There is a classic 1954 movie called The Long, Long Trailer starring Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. It deals with many of the perils of pulling a trailer across country. For me, pulling the trailer is relative stress-free. I just have to remember there is a trailer back there and to account for it when I make turns, switch lanes etc. I have sorted that out pretty well.
Backing the trailer up is another story. Most of the campgrounds (and homes) we have visited along the way have required me to back the trailer up into a spot rather than pulling forward. I went into this gig thinking that backing a trailer is a science - some sort of formulaic set of moves that results in a perfectly parked trailer….Ha!
Google “backing up a trailer” and everyone has some tip or hack that makes it simple. Did you know if you put your hands at the bottom of the steering wheel everything works out fine? I tried it. Helps me zero.
My best tip in backing up a trailer is having a great partner. I have personally watched a few marriages suffer instantaneous combustion over parking the trailer.
Elaine and I are a great team. She oversees the parking process, giving directions and calling out obstructions (things you don’t want to hit, like trees, rocks, picnic tables, the dog, etc.)
My job is to encourage the trailer to move according to her directions. It’s not all chocolates and roses. Sometimes Elaine gets a little frustrated and tells me “just put the trailer over there” as though she is telling the movers where to put the sofa. My male rational brain has to have a conversation first. It goes like this:
Elaine and I agree where we want the trailer to go.
Where does the trailer want to go?
Ahhh, yes. That’s a different place.
Drive around the campground loop and try again.
Repeat steps 2 - 4 until the trailer, Elaine, and I are all in agreement.
I think my current record for drive-arounds is 4.
The one thing I have learned from all of my trailer parking attempts is to take it slowly and pay no attention to the gathering crowd of onlookers whose eyes weep with pity. The trailer always gets parked. It’s just a matter of when.