another big brother feature

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crash68

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This as about backing a trailer up while executing a turn, like backing into a driveway from the street.
I put a 8.5' x 32' trailer into a parking slip that's 12' wide and has 50' in front of the spot with a bus on one side, another trailer on the other side along with a building in front. I do this with crew cab trucks with both a 6.4' bed and 8' bed, either one of those trucks with the trailer attached is longer than the amount of room in front of the spot. The turning and angles going in put the truck within inches of hitting the trailer. It's an exercise in knowing where the trailer is at the whole time, no door opening anytime.
 

Wild one

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One of the first jobs i had was driving a tow truck,and we used to put the vehicles on the hoists in the bays for most garages,and a few of them had the gas pumps right in front of the bay doors.
 

gfh77665

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Even with those huge round mirrors that are attached to the bottom of the regular mirror mounts, they can't see & watch everything.
Sometimes they have to get out of the seat, or even the cab to see the what, who, & where is the next step to get lined up with the tanks & the tank covers.


I have to open my door, to position my Ram exactly in its parking spot.

So i have about a 6 inch square that my front tire must be in
so i have a cement line that my drivers door lines up with, when i am parked correctly

I can't see those cement lines, without opening my door, i am too short to lean my head out through the window
I wish more people could understand this. As I clearly said, its an exception, but it does happen. The examples you just gave are good ones. Mirrors aren't all encompassing as some believe. In fact I admire the guy who checks his ego enough to take an additional look. Those are the smart ones.
 

_Steve

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I know I'm going to get a lot of flack for this and I really don't care. But if you need to open the door to back up a trailer, you have no right hauling the trailer in the first place IMO. Any driving school, or any defensive driving class will tell you the same thing. If you can't back up with your mirrors and by looking over your shoulder you shouldn't be hauling a trailer. End of story
No flack, just a comment /question ... what if I'm just adjusting the trailer (or truck) position a few more inches? Seems pretty annoying to have to shut the door and fasten the seat belt for that. I do agree though that for a more meaningful trailer move, closing the door is probably a good idea. The seat belt though, mmm I think that is pretty ridiculous.
 

_Steve

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Ahhh, now I got ya. Yeah, there’s never a situation (even one you can dream up) that you should need to open the door when backing any trailer. If so, keep practicing. If you’d rather be able to do whatever it is you need to do that you aren’t capable of with the door closed, then simply plug the seatbelt in, or a seatbelt extender.
You never get out to check your work? I'll have too admit, that's pretty good. I'm not that good... I'm that guy who's been working a trailer since before a drivers license ... still not that good. I don't actually back up with the door open (unless perhaps a few more inches) but I often get out and check my work before proceeding further. The seatbelt lockout is a PITA. But that's just me ... sounds like I could use some further instruction.
 

crash68

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what if I'm just adjusting the trailer (or truck) position a few more inches? Seems pretty annoying to have to shut the door and fasten the seat belt for that.
You don't have to fasten the seatbelt if the door is closed all the way(no EVIC warning).
As for closing the door, truthfully I could care less if someone wants to hang out of the door while backing up and could fall out hurting themselves. I'm more concerned an innocent truck door is going to damaged because of a careless driver who never learned to back up properly.
 

mikeru

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I know I'm going to get a lot of flack for this and I really don't care. But if you need to open the door to back up a trailer, you have no right hauling the trailer in the first place IMO. Any driving school, or any defensive driving class will tell you the same thing. If you can't back up with your mirrors and by looking over your shoulder you shouldn't be hauling a trailer. End of story
Why do you guys even care? Telling someone, who you don't know from Jack, that they have no right hauling a trailer if they can't do it a certain way, in no way adds to this thread. I'm not arguing that it's not the way this sort of thing is taught. It's also not how I do it. I honestly couldn't care less what methods someone on a forum uses to back up a trailer. It literally has zero impact on me. The OP came here asking for help, and help was given (by a few).

I've used the seat belt extender method for years. Like @LouM mentioned, I just keep the extender plugged in and unbuckle from the extender. One of the reasons I've driven with the door open/seat belt off is when driving a new fence line and dropping off fence poles at intervals. Getting in and out for each one is a pain if I'm having to put on and take off the seat belt for each one. With the door open it's a lot easier to keep the tires where they belong when I can look down and see the ground directly while creeping forward, and is especially helpful when navigating ditches.
 

demonram

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I drove a tractor trailer rig for about 5 years when I was in my early thirties, and before I started driving I made a trip with a guy my Mom was seeing that gave me the best backing advice I ever got; when backing up, if you start seeing the end of the trailer in the driver side mirror, correct it by turning the wheel to the left, if it's coming in the right mirror, turn the wheel to the right. Guarantee it will make you a better backer upper.
 

LouM

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But, but, but those guys that can back an over sized load through a sewing needles eye while doing a blind side 180 turn have to tell everyone else how to drive, buckle up and backup.
Now I know that I'm not the best at backing up, heck I'm lucky if I can back this rig up 70 feet;
summer hay 2.jpg
to swap wagons with, now my nephew can do it and make it look easy. I only did that a couple of dozen times a day during season.
 

Marshall

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I was using our 2022 2500 to move 5th wheel around our storage area when I discovered another unwanted / undesireable BIG BROTHER feature . It seems if you have the drivers door open in reverse you cannot backup . The truck just sits there and acts like it's in neutral . Does anybody know of a simple override for this (to me) ridiculous feature ?. Maybe a special fuse or something ? Not likely I am guessing .
this came out with the 8 speed, I turned mine on with the menu on the radio as it was not active. I think I could turn it off, not sure, when I first got the truck, was not use to the dial shift and a couple times I went to R and not P I have heard guys complaining about say if you latch the seat belt , it will not do it, but not sure as I have not bothered, I don't pull trailers any more, and have the camera. Other have said it works ,I see
LouM , way back when I use to have to back a steel wheel hay wagon into the stack yard with a JD D , hand clutch and nor power steering and short hitch.
we did lose hay, or sheaves, stocks, than later small bales., with 3 tine forks.
 
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TomB 1269

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There are several current & retired professional truck drivers that are members of this forum.

Very seldom would they open a door to assist with backing up.
Those tanker drivers that deliver fuel to gas stations, have the worst job ever.
confined area, flammable material & worst of all, stupid people that just want to fill up their vehicles.

Even with those huge round mirrors that are attached to the bottom of the regular mirror mounts, they can't see & watch everything.
Sometimes they have to get out of the seat, or even the cab to see the what, who, & where is the next step to get lined up with the tanks & the tank covers.

I have to open my door, to position my Ram exactly in its parking spot.

The city says that no part of my vehicle can be parked on the city sidewalk.
I can't block the sidewalk going into the apartment complex.
I can't block the neighbors parking spot

So i have about a 6 inch square that my front tire must be in
so i have a cement line that my drivers door lines up with, when i am parked correctly

If you notice the cement line with the grass growing in it, one side is my drive way, the other belongs to the City.
The cement line below my rear bumper is the limit line for the beginning of the sidewalk into the complex.

View attachment 500609

I can't see those cement lines, without opening my door, i am too short to lean my head out through the window

View attachment 500611

Your backup camera should provide you the perfect shot for the rear bumper "line" I can back my truck right to the end of the curb so that there is "basically" no over hang on the the side walk.



 

NJMOPAR

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Just saw a Buick ad that showed all 4 wheels turning perpendicular to the car so it slides sideways into a tight parking spot.
Self-driving, lane assist, forward collision warning, auto-braking, etc. etc.
Might as well just let the car take the driving test instead of the human.
 

TomB 1269

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I've never driven a semi, but I can back up a trailer with out doors open. The only exception I give is when trying to do it in the woods or on a trailer where you need to see the large half buried rocks / bolders. And thats only when they are between the front and rear tires where mirrors can pick them up..........

But then again Im the crazy with donut mirrors on both sides that allow me to see basically anything in the 270 degree arc behind my head that is with in 6-8 feet of my truck without having to turn my head (okay so maybe is really only 250 degrees, but peripheral vision tends to catch the other 20 degrees)
 

crash68

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this came out with the 8 speed, I turned mine on with the menu on the radio as it was not active. I think I could turn it off, not sure
This safety feature has never been selectable via the radio and don't think anyone has found a way to disable it using AlfaOBD either.
 

_Steve

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All this talk about not opening the door got me pondering … I’ve got 45ish years of trailer history. Maybe I’m just lacking confidence. Putting the travel trailer onto the pad was on the list for today. I wonder if I can do it without opening the door?

So here is the setup:
The trailer is not big, 23 feet.
Lay of the land: About 100 feet of backing up with a gentle 20ish degree curbside turn over about the middle third of the run. The pad has a about 12 inches of margin on the curb side. On the curb side is the house gutter lining up exactly with the trailer awning. An oops there would be costly. Trailer tire final resting position is on a pre-positioned 8x12 inch leveling block. There is about 4 inches of margin on the driver side. From the driver seat, in the mirror, I see the curbside tires and the house gutter but spacial reference is a bit wacky due to the convex nature of the mirror. I cannot see the driver side trailer tires while in the turn.

Results: I really did resist opening the door but, nope, could not do it. I opened the door three times. I got out once about 2/3rds into it to assure I was lined up correctly relative to the gutter. Again at about 3/4 in to assure that my correction was accurate. And again at about 99.9% to assure I was centered on the leveling block. I'll take credit for this though: Any time while in motion, the door was closed.

There you have it. 45 years and I’m still not that good. I'll admit I'm a bit envious of those of you who can masterfully accomplish this without opening the door.
 

Wild one

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this came out with the 8 speed, I turned mine on with the menu on the radio as it was not active. I think I could turn it off, not sure, when I first got the truck, was not use to the dial shift and a couple times I went to R and not P I have heard guys complaining about say if you latch the seat belt , it will not do it, but not sure as I have not bothered, I don't pull trailers any more, and have the camera. Other have said it works ,I see
LouM , way back when I use to have to back a steel wheel hay wagon into the stack yard with a JD D , hand clutch and nor power steering and short hitch.
we did lose hay, or sheaves, stocks, than later small bales., with 3 tine forks.
Your 14 doesn't have the back-up nanny feature unless you've had the recall done to activate it. That's one of the open recalls on my truck,that won't be getting done anytime soon,lol
 

turkeybird56

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There are several current & retired professional truck drivers that are members of this forum.

Very seldom would they open a door to assist with backing up.
Those tanker drivers that deliver fuel to gas stations, have the worst job ever.
confined area, flammable material & worst of all, stupid people that just want to fill up their vehicles.

Even with those huge round mirrors that are attached to the bottom of the regular mirror mounts, they can't see & watch everything.
Sometimes they have to get out of the seat, or even the cab to see the what, who, & where is the next step to get lined up with the tanks & the tank covers.

I have to open my door, to position my Ram exactly in its parking spot.

The city says that no part of my vehicle can be parked on the city sidewalk.
I can't block the sidewalk going into the apartment complex.
I can't block the neighbors parking spot

So i have about a 6 inch square that my front tire must be in
so i have a cement line that my drivers door lines up with, when i am parked correctly

If you notice the cement line with the grass growing in it, one side is my drive way, the other belongs to the City.
The cement line below my rear bumper is the limit line for the beginning of the sidewalk into the complex.

View attachment 500609

I can't see those cement lines, without opening my door, i am too short to lean my head out through the window

View attachment 500611
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH, the benefits of City Living.
 

turkeybird56

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I wish more people could understand this. As I clearly said, its an exception, but it does happen. The examples you just gave are good ones. Mirrors aren't all encompassing as some believe. In fact I admire the guy who checks his ego enough to take an additional look. Those are the smart ones.
I back my trailer into a garage with doors on either side, and hay stacked, and my motorcycle and stuff on other side. plus, overhead clearance with rafters due to trailer height. SO, once I get it lined up, and edge ever slowly into the bay, I have to stop and check the rear clearance and rafters above. I did not do once and knocked off the upper trailer lights and had to replace, dumb BOIRD I was. Seat belts: well when loading hay, plug in my lil key and in and out a bunch to load hay in to a stock trailer, so door open to see hay bales. I have minimum room where I park my trailer, but I do end up with about 6' clearance behind trailer when I get it lined up "perfect". But the truck is another matter, I have Minimum clearance as the friggin truck is longer than my 14' stock trailer, lmao.

I was actually considering getting a portable Wi-Fi/BT unit for the rear of the trailer since it is just impossible to see what is behind U. Guess kinda Military Trained: Ground Guide Please. But with Momma in the cemetery, means alternate means of spatial zones required, LOL. The only reason I do not buy a portable camera system be because I just do not tow much to have to worry about backing the trailer back into the garage.

Truck in Garage (1).JPGTruck in Garage (2).JPGIMG_0418.jpg
 
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