I hate backing up trailers. It's partly a learned skill that I haven't learned, but it's also a strange gap in my brain. My mind turns to the left, the caravan turns to the right, the boat I'm towing hits a dock. This is not a good situation, but in a recent test of the 2019 Ford Raptor, two different features have at least helped and help a newbie like me.
First of all, you should know that the Raptor is a beast of a truck, a monster capable of crossing a foot of mud with ease or sneaking over a sand dune and surviving. I didn't do any of those things. In fact, I rented a small trailer from Menards and loaded some bags of weed in my yard. We're not talking about a stress test that involves pulling a stump out of the ground or hauling an Airstream through North Dakota. More like a stressful afternoon.
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(Image credit: Josiah Bondy)
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(Image credit: Josiah Bondy)
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(Image credit: Josiah Bondy)
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(Image credit: Josiah Bondy)
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(Image credit: Josiah Bondy)
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(Image credit: Josiah Bondy)
My problem is not totally unique. I know a number of truck owners who rarely tow, knowing it is painful because you have to connect the cables properly, think about towing capacity and then when you walk into the driveway you know you will need to maneuver some kiddie toys, place the trailer on a side stand or concrete slab, and after disconnecting it, be sure to slide a few blocks next to the tires.
It's certainly not rocket science, and for those who drive a trailer every day for work or play, it becomes second nature. You know what to do and it doesn't matter.
Ironically, I was towing a trailer more often when I lived a few hours north of my current home. I have regularly tested ATVs and had an ATV trailer. I also had a Chevy Suburban at one point, and hauling a trailer wasn't a big deal. Even then, I had to constantly retrain to figure out how to steer the trailer. I have the same problem when testing drones: I turn left and the drone turns right.
Easy does it
It's been a few years since I've regularly tested ATVs or owned a motorhome, so again, I had to think about transportation and backups.
With the Ford Raptor, I used a feature called Dynamic Hitch Assist. It seems more technical than it is. In the rear view camera, you can see line markers for the side of the trailer and also for the hitch. When I needed to get back to the Menard trailer, I used this guide and landed with the ball perfectly aligned under the trailer hitch. I jumped in and hooked up the trailer. It was super easy and made me think that towing was no big deal.
Now for a much more sophisticated feature called Pro Trailer Backup Assist, there is a setting that I couldn't do. You need to put a sticker on the trailer, which helps to align the cameras. The basic idea is to use a button in the cockpit that works like a joystick. For people like me it's useful because if you want the trailer to go left when you step back, you turn the knob to the left.
Fortunately, I have already tried the Pro Trailer Backup Assist software with a Ford representative at a car show and I know it is incredibly useful. A massive trailer was attached to a test truck (not a Raptor, but an F-150), and perfectly back the trailer with the button.
The truck controls the steering for you, even if you still master the brakes and throttle. I remember thinking that people like me would love it, but the professionals mentioned above who drive trailers every day for sport or in the course of their work may not need it.
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(Image credit: Josiah Bondy)
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(Image credit: Josiah Bondy)
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(Image credit: Josiah Bondy)
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(Image credit: Josiah Bondy)
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(Image credit: Josiah Bondy)
Advances like this are exactly what we need as we enter the age of automated driving. In the near future, when cars and trucks are so smart and equipped with technology, we will need completely new interfaces like Pro Trailer Backup Assist to help us understand everything. outside Few of us can be experts at any given time, and this doesn't even relate to future scenarios where we might independently dispatch a truck to pick up a trailer or instruct the vehicle to reposition a trailer for us.
I was able to see a trailer and truck serviced with our phones, similar to the Tesla Model S summon feature that allows you to press a button to retrieve your car from the garage. So far the visual aids have helped me a lot and I really like the help of Pro Trailer Backup Assist because it doesn't bother my brain. I mainly concentrated on the prickly brush in the trailer.
Along the way, LaComparacion regularly reviews the futuristic technology of today's hottest cars. John Brandon, a journalist who has written about cars for 12 years, tests out a new car and its advanced technology every week. One goal: to know what new technologies will lead us to fully autonomous cars.