You can get a piece of all-thread that is 2'-3' long and use a couple jam nuts and bolt it to a decent sized magnet, align that straight with your trailer ball and then you can see the top of the rod while in the truck backing the trailer up. It makes it very easy to do.

 

Also, beware of extremely tight turns. I have one I go thru regularly, and I have NO CHOICE but to take both the left turn lane and the right turn/straight lane. The turn is a hard 90 deg one with a telephone pole right on the curb inside the turn.

I also can't make it if the jerk sitting at the light I am turning thru pulls too far forward.

Also, every time I stop, and I mean EVERY TIME, I check all tiedowns/chains on the trailer & load, all hookups, the ramps, and I always check the trailer tires/rims for excessive heat.

I found (luckily) during a trip, that the hitch pin that keeps my ramps from sliding off the pivot had left the planet. I put some bolts thru the pivot bar and haven't had that problem since.

Had I not found this, the ramp pivot could have slid out and done some major damage to my trailer and someone else's car from dragging the 6 ft long ramp behind the trailer.





in my previous post, I mentioned backup lights.

Let me clarify. My GN is a deckover, and when backing in the dark, you can not see the tires. I solved this by putting a set of white driving lights on the forward most corners of the trailer, just under the deck. I wired them so when the truck is in reverse, they come on and shine down the side of the traielr and tires.

This does 2 things...
1) lets me see where the tires are going

2) lets others see I am backing up.

I also added 2 more utility lights up on the neck, facing back. these also come on when backing, for the same reasons.

I wired all of them to switches in the toolbox on the deck, so I can also turn them on individually if need be, and the 2 up top are moveable so I can light up a dead truck beside the trailer for repairs. I don't even have to be hooked up to the triuck, since I have 2 batteries in the tolbox for the winch.

 

I've been thinking about a GN trailer, and was wondering if anybody went just super simple for a "marker" for hitching up. I was thinking beer can with a tolerably straight stick duct taped to it. Knock the stick down, and you'd be set.

 

Couple of tricks I use:

When you un-hitch from the trailer, don't raise the hitch way above the ball like a lot of people do. In fact, leave it about a half inch down on the ball. The ball is round enough, that when you pull out, it'll slide over it, but more importantly, when you back under it, you can feel it go back over the ball, and you're there. NOTE: This won't work with a flatbed with the recessed box for the ball. Only hitches where the ball is above the bed.

Also, if I'm loading or unloading where it's the slightest bit unlevel, I'll lock the truck in 4-low first. (all my trucks are 4x4's). I do this, because it's possible when on the ramps with a backhoe or dozer, to take enough weight off the back axle of the truck to allow it to take off.

 

One trick i use on my car trailer is to mount 2 snow plow marker sticks on the back corners of the trailer. When hooked to my truck i cannot see the rear of the trailer now i can put it anywhere cause i know exactly where the rear of the trailer is.

 

If your truck is an automatic you want to be sure and set the emergency brake when loading a tractor on your trailer. I didn't think of that the first time I loaded on this truck, my last truck was a stick, and I'm suprised I didn't bust the park pawl.

 

I pull a 53' goose, and I'm glad my tandems aren't all the way to the back.

The trick is to load your trailer with the weight almost centered over the trailer axles, with about a 60% forward/ 40% rear ratio. You want it just a little nose heavy, but you want the bulk of the weight to be carried by the trailer, not the truck.

 

I hear you there. Thats what stinks bout my 30 footer, rear tandem is clear back to where the beavertail starts...I haul heavy equipment which is hard to load sometimes cause you dont really know which end is the heavy end and with the tandems back that far its hard as heck to get it right, especially if its a long piece of equipment.

 

update:
i've been using the sliding rear window centered method and have gotten to hooking up on the first try. also, i got some good towing time in this past weekend, so thanks for all the tips.

everyone told me a GN pulled better but the difference is really night and day. now my total rig is heavier but it feels 100 times safer going down the road. i ordered a pair of new brakes to slap on there so hopefully ill get to do that trhis week sometime.

again, thanks everyone for their help. hopefully ill get some pics next time im hauling it

 

I painted a red stripe on my tool box in the bed, then i painted a red stripe on my 5er hitch. I just line the two of them up in my rearview mirror for hooking up. You could probably do that with a gooseneck as well and just add a horizontal stripe to line up with the edge of your tool box when it is in the right spot.