Mission Impossible: Backing my Camplite into any kind of sit

[pinstriper]

[quote source="/post/4986/thread" timestamp="1415676759" author="@leslie"]Mission Impossible just might be turning into Mission Possible. I have been working every weekend, when my husband can help spot for me. This weekend, I told him I wanted to back into a campsite without his help, and I DID IT! He stood and watched, ready to give me a holler just in case it looked like I would smack a tree, but backing in went just fine. That doesn't mean I can just whip that trailer right around into a campsite, but I can do it by myself. I am going to Florida this winter. Maybe my husband can get away from work long enough to join me for a little bit.[/quote][p]I know I speak for everyone else here, who had very little to do with this, but we're real proud of your accomplishment ![/p][p]
[/p][p]I had occasion this weekend to back our trailer into a 14' wide bay in my barn for the first time.  Since the driveway is not straight in, it's about 150' of backing in, then 50' of "S" curve where you cut it one way, then the other to go straight back at the end.[/p][p]
[/p][p]I finally had to tell Mrs. Pin that I just needed her to holler if she thought I was about to hit the barn. I set out wheel chocks to mark each side about 10' out from the barn itself. I figured I could always see either one or the other marker and lined up on those, until she decided to help by moving one of them out of the way.[/p][p]
[/p][p]Ya gotta go with what you can see. Hearing helpful comments like "a little more" and "almost there" are not helpful. I need "3 feet, 2 feet, 6 inches".[/p][p]
[/p][p]I told her I couldn't hear her over the motor and just used the chocks.[/p][p]
[/p]

[djsamuel]

[quote source="/post/4988/thread" timestamp="1415679523" author="@pinstriper"][quote source="/post/4986/thread" timestamp="1415676759" author="@leslie"]Mission Impossible just might be turning into Mission Possible. I have been working every weekend, when my husband can help spot for me. This weekend, I told him I wanted to back into a campsite without his help, and I DID IT! He stood and watched, ready to give me a holler just in case it looked like I would smack a tree, but backing in went just fine. That doesn't mean I can just whip that trailer right around into a campsite, but I can do it by myself. I am going to Florida this winter. Maybe my husband can get away from work long enough to join me for a little bit.[/quote][p]I know I speak for everyone else here, who had very little to do with this, but we're real proud of your accomplishment ![/p][p]
[/p][p]I had occasion this weekend to back our trailer into a 14' wide bay in my barn for the first time.  Since the driveway is not straight in, it's about 150' of backing in, then 50' of "S" curve where you cut it one way, then the other to go straight back at the end.[/p][p]
[/p][p]I finally had to tell Mrs. Pin that I just needed her to holler if she thought I was about to hit the barn. I set out wheel chocks to mark each side about 10' out from the barn itself. I figured I could always see either one or the other marker and lined up on those, until she decided to help by moving one of them out of the way.[/p][p]
[/p][p]Ya gotta go with what you can see. Hearing helpful comments like "a little more" and "almost there" are not helpful. I need "3 feet, 2 feet, 6 inches".[/p][p]
[/p][p]I told her I couldn't hear her over the motor and just used the chocks.[/p][p]
[/p][/quote]I have pretty much the same situation with my driveway.  I have about 150' back in, with an s curve around a tree (about 40 feet).  I am now at the point where my wife helps me get the camper through the gate (12') and then she goes in the house and starts doing what she needs to do.  I have now established various reference points I use and am able to back the camper in fairly easily and then park it to the side on a concrete pad.  Sometimes it is much easier doing it yourself since sometimes the spotters instructions may differ from your approach or what you see.

[leslie]

Now that I have practiced driving in different situations, including on an interstate highway, and now that I can back up by myself, I asked my husband when he wanted to start driving and learning to back up. His reply was that, after watching what I was going through, he wanted to wait until he retired!

I have put pressure on myself to get up to speed as quickly as possible because if I wanted to go south this winter, my husband would not be able to get time off from work to share the driving - or the backing up.

Support from posters here has helped me through this process. Thank you.

[calimobber]

I've only backed the camper once since we got it a few weeks ago. Our driveway is a short one but 2-wide at the street opening to 3-wide at the house. Trying to get the trailer into the 3rd spot. Here is what helped me (besides removing the basketball pole and a bush:) :
http://www.marops.net/portfolio/trailer-reversing-game
It's an awesome little game that drove me crazy until I had the "aha!" moment when I finaly understood what to do with the front wheels in different situations. It really helps me to have a visual in my head of all the angles involved with the wheels, TV and TT. Hope this helps someone else. I watched YouTube videos and other tutorials but could never see all the moving parts in one view. This game does just that.