jamtracy Posted October 23, 2020 Report Share Posted October 23, 2020 (edited) On 10/20/2020 at 8:28 AM, Ray,IN said: Exactly! I initially painted them for 5'2" DW but soon discovered it was an excellent idea for us both. That is some funny stuff right there. My bad I thought you said you painted them ON your wife. Thought you were being funny. lol Edited October 28, 2020 by jamtracy Quote 2024 GMC 3500HD DRW Denali Diesel 2019 Keystone Avalanche 396BH USN Retired Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Star Dreamer Posted October 27, 2020 Report Share Posted October 27, 2020 With our dually I used a convex mirror mounted on the front of the trailer by the pin and aimed to see the hitch as I backed in. I could not see the hitch from inside the dually as the bed mounted fuel tank and tool box blocked the view. When we got the HDT, I used a magnetic mount hitch camera for many years and in the past year or so went to a permanent mount camera system. Quote 2005 Freightliner Century S/T, Singled, Air ride ET Jr. hitch 2019 46'+ Dune Sport Man Cave custom 5th wheel toy hauler Owner of the 1978 Custom Van "Star Dreamer" which might be seen at a local car show near you! Check out http://www.hhrvresource.com/ for much more info on HDT's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rickeieio Posted October 30, 2020 Report Share Posted October 30, 2020 Has anyone tried fastening something like bicycle flags to a magnet on the trailer hitch? Seems pretty simple and nothing fragile involved. Fortunately, my wife is nearly always there to guide me back. Even little brother commented on how easy she made it look. Quote KW T-680, POPEMOBILE Newmar X-Aire, VATICAN Lots of old motorcycles, Moto Guzzi Griso and Spyder F3 currently in the front row Young enough to play in the dirt as a retired farmer. contact me at rickeieio1@comcast.net Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dutch_12078 Posted October 30, 2020 Report Share Posted October 30, 2020 1 hour ago, rickeieio said: Has anyone tried fastening something like bicycle flags to a magnet on the trailer hitch? Seems pretty simple and nothing fragile involved. Fortunately, my wife is nearly always there to guide me back. Even little brother commented on how easy she made it look. Something like this? https://www.amazon.com/Camco-Magnetic-Hitch-Alignment-Kit/dp/B007772HG4/ Quote Dutch 2001 GBM Landau 34' Class A F-53 Chassis, Triton V10, TST TPMS 2011 Toyota RAV4 4WD/Remco pump ReadyBrute Elite tow bar/brake system Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rickeieio Posted October 30, 2020 Report Share Posted October 30, 2020 Not exactly. If you took those and put them together on the trailer hitch, at 90* to the hitch so they're out to the sides, then you would see one in each mirror. Adjust so they're just touching the bed rails as you back in. We've found that by just sighting the trailer side, I'll be withing 1" almost every time, no gimmicks needed. But a life time of operating weird equipment gives me a different perspective. Quote KW T-680, POPEMOBILE Newmar X-Aire, VATICAN Lots of old motorcycles, Moto Guzzi Griso and Spyder F3 currently in the front row Young enough to play in the dirt as a retired farmer. contact me at rickeieio1@comcast.net Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dutch_12078 Posted October 30, 2020 Report Share Posted October 30, 2020 The concept with the Camco set is that you put one on your hitch just behind the ball and the other on the trailer hitch at the ball cup. Then you just back in until the two align and the one on the hitch wiggles. I bought a set for friend that had just bought his first trailer and had never towed anything before. He nailed it on his second try. Teaching him how to back up the trailer took a little longer... Quote Dutch 2001 GBM Landau 34' Class A F-53 Chassis, Triton V10, TST TPMS 2011 Toyota RAV4 4WD/Remco pump ReadyBrute Elite tow bar/brake system Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rickeieio Posted November 2, 2020 Report Share Posted November 2, 2020 I understand that, but some of us don't have rear windows. Putting them vertically as designed would have them totally out of range of our mirrors. Having one each pointing out to the sides would allow us to gauge whether to shift left /right. I'm doing that now, by using the corners of the trailer. Quote KW T-680, POPEMOBILE Newmar X-Aire, VATICAN Lots of old motorcycles, Moto Guzzi Griso and Spyder F3 currently in the front row Young enough to play in the dirt as a retired farmer. contact me at rickeieio1@comcast.net Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray,IN Posted November 2, 2020 Report Share Posted November 2, 2020 (edited) 3 hours ago, rickeieio said: I understand that, but some of us don't have rear windows. Putting them vertically as designed would have them totally out of range of our mirrors. Having one each pointing out to the sides would allow us to gauge whether to shift left /right. I'm doing that now, by using the corners of the trailer. Were this me I would just buy a cheap(mine is wireless) backup camera off Amazon for <$40. I have one on my Silverado to line up with bumper pull trailers.It's worked OK for 3 years so far, but at times it does black out from interference as it's the same frequency as cordless phone and many other such devices.l Edited November 2, 2020 by Ray,IN Quote 2000 Winnebago Ultimate Freedom USQ40JD, ISC 8.3 Cummins 350, Spartan MM Chassis. USA IN 1SG retired;Good Sam Life member,FMCA ." And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you--ask what you can do for your country. John F. Kennedy 20 Jan 1961 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dutch_12078 Posted November 2, 2020 Report Share Posted November 2, 2020 5 hours ago, rickeieio said: I understand that, but some of us don't have rear windows. Putting them vertically as designed would have them totally out of range of our mirrors. Having one each pointing out to the sides would allow us to gauge whether to shift left /right. I'm doing that now, by using the corners of the trailer. In that case, I agree with Ray that a low cost camera would be a good option. Quote Dutch 2001 GBM Landau 34' Class A F-53 Chassis, Triton V10, TST TPMS 2011 Toyota RAV4 4WD/Remco pump ReadyBrute Elite tow bar/brake system Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jinx & Wayne Posted November 7, 2020 Author Report Share Posted November 7, 2020 On 11/2/2020 at 7:00 AM, rickeieio said: some of us don't have rear windows. Putting them vertically as designed would have them totally out of range of our mirrors. Having one each pointing out to the sides would allow us to gauge whether to shift left /right. I'm doing that now, by using the corners of the trailer. Which brings me back to marks on the ground. When we stopped in MD ten days ago I put two markers in the ground four inches out from both the front and rear left tires. We drove the TV all week. Yesterday evening I parked the TV next to the markers. No trouble because I could see them on the ground from the drivers seat (or in side mirror). This morning I backed up close to the hitch from that position. I got out and looked, confirmed that I was spot on, and connected. Quote Jinx and Wayne 2006 Carriage Carri-Lite 36KSQ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenandjon Posted January 19, 2021 Report Share Posted January 19, 2021 I use this thing called "the Wife" Not too hard to train but you gotta feed her. Sometimes she only waves with one finger. I still cant figure that out. I lost the manual. Quote Farmer, Trucker, Equipment operator, Mechanic Quando omni flunkus moritati-When all else fails, play dead I'm a man, but I can change, if I have to, I guess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dennisvr Posted January 19, 2021 Report Share Posted January 19, 2021 (edited) 3 hours ago, jenandjon said: I use this thing called "the Wife" Not too hard to train but you gotta feed her. Sometimes she only waves with one finger. I still cant figure that out. I lost the manual. I tried the "Wife" once. After that time I figured it was much easier to use my mirrors and "GOAL" (get out and look). Maybe it was twice, because I remember once trying it with our cell phones instead of hand signals, which wasn't a pleasant experience. So now if I'm in a tight spot I will use her as a spotter. I tell her to only start waving her arms if I'm going to hit something and not to try to guide me. Now if I can only train her that if she cant see me in the mirror, then I cant see her. Its an ongoing battle............ I do remember seeing a manual when I first started, but I'm bad about reading directions. But I do recall it saying "Warning use at your own risk" Edited January 19, 2021 by dennisvr Quote "It is better to have more truck than you need than to need more truck than you have" 2001 Volvo 660, Cummins 400 ISX, Eaton 3 Peddle Auto Shift 2014 Fuzion 40' Toyhauler 2015 Smart Car Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noteven Posted January 19, 2021 Report Share Posted January 19, 2021 (edited) The best part about watching RV backing operations is the sheer number of hand, arm and verbal communications that are employed.... Edited January 19, 2021 by noteven Quote "Are we there yet?" asked no motorcycle rider, ever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
packnrat Posted January 20, 2021 Report Share Posted January 20, 2021 i guess cause i drive a class A truck, i know how to back up just by aligning the truck and trailer. and then just back up using the left side mirror, till i fell it go clunk. at worst get out once-twice if i need to adjust the height of the pin. (aka: at home the pin sits above my head and i am just under 6 feet tall). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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