I have a 20 F250 with the Pro Trailer backup assist and with the 5th wheel prep package. My trailer tongue presents issues for mounting the sticker, and the camera loses sight of it frequently. Has anyone tried to use the 5th wheel sensor on a bumper pull trailer?.

 

You might look at a welding a piece of angle iron off the side of the tongue to create a place for the label. I will be needing to do that for my horse trailer here in a couple of weeks.

 

You could just blow off the assist and back your trailers up the old fashioned way.

 

Yeah, but I was hoping that I could make it work so that my wife would be able to handle it in an emergency if the need arose. She refuses to try the normal way.

 

Mine does this as well, I moved my propane tanks back so I’d have more room for a sticker and it helped it by 90%. It still loses site of sticker in some circumstances but is much better.

For those that say learn to back it up without, I can just fine, but if I have a gadget I’d like it to work.

I’d be curious if the 5th wheel sensor would work…. It’s what the new f150s use I think.

 

The way I look at it is: I can sit comfortably in my seat and turn a perfectly poisoned steering wheel to back up my trailer or I can screw around with sensors or stickers and whatever else so I can lean forward and use a little **** on the dash to back up my trailer. I guess if people see value in this gizmo it should fetch me a little extra on my trade in value.

 

You are my hero.

 

I’m curious now, I don’t have this feature, what happens when the camera loses sight of the sticker? Does the truck keep backing up or does everything just stop?

 

The whole world blows up. Your Ford is gonna die and never run again!

 

Danger Will Robinson! Danger!

LOL

It has a couple chimes and flashes a message that it lost sight of the sticker and advises you to take control of the steering wheel.

 

I have had Class A CDL for 40 years and am quite capable of backing up a trailer.

That being said, I have something constructive to add to a thread that is not about driver skill levels, but is about a optional feature on some of our trucks.

I had similar problems with a car trailer. When I get the time, I’m going to put one of the stickers on a piece of angle iron and C-Clamp it to various spots on the tongue until I find the “sweet” spot. I have a welder, but it t could also be bolted on once once the proper location is found.

 

Every member here with a 2017+ Super Duty is driving a fancy truck. Even an XL work truck is pretty impressive compared to a couple decades ago if you sit back and think about it. I don't get the hate for folks that choose options they want and especially all the condescending comments when folks are seeking advice or having issues with a relatively new option. We're all spoiled here. Why have cruise control - is your right foot broken? What's up with power locks - can't pull a ****? Automatic transmission - back in my day we...

When I was younger I was into turbocharging and tuning Hondas. I'm sure that will get a laugh from a few, but those forums were full of young people trying all sorts of crazy stuff. Swapping in engines from other models Hondas or Acuras was trivial. There were guides for any maintenance activity you could think of, rebuilding engines, transmissions, fabricating turbo kits, tuning etc. That experience led me to the field of engineering and a career in engine design. I joined this place to learn more about these new trucks and expected to see some similar good technical stuff, but it's almost the exact opposite. A thread about something as simple as changing the gear ratio in a differential has many responses saying to just trade in the truck. Someone "building out" their truck is mostly just pictures of applying bolt-on accessories.

That's a lot to say I just don't get why folks have all the hate on some of the new options. The guy paid for something and expects it to work. If you feel it's a silly option and don't have any helpful advice just skip the thread.

 

rsmith, nice reply. With truck owners using their trucks for so many differreasons, and in so many different conditions it seems odd to be judgemental just because it is different. An unfortunate outcome from the opinion bashing is people with good information may be less likely to comment.

 

I had originally planned on welding on a tag as you suggest, but I'm also going to play with using u-bolts to attach a piece of angle iron to the front of the trailer tongue jack. That location should ALWAYS keep it in view of the camera.

 

I don’t see Pro Trailer Back up assist as being anything at all like cruise control, power locks or automatic transmissions etc. These options add convenience. A person willing to spend the 15 minutes it takes to learn to back up a trailer can likely do a better safer job of backing up than the person with the gizmo. It’s not about running down anyone’s truck it’s about encouraging people to take the little bit of time required to use the better more convenient amazing gizmo they have stationed between their ears.