Posted: Tue Aug 11, 2009 1:44 pm
1) any one who gives ya a hard time is an ah0le.. to my knowledge no one has been born with the "backing up the trailer successfully" geene that I know of...
2) everyone I know would gladly help if asked... I've apparently done it so bad in the past that unsolicited help was offered!! LOL... but i'm better now...
3) here's the tip that made me go from 60min at the launch to 10min...
a) give yourself 20feet of extra room... most launches you drive towards them, then make a 180degree turn at the launch to get into "position"... drive a bit further than you normally would.. 20 or more feet... helps straighten you out that much more.... Yes, that's 20more feet of backing up.. but it'll help make the process smoother, so it's a good deal.. and, most importantly, it sets your wheels (all of them) into a straight forward position... This is critical for the next step.
b) put your hand on the bottom of your steering wheel and do not let go for the entire process. Now you have established the "straight" position... if your hand is at the bottom of the wheel, your car's front wheels are straight. Never let go of the wheel, or you'll lose this reference. (if you do, go back to the above step)
c) Using your mirrors, or whatever, backup SLOWLY... If you want your trailer to move to the left... RAISE YOUR HAND TO THE LEFT.... If you want your trailer to go tot he right... RAISE YOUR HAND TO THE RIGHT... Once your trailer shows signs of moving in the direction that you want, quickly return your hand to the bottom of the wheel (never let go of the wheel)... this will get your front-wheels (car) pointing straight and push the trailin in the direction it is pointing...
d) if you start to get out of shape/line.. stop, put it in forward, go forward until your back in shape, and start again... A little mistake can be fixed fast, but can go wrong faster if you continue...
Often I found (and still find) when I nudge the trailer to the left, and accidently over-steer it a bit, I have to completely stop the car, think, LIFT HAND TO THE RIGHT TO GO RIGHT, and then start the car moving again for the correction... I know when I was learning, it was a VERY stop-think-start-stop-thinkmore-start-stop again type process...
2) everyone I know would gladly help if asked... I've apparently done it so bad in the past that unsolicited help was offered!! LOL... but i'm better now...
3) here's the tip that made me go from 60min at the launch to 10min...
a) give yourself 20feet of extra room... most launches you drive towards them, then make a 180degree turn at the launch to get into "position"... drive a bit further than you normally would.. 20 or more feet... helps straighten you out that much more.... Yes, that's 20more feet of backing up.. but it'll help make the process smoother, so it's a good deal.. and, most importantly, it sets your wheels (all of them) into a straight forward position... This is critical for the next step.
b) put your hand on the bottom of your steering wheel and do not let go for the entire process. Now you have established the "straight" position... if your hand is at the bottom of the wheel, your car's front wheels are straight. Never let go of the wheel, or you'll lose this reference. (if you do, go back to the above step)
c) Using your mirrors, or whatever, backup SLOWLY... If you want your trailer to move to the left... RAISE YOUR HAND TO THE LEFT.... If you want your trailer to go tot he right... RAISE YOUR HAND TO THE RIGHT... Once your trailer shows signs of moving in the direction that you want, quickly return your hand to the bottom of the wheel (never let go of the wheel)... this will get your front-wheels (car) pointing straight and push the trailin in the direction it is pointing...
d) if you start to get out of shape/line.. stop, put it in forward, go forward until your back in shape, and start again... A little mistake can be fixed fast, but can go wrong faster if you continue...
Often I found (and still find) when I nudge the trailer to the left, and accidently over-steer it a bit, I have to completely stop the car, think, LIFT HAND TO THE RIGHT TO GO RIGHT, and then start the car moving again for the correction... I know when I was learning, it was a VERY stop-think-start-stop-thinkmore-start-stop again type process...