I got my first jeep, an M38, when I was 17 in the summer I worked at a lake and recreation area in Monterey County, Calif., near Hunter Ligget Military Reservation and not far from Camp Roberts. While at the lake I discovered that some of the most amusing scenes were people trying to back their boats on trailers down the launch ramp, and the trailers would go everywhere except into the lake. The company I worked for also rented small camping trailers, and one of my duties was to deliver these trailers to camp sites. I often used my M38 after finding that I could clamp the trailers’ ball-type hitches into my jeep’s pintle (not recommended for highway use) and thanks to working in my dad’s scrapyard since age 8, I was fairly experienced at backing trailers.
Just like at the launch ramp, I never tired of watching inexperienced people trying to back their own trailers into camp sites. These were often man and wife teams, the wife calling directions, while the man tried to back the trailer, and both often ending up screaming at each other, their children either laughing or staring open-mouthed, when the trailer went everywhere except where it should have. I also found I could pick up a few dollars by tactfully offering to help. No doubt some adult egos were stressed when a 17-year-old boy could do in a minute what they had been trying to do for half an hour, but at least the trailers ended up where they were supposed to be.
There is no magic involved in backing a trailer if you will remember Rule Number 1: a trailer will go in the same direction as the bottom of your steering wheel.
Try steering from the bottom until you’re experienced enough to know which direction the bottom of the wheel will go when steering from a normal position.
Rule Number 2: the shorter the trailer, the faster it will react.
While many HMV enthusiasts have prior experience with trailers from boating, camping or work, there are also many who acquire their first trailer along with their first HMV. These are often quarter-ton trailers of the G-529, G-747 or G-857 families which might
