How did you learn to pull a trailer?

I think for most people they learn to pull a trailer in a more or less controlled setting with someone that had done it before. When I think back on my trailer experience, it seems I was rather new at much of it until this past month (week). After high school I pulled a very small trailer cross country but I don’t recall ever backing it up. In fact, it was one of those trailers that you just unhitch and move where you want it.

Heather and I, more or less, learned to drive a trailer between Airstream Boise and our driveway. We did some practice runs in a large parking lot but found the best experience trying to pull into our neighborhood and drive way. Our 2022 F150 has some nice features and among them is the ability to track the number of miles on a specific trailer you have “loaded” into the truck. When we set off on our adventure, our Airstream only had 92 miles on it.

I don’t think it was until the morning before we left that I realized we’d need to go up a fairly large hill, and then down the other side in the first 20 miles! I sorta hoped Heather would have pulled the trailer for the first bit, but somehow I knew I’d be on the “hook” for this one.

As you can tell, things worked out. I think we have close to 600 miles now. I know. INSANE. There have been very scary moments for me learning how the whole “rig” acts in different conditions. I’m sure I’ll learn even more in the next few weeks. I also think I’ve had a few breakthroughs with how to back this trailer up. It’s not easy, but it’s not impossible as it may have seemed just a few weeks ago.

Now that I’ve established that I’m not an expert, let me tell you a thing or two about towing. The hitch seems to matter. Get a nice one that you know how to use correctly. I use Pro Pride, but there are many others. There is zero sway with this hitch. Bouncing up and down from the heaves in the road…yes. We are heavy. At the sticker for the truck and the trailer. My fingers are crossed that we’ll consume some of the items. I think mirrors matter. I have some extensions and they really help me backup and just feel more comfortable on the road. Lastly, I’m really liking the backup camera on the trailer. It’s like a rear view mirror when I’m going down the road. Add the trailer camera to all the other points of view that the truck cameras provide along with the mirrors, and it’s almost confusing at times to back up. My hats off to anyone backing these trailers without a single camera view and just a good mirror or a sense of direction. I’m not to that level yet, that’s for sure!

There isn’t much you can’t learn on YouTube these days. I really have to give credit to KYD for some good ice breaking information about how to back a trailer up. If you need that push to see if its even something you’d be interested in, try looking at YouTube. You might even be able to ask a person with a trailer to show you how it’s done. Don’t let the fear of backing up a trailer stop you if you’re interested in learning more. We literally hit the road with very minimal experience and haven’t died yet. We haven’t even tried to (seriously) kill each other yet! Take that chance to try something new, you never know where it might lead you!