naturelover
Petty Officer 2nd Class
- Joined
- Mar 11, 2012
- Messages
- 130
I think computer controlled vehicles are so much better than the vehicles of yesteryear, look at the advances in fuel economy and power. We have been driving computer controlled cars and trucks for decades now, and I'm not very fearful of someone hacking into it and killing me.
Anti-lock brakes, traction control, heads-up displays, even the newer automatic crash avoidance systems are making driving safer than it ever has been.
However, as smokeonthewater has stated, unless this has some sort of sensors on the front, it doesn't seem safe to be looking at a screen and turning a knob to back your trailer, you miss too much of what can be going on beside and in front of you. Same as with looking back at the trailer through the rear glass or the rearview mirror. Using the side mirrors allows you to glance around the front of the vehicle when needed, and focus back on the mirrors.
I learned to back with the side mirrors, and had forbid myself from looking out the rearview mirror or out the back glass. I do remember backing in the family popup at the campground before even having my drivers license though and I can get a trailer in some pretty tight spots, but am no pro by any means. I think the easy part is knowing which way to turn the wheel to get the trailer pointing where you want it, but where the practice and skill comes in is knowing how the steering wheel input from different length vehicles affects different length trailers.
As say, I've been backing trailers for a long time, so much so that some of the time if I'm not careful driving the truck, I'll back up like I'm backing a trailer when none is hooked up. Even so, if I ever do hook the 12' jon boat and trailer to the 25' long dually, I'll be backing it in an open parking lot or vacant ramp, as I can already tell that ones going to be near impossible.
The best thing to do is practice, cause you can be good enough to parallel park a truck/trailer on a one way street (I've had to do that, first try), or back down a curvy gravel road to the river, and still look like a complete amateur at the lake boat ramp with everyone watching and waiting for you to get out of their way (been there too).....
Anti-lock brakes, traction control, heads-up displays, even the newer automatic crash avoidance systems are making driving safer than it ever has been.
However, as smokeonthewater has stated, unless this has some sort of sensors on the front, it doesn't seem safe to be looking at a screen and turning a knob to back your trailer, you miss too much of what can be going on beside and in front of you. Same as with looking back at the trailer through the rear glass or the rearview mirror. Using the side mirrors allows you to glance around the front of the vehicle when needed, and focus back on the mirrors.
I learned to back with the side mirrors, and had forbid myself from looking out the rearview mirror or out the back glass. I do remember backing in the family popup at the campground before even having my drivers license though and I can get a trailer in some pretty tight spots, but am no pro by any means. I think the easy part is knowing which way to turn the wheel to get the trailer pointing where you want it, but where the practice and skill comes in is knowing how the steering wheel input from different length vehicles affects different length trailers.
As say, I've been backing trailers for a long time, so much so that some of the time if I'm not careful driving the truck, I'll back up like I'm backing a trailer when none is hooked up. Even so, if I ever do hook the 12' jon boat and trailer to the 25' long dually, I'll be backing it in an open parking lot or vacant ramp, as I can already tell that ones going to be near impossible.
The best thing to do is practice, cause you can be good enough to parallel park a truck/trailer on a one way street (I've had to do that, first try), or back down a curvy gravel road to the river, and still look like a complete amateur at the lake boat ramp with everyone watching and waiting for you to get out of their way (been there too).....