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
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