Things that I Just Cain't Do

Latest one: I cain't back up with a Harbor Freight 4'x4' trailer without jackknifing it in the first, oh, five feet of travel.

It's a good thing my driveway is downhill and decently steep. And that the trailer is light, even while loaded with wheels/tires. Get it sort of lined up, pick up trailer and set it in line with the car, go back to driver's door, release handbrake, roll down another five feet, grab handbrake, re-align trailer, go back to driver's door, release handbrake...

Ugh. I mean, I have got The Mojo when it comes to maneuvering a car hauler around. But this little thing has been giving me FITS.

Also: The brake/turn signal converter from O'Reillys does not work with Harbor Freight trailers. Too much current, makes it shut down. I plan on fixing this with relays, but for the time being I strapped some (LED) magnetic lights to the trailer... and I almost got all the way home before they stopped working, too.

Ugh.

The reason you jackknife that thing is because the tongue is ridiculously short. Lots of folks extend the tongue and not only does it make for easier backing, but also for smoother towing.

Put a tall orange cone dead center at the far end of the trailer.

Woody wrote: Put a tall orange cone dead center at the far end of the trailer.

and then every time it falls off and you run over it, add two seconds to the amount of time it took you to back the trailer.

Want to know the faster way to do it? Drive the car out of the driveway. Back the car into the driveway. Hook the trailer up, and drive (forwards) out of the driveway with the trailer in tow.

mtn wrote: Want to know the faster way to do it? Drive the car out of the driveway. Back the car into the driveway. Hook the trailer up, and drive (forwards) out of the driveway with the trailer in tow.

The plan is to drive forwards out of the driveway tomorrow morning, which is why I wanted to back into the driveway tonight. At 10pm. With no driveway lighting. No working reverse lights, and deeply tinted windows. And the taillights bleed light into the interior and reflect off the stuff in the hatch, which reflects off of the inside of the glass...

I borrowed the trailer from someone so I can haul more gear and tires than I can easily fit into an RX-7, and the trailer is going to live at my work for the next week or two.

I own this trailer. You can't back them up - they are too short.

It's four freaking feet by four freaking feet. Probably doesn't weigh much, either. Maneuver it wherever you want it, by hand, then connect it to your tow vehicle. Life is too short, to dick around trying to back up with a short trailer.

As far as the lights issue get some trailer lights.from uhaul or leonard rip out the harbor freight garbage and replace. It's very simple.and not expensive i think a whole set of trailer lights from leonard where i work is 29.99

Unhook trailer, push backwards by hand.

Back up car.

Reconnect trailer to car.

My f-i-l could never understand that a bigger longer trailer was easier to back that a shorter one. He bent the tongue on everyone he owned.

NGTD wrote: Unhook trailer, push backwards by hand. Back up car. Reconnect trailer to car.

I have a Harbor Freight trailer I pull with an Excursion and this is my SOP. My son makes fun of me but he can't back it up either.

Doesn't help that unless it is loaded with tall cargo it is practically invisible out the back window of an Excursion (until it is jackknifed).

I think there is some relationship between vehicle wheel base and trailer dimensions too. My Dad had an H3 and it was a pain in the butt to back up our 4'x8' trailer. Now hook it up to a full size truck, and it's easy peasy.

Best setup is long tongue on the trailer and short wheelbase on the mover. Using our old JD tractor, I used to back a 22 foot boat on a trailer (probably 26-28 feet long OA) into a space that probably had a foot to spare on either side. It was remarkably easy because big adjustments on the steering made small course corrections out at the trailer end.

That being said, I have a 4x4 HF tire trailer and I can barely back it up with my Miata, looking out the back with the top down.

Duke wrote: Best setup is long tongue on the trailer and short wheelbase on the mover. Using our old JD tractor, I used to back a 22 foot boat on a trailer (probably 26-28 feet long OA) into a space that probably had a foot to spare on either side. It was remarkably easy because big adjustments on the steering made small course corrections out at the trailer end. That being said, I have a 4x4 HF tire trailer and I can barely back it up with my Miata, looking out the back with the top down.

I agree - I had a 21 ft. boat and a 98 Ford Explorer. I could put that thing right on the edge of my driveway easily.

Datsun310Guy wrote: I own this trailer. You can't back them up - they are too short.

I back mine all the time … being so short coupled, the "trick" is to anticipate it's turning before it starts to turn … LOTS easier said than done … lots of practice

it's a bit more difficult now since I driving a car with manual steering

SEADave wrote:

NGTD wrote: Unhook trailer, push backwards by hand. Back up car. Reconnect trailer to car.

I have a Harbor Freight trailer I pull with an Excursion and this is my SOP. My son makes fun of me but he can't back it up either. Doesn't help that unless it is loaded with tall cargo it is practically invisible out the back window of an Excursion (until it is jackknifed).

I have to raise the hatch on my CRX to back mine

Buy a pair of $4 fiberglass driveway markers and attach them to the trailer so they stick out each side far enough that you can see them in your mirrors. That way you can see as it starts to turn on you and make your corrections before the trailer is too far gone.