Champy2
Indiana
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Joined: 02/20/2009
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No experience with a 5'er, but what was comical to me was backing the trailer into a campsite with my wife waving her arms; pointing two ways at once; kicking her feet; shouting at me....and I backed it perfectly into position on one try......she was so proud of herself. I didn't have the heart to tell her I was following our youngest son's directions (he was standing behind her).
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duane124
planet erth
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Joined: 02/19/2009
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go slow and....
G get
O out
A and
L look
as many times as it takes
as alluded to .... your not only learning the characteristics of backing a 5er, your also having to brain dump pulling the TT
with a TT, as soon as you turn your steering wheels(when backing), there is an immediate effect on the TT due to the hitch being behind the rear wheels(fulcrum point) kinda like a see saw laid on its side, if you push one side one way the other immediedly moves the opposite direction...dpending on your wheel base the hitch point can move left or right what? a foot or so without the tow vehicle really moving anywhere(just the back in swinging)
with a 5th wheel, you literally have to change the direction of the tow vehicle before you see any significant change when backing a 5er based on the lacation of the hitch(between the wheels)
just my 2 cents
edited to add: a simple way to visualize the difference is park in a parking space(no other cars near) and note the location of where a TT hitch woould be and where the 5er hitch is located(in relation to the marked parking space).... crank your steering wheels all the way one way or the other and back up 3 to 5 feet..i would wager that the tt hitch is almost if not outside the box(left or right) of the parking space while the 5th wheel hitch has barely moved(left or right)
that is the lag that throws a lot of first time 5ers off(even if they are really good with TTs, boat trailers, whatnot)
* This post was
edited 03/11/10 09:51am by duane124 *
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Washboy
Denver, CO
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The absolute best backing advice I ever received was from a park owner…
“Keep the truck under the coach.”
For some reason, I understood exactly what he meant. I was cranking the wheel, making wide swings back and forth in a futile attempt to steer the tail of the coach.
After hearing that tip, I slowed my backing speed. Once getting the coach’s turn started I began making smaller steering inputs and simply followed the coach into the parking space. I was amazed at how easy backing became.
As for backing assistance…he also had the best hand signal technique I’ve ever seen:
He bent his arms, elbows at his sides, palms up. Using only his fingers, he gave me a constant “come here” wave. If I needed to move left or right, he folded his fingers to his palms and his thumbs became the signal…thumbs up, wrists rotating to the right or left.
As I neared the final parking spot he moved his hands to the “Five Dollar Foot Long” or “I caught a fish this big!” signal…and then shortened the distance between his hands until finally clasping his hands together. That’s when I stopped. Perfect!
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big bird 2
La Crescenta, CA
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Get rid of all the helpers. My wife watches where I can't see so I do not hit something. I used a parking lot to learn. My wife gave me directions and I could not park it. My son helped and I could not park it. So, I used an old way by using my side view mirrors and backing up with no help. It worked first time and I do it now every time. My wife watches for things I can't see and I back up on my own. We also do not argue about it any more.
Big Bird 2
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Upriver
Pennsylvania
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retired4fun wrote:Best advise I can have is get you and your wife walkie talkies. Drop her off at the lounge for a bloody mary and call her when your backed into the site.
I have the walkie talkies but was using them incorrectly, your idea makes great sense and better than ditching the walkie talkies.
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RVMusician
Upstate NY
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My wife helps me back in. We used to use walkie talkie's. I could listen to her, but was too preocupied with driving to be able to pick up my walkie talkie to ask questions or make comments. Our new truck has Bluetooth connectivity. We now use our cell phones with mine Bluetoothed to the truck. We can now communicate back and forth, I don't have to try to find her in my mirrors, we don't use any hand signals and we're quiet. What could be better? Backing has become a simple process.
This doesn't address the 5ver/TT difference, but might help others in their quest for good communication technique with a spotter.
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A hitch and hop
Silver Springs, Florida
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I found that once I have checked out the space for any objects and branches, it helps to back slowly and watch the trailer wheels not the rear of the trailer. Move the truck to trail the trailer. I have even heard of people laying a rope along the route they want to back the trailer along. Main thing is take it slow and understand that the 5W turns faster than a TT.
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Veebyes
Bermuda & Maryland
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I'm affraid most of the time the DW & I are boring. She uses the radio if she can't see me in a mirror otherwise it is simple one finger pointing & clenched fist to stop much like the signals people use around heavy equipment.
Sorry, no cheerleading moves from her.
She drives regularly with the trailer but can't do the reversing thing. She has tried a few times so she knows what the driver challenges are.
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tjar66
Portland OR
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Pond Jumper wrote:I don't even let my wife out of the truck anymore. Just too embarrassing!! DW would be waving her arms doing hand signals that no person on earth could understand, just for the amusment of the other campers I guess, because I could never see her in my mirrows.
OMG! I recall the first time my wife tried to back me in somewhere. Doing some strange duck dance and my son standing in front of her doing his version of YMCA. I just stopped and laughed for a few until my wife came up to ask what was wrong, as I wiped the tears from laughing from my eyes I told her that was the funniest thing I had seen in weeks. WE use walkie talkies now and she is getting better but I still get out to look.
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The Highlander
The Mountains of East Tennessee !!
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We switched from a 28' travel trailer to a 36.5' fifth-wheel in 2003. I could take that tt anywhere the truck would go by itself. No problems, other than a small amount of wind buffeting on the interstate.
So, we go to a full-height fiver, 8.5' longer, 3' taller, and 5000 lbs heavier. No problem, right?
Well, the initial hookup at the dealership, I felt like a huge white whale was swallowing me and my truck. Fighting off the fear as irrational, I managed to hook up easily with my wife and the dealer guy helping. No problem.
On the way home, the additional weight was apparent, but not bad. The overall impression I had was of sudden doom if I stopped too fast, and I noticed I spent a lot of time looking in the rear-view mirror. My solution was to tilt the mirror up so I didn't see Moby Dick gaining on me. No problem.
Then on the first trip, we have to get this thing as tall as the Eifel Tower into a campground whose sadistic owners think low hanging trees add "landscaping appeal" to the figure-eights and 120 degree turns in the park. Wifey closes her eyes, holds her breath, and tells the kids to not listen to the words Daddy is using. No problem.
So, hours later we get to the campsite and try to determine the best way to get this beast backed in. Of course, the "road" around and in front of my site is already full of campers, their extra vehicles, bicycles, golf carts, yard rats, and oh my, I just noticed the three other campers I have blocked, waiting to get to their sites. No problem.
Sometime around midnight, we managed to swing the ship into the correct port, using only vague hand signals, some of which my wife even saw, two tug boats, a certified pilot, and a valium drip. Now all we have to do is get it set up, which fortunately is similar to the tt. No problem.
I slept the sleep of the dead that night, exhausted both mentally and physically by the ordeal. The next morning, my new next door neighbor commented to me that "I must be a pro, the way I backed that sucker right in..." The scary part is that he seemed serious.
And people told me I'd get better as I practiced. Now, after seven short years of pulling the same fiver, with the same truck, to many of the same campgrounds...I still can't back the ^&%$#* thing in on the first try!
But we sure as heck have a blast camping! We can't wait to get it out in the next few weeks. You will have plenty of fun learning how to handle the camper, and just remember, we aren't laughing with you, we are laughing at you!
The Highlander
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