Backing up Tag boondock

bdeighton · December 2024

I've had a boondock 5' wide for 4 years now, and use it 2-4 times a summer. I've never been able to successfully back into a campsite. It is to the point where my wife and I have stopped trying, so we pull up along side the lot, unhook and push our little baby into place. (I think this takes less than 5 mins). Am I the only tool, who cannot manipulate these little trailers. I think I could pull into a parking lot and practice... but I have little faith I'll succeed.

AZTag · January 2

You're not a tool! Just need to learn how to do it, then practice. Empty lot is a good idea, along with a friend to spot and provide feedback. BEFORE you do that, you may find it very helpful to watch some how-to videos. They describe what to do and what happens, and show you in the videos. Try Googling "how to back a trailer" then watch several. As you learn, keep this in mind: the T@G length is short, which results in it turning quickly. If your tow vehicle hitch shank is long, it turns even faster. Which means the driver needs to make SMALL changes in steering direction, not big ones. Best of luck - you will succeed!

SueBHunny · January 2

I've had mine for almost 8 years. I have never successfully backed it into a parking space. My husband and I have been pushing it into place by hand the whole time we've owned it. No regrets. It's a lot less frustrating to move it by hand than to try backing it in.

The_Rigger · January 6

No one is born knowing how to back a trailer; not even me, and I've been a professional driver for a considerable number of years - the less said about my first week of semi-truck driving school, the better.

Best thing, as you surmise, is to practice-practice-practice in an empty parking lot. Pay attention to the stripes on the ground, and how your hand input affects the coupled vehicle behavior. Go s-l-o-w-l-y and accept the facts that A.) your first efforts will be frustrating, and B.) eventually you WILL get the hang of it. It could happen over a period if time or you might get the "sudden flash of inspiration," but you WILL get it. But no one ever gets it without PRACTICE.

First Exercise: Go to a wide-open parking lot with no obstacles anywhere near you. Get the rig (trailer and tow vehicle) in a straight line, and stop. Put the tow vehicle in reverse, and (assuming you're right-handed) place your LEFT hand on the bottom of the steering wheel, at the 6 o'clock position. Start backing up S-L-O-W-L-Y, and while backing, GENTLY move your left hand (and the bottom of the steering wheel) in the direction you want the rear end of the trailer to go. Notice how the rear end of the trailer moves contrary to the direction of the rear of the tow vehicle; that's the most counter-intuitive aspect of the whole exercise, and the thing that gives most people the screaming jeebies about backing a trailer of any size, from a 15' camper to a 53' semi trailer (Trust Me).

Keep your steering movements SMALL and your speed SLOW at this stage, and don't try hitting any specific targets like cones or stripes on the parking lot at this stage; just concentrate on the relationship between the movement of the steering wheel and the movement of the REAR END of the camper - it's the rear end of any vehicle that governs how the front end is driven. If the rear end of the camper looks like it's getting away from you (and it probably will at first), STOP. Shift into a drive gear and pull forward to straighten out the rig. Then shift back into reverse and try again.

Repeat this until you're bored or hungry or comfortable or you get it down-pat, and then stop. Give yourself an Attaboy! for surviving your first exercise.

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