real talk — the first time i tried to back our toy hauler into a campsite, tammy jo and i almost divorced. she was behind the trailer waving her arms, i was in the truck turning the wheel the wrong direction, and the neighbors were pretending not to watch while clearly watching.
it took 45 minutes and three attempts. the site was a pull-through.
that was two years ago. now we can back into a tight spot in one shot. heres what changed.
walkie talkies.
the hand on the bottom trick. put your hand on the bottom of the steering wheel. move your hand in the direction you want the trailer to go. left hand = trailer goes left. right hand = trailer goes right. this one tip fixed 90% of my backing up problems.
go slow. like stupidly slow. there is no prize for backing up fast. take your time. if it starts going wrong, pull forward and try again. pulling forward resets everything.
practice. find an empty parking lot on a tuesday morning and just practice. back into imaginary spots. do it over and over until it clicks. i spent two hours in a walmart parking lot and it was the best training i ever did.
we still mess up sometimes. but now we mess up calmly, fix it, and move on. the neighbors still watch. but now theyre impressed.
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Bookmarked! Sending this to everyone in our RV group chat.
Did this solo last month in the Ozarks. Felt so empowered.
After retirement RVing became our whole world. Best decision we ever made.