Back in your invisible trailer

[Boatinginthedesert]

So when the boat is in the water, the trailer disappears from view from the driver of the tow vehicle. After trying to convince my better half that it is possible to back a trailer that you can't see... (if you see it appear in either mirror, it is going in crooked :facepalm, I decided to give her a visual reference.

I had a couple pieces of 1" conduit (heavy walled galvanized) lying around in the garage that were the perfect height. Ran to the local hardware store and bought Four 1" U-bolts (stainless). Total cost so far, $16.

Measured where I wanted them, marked the spots where I would be drilling, climbed under the trailer to MAKE SURE I WASN'T GOING TO DRILL INTO OR THROUGH SOMETHING IMPORTANT, and then drilled the holes. Still at $16

I installed the U-bolts loosely, slid the poles into position and tightened the bolts up. Make sure you use a backing plate for extra strength, the U-bolts I purchased had them already and also the nuts.

Looking good so far, still only $16!

Decided they needed some padding for the days where I don't come in perfectly straight to the trailer and discovered the "noodles" we bought at Wally World a month or so ago fit snugly around the posts. Slid those on and secured them with 6 Zip-ties from my "everything" drawer in the garage.

So adding everything up, I spent about $18 and some change, since I had the posts already

Here are some pics to view!

 

[duke33]

Re: Back in your invisible trailer

Cool. Hope they help.

 

[UncleWillie]

Re: Back in your invisible trailer

Can you post real pictures? The thumbnails are awfully small!

Depending on what you're driving this might help...

Open the rear hatch and drop the back seat or drop the tailgate.
Physically turn around and look!
You can see both sides and the rear at the same time.

It takes all the fright out of backing up!

 

[Boatinginthedesert]

Re: Back in your invisible trailer

Can you post real pictures? The thumbnails are awfully small!

Depending on what you're driving this might help...

Open the rear hatch and drop the back seat or drop the tailgate.
Physically turn around and look!
You can see both sides and the rear at the same time.

It takes all the fright out of backing up!

Tried to post real pics and kept getting a message saying they were too big how do you get bigger pics to load?

Impossible to see the trailer when the boat is not on it, my truck has a bed cover so dropping the tailgate is of no use. Turning around and looking also doesn't work either, the trailer hides behind the truck. the trailer is just narrower than my truck, it literally goes invisible when the boat is not there.

 

[cribber]

Re: Back in your invisible trailer

And from the looks of your pictures of your home built trailer guides they should be visible in your outside reviews... nice work!!!

 

[kenmyfam]

Re: Back in your invisible trailer

Those guides are a great help. Got them on my trailer.

 

[halfmoa]

Re: Back in your invisible trailer

Those guides are a great help. Got them on my trailer.

Me too. Real pain in the dark without them!

 

[mds47588]

Re: Back in your invisible trailer

I have 'em on mine, but debating removing them. My trailer is clearly visible behind my truck with either the tailgate up or down and even more visible behind my car.

 

[UncleWillie]

Re: Back in your invisible trailer

Tried to post real pics and kept getting a message saying they were too big how do you get bigger pics to load?

Try searching onlne for any of the many Picture Resizers.
Keep one dimension above 1000 to make a nice viewable image. (i.e. 800x1200)
Pick a JPG compression to produce a file size of 100-200K.

 

[Mason78]

Re: Back in your invisible trailer

Tried to post real pics and kept getting a message saying they were too big how do you get bigger pics to load?

You can also set your camera/phone to take a lower quality picture. The lower the quality, the smaller the file.

 

[roscoe]

Re: Back in your invisible trailer

Just mount one of these bad boys on the rear crossmember of the trailer and away you go.
Folds down flat when the boat glides over it.

 

[coastalrichard]

Re: Back in your invisible trailer

tell us more about that one Roscoe!

 

[90stingray]

Re: Back in your invisible trailer

http://www.harborfreight.com/magnetic-trailer-alignment-kit-95684.html

These are extendable and magnetic. Could stick on and extend when needed. Could be handy if you need help hooking up the trailer by yourself too. Not bad for $10. I'm digging the dune flag/ whip tho. But OP, good idea. Hope those noodles last you a while. I have a feeling they are going to split open once the boat rubs against one.

 

[maproy99]

Re: Back in your invisible trailer

It's times like this I'm glad my trailer is wider then my truck at the axles. Makes it easier to back up down the ramp with the boat off. (No massive blind spot behind the trailer)

 

[jkust]

Re: Back in your invisible trailer

Sounds challenging. Much easier with an suv and the hatch open. Backing my 10 foot snowmobile trailer in the winter with the hatch closed is really tough so I understand.

 

[oldjeep]

Re: Back in your invisible trailer

Looks like a good solution, although it is odd that you can't see a dual axle trailer in the mirrors - My single axle is visible

I like the bike flag idea for our jetski trailer though, that thing gets totally lost behind my truck and you can't see it until it is sideways. If you like a higher tech solution, the backup camera on my dads SUV makes backing up little trailers a lot easier.

 

[Wind dog]

Re: Back in your invisible trailer

I had this problem + the trailer lights would not last (my trailer sees alot of salt water) I got some 1/2 galvanized pipe & 90 degree elbows and some "mounting plates" (Not sure of the tecnical name for these, they are flat, oval shaped with a tapped hole for the pipe in the middle & a couple holes for mounting bolts) I welded the "plates" to the trailer, made the risers from the pipe & elbows & mounted my lights & license plate to the top of the riser.
Now I don't have to drop the tail gate to see the trailer & the lights should last a long time now.

 

[Boatinginthedesert]

Re: Back in your invisible trailer

Like I said in the OP, these are for the benefit of my better half... Being a Motor T guy from my days in the Marine Corps, I can back anything, whether I can see it or not. I was the M151A (Jeep) w/utility trailer (tiny) Grand Champion in the reverse cones course 3 yrs straight... LOL

I would have thought the trailer would be visible behind my truck as well, but believe me, when the boat ain't there, it disappears...

 

[Sabbath]

Re: Back in your invisible trailer

Try searching onlne for any of the many Picture Resizers.
Keep one dimension above 1000 to make a nice viewable image. (i.e. 800x1200)
Pick a JPG compression to produce a file size of 100-200K.

Or, you could upload them using Photobucket/imgshack. Then you can have them full size at whatever quality you want. And then insert them into your post using [ img] image address here [ /img] tags but without the spaces.