Technique - tight u-turns on narrow tracks

[deldridg]

Hey folks,

Once heard over an aircraft frequency from a light plane headed towards a storm cell - "Quick - let's do a 360 and get the hell out'a here!".

Being new CT owners and being perhaps more oriented to biting off more than we can chew (will post a story about yesterday's little um... "(mis)adventure" shortly...), perhaps my greatest fear is taking on a steep narrow track with the CT, running out of traction (or confronting a no-go-zone - fallen tree etc.) and not being able to turn around or reverse without risking an over-the-edge experience.  Winch no doubt would be good for the traction scenario.

But this post is less about that more extreme situation and more about the old u-turn on a narrow track.  I am reasonably competent at reversing but have tried to put some thoughts together about how you would turn around should you come across a fallen tree on a fire trail with no side clearing, big gullys etc. and limited chance of a long reverse.

One thought would be to carry a few curved flat pieces of timber on which you could rest the jockey wheel and turn the trailer around by hand if the terrain was too rough (our CT could be 1,500 kgs and hard to manhandle on rough surfaces), u-turn the fourby and pick it up the other way.  Only for a flat surface perhaps.

No doubt you guys are far more experienced than me so any ideas would be much appreciated.

Touch wood we won't be in this situation too often!

Cheers,
Dave E (Sydney)

[BigJules]

If you can't reverse it up and out, or at least off the track, maybe drive it forward off the track enough to allow you to pass by it in the vehicle once unhitched. Then drag the camper around as best you can. In the end jockey wheels aren't too expensive if you bend it in the process. You did say you were stuck in this hypothetical situation.

Or just unhitch and chain it to a tree and go for help 

[Nomad]

Chainsaw or learn to do this..............

Superb Skills - Log Truck 360 Turn Around Above Dangerous Cliff Edge	Small | Large

Cheers Nomad 

[Eski]

Over christmas in the high country I found myself along a cut off road.  River had washed away the road!!!

Had to reverse 100 Meters back up the hill and over a log I just drove over...

Got to a corner that was wider than the track and reversed the camper into the mountain.   Chocked it with rocks and unhooked it.

Turned the car around further up the track and hooked up the trailer again.

It took about an hour but I wasn't in a hurry and having fun...
 

[Muckinhell]

you could have a tow bar mountin point attached to your bull bar so your could turn vehicle around and then just attach to the front and puch the trailer out till your able to re attach to the rear. I often see caravan owners with such a set up to get into their sites easier etc.

[Hairs]

Hmm, I haven't had to do this yet, Thank God.
The previous owner of our camper had what looks like a plate that you could put a tow ball on. Braced and welded to the chassis.
When I asked if it was for a bike rack or something, he told me it was for when in sand to tow the camper backwards.
He explained to me that it is APITA to reverse the camper in sand.
So I'm thinking with the Jockey wheel down it could be pulled backwards until some where was suitable to swing it around and carry on.
Just gotta use ya head and think about how to work around the problem you have at the time.

[austastar]

Hi,


  No dramas with a slide on.








But I don't have the ease of 'unhitch and go' or a 'Taj Mahal' for longer stops that you have with a trailer setup.


cheers

[deldridg]

Hi folks,

thanks for your thoughts.  No doubt we'll face a decent challenge or two in the future and will take your ideas with us.  Being new to it all, navigating the unexplored track with a CT adds a little something more in anticipation of such a situation!

Love the vid - maybe we'll get ATC to add a swivel axle to ours too! 

Cheers,
Dave

[Matto]

Hi Dave,

Best advice I can give is to go somewhere open and flat and try out your options. Use cones if you can get them - you'll look like a goose, but the cones don't mind being run over.

You can jack-knife a trailer to turn it sharply, but you still need a bit of room. IE, I'd driven into my backyard with a box trailer the other week, and needed to spend 5 minutes of back-and-forwards to spin the combo around. My backyard's not huge, but it's certainly wider than your hypothetical track. The longer drawbar of a camper trailer will make that trick both easier and harder. My point however is that by practicing how tightly you can turn your truck/camper combo, you'll at least have a baseline to go off if you do get into trouble. I learnt that even with a piddly box trailer, I need to cut the gardens back some more if I want to attempt that manouver again .

I agree with the gist of what the others are suggesting. If you can't reverse the entire thing, drop the trailer off, sort out the car, and come back for the trailer. In these instances a hand-winch and a few straps (plus knowning where you can attach them to the camper) can be worth their weight in gold - they let you secure the trailer in position, then winch it around slowly, etc. The only thing worse than being stuck on the side of a hill with the camper chained to a tree is being stuck on the side of a hill with the camper half way off the side, and a freshly-broken arm.

Worst case, as Jules says, secure the trailer and leave it. If you're that far in the poo, you need the car more than you need the camper .

Good luck!
Matto

[deldridg]

Yes, practice is the key.  I don't mind finding a nice open space and reversing my trailer all over the place!  As a 13yr old living in the country (Wauchope), my dad used to get me to reverse his short wheelbase trailer around, so that was a great intro.  Our CT with its long drawbar is very easy to reverse, but also is very long to straddle a narrow track!

Love the idea of a winch to turn it around - we'll have a 12,000lb one dangling off the Pathy soon hopefully.  That should do it!   

Cheers,
Dave

[Mace]

A winch and a large pneumatic jockey wheel will help you get out of a lot of tight situations, not just on tracks. 

[GeeTee]

Practice - know how far you can 'jackknife' your trailer before it touches your vehicle etc. And practice in a park, bushe etc so you can thread you trailer between a few random witches hats

Disregarding hills etc off-road, hopefully your trailer is not too heavy to take off the drawbar and turn/spin in its own length

And, keep your exploration enthusiasm under control...!