Rear cameras and driving skills

[RogerLennard]

Hello everyone,
I have done relatively little towing of boats or launching from a trailer attached to a car. My current boat is a Wayfarer, which can be launched without a vehicle. However, in anticipation of receiving my BR20, I was wondering about the experiences of other owners. Could you please help me with a few questions?

1. Do I need to buy a rear camera for my car/boat for when I am overtaking on the motorway or reversing down a slip for launching?
2. My licence lets me tow trailers but are there suitable training courses you could recommend to develop my skills?
3. Does anyone launch their BR20 or BRE without their car? Do you use a motorised trailer dolly/tug? (I assume that the front of the trailer needs to be attached to something heavy when the boat is being launched or retrieved).

Thanks for any advice.

[jonno]

Hi Roger

I don't think you need a camera.  Yes, there are courses available and I'm sure they're useful.

For what it's worth, my advice is to drive your car and trailer to a big, flat, empty area - and practise reversing.  You can take your time, not worrying about gradient, tide, other cars, trailers or boats - or onlookers.  Slow is good.  A few such sessions this winter would well prepare you for the real thing next year.

John

[Graham W]

Hi Roger

I don't think you need a camera.  Yes, there are courses available and I'm sure they're useful.

For what it's worth, my advice is to drive your car and trailer to a big, flat, empty area - and practise reversing.  You can take your time, not worrying about gradient, tide, other cars, trailers or boats - or onlookers.  Slow is good.  A few such sessions this winter would well prepare you for the real thing next year.

John

+1.  Slow is very good.

I did have a rear camera on my Honda CR-V but I only ever used it (and indeed it only ever came on) when reversing the car's tow ball towards the trailer hitch.  Wing mirror extensions are helpful but only if you get good ones that stay rigid.

[Matthew P]

Jonno and Graham's advice ,as always, is very sound.  Practice and go slowly.

I like to have an observer at the side of the car who can clearly see the back of the boat and warn me of people and obstructions which have uncanny knack of getting in the way.  Good spotters are rare and often take a bit of training. 

Top tips for spotters to avoid embarrassing comedy moments (I've had a few) and undignified shouting (almost always) are:

Stand where the driver can see you in the mirror on the driver's side. A surprising number of spotters stand out of sight.   

Don't rely on shouting to communicate with the drivers, especially me - I can't hear you. 

Agree a simple and clear hand signal system - especially for stop (cross your arms in front of your face).   

DO NOT bang on the car boot unless its an emergency 

If you can master the technique, indicate the distances to an approaching stopping point (e.g. water's edge) or the clearance from an obstruction (e.g. wall alongside) by replicating the distance between your hands.  However, very few people seem able to represent a distance in line with the vehicle through the 90 degrees needed for the driver to see the distance between their hands.  I don't know why this is so difficult, but it is. 

Although commercial and from across the pond this video is quite useful.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PwiwZ3ZWu9E

Spotters are useful, and sometimes even essential for safety, but my assumption is that if there is an accident then the driver is entirely responsible, no matter how negligent the spotter.  Perhaps there is a lawyer out there who will correct me.

Matthew
BR17 Tarika
         

[PYoung]

Hi Roger,

Prior to towing a Baycruiser 23, the only experience I had towing was with a very small 4ft trailer that we use for camping. I find towing this quite stressful, it looks very under engineered (tiny bike like wheels) and due to its size is a nightmare to reverse!

So before collection of my BC23 I was stressing about towing due to its size. I had planned on taking a towing exam prior to moving the boat, but due to COVID restrictions I couldn't get a place for love nor money. I went for it and decided to get towing, armed with the very little experience I had, I was pleasantly surprised at how at ease I felt.

I have no camera or mirror extensions and I managed to manoeuvre the boat with relative ease, reversing was a doddle compared to my little trailer! I think the longer the trailer, the easier it is to manoeuvre. Instead of a camera I have the boot open, this helps me see/hear what is going on.

Motorway driving is fine if you take it easy, I do 55-60mph max and feel comfortable. Never felt that I have needed a camera for overtaking.

I have had my trailer fully serviced recently and that gives me confidence to tow.

I have no experience with a motorised trailer, but I am looking at installing a motor mover to help manoeuvre my boat at home. I have seen videos of people launching/recovering with these motors, but I would assume the balance would have to be right to stop the boat tipping the trailer.

Pete

[Sea Simon]

I have a selection of trailers, and i too find the longer boat trailer the easiest!
A helpful HGV driver at the dump once explained that you'll never manage to reverse those tiny trailers due to their geometry, the wheels are too close to the hitch, apparently....i give up, and nowadays unhitch, or often use my heavy 8.5ft bed "builders trailer" instead.
I've seen people towing those tiny Halfords trailers, 8" Chinese wheels, at >80mph, apparently having forgotten that its even there?

Practice in a minimum - stress environment is key, imho...and experience. Remarkable how skills fade, even over the winter.

Electronics. Can really be a mixed blessing, in my experience.
My 2yo Tiguan (second one, so it's not my lack of experience of the VW package) has so (too!) much that it can bee a proper pita at times, made worse by simultaneously operating collision avoidance systems, handbrake, auto trans and 4x4/ABS functions all of which are electronic.
I swear i can sense  the bloody car "thinking" at times, as it tries to find grip?

Another problem is that these systems all seems to be so model specific, that friends not used to VAG cars struggle to hop in and help me out, or to borrow the car - which in itself is a very capable tow vehicle.
That said, as mentioned above, the rear camera is invaluable for hitching up alone. Mine has several different views, and even sort of tramline guides to follow. I guess they will automate this soon? Probably have on Range Rovers?

I think wing mirror extensions are all that you need on dual/motorway lane changing?
Obviously, a rear cam on the car is useless, and in my VW case only activates when parking, at low speeds. The same screen in the middle of the dash serves so many control functions. I'm told by a pal that the new mk 8 Golf is a nightmare!

To be absolutely clear. I am definitely not a towing "expert", and after many years still struggle!

[Peter Cockerton]

For several years I have had a motorised system on my BR20 trailer unfortunately it's no longer made and when it was ir was very expensive due to the motors being housed in watertight cans. The down side is the additional weight of the system permanently attached to the frame (60 kg from memory) see link below, the jockey wheel type are useless in my opinion the wheel just skids if the trailer wheels come across the slightest incline or step.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3AgaoajuwhI

Standard caravan type movers will work and fit if you make a custom bracket for the motor to be mounted to the trailer frame, however very difficult in avoiding water getting into the motors when launching and recovering.

Agree with all that's been said on reversing the trailer, slow speed, small changes on the wheel, try and keep the trailer and car central on the available width of access as if you get to close to one side you can't steer the car to align the trailer to correct.
Should you get to close go forward again and centre the trailer and boat again.
I find it easier with my automatic car to physically turn my body and look out of rear door rather than using the wing mirrors as you are not interpreting the view and necessary wheel movements to correct the trailer alignment.

When reversing the unloaded trailer for recovery fit a pole to the back of the trailer as you can't always see the back of the trailer hidden behind the car.

Peter C

[Nicky R]

I was taught a handy trick for reversing straight. Use the wing mirrors and turn the steering wheel towards the mirror that has too much trailer showing in it. You'll still need to practice to know how much to turn the steering wheel though.

[Rob Johnstone]

It seems to me that a rear view camera is really only any use for hitching up. I found when towing the BC23, the wing mirrors were quite adequate to monitor the traffic on either side of you and the rear view mirror always concerned me - why was that idiot in a boat so close behind me?

Like Simon, I discovered that the 4 x 4 Yeti (a clone of his VW)  that I have had a mind of it's own (literally) when the dreaded tow sway started - it thoroughly frightened me when it first happened; bells whistles and unknown hieroglyphs appeared on the "dashboard". My immediate thought was that the breaking system had failed. However, it bring us safely to rest and it clearly had worked out which wheels to brake to stop the sway.

As others have said - practise in a large open area. And do it again before you dash off for the first launch of the season.

[RogerLennard]

Thank you to everyone, who has contributed to this discussion. I take onboard the wise comments you have given. I hope that I never end up on a Youtube film clip about 'boating fails' or similar! 

[Ged]

This video nicely demonstrates the importance of weight distribution

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6mW_gzdh6to

[Ged]

And much more detail here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JeEEC5eVNCk

[PYoung]

That is really useful. Thanks Ged!!

[boomerangben]

Echoing what everyone else says. Camera really makes hitching up so much easier. Overtaking is fine as mostly it's lorries who more often than not will flash you in.

The key to reversing is positioning the car and trailer in the best place and relative angle to each other. If you can get straight perfect but otherwise it's trying to get into a position where the angle between the car and the trailer best fits the turn you need to be making when you start the reverse and have the steering wheels at the right angle needed to change the angle with the boat if needed. Whether you use mirrors or look backwards through the back window is a personal preference but I end up using a combination of all three.  I can never remember which way to turn the wheel and if I stop and think I get even more confused!! I think it's easier to keep moving slowly as you make corrections until of course it's blatantly (and in my case frequently) obvious things aren't going well.l

But practice is the only way of reversing a trailer with confidence.