wife + Trailor= Bad

[bigmen905]

One time when I was fishing I decided to have my wife back my trailor in the water then I could pull on without getting out. Big mistake she did not say she could not bace a trailer and after the yelling I had to spend a $150 to get my tongue straigntened out(the one in my mouth too) Is there a school I can send her to. Not that she will ever want to try again.

 

[Bart Sr.]

Re: wife + Trailor= Bad

Sorry but the past can't be changed.Try to smooth it out with the wife and help her practice in a large,nearly empty parking lot.I hear it has worked for others on the boards here.One of the suggestions I tried and liked was steering with your hand on the bottom of the steering wheel.Then whichever way you want the trailer to go just move your hand that direction.Good Luck.

 

[one more cast]

Re: wife + Trailor= Bad

maybe you can buy her one of then new 4 wheel steering Chevys like on t.v.

 

[Baketech]

Re: wife + Trailor= Bad

Try shifting the division of labor....<br />My wife drops me at the dock and I fetch the truck. She does a great job of getting the boat shipshape and up on the trailer.....<br /><br />ymmv

 

[magster65]

Re: wife + Trailor= Bad

For some reason my wife can't back up with anything in tow... I can't even watch her try anymore, she puts up a mean road block but the boat won't go in the water We each have our own things to do at the ramp to keep things 'smooth' and happy now.

 

[RICKRICK1]

Re: wife + Trailor= Bad

HERSELF and I have it down pretty much, Iback the boat in get out of truck and get boat off trailer, she parks trailer and I pick her up at dock. When we go to laod she drops me off, I back down and she drives boat on to the trailer, I hook up the bow straps and winch hooks. She tilts motor up and I pull out. It was alot easier to teach HERSELF how to drive the boat onto the trailer than to back the trailer. HERSELF enjoys this part of the boating expreience as she can drive the boat unto the trailer better than most of the men at the ramp.

 

[LadyFish]

Re: wife + Trailor= Bad

My job is to back down the ramp, hmmm...maybe the hubby dosen't trust me to drive the boat NAH. Luckily we have a boat slip under the house so I only have to do it a few times a year. At first I had trouble and jack-knifed all the time. Then after trying to back up our jet ski instead of the boat I discovered what I was doing wrong--turning too much, too fast. Now I take baby steps and hardly ever have trouble. Another thing that helps me is to pull up as close to the side I am trying to back into. I seem to have more control that way. I take care of the safety straps and winch enough to get it out of the water. Then HIMSELF has to tighten up the winch. It always seems to slip back a couple of inches after I pull the boat up the ramp no matter how tight I get it.<br /><br />I guess I prefer backing up the trailer to driving the boat on, I've always been afraid with my luck the throttle would sitck and I'd run right into the back of the SUV.

 

[kobra60]

Re: wife + Trailor= Bad

The wives need to be given more credit. My wife wouldn't have any part of backing the trailer in for quite a while. With some patience and encouragement, she now does a better job than most of the men I see on the ramps. She has gone from not "doing R" to doing it well. I am proud of her!

 

[Scoop]

Re: wife + Trailor= Bad

My wife has never had to back a trailer. I am sure that she would do a great job after some practice. It took me a while to do it well.

 

[wikelam]

Re: wife + Trailor= Bad

I will back the truck in and pull the boat on myself. Always have, always will. If someone is to lazy to do this themselves, then they need not be on the water. Some people might be older or physically impared in some way, this is Ok for them to have some one do it. To me it is like this, it is the small price we should pay for our fishing enjoyments. Besides, I do not trust anyone else with my boat/truck, especially the wife. <br /><br />This is only my opinion!

 

[Link]

Re: wife + Trailor= Bad

Hmm brings up a good point! Can my wife back up a trailer? We have been dating for 20 + years (still are) and have been married for 15 years..<br />I know she can pull a trailer when forced! I just emailed her and asked that question! <br />Another whole story.. I did teach her how to back troll on a river once... took her about 5 minutes to catch on and she had it down Pat! <br />She now looks forward to river fishing.. she gets to drive (very slow) backwards and then gets to eat the fish!... A little different story from wikelam: She made the rules 20 years ago... you do the work with the boat: launching, loading, and work.. she gets to do the fun stuff! Laying on the casting deck reading.. packing the food, and watching me clean it <br /> <br /><br />Link

 

[Spidybot]

Re: wife + Trailor= Bad

Some time ago I posted the idea

steering with your hand on the bottom of the steering wheel

as it seemed to work for almost everybody.<br /><br />A friend of mine has not been able to adopt any advice. Even training with toy car and trailer on the dining table did not improve real life.<br /><br />Now we've fitted a hitch on the front bumper. Apart from the extra work turning the car, it solved the problem.