I Can't Figure Out How

[the other side]

For the life of me I can't back up my teardrop. I used to back my X 25ft tt down a narrow road, into a small driveway (with an electric pole on one side and a cliff on the other), and continue down the narrow, curvy, hilly driveway, with a wall on the other side, and park it 10" from the edge of a (not straight) retaining wall. BUT... I can't back up my teardrop ! I know the tear is so small that it turns on a dime (I can figure out that part) but I can't correct it.
Anyone have any tricks or gadgets to help me do this? Forget the driveway, I can't even back it into a camp site. Last camping trip I had to ask this guy to do it for me ! I know he didn't mind cuz he got the grand tour of the tear for doing it, but I want to do it myself!!!

[stevem50]

how do you get to carnegie hall??

practice, practice

the smaller the trailer, the harder to reverse.

[the other side]

My teardrop is a Silver Shadow. My Silver Shadow is the 4x8, so it would be the smallest of the Silver Shadows I believe, if that helps to answer your question. The only other info I could tell you is it is under the tear I believe. I was kind of hoping you would say, "Oh just go buy a ___ and then it will be a breeze to back up"!
I didn't realize you were just north of Balto!! Hi neighbor!!!

[Ratkity]

I've been backing trailers since I had the old Coleman Williamsburg popup. There is a sweet spot in each trailer where when you turn the steering wheel, the trailer rear end goes the opposite direction.

The best way for me to get a handle on the opposite thing was to put my hand on the bottom of the steering wheel and then move my hand in the direction I wanted the trailer to go.

Taking your camper into a deserted parking lot and practicing a bit helps too. Best to not have to back up when under pressure and you think the entire campground is watching you. Oh btw, if you tell the campground people where you are staying that you need help, most will gladly back your trailer for you.

Hugs,
Ratkity

[alffink]

I remember on the OLD Tear Drop site, this discussion got going for quite awhile "Practice-Practice-Practice, became a mantra, but a few ideas did drop out.....
One novel idea was to design a telescoping tounge, when towing on the road the tounge would be....say 30" from the body of the tear, but once on site and ready to back in that pristene campsite, you could pull a pin and extend the tounge an additional 18 to 24 inches, making the tear much easier to control while backing.

Another idea would be to have a second ball on the front of the tow vehicle.....unhook the tear, turn the tow vehicle around and then push the tear where you want it to go, you see this kind of set-up at boat storage yards and such

But, by far the simpelest would be to hook the tear and just push it into place. "The Old Bitty" Margie, said just that, on the Tear Drop section of RV Crazy, "theres always someone willing to Push"

I've been pulling my tear for 5 years now, sometimes I can, other times I look like I've never backed the truck much less a trailer.

[stevem50]

and a hello neighbor to you.. hope i did not come off too smart alec. it took me a couple days to figure out how to wheel around, it is a little different then the boats i was used to dragging around.
dont worry, it will be second nature soon.

have you tried practicing in an empty parking lot? wide open space, not too much to bump into, and they have all the spaces you can ask for...

seems silly, but the simplest answer is usually the best

[Ratkity]

Al made a good point about the tongue size. I find the tear harder to back up than the old popup because of that. The sweet spot is smaller as a result.

I'm getting a little better at backing the tear. I have 2 brick columns to back through in my driveway. One day I'll tear the columns down (both lean and one looks like it's been hit before by someone else). I just don't know where to put the resulting debris afterwards (I live in the suburbs).

I find myself pulling forward to straighten the tear to get it back into the sweet spot a bit more than a trailer with a longer tongue. Don't be afraid to do that after the trailer drifts too far left or right.

Hugs,
Ratkity

[bobhenry]

Same problem......



there was my answer!

[Miriam C.]

An adjustable tongue would be a good idea! More practical is to learn to NOT turn that steering wheel.

I take my side mirror---which ever is on the inside curve of the camp site---and adjust it to where I can see the back corner or the wheels. Then, hand on the bottom of the steering wheel I back using the wheel as my guide. Where that Td wheels goes, so goes the trailer. Sometimes I still have to do it a few times to get it where I want. And every now and again I get a campsite where the drive has a sharp curve with some dips....

You can also get one of the trailer dollies to do you backing. Only you have to transport it.

You didn't say what you were driving.....

http://www.harborfreight.com/heavy-duty ... 37510.html

[pete42]

Marim and slow

I have a dolly like the one you indicated would help to back the TD in.

I used it on my 16 foot Scamp on my rought hole filled gravel driveway it worked very well

the Scamp weights over 2200# and I could move it where ever I wanted.

While I have used it at a campground it is big and heavy to transport

I think a little more pratice would solve the problem.

going slow and learning the trailer's "breaking" point helps a lot we all have had trouble backing sometime or other.

pete

[proformance]

Two things will aid in backing up.

One: Be sure you have zero -or- 1-2 degrees negative caster in your trailer axle. Any positive caster will cause the trailer to turn more rapidly when backing up. You can try this in your passenger vehicle which almost always has positive caster. Drive forwards and lightly move the steering wheel left to right. You will note the vehicle basically re-centers and goes straight. Then, do the same backing up, the steering will will not re-center and will most often turn fully one direction or another. The effect on steerable wheels is far more pronounced, but caster will effect non steerable turning also. To correct a positive Caster issue, you may be able to relocate your spring shackles to the front of the spring, and/or lengthen your shackle if it is already in the front.

Two: Add a "Very Stiff" sway control damper to your hitch assembly. This will have limited effect once the turning begins, but will help some.

[Wimperdink]

I saw a trailer once for a couple of jetski's, that sir had an extendable hitch on it. When he got where he was going he would pull a pin and extend his trailer tounge out another 6' then back it up with no problem. It was a sliding tounge that was long under the trailer and slid through another pipe a bit larger than itself. Towed normal on the highway but for driveway and ramp launching it was an easy backup.

The distance between your wheels and hitch point make all the difference.

[bobhenry]

Same problem......



there was my answer!

It is truly amazing what a 15 to 18 inch extention will do for the road manners of these little trailers. This change made backing up a breeze.

Prior to thic change with the hitch still in the stock harbor freight position it was a bear to back up and at towing speed it started swaying and dancing at around 63 MPH. I do know it's good to 80MPH now

[Big Dan]

I Drive for a living. With a shorter trailer you need to slow down and make less of a correction on the wheel once you get used to the amount of correction you need to make you can speed up a bit. If you can back a longer trailer you can back a short one. practice.

[Py0tr]

Perhaps my trailer is lighter than the ones being discussed, but if I need to move the trailer I simply unhitch it and push it where it needs to go. The jockey wheel castors as it should and it's as easy as pie.

One pointer given to me about reversing trailers was not to over correct. Turn the wheel no more than you would to move the car the same amount, rather than spinning it around wildly.