Trailer reversing? Any tips?

[georgiegirl2]

Hi all,

Im learning to drive the trailer on L plates with my mum as company, been out a few times with it empty and just up the road to our local arena with twig on board - all our trips have been great!

Im having trouble learning to reverse it though so if anyone has any tips they would be gratefully recived! Its hard having mum top teach me, we end up yelling at each other

going to have a practice in the yard when its empty to have a play.....is it just something that comes with time? or is there a secret to doing it right?

 

[Shipley]

If my OH looks in the mirrors while reversing he goes the wrong way if he looks over his shoulder he goes the right way!

And he said plenty of practice, it does get easier. It took him a few goes before he could reverse it without it taking 100 attempts and he is a lorry driver (Worrying I know!!)

Good luck arguments may start with OH and me when he teaches me!!!!

 

[claire1976]

practice, practice, practice!! Any movement you make with the steering wheel is exagerated in the trailer movements. You only need to make slight adjustments when you steer to manouver the trailer. Don't oversteer or you'll jackknife.

 

[Irishcobs]

I was told to try to keep the trailer in the opposite wing mirror of the way you are reversing so, if going left, keep it in the right mirror. Not sure if it works I'm still only going forward.

 

[pottamus]

Go really really slowly...then you can correct things as you go easily without having shot back and made a right mess of it! If you are trying to reverse in a straight line, make sure both trailer and car are straight first and then keep the steering wheel level and go back really slowly. If turning only turn the wheel enough for the trailer to start moving and then straighten up or you will over steer or jack knife. But it is down to practice really and not having people interfere because it will just wind you up and make you feel useless!!! The best thing to do is get into a level field and put a couple or electric fence posts in the ground a good distance apart and practice reversing through them and gradually make the distance between the posts smaller to perfect your turns. Good luck and keep going because it is a useful skill to have and I see so many women at events that get stuck and have to ask for help from people because they have not took the time to practice themselves.

 

[keeperscottage]

I used to have problems reversing my trailer (always told to turn the steering wheel in the opposite direction to the way you want the trailer to go etc, all to no avail) but then a friend told me to look over my shoulder and imagine I was PUSHING the trailer - and it worked! I'm now actually known as a rare breed.....that is, a woman who can reverse a trailer!!!!

 

[VictoriaEDT]

Practice is the only thing.

But dont by any means pull with Twig on board unless you have passed your test of have a license issued before 1997. It is very illegal and invalidates your insurance for car and trailer!

 

[VictoriaEDT]

Practice is the only thing.

But dont by any means pull with Twig on board unless you have passed your test or have a license issued before 1997. It is very illegal and invalidates your insurance for car and trailer!

 

[VictoriaEDT]

whoops sorry dont know why that went on twice!

 

[Toby_Zaphod]

Everyone has problems when they first try reversing with a trailer. You'll probably turn your trailer the opposite way you actually want to go when you first start reversing & this is normal. The steering on your car does the reverse of what it normally does....your car is pushing the trailer so if you turn your wheel left & it pushes the trailer right & vica versa. As others have said it's down to repeated practice until you get it right. Ensure that you reverse slowly so you have a chance of recovering the situation should the trailer go the wrong way....if you reverse quickly by the time you realise everything is going wrong it is beyond salvaging. Good Luck & keep practicing

 

[SpruceRI]

I find reversing round a corner easier than going in a straight line. But if you go slowly enough, you can determine exactly where the pivot point is, ie, where in reverse the trailer starts to react.

If you've got a 4WD diesel engine you can put the car into 4WD reverse and take you feet off everything and it will just chug back at a walking pace.

When preparing to reverse, pull the car forwards so the trailer is 'bending' the way you want to go, and then in the last few metres of the pull forward, turn the steering wheel in the opposite direction, so when you start the reverse the trailer is already going the way you want it to and the car is in the correct position to push it that way.

VERY HARD TO EXPLAIN!!

Definately practice makes perfect. And preferably on your own in an open field with no one telling you what to do!

I've had my trailer 3 years now and have to reverse park it into a small yard alongside some industrial greenhouses, so have had to learn the hard way lest I smash the whole lot down!

Now find it easy and can do it in one shunt, though it's harder in the dark because the reversing lights are rubbish!

p.s I can only reverse using my wing mirrors!!

 

[georgiegirl2]

really?! We looked into it and I have L plates displayed on the car and am driving with mum with me who has had a licence for years which is fully clean. I think the ruling states you should drive with someone eligible to tow who is over 21 and has had a clean licvence over 3 years? We couldnt see anything about having horses on board?

*just to add - we are not doing anything dangerous with her in there - im fully supervised at all times and we have just been going REALLY slowly around our local roads - which to be honest is probably safer than people who passed before '97 who can just hitch up and go and not have a clue!

 

[VictoriaEDT]

yes its true, I have been having lessons at Devon drivers centre and my instructor told me when I asked. I understand you are driving safely and there are lots of muppets out there with pre 97 licences that are unsafe but I wanted to warn you....not have a go!

Dont worry I thought that it would be ok as well before my instructor told me it was highly illegal and insurance would be void! Whoops!

 

[Baggybreeches]

Where did you buy your trailer from? I only ask because our trailer dealer gives a free lesson with each new trailer bought

, he took me and OH out for a lesson (me driving, and OHin the back) and because he is an expert he put things across in such a way it was really easy to understand

It nearly killed my OH to keep his gob shut while Iwas having my lesson but it was deffo worth it.
I am now widely regarded as the best trailer backer upper in West Lancs (by me and OH anyway

).
BTW unless you are used to driving wagons (which you wont be then dont try to use your mirrors).

 

[georgiegirl2]

s**t! Didnt realise that at all! We checked out the documents online etc and hadnt found anything relating to the actual loads of what a learner is and isnt allowed to tow - complete ignorance on my behalf!

Better get sorted about getting this test done then.....

By the way, does anyone have any idea about how much these tests cost? And what is involved? Ie will i do my test with the horse box? Do all dvla test centres take trailer test candidates?

 

[Law]

You can tow with horses on board with a provisional and L plates but you are best to let your car insurance people know. You need to have someone in the passenger seat with you who has held the B+E for 3 years and who could take over if you were pulled over (Ie it is not ideal to just have someone who in theory has the right catagories but wouldn't be happy to take over) I phoned the DSA Technical team who said this.

Work out how many turns of the steering wheel it takes to go from one lock to the other and also how many it takes to go from one lock to having the wheels straight. When you are reversing in a straight line you need to have the vehicle wheels straight, this is when it is useful to know how many turns of the steering wheel it takes to get there. So if it takes two turns to get them from left lock to straight then you need to get the trailer to the point in your mirrors that you can see an equal picture in each mirror.
When trying to go back straight you need that equal picture in each mirror. If you are going back and you start to see more of one side of the trailer in one mirror then you need to turn the steering wheel to the direction you can see more in whilst going back, by a tiny amount. So if there is more of the left side of the trailer in the left mirror then steer to the left for half a turn until you get the same amount of trailer side in each mirror. When you have the same amount you need to then turn the wheels back to straight. It is easier to do this by having your hands in a fixed position and doing the half turn until the box is equal in each mirror and then move the wheel back to having you hands in the original place.

(I'm sorry this is so long!)

To move the trailer left and right - there is one simple thing i learned: If you want the trailer to appear over your left shoulder you need to steer the wheels to the right. Actually wind the window down and look at the wheels if it helps. You can do that in the test so you may as well give it a try. If you only ever do small movements very slowly then you have more chance of correcting it so take your time. Also you are allowed to look over your shoulder out the window as long as you still use your mirrors and all round observations at the same time.

It is important not to get the two confused. When going straight to correct the trailer you turn the steering wheel the same direction as you can see the trailer.
To move the trailer in different directions you need to point the wheels/steer in the opposite direction.

Test is £89.00

Practice, practice, practice and definitely try and ignore anyone who is trying to 'help' you. As soon as you work out for yourself what works you will get the hang of it no problem. When people are telling you what to do and which way to turn this and that you might find it harder to learn.

Good luck

 

[VictoriaEDT]

test is £89 and lasts about an hour and a half. 30 mins on manoevers and 1 hr in the town. All with a box trailer. I thought I would pass fine as I think I am a good driver but how wrong I am!!!!

Have had my license for 7 years and passed first time with one minor. The manoevers are fine; it is the town driving that is hard as they are so so so picky on the highway code etc. Apparently there is only a 20% pass rate!!!

If I were you I would book at least 2-3 hours of proper lessons or put yourself on a crash course as they will take your through the manoevers you have to do (and measure out the track which you wont know without the instructor) and they will sort out bad habits that you didnt even know you had and would fail on. On my first lesson I though slow is best and he said I would fail straight away if I held up traffic too much!