1. Having first made sure that your trailer is correctly hooked up to the tow vehicle, good idea to have a look at the route you will take while backing and note any obstacles and hazards.
2. It is helpful to practise backing your trailer in an empty carpark; what seems hard at first will get easier as you have more experience!
3. Try and start your backing manoeuvre with your vehicle and trailer aligned straight. Its much easier to start this way than from an angle.
4. When reversing, turn your body and head so you can see both your trailer and the route you propose taking and reverse slowly. Turning the steering wheel to the left turns the trailer to the right and vice versa. Obviously everyone tends to develop their own techniques; one tip is to start straightening the steering when as the trailer starts to turn. This moderate the rate of turn and makes the operation easier to control. If you find you have turned too much, or too little, just move forward a short way and commence backing again.
5. It’s a big help to use a spotter when you are learning to reverse a trailer. Even experts find a spotter helpful in crowded or difficult situations.
Post updated 05-04-2014
ha
no matter what i am told or read, i still suck at backing trailers, its very hard to get the hang of it.
Keep at it, “practise makes perfect!” Good luck!
Gee, this is going to be a big help with my backing my trailer. The backing guard we bought off you last week works great.
Yes, the backing guards make it so easy to hook your trailer up to the car; no more damaged bumpers!
great post thanks. there are a few tips here that should help me a lot.
Great, glad we could help!
cool
thank you james
could you tell me if there is a course i can do for backing a trailer and towing a carvan please
hello tribhanga
thanks for your post. sorry, i have no knowledges of any courses like this.
most of us get there by practice and experience. probably these best way of improving your skills is to take you vehicle and trailer to an empty car park early on a sunday morning and practice.
Someone pointed out to me a while ago – when backing, hold the steering wheel at the bottom centre and turn the wheel where you want the trailer to go… Works a charm!
Well said thank you Pete.
To reverse straight back.
Assuming you have set your wing mirrors correct for your driving position;
Line up in a straight line , trailer pointing to where you want to go. Steering wheel straight.
Take last minute look for kids and obstacles. ( Get out if necessary).
Look at wing mirrors. Amount of boat / Trailer should be equal in both.
Start reversing. If you get more boat in one mirror than the other, turn towards that mirror until even again, then straighten wheel. Back up Slow with Small increments.
If you are reversing down a boat ramp and your feet get wet, you’ve gone too far?
Hi Rob
thanks for your advice
Peter