trailer is straight then I can see an equal portion of it in each mirror.
Obviously stop and have a proper look behind you frequently, as mirrors leave massive blind spots.

There are some fun online flash games to practise reversing, but they are pretty tricky and frustrating!
 
peter2407 said:
Made a complete hash of reversing my 7m trailer with a RIB on it yesterday. Have googled and found tips like 'if more of the trailer is in the right window, turn the wheel to the right while moving and then straighten up while moving'.

Any others?

TIA
Click to expand...

With a little practice, that tip worked very well for me...... people stop in awe and wonder at my skills!!!
 
When you want to turn the trailer, you briefly have to turn the car the "wrong way" to push the towbar out and get the trailer turning, then once the trailer starts turning, turn the car back.

When you have the angle of turn just as you want to match the corner, follow the "if more starts to appear in the right mirror, turn the wheel right" etc (on a tight turn you will only see it on one mirror of course)

A 4WD car in low ratio allows you to reverse slower without slipping the clutch.
 
peter2407 said:
Made a complete hash of reversing my 7m trailer with a RIB on it yesterday. Have googled and found tips like 'if more of the trailer is in the right window, turn the wheel to the right while moving and then straighten up while moving'.

Any others?


For the novice, using mirrors exclusively can become very confusing- not helped by several different 'assistants' shouting contradictory instructions.

Once upon a time we all used to look backwards through the rear window, steering one-handed . If you try this to get your brain familiar with what happens to the trailer when the car reverses left or right (and very minor corrections are necessary at all times) then the eventual transition to just using mirrors makes a lot more sense to the now acclimatised grey cells


TIA
Click to expand...
 
Dougal Tolan said:
Hold the steering wheel at the bottom, push the wheel in the direction you want the trailer to go.. dont over think, dont work out left and right.
Look at the trailer wheels, see where they are going, unless you need a tight turn, forget the car, it will just follow the trailer.
Click to expand...

big + 1 Best tip I ever got on backing a trailer.
learned it from truck drivers.
 
dead serious suggestion
buy model tractor that steers and a trailer to go with it
put it on your desk
within a week it will be second nature to you

Actually that's pretty inspired. I do the same when teaching forklift users. I have a steering model and it seems to connect when illustrating back-swing and turning points.

With trailers, it all seems t go wrong when pride kicks in and people try not to straighten up. If it goes wrong, instead of huge steering movements to try and correct it, just pull forwards and go again with small steering movements.
 
ProDave said:
W

A 4WD car in low ratio allows you to reverst slower without slipping the clutch.
Click to expand...

Bit of sweeping statement.

Yes it is slower and has more torque but in the case of my Nissan Pathfinder and my previous Isuzu Trooper 3L still too fast for accurate manouvering.

The other problem was that with both of them, all the diffs locked automatically making tight turns as I have to do to get into my drive difficult as the transmission "Winds Up" on tarmac and the turning circle is increased.

In fact, I never tried until I fitted a front tow bar with three position hitch, off set Left Right and Centre, cc £180 from Watling Engineering and could push it up but even that puts considerable strain on the clutch.

Why manufacturers can't leave it to drivers to decide whether they need diff lock or not I do not know.

A friend told me to either use mirrors to reverse or look over my shoulder, not to use both methods.
 
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Make sure the brakes are not engaging in reverse( my last 3,500 kg load trailer had a manual interlock that had to be engaged to prevent the brakes operating in reverse, especially uphill). With the brakes on, any trailer is impossible to steer easily !

......................and yes, a front mounted hitch makes for very easy trailer reversing !
 
Can't add much to what has already been said, but I find going in a straight line, a bit further past the point I want to turn than I would think reasonable and then reversing backwards helps. Also, some car and trailer combinations are easier than others. A lot depends on the amount of rear overhang on the car and the wheelbase.
 
Gladys said:
Maybe worth while thinking of where the tow ball has to go to steer the trailer where you want it to go
Click to expand...

That's exactly how I think of it. I was fortunate to start my trailer towing with a 30' long glider trailer, which is dead easy to reverse because it takes so long to react. The shorter the trailer (tow hitch to axle) the twitchier it is.
 
Kelpie #4
Dylan #10
+1 for each of them.

When you come to do the real thing, don't worry about making a mess of it. The only way to be consistently good at it is to do it all day for a living. I've done 25 years of artics and caravans and I can still make a mess of it.
Use all the space available to make it easier for yourself: try to get the combination as straight as possible before the reversing. Try and avoid a 90 degree jobby.
If you do muck it up, pull forward and do it again but don't get too frustrated. If you've done as Kelpie and Dylan suggest, you'll be cool with it.

Great question/thread.
 
Large empty car park. Good mirrors set so you can see side of car and side of trailer.

Start by getting it lined up straight and reversing back in a straight line. Once you have that mastered move on to large circles of constant radius. In my opinion it is best not to overthink it but to learn by making small movements of the wheel and if it is wrong go the other way. It soon becomes a reflex action.

Passing out test involves tight 90 degree turns finishing straight.

Best set up to learn on is a LWB landy in low and a glider trailer.

Caveat, I have taught this to a fair number of people and some just never get the hand of it. They are usually female. Hurriedly locating cricketers box and flame proof overalls.
 
Whatever you do, don't practise with an empty boat trailer - you won't be able see where it is or where it is going, and before you know it you will have jack-knifed and dented the rear of your car.
 
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