RV FEATURE
REVERSING IN
A STRAIGHT LINE
The key to successfully reversing
a van is to go slowly and use your
mirrors. The first challenge is to
learn how to reverse in a straight
line. A trailer tends to ‘drift’ one way
or another, even if the tow vehicle’s front
wheels are straight. The drift will be
exaggerated if the wheels are turned even
slightly. Therefore, it’s a matter of making
small corrections.
Check your mirrors. When trying to reverse
in a straight line, endeavour to keep equal
amounts of the van in both the left and
right mirror.
A tip: If more of the van appears in one
mirror, turn the wheel slightly towards it. For
example, if more of the van is showing in the
passenger-side mirror, that means the van
is drifting left as you reverse. By turning the
wheel in that direction, you will (hopefully)
recover your line.
Again, go slowly, make small corrections,
and practise!
BACKING ONTO A SITE
This is not always an easy task, even for
experienced hands. Naturally, every scenario
is different, as is the angle of approach. Let’s
assume you need to perform a 90-degree
reversing manoeuvre, approaching
perpendicular to the site.
In this situation, I would drive the van past
the site a few metres, giving myself as much
space as possible either side of the vehicle/
van combination.
Then, I would reverse in a straight line. As the
van’s wheel set becomes almost level with
the nearest corner of the site’s entrance point
– perhaps about 1m away – I would turn the
van in the direction of the site.
If space is tight, it might be necessary to
‘jack-knife’ the vehicle and van somewhat,
but don’t jack-knife it too tightly as this will
lead to a situation where you can’t easily
manoeuvre the van the other way if needed,
and potentially the drawbar of your van will
strike your vehicle.
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