McMonsters..........Kelly 48 Posted September 27, 2013 Report Share Posted September 27, 2013 This is the only place I can share my accomplishment, most of my family and friends think I'm crazy for trying to do this solo. So here's the background, my husband is deployed and I have decided to take our two girls on a few RV trips in our TT while he is gone. I have never towed anything but figured it was time to learn and preceded to book two trips to the Fort. We love the Fort so that was a good motivator for me. Well I've had our TT out in the drive for the past 3 weeks learning as much as I can about it and how to tow it. I moved it 6 ft over on our drive last week but today I took it out on the open road! I stuck to back roads and our neighborhood for a 30 minute drive. I chickened out on backing it into our drive, I tried, but was too stressed without any back up help so I pulled it around on the side of the house so I can just pull thru next time. I'm nervous about backing in by myself anywhere and have yet to find a parking lot to practice my "skills". Im thinking we'll try for a local campsite in the next few weeks to get some more practice on before we head to the Fort. BradyBzLyn...Mo 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
wdwpoohbear...Jennifer 40 Posted September 27, 2013 Report Share Posted September 27, 2013 Good job! I am sure you'll do a great job parking! (I would be nervous too, though.) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
AC in A2......Aaron 693 Posted September 27, 2013 Report Share Posted September 27, 2013 Congrats and good luck! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
momof3kids-Yvonne 594 Posted September 27, 2013 Report Share Posted September 27, 2013 Good for you! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jayco1 15 Posted September 27, 2013 Report Share Posted September 27, 2013 When you go down the road and see a gazillion people pulling every possible contraption you realize, it can't be that tough. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Specularius 102 Posted September 27, 2013 Report Share Posted September 27, 2013 There will most likely be Fiends at the Fort when you get there so if you need any help with backing in, setting up, or anything at all just post a message for Help and it will be there for you. Looking at your tickers, Shardi and I will be there during both of your trips. The single most important advice I will give is make sure the air pressure is good in the trailer tires including the spare, keep your speed under 65MPH, and be sure you know how to change a flat tire or have roadside service. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Grumpy and Grandma 739 Posted September 27, 2013 Report Share Posted September 27, 2013 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tankpilot 9 Posted September 27, 2013 Report Share Posted September 27, 2013 There will most likely be Fiends at the Fort when you get there so if you need any help with backing in, setting up, or anything at all just post a message for Help and it will be there for you. Looking at your tickers, Shardi and I will be there during both of your trips. The single most important advice I will give is make sure the air pressure is good in the trailer tires including the spare, keep your speed under 65MPH, and be sure you know how to change a flat tire or have roadside service.I'll jump in and ask a question on this (not a hijack, relevant to the advice given). I infer from other post that you do or have driven professionally. What tire pressure do you recommend for towing? The max listed on the sidewall of the tire or the recommended pressure on the car door sticker? Pretty new to towing large stuff myself and there are all sorts of opinions out there. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Mtnmanky...aka Leon 72 Posted September 27, 2013 Report Share Posted September 27, 2013 Great!Keep practicing. I took our kids to a local empty parking lot to let them learn to backup and practice. Lots of open space. Having a roadside service is a great way to feel more peace of mind as you go down the road.Just take it slow and easy and have fun! :bravo: Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tankpilot 9 Posted September 27, 2013 Report Share Posted September 27, 2013 Oh yeah, and congrats to Kelly (sorry I left that out before).Also, thanks for your family's service to us! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547 Posted September 27, 2013 Report Share Posted September 27, 2013 Kelly, I so admire you! I tried for years to learn how to back up a trailer. I never mastered it and finally gave up when my not-so-dear FIL laughed at me struggling for 45 minutes to get our empty boat trailer into my DBIL's driveway I now leave all the backing to DH. Try your backing skills over the weekend in an empty school parking lot. That's how we figured out our turning radius in the moho. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
PureTcrazy...rita 380 Posted September 27, 2013 Report Share Posted September 27, 2013 Way to go, Kelly! I pull our 5th wheel. I suck at backing at the Fort. I know others will be glad to help! I'd offer, but you can tell I'm not the best one to do it! :) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Grumpy and Grandma 739 Posted September 27, 2013 Report Share Posted September 27, 2013 I'll jump in and ask a question on this (not a hijack, relevant to the advice given). I infer from other post that you do or have driven professionally. What tire pressure do you recommend for towing? The max listed on the sidewall of the tire or the recommended pressure on the car door sticker? Pretty new to towing large stuff myself and there are all sorts of opinions out there.I'm going to "jump in" and add my 2 cents since I've been towing/driving RV's for 40 yrs. The best thing to do is have the vehicle and TT/FW/MH weighed and adjust the tire pressure accordingly. The pressure on the side of the tire is the maxium pressure the tire will tolerate if fully loaded. As an example our MH tires (Michelins) are marked maximum pressure of 120, the sticker JAYCO put on the door says 95 and after having it weighed and using Michelin's tire pressure chart I am running 85 front and 90 on the the rear. It rides and handles extremely well..As you said there are alot of opinions, but I put my money on the company that made the tires. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
h2odivers...Ray 952 Posted September 27, 2013 Report Share Posted September 27, 2013 Congrats! Woot woo. Just remember that SLOW is your best friend when backing any trailer. SlowSlowSlowDid I mention going slow when backing your TT? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
alexwyattmommy 181 Posted September 27, 2013 Report Share Posted September 27, 2013 I am so proud of you! The others gave you great advice so I will just give you the Atta Girl!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
McMonsters..........Kelly 48 Posted September 27, 2013 Author Report Share Posted September 27, 2013 Thanks for all the advice! Our driveway is a b*t^h and it doesn't help that the neighbors keep cars on the road. I looked around the area for a school lot this past week but all of them are gated closed, says a bit about our area.... I'm sure I'll tick a few people off with my slow driving but I don't care, I maintain the speed limit. I just got our AAA in the mail yesterday! We don't have a spare on our TT, I forgot that I needed to look in to getting one, thanks for the reminder:) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ok Grumpy AKA Cindy~~ 9 Posted September 28, 2013 Report Share Posted September 28, 2013 Kelly, I tow our 5th wheel and absolutely SUCK at backing up! For the best part I try not to! My husband does not like to camp and I really don't let that stop me, I usually travel with my dad who is a long time RVer. One thing I might suggest is on your travels down if you are over stopping overnight make a reservation for a pull through site. Have fun and I look forward to seeing you at the Fort I'll be there for Halloween. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Judy in Texas 150 Posted September 28, 2013 Report Share Posted September 28, 2013 Congrats! Woot woo.Just remember that SLOW is your best friend when backing any trailer.SlowSlowSlowDid I mention going slow when backing your TT?What Ray said... and also very slight movements in the steering wheel. Be gentle.I don't back often enough to remember which way the camper goes in relation to the way I turn the steering wheel. The first thing I do is start to back VERY slowly and make a slight movement of the steering wheel to see which rear view mirror the camper is moving toward. Is that the way I want it going? If not, turn it slightly the other direction and you should see it starting to come into view in the opposite rear view mirror. Slow and gentlePS: As Carol said once... a benefit of a small camper is it can be unhooked and pushed into place if my attempt at backing is a big FAIL! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Momof6....aka Marty 769 Posted September 28, 2013 Report Share Posted September 28, 2013 I am so proud of you! I came to FF.net for encouragement when i started driving our 15 passenger van. It is huge! I finally feel pretty good about that, though I still try to avoid having to back that up! LOL My dh wants me to learn to learn to pull a trailer. I have resisted so far. I now have two children learning to drive, so maybe one of them will learn how to tow and save me the trouble. LOL Praying for your trips to be extra special! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
DaveInTN 3,247 Posted September 28, 2013 Report Share Posted September 28, 2013 Congratulations Kelly! With a little practice, I am sure you will do fine and have some great trips! Kelly, I so admire you! I tried for years to learn how to back up a trailer. I never mastered it and finally gave up when my not-so-dear FIL laughed at me struggling for 45 minutes to get our empty boat trailer into my DBIL's driveway I now leave all the backing to DH. I will add one thing on backing up, based upon Gwen's experience. I think that backing up a shorter trailer, like many boat trailers, is harder than backing up a 30 foot TT. The shorter the trailer, the more amplified any little turn of the steering wheel is. So Gwen....maybe you should try again some day. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BigTom 76 Posted September 28, 2013 Report Share Posted September 28, 2013 What is so hard about pulling trailer? It is going to follow you, allow a little extra for turns and don't tailgate the vehicle in front of you, make sure your lights work is about all there is to it. I have been towing trailers for about 60 years and really can't understand the problem. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Judy in Texas 150 Posted September 28, 2013 Report Share Posted September 28, 2013 What is so hard about pulling trailer? It is going to follow you, allow a little extra for turns and don't tailgate the vehicle in front of you, make sure your lights work is about all there is to it. I have been towing trailers for about 60 years and really can't understand the problem.That's easy to say for someone with 60 years of experience. Did you not have at least a little anxiety the first time you pulled a trailer on the highway? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mommy rainbo.....Bo 41 Posted September 28, 2013 Report Share Posted September 28, 2013 Yay, good for you Kelly. I haven't towed a TT but I have towed a horse trailer. So I am with you on the getting comfortable thing. I do back really well, but I have to turn and look at the trailer and just check the mirrors(I just can't do it he other way no matter how hard I've tried). I am always able to put it where I want it though. Happy for you. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
McMonsters..........Kelly 48 Posted September 28, 2013 Author Report Share Posted September 28, 2013 What is so hard about pulling trailer? It is going to follow you, allow a little extra for turns and don't tailgate the vehicle in front of you, make sure your lights work is about all there is to it. I have been towing trailers for about 60 years and really can't understand the problem.There isn't a problem, just a learning curve. If only I had been gifted with your ability to flawlessly pull a trailer..... alas, I'll strive harder and by the grace of God, perhaps one day I'll be able to offer someone else such words of wisdom. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TnBob 311 Posted September 28, 2013 Report Share Posted September 28, 2013 Kelly, if you have never seen it before,the movie "The Long Long Trailer" , it is funny and exaggerates towing an RV in the early 50's, it just happens to be on AMC Saturday 9/28 in the afternoon. See if you can see yourself in this movie :) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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