if making a right turn start from the very left shoulder. Get the the whole truck and trailer on the left shoulder. then go straight, hold off turning until the back side off the passenger door is past the driveway. now turn the wheel full lock and go as far as can, you shouldn't actually be able to make the corner if you do it right. you go as far as you can then turn wheel left and back up, then turn wheel right and continue around corner. this should tighten up your turning radius enough to get around the corner.

 

Nitrogens' method works well. I have used the same technique to get a 48' spread axle into places that seemed impossible. Make sure you don't tag the cab with the trailer. good luck.

 

N2, I think you finally made it click. A bud of mine tried to explain it, but I guess I am getting denser with age. I get what you are saying.

I extended my culvert another 3 feet, and yanked the last fence post. That, and your trick should do it. I will try getting the rig out Tuesday evening and see how it works.

This site is awesome!

 

good luck with it. you actually start your first turn when its too late to make the corner. it all right to put a front tire down in ditch as long as both rears stay on hard ground. then back up for the second half of corner

 

Just to follow up, I got the camper out the drive, with a few inches to spare, got back in OK too. We took it out on a short trip, but ended up overdoing the transmission trying to back uphill into a spot at the campground.
Apparently the Fseries will dump a bit of oil when the trans is overworked. I let it cool, and added fluid, then she pulled again.

I do plan on having the transmission looked at. Someone mentioned that there is an aftermarket torque converter made for hard pulling, I might be down for that!!

Thanks again for all the help! I got a few good lessons in pulling from the bed. The key point is understanding that you can adjust the truck\trailer angle greatly with only a slight fore/aft movement of the trailer. That becomes the key to positioning your trailer.
I feel a lot less intimidated than I did a week ago!!

 

When you're backing uphill like that, if it's in a straight line, use 4WD low. It'll cause a lot less stress on the tranny. If you've got the manual t-case and hubs, leave the hubs unlocked and shift the t-case into 4-low. This will effectively put you into 2WD low and will be much easier on the tranny. There's also a way of disconnecting the wires from the pulse vacuum solenoid in the engine compartment. Here's a link describing it:

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/5...l-2wd-low.html

Just some food for thought but it WILL be easier on your tranny when backing up steep inclines, etc.

 

A buddy told me the same thing this morning, unfortunately mine is a 2wd. Maybe my next truck will be 4WD (dreaming never hurt anyone!)

 

Gotcha. Oh well. Sometimes, when possible, pull through sites are great to find.

 

Cooling for the tranny is about NIL when in reverse.....hense the heating and dumping out the overflow/input tube. I did it a lot when I had the '92 with E40D. Not once still the got the Super Duty 6.0 and TorqueShift. Lots bigger cooler on it!

 

Practice, practice, practice! Glad you're feeling better about it. That is a lot of money you're playing with and enough to twist your stomach for sure.

 

I am thinking of that PI Stallion converter if the trans need to be lowered. Otherwise, I might opt for a valve body upgrade, all of this depending on what we find when the pan comes off.

I am chomping at the bid to take that rig out on the road again!

 

Remember if you back in you will have to pull out so the "tighter turn" backing really is no help. I found this out when I backed a Kenworth with a 48' freight trailer into my one lane driveway off a narrow country road much like you have only narrower, no berm, ditches on both sides. Got in with no problem, getting out I ran across 15' or so of yard off the driveway.

The thing that will really help is to widen the apron on the driveway. My Father-in-Law's house has a 300' or so narrow one lane gravel drive and he had to widen his apron to get a 33' motor home in and out.

Driving a truck if you are backing in a tight spot it helps to get the trailer backed in something like THIS then pull straight forward and straighten everything out like THIS ONE then back straight in. With a bit of practice you would be surprised how small and tight a spot you can get backed into. I would have drivers looking and laughing until I pulled forward and they saw how it worked and realized I did it on purpose.

 

Good graphics, am I correct in assuming that while doing this, the goal is to position the trailer axles over the center of the lane, to prep for straightening over the center?

 

Actually if you have the room beside the driveway for trailer overhang the goal is to be centered when you "snap" the rig straight pulling forward so you will have your drive axle on one side and the trailer and steering axle on the other side of the driveway. When you pull forward the steer axle will be turned toward the center, the drive axle will follow toward the center from the other side and the trailer will do so as well.

All this positioning is why those around you will swear you are all messed up UNTIL you pull forward and the rig is perfectly positioned to go into place.

 

I agree with ^^^^, pulling a 5er is quite different than a tail dragger.