Backing up the Sunline QUE

SYLPHIL · 05-02-2008, 12:59 PM

Hello out there, I need the Sunline Que Club help ,especially anyone who has the Sienna as a tow car. EL are you out there? Well I made the trip from NY to Florida. I pulled into a RV Resort. They had a spot for me that was a pull through. When I left the resort, I put the QUE in storage. The spot there was also a pull through. NOW I brought it home. I had to back into my driveway. I had only backed up the QUE one other time. That time it took nearly 2 hours to get it in right. This time it took 1.45 hours. I did what the dealers told me to do. They said put my hand on the bottom of the steering wheel. If I want the back of Que to turn right , then move my hand to the right and if i want the back of QUE to go left , then move my hand to the left. I have also learned that it is harder to back up the single wheel axle than a double. My trouble is even following what I was told, It still does not seem to work right. I have gone to a parking lot to practice , but I can't figure out what I am doing wrong. My spotter gets inpatient with me

. Does anyone have some tips or pointers on how to back up (with a turn) into a campsite or driveway? I am desperate.

THANKS FOR ALL YOUR HELP
Sylvia Philips
2006 Toyota Sienna LE (with newly installed Tranny cooler)
2007 Sunline QUE SE (only used once for 1 wk)

Al in PA · 05-02-2008, 01:29 PM

Backing a trailer is like learning to drive stick shift: You simply must keep practicing until it becomes second nature. Your dealer's instructions were correct to an extent. If your hands are on the lower half of the steering wheel, you move your hands left to start a left-hand turn and right to start a right-hand turn. If you feel more comfortable with your hands at the top of the steering wheel, you must turn the steering wheel the opposite direction of your intended turn.

Once you have gotten the trailer to start turning in the proper direction, however, you must begin to turn your steering wheel back in the opposite direction. Otherwise, the trailer will continue to turn sharper and sharper until you jack-knife (where your rear corner of your tow vehicle ends up tight against the trailer tongue). The whole process just takes practice.

Don't be afraid to pull forward and straighten out your rig if it starts to turn too sharply. It's not like the 3-point turn in your driver's test: You can make as many adjustments as you deem necessary. Good luck.

**Tweety** · 05-02-2008, 01:33 PM

It is MUCH harder to back the QUE than a larger trailer. If I try to THINK about what I'm doing there's just no way I can do it. First, you have to go ultra slow because the small trailers will get away from you much faster than a large one. This has to do with the distance from the pivot point of the ball to the wheels being short. (not that the reason matters) I look out the driver's window and see which way the back of the trailer is headed. If it's headed the right direction I know to keep going that way. If it's headed the wrong direction I turn the wheel the other way

Not very scientific but it works for me. If you're only moving inches at a time it doesn't get away from you nearly as fast as if you're moving feet at a time. I also find it easier to watch where I'm going rather than have someone trying to tell me which way to head. "Bring the back around to the left" just sends me into a mental tailspin

Mooney · 05-02-2008, 06:32 PM

As the others have said, it's all about the wheelbase AND your mental state....

the power of positive thinking has a lot to do with one's ability to drive a small trailer backward.

I am a professional driver (or at least my resume says so

) up in the Boston area...

I went from driving straight trucks (box trucks with no articulation) that I taught myself to drive to driving big rigs (also taught myself).

When backing a small trailer, DON'T think of it as "Here we go again", think of it as "I'm putting this trailer into that spot. Watch more for where you want to be than where you are going (not to say not to watch out for obstacles, but if you visualize more where it will BE than where it is in relation to that point, you'll get there easier)

GO SLOW. There is no such thing as too slow when backing.

Get
Out
And
Look

the GOAL is to get into the spot, right? Sometimes you have to get out and see where you want to be. Even the commercial drivers' tests let you get out a few times (three in MA) to check where you are.

We have everything from 46 foot trailers with three axle tractors down to 28 foot trailers with single axle tractors....

I'll take a big boy anyday for ease of driving...

Look in your area for a DOT test site, or call a tractor trailer driving school to see if there is a facility you can use to practice. These facilities will have lines on the ground that simulate turns, parallel parking, etc.

Go to a local high school on a weekend (less chance of little kids running through the lot) and pick a parking space to back into. Back up in a straight line, back up left and right, and so on.

Don't get discouraged. Take your sweet time- you're driving after all- on a camping trip- why be stressed? If necessary, send your helper off for a cold drink and you'll find yourself less stressed or rushed, and the coach will slide in fine....

Bobo · 05-02-2008, 06:34 PM

The distance from the hitch point to the trailer axle is the big difference. The shorter or closer the trailer axle is to the hitch, the reaction time to your steering movements is faster or more reactive. Try to turn at a lesser angle and start to correct the direction you want to go earlier than it appears. The longer the distance, the trailer is less reactive to the degree of steering.

The best thing you can do is practice. Take your towing vehicle and trailer to a large empty parking lot and practice with some orange cones or plastic garbage cans. I find that if you look at the trailer when it gets to the point of jackknifing while backing up, use your mirror to look down the side of the tow vehicle and make a mental note of the spot you see on the front of the trailer. If you have to, place a piece of tape at that spot or make a mental note of a marking on the trailer. If you see that spot disappear out of sight, the trailer is starting to jackknife. It helps you learn the limitations of control while backing up.

Something simular I use when backing in to hook up. I use my side mirrors to line up the bodyline of my truck to the decals on the front of the trailer. Equal sizes of decal in both mirrors can put me within an inch of side distance to the ball.

Hope this gives you some help.

Bobo

Mooney · 05-02-2008, 06:37 PM

Bobo,

I LIKE the jacknife tape idea- That would have saved me some serious stress learning on the big rigs....

Good one!

Bobo · 05-02-2008, 06:47 PM

Moony,

That's why I stay with the straight trucks. I see what you big rig drivers go through backing into a tight loading bay. I only drove once in Boston. I had a 1/2 ton van fully loaded with film trying to find a freight company at Logan Airport. Even though it was five AM on a Saturday, that place was a ZOO!!!!!!! No offense, I'll stay here in Rochester where there aren't any giant mole holes throughout the city.

Bobo

Mooney · 05-02-2008, 07:32 PM

...as long as one stays away from Jefferson (road?) in Rochester proper (Ward 5???) when one is looking for Jefferson (road?) in Henrietta; life is good.

That was a VERY uncool feeling- a pretty tough neighborhood, to say the least.

I let the desk people know we were unhappy that they called themselves in "Rochester" when they were really in Henrietta.

I will not EVER go to that neighborhood without a bunch of high velocity friends nearby.

ELPilotto · 07-14-2008, 07:50 PM

Been off the board for a while and I am catching up on my reading. We tow Q*Bert with our Sienna and a NTU '98 Ford Expedition and neither vehicle is easier than the other to back up the Que. The Que will jack-knife faster than you can say boo if you aren't slow and deliberate with your actions. After 2.5 years I still use the bottom of the steering wheel method and I back in SLOWLY.

Once you get used to it, you can use the Que's short coupled distance ('tween the hitch and the camper's wheels.) to your advantage. We've been to a couple of places that required some very tight maneuvering and stuffed the Que in with some careful deliberate steering. The sites even claimed to be large enough for longer trailers. They'd fit for sure, I'd like to see someone do it though.

Honda03842 · 07-14-2008, 08:11 PM

We have a 1982 Sunline 15.5 foot, single axle trailer. We had never owned a trailer before and know the problems you're facing. We just took ours on a 7 week trip to Labrador. My advice is simple, keep doing it and it will come to you. We had times were it took us 30 minutes and others that took 5 minutes. It gradually got better. Of course campgrounds are easier to park in than the your own driveway; there's generally more leeway in campgrounds.

Norm Milliard