I bought and assembled a Harbor Freight 4x4 mini trailer. I'm using it with my MINI FINI tow link.

My question is really for anyone that's ever towed a trailer before.

How do you back up?

The other day I pulled into a parking space at the lumber yard. The space was too small for the MINI and the trailer, so I was going to back out, and then realized the trailer wants to jackknife. No matter which way I turned the wheel,, it didn't want to go straight back. At one point I actually backed into the trailer and crunched the wheel arch.

So I got out of the car, unhitched the trailer, flipped in 180, so I could pull my car out and rehitch it.

Anyone have any tips?

 

To get the trailer to move right you have to turn the wheels to the left. or opposite of what you would do when going forward.

 

Put you hand on the bottom of the steering wheel. If you hand goes right, the trailer goes right. Don't make big adjustments just small changes will cause the trailer to turn.

 

It really just takes some practice and like Red Ryder said, make small changes. I'm sure a small trailer like what would be towed by a MINI will turn very quickly. My first trailer experience was with a horse trailer - it seems overwhelming at first but you'll get used to thinking 'backwards' with some practice. Try backing your trailer in a place where you have lots of room and few people (and things) around.

 

that sounds confusing. why not just pull it like a jinrikisha?

 

I have the same trailer, except I lengthened the draw bar by a foot, so I could carry some long items. I have had the trailer about 3 years longer than I have had the MINI.

I also have a trailer that is 10 feet overall.

SHORT trailers are a real challenge to back up. I used to be able to back my 18 foot trailer (with boat) a full block in one try. The short ones, take me three tries or more just to get in my driveway!

I have a friend that does it by looking in his mirrors. I do it by looking over the top when possible.

Do you have a "little red wagon? If so, go out in the driveway and push it backwards around a course for a while. It is easier than backing the trailer because the wheels are at the extreme ends of the wagon, but it will give you the idea.

With a trailer that small, and lightly loaded it is easier to push it by hand than back it into some situations.

Good Luck.

John

 

This will help:

This example describes how to reverse to the left because that is easier than reversing to the right.

If you are not sure which way your wheels are pointing at any time lean out and look at them.

Many pre-1989 trailers have a lever that prevents the brakes from operating during reversing.
All trailers built after March 31st 1989 have auto-reverse brakes.

See our "Interactive Demo" 1 ) Start with the outfit as straight as possible and about a trailer's length from the place into which you are reversing. You need plenty of room to swing the towcar round. 2 ) Watching the trailer out of the driver's window, reverse slowly and start turning the steering to the right. It is easier to add more steering than to correct too much. 3 ) As soon as the trailer starts to turn, you begin straightening up whilst still reversing. If you leave it too late, the trailer will 'jack-knife'. (This means that it gets to such an acute angle to the towcar that it can no longer be manoeuvred in reverse. This condition can damage towcars with long rear overhangs). 4 ) Eventually you start steering the other way, while still reversing, to bring the towcar's nose round so that the car "follows" the trailer – but keep an eye on where the trailer is going in case it needs correction [FONT=Arial][SIZE=2] 5 ) Reverse in a straight line using the door mirrors. Reverse slowly and carefully. When more of the trailer starts to appear in one mirror, steer towards that mirror to start the trailer going the other way. Such corrections only require small steering movements. [/SIZE][/FONT]
6 ) Do not get your mind stuck in reverse! If the trailer goes out of line, it may be easier to pull forward to correct it. On tight turns or if it jack-knifes, to pull forward is your only option.

 

Thanks everyone, I'm starting to get the hang of it. My biggest problem when I first posted this was that I couldn't see the trailer! The utility trailer was lower than my rear window, and as narrow as my MINI so I couldn't see it out of my mirrors. I've since built it up with plywood and a storage box and now it's much easier to back up since I know which way to correct it.

But I find it also helps to find parking spaces that you can drive forward out of instead of having to back out.

Can anyone confirm that when they drive with the trailer that it bounces around a lot and make a lot of noise? I'm noticing some play on my MINI FINI tow link bar and a little play on the hitch area (that I can tighten), but I don't think I can do much about the MINI FINI.

I reduced the air pressure in the tires to 35psi-from 60psi but that didn't help much. I've read that some people will remove one of the plates on the suspension spring thingy since the dual plates are for carrying the max load which I will never get to.

Richard

 

What John (jdewey) said is right. Short, single axle trailers are extrremley hard to back up. The shorter the distance from the axle to the pivot point (trailer tounge), the faster the trailer will turn. With this 4x4 trailer, you probably don't have more than three feet or so of space between the tounge and the axle. The best advice is to avoid situations were you need to back up. If you can't avoid backing up, then very subtle movements are the key. Once a trailer starts turning, it will continue to turn after you straighten your front wheels until you correct in the other direction.

A trick I was taught years ago so you don't have to think about turning left to go right and vice versa is to place you hand on the bottom of the steering wheel. Move your hand right and the wheels turn left and your trailer turns right, same direction you moved your hand.

If you have some extra time, find a large shopping center parking lot without any parking spot bumpers on an early Saturday morning and practice. Backing a trailer is not something you're going to do perfectly the first time. It takes practice to learn how your trailer and tow vehicle combination interact.

I've been towing a 26' tandem axle travel trailer for years and as counter intuitive as it seems, it is much easier to back up than any single axle short trailer.

Phil

 

The bouncing is almost certainley a result of the trailers suspension and not the Mini Fini tow bar. The trailer is free to pivot on the hitch ball so a little play in the Mini Fini is no different in the play between the ball and the trailer.

Utility trailers aren't built for ride comfort so they typically have very stiff suspension. In theory, removing one of the suspension plates may help, but after doing so, you really wouldn't know what your new load limit is. If your only using the trailer around town, you could simply add some weight. Water jugs do a pretty good job of this. Just make sure you keep about a 60/40 weight distribution between the front and back of the trailer (60% in front of the axle).

 

My trailer bounced so much, it would break the filaments on the tail lights, so I switched to LED lights.

The following suggestion should be used at your own risk.

Each tire will have a maximum pressure and maximum weight listed on it. The "easy" thing is to run the tires at maximum pressure. Under inflated tires will tear apart or catch fire at sustained highway speeds.

The tires are each something like 600 pounds capacity with 60 pounds of air (CHECK THE NUMBERS ON YOUR TIRES). That works out to 1,200 pounds.

The trailer is around 200 pounds, but the tires are inflated to handle 1,200, so the trailer bounces like a basketball when it is empty. I USUALLY keep my trailer tires at about 30 pounds and it rides OK.

BUT, One day I went to the lumber yard for (1,200 pounds of) stuff, and forgot to add air to the tires! They were so "flat" I had to go put air in them before I could carry the load.

My 700 pound camping trailer came with the tires filled to maximum which would handle over 2,000 pounds! It sure rode nicer once the pressures were set for the actual loaded weight of the camper.

[note: I have several cars, and statements about pullling trailers do not necesarily to refer to my MINI CS.]

John