When helping some one back there truck up to a trailer do you

[ozarkgem]

spin your  arms in circle indicating which way you want the steering wheel moved or do you just point you finger the way you want the hitch on the truck to move. When I am backing up, I always use the mirror and when  some one starts the big circle moves I slam on the brakes and explain to them I have no Idea what they are telling me and just to point the direction you want the ball to move. I know which way to turn the steering wheel.

[Larry]

Real men don't need helpers.  They just tuck it in and jump in and out of the cab 50 times....or use a backup camera.

[sprucebunny]

I'm with you !!

My x husband used to do the circle thing all the time and it drove me crazy. Now we just crack up laughing and no one helps much  :D

( He loves his back up camera. I jump in and out a lot !! )

[POSTON WIDEHEAD]

Y'all do have bumpers....right?  ;D

[Dave Shepard]

When I'm hooking up to a trailer I tell people to get out of my mirrors so I can see the trailer. I can put the hitch under the ring with just the mirrors.

[JohnG28]

Never saw anyone "turn the wheel" outside the truck. I/we always point in the direction the truck/hitch needs to go.

[JB Griffin]

Never saw anyone "turn the wheel" outside the truck. I/we always point in the direction the truck/hitch needs to go.

x2

[WmFritz]

use a backup camera.

[sandhills]

I hate people trying to back me up to anything, especially when I'm driving the semi with the cattle pot on, dad is the king of the "turning the steering wheel thing", just let me have my mirrors.

[Brad_S.]

I am a member of a 4 man team at work and we hook up trailers all the time.
Pointing the way you want the ball to go is what we use. Pointing emphatically means cut it hard! Pointing and then holding your thumb and index finger up means turn slightly. Hand and fingers straight up and aligned while motioning back and forth means straight back. Clenched fist means stop.
There is one final finger gesture that is often used that I am sure you are all familiar with.

[reubenT]

yah,  just the point method is all i ever do.  But then I'm more often doing it myself without company,  and being the professional backerupper that my friends all claim, I usually hit it pretty good the first time or 3.
   Oh but my first attempt at the driving test in a semi truck n trailer I failed the backing part.   I aren't perfect.   Had to go practice on the test site and get in mind the exact moves to make,  then I did it fine for the tester.   

[Just Me]

 I hitch myself mostly, and pay absolutely no attention to my wife if she is back there. I let her wag her hands and think she is helping, but really........

What I do find annoying is the "Things are somewhere behind you Mirrors" that come on trucks. What the heck were they thinking? I have to change out the one on my 2014 F150 to flat glass. Can't back up a trailor worth a hoot when turning that way.

Larry

[coxy]

the pointing works ok but if im by my self ill take the dozer or skidsteer and just put the trailer on the hitch with them if there not there its in and out in and out  :D :D

[Chuck White]

I usually hook up to the mill by myself.

After a few years of doing this, you tend to be a little more efficient at it!

With a helper, POINT.

[WV Sawmiller]

In Afghanistan and Iraq the more commonly accepted methods we used with the military/contractors were to just point one arm in the direction we wanted the driver to go and make "come on" motions with the opposite hand. For straight back we "come on" with both hands till reached the spot then cross wrists for stop.

My biggest annoyance in Africa when directing a load in place were "helpers". Everyone wanted to get in the act. If driving, I'd stop and tell others to get out of the way as I was only watching one guy and I'd identify who it was. Worst were gate/security guards who would jump between me and the driver and start directing without ever knowing where I was trying to put the load.

Smart trailer drivers put a ball hitch on the front bumper, get close then change from rear to front hitches and push the load into place. I drove a tractor trailer truck for a while and found it is much easier to back a 53' trailer into a spot than a 6' utility trailer because you can see it moving sooner and have more time to react. My 4' cart behind my 4 wheeler is handy but jackknifes before you know it.

[blackfoot griz]

I agree with WV Sawmiller. The most difficult thing I have to back up in my splitter. You can't see it until it's nearly too late.  My solution is to stick a chunk of pipe in it as an indicator of where it is in the reverse mode!

[jueston]

most everything usefull i know i learned in the army...

i point my entire arm in the direction i want the hitch to go, and then motion backwords with the other hand. then cross my arms in front of my body when i want the driver to stop. of course if the person has never seen the hand signals they might not be obvious.

personally i just get out and check a couple times, when someone tries to guide me from the ground i only look at them to make sure i don't hit them...

90% of the time, i can line it up perfectly only getting out to check one time... the last 10% it takes me 10 tries  :D

[4x4American]

haha!  I just watch my mirrors and can usually get it pretty close.  Often times if it's real close, I'll just swing the hitch over the ball if I can and lower the hitch so that its resting on the ball, then I wiggle truck around til it locks on.  If you do that don't take the jack off, just wind it up quite a bit.  It's easy hooking up to my gooseneck trailer, can look at the ball right through the window.

[pineywoods]

X2 on the front hitch. Put one on my pickup, can't beat it for maneuvering a trailer into tight spots. Friend just bought a new ford pickup. It's got a backup camera built into the tailgate.  That's cheating  ;D

[Dave Shepard]

Most difficult thing to back up? A PTO generator with a 4' hitch to axle length and one flat tire. :D

[JohnG28]

I'll drop the tail gate too to get a better idea where the hitch is. Makes it easier to spot the tongue of the trailer a little more.  Back up camera would be pretty nice. Are they adjustable so you can point it at a certain spot backing up?

[beenthere]

Difficult yes.

Once as a kid, drove downhill in a fenced, dead-end farm lane with a JD G, a 2 wheel hay baler behind, and a 4 wheel wagon behind the baler. Backing up that combination was a slow process, I recall.

[terrifictimbersllc]

Most customers don't know that one can usually push the woodmizer tongue from side to side easily, and spend a lot of energy trying to point which direction.  What can I say they're trying to help.

[4x4American]

I think BT takes the cake with the hardest thing to back up...that must've been interesting to say the least.

[sandhills]

Difficult yes.

Once as a kid, drove downhill in a fenced, dead-end farm lane with a JD G, a 2 wheel hay baler behind, and a 4 wheel wagon behind the baler. Backing up that combination was a slow process, I recall.

I know your pain!  We usually chop a couple hundred acres of silage between us and the neighbors, anytime you hook up a wagon behind an implement, behind a tractor backing out of spots is tuff.  I do have power steering though  ;).

[ozarkgem]

most of the time I hook up by myself also. Don't take long to get pretty good at it.  My dump truck and Bobcat trailer are the worst. They have to be dead on as there is no bumping them. too heavy. Thought about a camera for that one.

[coxy]

hay wagons there is no other way to say it they are hard for backing up and ill be the first to say I CAN NOT DO IT  :D :D

[mesquite buckeye]

Try it with an articulated wagon sometime where the front and rear wheels both turn. :-\

[Peter Drouin]

I just use mirrors on the truck. Everything else after I do hook up the first time. I look where I am from the seat , And just do it the next time. Easy. ;D

[thecfarm]

I use to haul a tractor from my Father's house to here. Got alot of practice. Hook up each morning,go to his place for lunch,than hook up at night. I could back up and hit the hitch with the bumper,pull forward just a bit and that was just about it.

[landscraper]

And then there are the folks who try to stand between the truck and the trailer so they can get a birds eye view of the alignment.  These are usually the same people who, while blocking your view of what you are trying to hook to, will wait until you are mere inches away from the hitch to indicate with some very dramatic hand motions that you should somehow move over a foot very quickly.  They often have a furrowed brow or some other facial expression that indicates that they really and truly don't understand why this isn't working.

[LaneC]

They make a device that has 2 parts. they each have a magnet for the bottom. it is like 2 antennas, they extend up and down, and on the top of each they have a ball, similar to a tennis ball. You place 1 magnet on the trailer hitch and 1 on your ball. You adjust them so they are close to the same height. You then back up until the balls touch. They stick up above your tailgate so you see them when you are backing up. When they touch, you are very close or dead on. Close enough to where you can let the trailer down and then slide the trailer all the way on with a push or kick. They have them at home depot. I think they were 19.99. They help my dad a lot.

[Sixacresand]

They make a device that has 2 parts. they each have a magnet for the bottom. it is like 2 antennas, they extend up and down, and on the top of each they have a ball, similar to a tennis ball. You place 1 magnet on the trailer hitch and 1 on your ball. You adjust them so they are close to the same height. You then back up until the balls touch. They stick up above your tailgate so you see them when you are backing up. When they touch, you are very close or dead on. Close enough to where you can let the trailer down and then slide the trailer all the way on with a push or kick. They have them at home depot. I think they were 19.99. They help my dad a lot.

I got a "cheap" set from Harbor Frieght.  You can line them up by watching them through your windshield mirror.  Works good

[Small Slick]

My wife makes small semi circular motions with both hands. Then after I smack the bumper on the hitch of the trailer. She gets upset like it's my fault and says I don't know. Do it yourself.  John

[so il logger]

My wife makes small semi circular motions with both hands. Then after I smack the bumper on the hitch of the trailer. She gets upset like it's my fault and says I don't know. Do it yourself.  John

Must be the normal thing. My wife stops me so I get out to lower the jack and secure the chains and I may be 8 inches away from the hitch. :D I guess I should be able to pull the truck back by hand  :D

[JohnG28]

My wife makes small semi circular motions with both hands. Then after I smack the bumper on the hitch of the trailer. She gets upset like it's my fault and says I don't know. Do it yourself.  John

Must be the normal thing. My wife stops me so I get out to lower the jack and secure the chains and I may be 8 inches away from the hitch. :D I guess I should be able to pull the truck back by hand  :D

No, just yank the trailer forward a foot!  :D

[Jim_Rogers]

Normally I hook up alone, and I just stand up a metal stone rake with a wooden handle as a marker where the trailer hitch is. And when the trailer ball protector hits the rake handle I know it's back far enough. Both my flat bed lumber delivery trailer and my sawmill I can slide left or right to line up if I'm back far enough.



 

Jim Rogers

[pigman]

I always hitch up to a trailer by myself and I am very good at it. I back up until I hear the tongue breaking one of the tail lights. I then pull up a few feet, cut the front wheels sharply and back up until I hear the other tail light breaking. I then pull up some and back up straight until the trailer tongue rams the license plate. Now, I know I am close and just get out ten times until the truck is in the correct spot.  :

[Peter Drouin]

I always hitch up to a trailer by myself and I am very good at it. I back up until I hear the tongue breaking one of the tail lights. I then pull up a few feet, cut the front wheels sharply and back up until I hear the other tail light breaking. I then pull up some and back up straight until the trailer tongue rams the license plate. Now, I know I am close and just get out ten times until the truck is in the correct spot.  :

:D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D

[terrifictimbersllc]

My record is getting in and out of truck 14 times.   Usually alone I get out 3-4 times. When customer helps and I pretty much ignore him it is 2-3 times.  If I train the customer as to what's needed it is usually 1-2 times.  Haven't tried letting customer or wife back the truck up with me signaling.

[beenthere]

 :D :D :D :D :D

Another good one, pigman.   8)

[Ianab]

Just had a tow hitch installed on the Toyota, and noticed the ball just shows in the bottom of the reverse camera  ;D

Should save some wear and tear on the lights and bumper now I don't have to use Pigman's method  :D

[Sixacresand]

In reality, pretty much what Pigman said. 

[beenthere]

Ian
A screen shot of the trailer tongue and ball getting close would be great to see. (hint.. ;) )

[John Mc]

I've been known to use the Pigman method myself from time to time.

I thought I had gotten pretty good at backing up until I had a small Rubbermaid trailer hooked up behind my Coot (and antique ATV/UTV). The Coot is 4 wheel steering - the combination of that and the short coupling of the Rubbermaid trailer has me stymied. One of these days I'll hook up and spend some time practicing, but that last time I just gave up, got out and moved the trailer by hand.

John

[Ianab]

Ian
A screen shot of the trailer tongue and ball getting close would be great to see. (hint.. ;) )

Getting a trailer this week for a milling road trip. Will practise a bit then take some pictures  :D

[Buckshot00]

Been backing by myself for the last 25 years.  Pretty much got it down pat.

[Tom the Sawyer]

My wife tired pretty quickly of spotting for me when hooking up the trailer or the mill.  She bought me a magnetic wireless camera system, the iBall Camera.  The small receiver plugs into the dash and the magnetic camera runs on a 9v battery. 

Much, much less stressful... and she doesn't have to get up so early.  It is a b&w camera and on very sunny days you might find yourself trying to line up with the shadow on the ground but it almost always lets you get lined up the first time.  I've had clients, who didn't see the camera, be amazed at how accurate I was. 

For difficult sites, I had a receiver hitch installed on the front of my F350 and the benefit of the magnetic base is that I can move it to the hood when I hook up to the front.

[isawlogs]

My wife tired pretty quickly of spotting for me when hooking up the trailer or the mill.  She bought me a magnetic wireless camera system, the iBall Camera.  The small receiver plugs into the dash and the magnetic camera runs on a 9v battery. 

Much, much less stressful... and she doesn't have to get up so early. 

  Have you tried to ask her to help out in the evening ....  I usualy pine the mill to the pick-up the night before, I would never wake the lioness in da morning to help .... I like livin' on the edge, but that would make it very difficult to do .  ;)

[Tom the Sawyer]

I usually hook up early in the morning, she is usually up shortly after I am but not always ready to go outside.  She is a wonderful person and always offers to help.  Unfortunately, she doesn't like to be told what to do or how to do it which make 'helping' somewhat difficult.  The fewer times I accept her help, the better we get along.   ;D

[hacknchop]

My brother in law has a sign that says "sometimes I wakeup grumpy but if at all possible I let her sleep in" .

[Chuck White]

When I'm about to go out on a sawjob, I always hook-up in the morning!

Mainly because my truck is loaded with everything I need to take with me and I don't want it all covered with dew or rain!

When I hook up to the mill, I'm in and out of the truck 2-3 times max.

[terrifictimbersllc]

Unfortunately, she doesn't like to be told what to do or how to do it which make 'helping' somewhat difficult. 

:D :D :D  priceless

[WV Sawmiller]

"My brother in law has a sign that says "sometimes I wakeup grumpy but if at all possible I let her sleep in" . "

Hack,

    That's funny. I think I will use it (any time my wife is not around!).

[4x4American]

jim u oughta get some grease on that ball!

[Jim_Rogers]

jim u oughta get some grease on that ball!

It used to get some but then it would get all over my leg. Now it won't cause my leg can't hit the ball.

Jim Rogers

[Ianab]

Ian
A screen shot of the trailer tongue and ball getting close would be great to see. (hint.. ;) )

One better

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRdigZTDTMs

You can see a camera should reduce tail light damage  :D

[47sawdust]

Garrison Keillor used to to have a fictitious sponsor on the Prairie Home Companion called 'Mon Back Brother's Moving,just back up until you hit something,take a look ,and make an adjustment.We use that technique all the time.Yes, the license plate is no longer readable.
I like to carry a 5 foot stone bar to tweak the trailer when I get close.

[isawlogs]

Ian.... thats just plain ole cheatin'      But I like it !!   

[thurlow]

As bad a cussin' 'fit' as I've ever heard involved hitching to a trailer (he was partly cussing me and partly cussing the situation).  I've been hooked to a LOT of trailers on the farm.......back before I retarred.  We usta cut a lot of custom silage w/a pull-behind 2-row cutter w/a trailer behind that;  usually would cut 60-80 loads per day for weeks on end;  also pulled hay wagons, cotton trailers, grain trailers, etc.  When I'se in my 20s, I pulled a load of cotton to the gin (one of multiple loads per day);  you'd pull across the scales, wait for the weigh-man to wave you forward;  pull out onto the yard and un-hook and then drive over to the other side of the yard and pick up one of your empty trailers;  most of 'em at the time were 8 ft wide and 24 ft long.  So.......I pulled onto the scales and waited;  the weigh man came out and we visited for several minutes (he was a personal friend);  was at least 5 minutes and could've been much longer. We could see the lot where the empty trailers were kept and watched an older man trying to hitch to a trailer;  he musta been in and out of the pickup at least 25 or 30 times.  Finally someone pulled in behind me and so I pulled off,  unhooked and drove over to get an empty.  One of my trailers happened to be sitting almost right beside the old man's;  I backed up, got out and............it was one of those times when I hit it perfectly;  just picked the tongue up and dropped the pin in.  The lot was just dirt and someone had driven across it when it was muddy,  leaving a set of ruts;  both front tires of the trailer the old man was trying to hook to were sitting in the same rut and the tongue wouldn't move a half an inch.  I walked over, picked the tongue up on his trailer, he backed up, I dropped the pin in and he was good-to-go.  I'd known him forever, but not well; not sure if he knew my name or not.  He got out to thank me before driving off and said something like, "Man, you're good."  Being something of a smart-mouth, I said, "Well, Mr. Hershel, this ain't the first trailer I've ever been hooked to."  His face got red and he started in, "This ain't the first trailer I've ever been to hooked to either,   G**d***, &*%*&%%%&%^#@#@$%%#!@#$%$, etc, etc,."  He cussed until he absolutely ran out of breath;  it was kinda entertaining after-the-fact, but I was scared at-the-time.  I slinked (slank?) back over to my pickup, got in and drove off.......

[sandsawmill14]

I just hide behind a tree or the log pile and wait for them to stop moving :D :D smiley_devilish

[beenthere]

thurlow, good recount there.  ;D
Trailers or wagons? Wagons have wheels fore and aft, with the forward ones steering. They are much harder to back up when hooked to a picker, baler, or combine.  Trailers much easier, IMO.

[sandhills]

Doing custom silage pulling around a wagon behind a 2 row cutter is about is about as much fun as pouring cement or laying block in my mind.  I've had countless times trying to back the whole mess up to get around a corner in the field and it's not fun, thurlow, if you got it mastered my hat's off to you!  A few years ago after a bad drought we started chopping in July and finished in October, I can hit every wagon most generally on the first try hooking up, but backing everything around stuff is still a challenge.  :D

[thurlow]

thurlow, good recount there.  ;D
Trailers or wagons? Wagons have wheels fore and aft, with the forward ones steering. They are much harder to back up when hooked to a picker, baler, or combine.  Trailers much easier, IMO.

terminology/definitions/identifications:  depends on where one lives;  have found many times that words/phrases used in one part of the country/world mean something else elsewhere  8).

Around 'HERE', a wagon is either a child's toy or something pulled by animals (I know I used the word in the earlier post.....wrongly);  a trailer is pulled behind a vehicle/truck/tractor, etc.  A four-wheel trailer has a steerable front axle, nearly always around HERE they're 5th wheel type, 'though there are a few auto-type steers around (the 5th wheels track much better).  A tandem wheel trailer has multiple axles mostly centered (slightly to the rear);  2-wheel trailers, gooseneck trailers, cattle trailers, grain trailers, fencing trailers, garbage trailers, etc.  I'm aware that what 'we' call trailers are known as wagons in much of the country.  The cotton 'trailers' I was speaking of have a steerable axle in front and one or two fixed axles in the rear.  The guys I hang with on Yesterday's Tractors often point out the error of my ways. ;D

[thurlow]

Doing custom silage pulling around a wagon behind a 2 row cutter is about is about as much fun as pouring cement or laying block in my mind.    :D

I don't know .  When everything was working right, which was most of the time, running a silage cutter was one of my favorite jobs on the farm;  we used A-C cutters (760? 780? been a long time).  They used a 'cut-and-throw' "J" knife and you could hear the thing 'moan' from a long way off.  Our trailers (as I've defined them) weren't that big........about 7 x 14 ft w/about 4 ft high sideboards.  We used 'false' endgates to pull the silage out thru a swinging rear endgate.  When the corn was just right......to put the right load on the tractor (typically a 4020D) and the machine....in the right gear, we'd often cut 8 loads per hour.  We had a man riding the back of the machine/front of the trailers;  I'd give him the 'nod', he'd pull the pin;  I'd pull forward and the tractor with the empty trailer would whip in behind the machine.  The man on the ground would pull HIS pin; he'd move out of the way;  I'd back up;  he'd drop the pin and off we'd go.  The guy on the 'hauling' tractor did his own hooking and off to the pit or silo he'd go.  Generally speaking, we kept one man at the pit on a tractor with a rear-mounted blade, one or two men on the ground at the pit and between 1 and 3 tractors hauling......depending on how far it was from the field to the pit.  Things had to be RIGHT to hook to a trailer, fill it with silage and unhook from it..........every 7 and a half minutes;  LAWD, I loved it.  We quit silage in '86 when the state ran a by-pass highway thru the bigger of our 2 trench silos;  went to all big round bales of hay...........

[sandhills]

Yes that's much the same way we do it but without the middle guy to unhook though.  A few years ago I used to have at least 3 haulers and they tried to keep up so we could just pull alongside, but the year I mentioned we cut over 600 acres and a lot of it was miles from the spots we were piling it, it gets really old looking backwards for that many acres, especially when you're really not cutting anything anyway.  Right now I have a 1486 and a 3950 cutter but spent many, many days running a 4010 with a 3800 behind it  .

[oros35]

Worst thing I have to hook up to and back up is my Deuce 1/2 army truck and a M105 1 1/2 ton army trailer. The trailer is narrower than the truck so you can't see it when the canvas is on the bed (which is almost always).  The mirrors shake so bad everything is blurry.  The 6x6 doesn't turn well to begin with and to make it worse it doesn't have power steering.  Only good thing is it's geared low enough. 

The trailer is so much shorter than the truck you have no chance to correct it if your off.  Pull up and start over.  The only way to back it up is to get it weaving from mirror to mirror.  It's impossible to back something up straight you can't see! 

[Jim_Rogers]

So, I'm getting ready to take the sawmill on the road to do a job in a nearby town tomorrow.
I needed to hook it up to the SUV to pull it out of its current working position.
I set up my rake and backed right up to it.

I pulled the "T" handle on the front outrigger and the hitch missed the ball:



 

I hate it when that happens.

The tongue weight was too much for me to lift and the jack handle wouldn't work with the outrigger that far into the bracket. So I had to think of an easy way to lift it back up again.
I could always get out the floor jack and jack it up enough for the outrigger and jack handle to work, but that would be a lot of work to do it.
I remembered that when they showed us how to fold up the mill back in 94 that the trainer used a pair of vice grips on the rod to hold the head in a position where the tongue weight was very light and he could roll the mill around their shop with very little pressure.
I moved the sawmill carriage off the travel pin back towards the rear end a bit and attached a set of vice grips to prevent it from sliding back down hill.
Like this:



 

This made it so that the tongue weight was very little. I just picked it up and set it on the ball. Very easy.

After moving the mill, I disconnected it from the SUV so I could load it up with all my "travel tools".
Then I had to re-connect to the mill to be ready to "roll out" tomorrow morning.

I set up my rake to the correct spot so that I could see the mill hitch point in my rear view mirror and backed right up to the mill. When I do this the rubber bumper around my trailer hitch hits the rake handle and I know I'm there. This time it knocked the rake over.

Like this:



 

I like it when this happens.

Jim Rogers

[Magicman]

I always went to the outrigger next to the loaded and used it to lift the front end back up.  I used that outrigger many times when the front outrigger was still too high to allow the hitch to rest on the ball.

Matter of fact, even with FAO's, I still use that outrigger occasionally when the tongue end is very low.

[Jim_Rogers]

I always went to the outrigger next to the loaded and used it to lift the front end back up.  I used that outrigger many times when the front outrigger was still too high to allow the hitch to rest on the ball.

Matter of fact, even with FAO's, I still use that outrigger occasionally when the tongue end is very low.

Good tip, I'll remember that.

Jim Rogers

[Chuck White]

Well..... about 2 years ago (Christmas) Sheila got me a rearview (back-up) camera and about 2 weeks ago my son and I hooked this up!

The lens mounts right on the top bolts of the rear license plate and shows the trailer hitch ball on the view finder, in the cab of the truck.

The transmitter is hooked up to the back-up light wire and it's mounted behind the left tail light.

The receiver is on a suction cup mounted on the instrument panel, forward of the steering wheel.

Whenever the truck is shifted into Reverse, the camera is activated.

Works very well.

[lumberjack48]

When turning around a semi on a logging job, i told the driver to watch me, nothing else. I walked in front of the truck while he was backing up, i turned my arms like i had hold of the steering wheel, nothing to it.