Going forward with a trailer is easy. Going backwards makes grown adults go quiet and white-knuckle the wheel.

It feels wrong because it is wrong, at least compared with reversing a car. The trailer swings the opposite way to your steering, and it does it faster than you’d like. Once you know the one trick, it clicks. Here’s how to get there.

Why It Feels Backwards

When you reverse a car, you turn the wheel left and the back goes left. With a trailer on, the pivot point is the tow ball, and the trailer pivots around it. Turn your wheel left, the front of the trailer goes left, and the back of the trailer swings right.

So the trailer steers the opposite way to what your brain expects. Nothing is broken. It’s just geometry.

The Hand-on-the-Bottom Trick

This is the one that fixes most people.

  • Put your hand on the bottom of the steering wheel (6 o’clock)
  • Move your hand in the direction you want the trailer to go
  • Hand goes left, trailer goes left. Hand goes right, trailer goes right

You’re steering the trailer directly instead of thinking about the car. Give it two or three goes in an empty car park and it starts to feel normal.

Step by Step

  1. Straighten up first. Start with the ute and trailer in a straight line, even if it means pulling forward and having another go. A crooked start gets worse as you go
  2. Check behind on foot. Get out and walk the spot. Look for bollards, low branches, kerbs, the neighbour’s letterbox and anything else the mirror won’t show you
  3. Set your mirrors. Wind both down slightly so you can see the trailer’s side and the ground near the wheels
  4. Go slow. Slower than that. Walking pace or less. Small movements on the wheel. A trailer corrects itself in a second or two, so wait and see what it does before you add more
  5. Use a spotter if you have one. Agree the signals before you start. Standing where you can see the driver’s mirror is the safe spot, never behind the trailer
  6. Stop and get out if you lose it. No shame in it. Pull forward to straighten and try again

What Goes Wrong

Most reversing mess-ups come down to a few habits.

  • Too much steering, too fast. Big wheel movements make the trailer swing sharply, and by the time you see it, it’s too late. Think small, then smaller
  • Staring in one mirror. Check both sides. The trailer can be fine on your side and heading for the fence on the other
  • Carrying on past the jack-knife point. If the trailer is nearly at right angles to the ute, steering won’t pull it back. Stop, drive forward to straighten, start again
  • Rushing. Everyone behind you can wait 60 seconds. A bent mudguard takes a lot longer to sort
  • Reversing blind. If you can’t see, get out and look. Every time

Short Trailers Are Harder Than Long Ones

This surprises people. A short trailer like a 6×4 box trailer reacts quickly, so small wheel movements get big results. A longer trailer, like a car trailer, reacts slower, so it’s easier to read and correct.

  • 6×4 box trailer: twitchy. Tiny movements, lots of patience
  • 8×5 or tandem: a bit more forgiving, but heavier to push around
  • Car trailer: longer and slower to react, but needs more room and a wider turning arc

If you’re hiring a trailer for the first time, a longer one can actually be the easier reverse. Don’t assume the smallest is the simplest.

Reversing a Braked Trailer

Trailers with overrun brakes can lock up when you reverse, because the trailer pushing into the coupling applies the brakes. Most braked trailers have a reverse pin or lever on the coupling that stops this. Check it’s set before you reverse, and put it back before you drive off. If you’re not sure how it works on your trailer, ask before you leave the yard.

Practise Before You Need It

The worst time to learn is at a boat ramp or a tight driveway with an audience.

  • Find a big empty car park on a Sunday morning
  • Set up two cones or boxes about as wide as your trailer plus a metre either side
  • Reverse in a straight line between them, then try a gentle curve
  • Do it ten times. Most people have the hang of it by about the fifth

The Short Version

  • The trailer steers opposite to the car. Put your hand at the bottom of the wheel and move it the way you want the trailer to go
  • Start straight, go slow, make small corrections
  • Get out and look before you reverse, and again if you’re unsure
  • Short trailers are twitchier, so don’t assume small means easy
  • Know where the reverse pin is on braked trailers

Not sure which trailer suits your job, or never reversed one before? Ask the TrailerLink team and we’ll point you to something that suits. Then book your trailer.