Backing into backyard

[gthomas]

My wife and I are getting older and my daughter is concerned about our full time travels. She is house shopping and wants to find a place we can park our 22RBE travel trailer in the backyard for most of the year and live there. While I embrace the prospect I feel the driveway needs to be wider than 9’ if there is a fence on one side and possibly a garage on the other. Any thoughts? Am I being overly cautious?

 

[Hoopy Frood]

Could be close depending on how far out your slide protrudes. Gonna be tight for sure.

 

[Frisky2]

Yeah, even opening the door could be a challenge. Obviously a little more room would probably be better...

 

[gthomas]

I’m talking about the backing in clearance. Not much room for error. The city allows the Rv to be in the backyard but I have to get it there.

 

[Frisky2]

Well, if it's straight and you can back straight then it's doable. If you have to turn at the end to, say, swing behind the house then things get really interesting!

 

[gthomas]

Well, if it's straight and you can back straight then it's doable. If you have to turn at the end to, say, swing behind the house then things get really interesting!

Highly likely

 

[trailrydr]

My wife and I are getting older and my daughter is concerned about our full time travels. She is house shopping and wants to find a place we can park our 22RBE travel trailer in the backyard for most of the year and live there. While I embrace the prospect I feel the driveway needs to be wider than 9’ if there is a fence on one side and possibly a garage on the other. Any thoughts? Am I being overly cautious?

Depends in what you pull your RV with. F150, F450 no problem. F250 or F350..... the turning radius of those 2 Superdutys suck big time.... I got a new F250 and it really does! 5 pt turns in most parking lot situations. Pulling a trailer - pull-thrus are king! Love the truck hate the turn radius. Another option for the F250/F350 - front trailer hitch 2" mount. Put one on mine, and now can drive in a trailer with ease... do depending on front to rear tracking radius.

 

[TenOCPlus]

BIG PROBLEM. I'm not so concerned about the parking. The big problem is how to back in off the street. Things like the tail swing and how to turn the truck front end clearance without any side clearance. I assume you have parked at campgrounds where you had to back end to the campsite. Notice how much clearance you needed for your truck to swing the RV around to line up with the campsite. In my opinion you need about 30 feet to be able to get the travel trailer lined up so it straight To then back into the 9 foot driveway.

Second problem many cities have zoning Rules which do not allow LIVE IN RVs on the lot.

 

[retired_engineer]

We have a 22MLE. Our driveway is about 10 ft wide and the parking pad is about 9.5 ft wide. The widths are fine for keeping the trailer wheels on the pavement and backing in a straight line. Where we need the extra space on the sides is for getting from the street onto the driveway and aligning the trailer wheels close to one edge of the parking pad. In both cases the tires stay on the pavement when turning but the back of the trailer will overhang the natural areas on either side of the driveway. My guess is we are using a total width closer to 12 ft when accounting for the rear end swing.

You might need to consider a motorized trailer dolly for getting the trailer into and out of the parking space. It will allow you more control due to only having to deal with the trailer and the fact that it can make tighter turns without worrying if the front end will hit something.

 

[RV2600RB]

It all depends on your backing ability. 9’ is narrow if you need to make any type of turn. If it’s a straight shot, should be no problem.

 

[trailrydr]

It all depends on your backing ability. 9’ is narrow if you need to make any type of turn. If it’s a straight shot, should be no problem.

Do agree! Backing abilitiy of the driver and vehicle. Some.... are certainly better than others in both cases.

 

[Hoopy Frood]

With no map, no drawing, and no photos, it's all just speculation about getting to the 9' wide area. But like was said, you should have enough room for a straight back in, provided you have the skill and practice.

 

[lineman1234]

(( for the OP ))

Not mentioned what will be backing it. Some people with backing problems have a hitch mounted on the front, easy to mount one on a pickup and fairly common for carrying things on the front.
A front hitch would be more precise for backing the trailer in, driving said pickup then just backing the pickup up after.

 

[lorend]

9 feet wide with a 8 foot wide trailer only leaves you with 6 inches of leeway of each side. Not counting any awning of anything else that might be sticking out. It is definitely doable but the question becomes what is your expertise and comfort level. As I am getting older I am finding it a little more nerve racking to have tight spaces to maneuver in. I am also one of the few that would rather back a trailer up than to pull it forward in tight spaces because when moving forward you are doing a little guess work where the passenger side is but when backing up you can look in the mirror and see exactly how much clearance you have on each side.

 

[Grandesigner]

I barely squeeze buy with 10 feet going forward both ways, as I can U turn in my back yard. No way would I back up for more than a few feet in a 9 foot path...

 

[Fivecodys]

9' would be pretty tough. I have a 10' spot on the side of my house and it requires patience and a good understanding of how the trailer reacts to small inputs. I use 4 foot wooden ramps I made to get up the curb smoothly and a fantastic wife who knows how to guide me well.

 

[WhittleBurner]

My wife and I are getting older and my daughter is concerned about our full time travels. She is house shopping and wants to find a place we can park our 22RBE travel trailer in the backyard for most of the year and live there. While I embrace the prospect I feel the driveway needs to be wider than 9’ if there is a fence on one side and possibly a garage on the other. Any thoughts? Am I being overly cautious?

Tell her she needs about a half acre for you to be comfortable

 

[trailrydr]

9' would be pretty tough. I have a 10' spot on the side of my house and it requires patience and a good understanding of how the trailer reacts to small inputs. I use 4 foot wooden ramps I made to get up the curb smoothly and a fantastic wife who knows how to guide me well.

Is that a pull-thru. I think I could thread that needle too.... just dont think I could back my 5r into that with my F250. To slow on responce from the steer wheel to wheels and very unforgiving. Now, it was a TT, my front mounted hitch would allow me to drive it right in there - best mod Ive done to my TV since buying it in '23. Front 2" hitch mounts should be standard on todays F250/F350's SRWs.

 

[lineman1234]

practice practice...

During sugar beet harvest up north hear. At some pilers that have dirt on the sides when muddy out, one cant turn around at the side after dumping, you have to back back over the piler. Barely enough room to drive through, about 4 inches room at each mirror, not fun to back through.
This is one of a couple rigs i get to play with.

 

[Fivecodys]

Is that a pull-thru. I think I could thread that needle too.... just dont think I could back my 5r into that with my F250. To slow on responce from the steer wheel to wheels and very unforgiving. Now, it was a TT, my front mounted hitch would allow me to drive it right in there - best mod Ive done to my TV since buying it in '23. Front 2" hitch mounts should be standard on todays F250/F350's SRWs.

Mine is a back in. I wish it was a pull through.