Whether youâre new to towing trailers or not, youâll appreciate that reverse parking a trailer is a feat worthy of admiration â applause even. Together, the towing vehicle and trailer become an articulated vehicle and the required input for manoeuvring backwards is largely counterintuitive. Furthermore, the trailerâs rearwards direction of turn changes depending on which side of the towing vehicleâs centre-line it sits. Understandably, drivers with less experience baulk at the prospect of having to manage this â especially in front of an audience.
Weâve discussed, in detail, how to reverse a trailer on Without A Hitch and the closest weâve come to some kind of reversing automation is using an electric caravan mover to move a caravan independently of the towing vehicle. However, there hasnât been a fully automated solution to the problem â until now.
A new solution
Volkswagen drivers must do a lot of towing â at least they must in Europe â because the company has seen fit to include fancy trailer reversing technology in their 2015 Passat. Imaginatively called Trailer Assist, the reversing aid works similarly to automatic reverse parking, in that all the steering is handled by the carâs brain, with throttle and brake input from the driver.
The driver merely dials in the desired trailer angle via the side mirror controls, which are mounted on the door armrest. Simultaneously, the trailerâs current and intended angle is indicated with a graphic on the instrument display and the on the reversing camera display.
Best of all, because itâs all handled from the driverâs seat, most onlookers will assume the driver has perfectly executed the manoeuvre alone.
The first all-new Passat in 10 years, the 2015 Volkswagen Passat is expected to land here in spring 2015, with prices starting somewhere around the current $38,990, plus on-roads.
Audi has also thought of trailer-loving drivers with its new Audi Q7. As is the case with the Passat, its âtrailer assistantâ will automatically reverse park a trailer in response to a driverâs input; it also stabilises the trailer and tow vehicle if youâre driving backwards in a straight line, and provides a warning if the trailer is likely to jackknife. However, this comes at a cost: the new Audi (which is due in Australia in late 2015) is priced at around $100,000.
The future of parking technology
If youâre not looking for a new car then you may have to wait a bit longer, but there are some solutions on the horizon for nervous reversers. Australian company Reverse Alert is developing reversing sensors that can be fitted to the back of trailers or caravans. When the sensors detect an object, the towing vehicleâs brakes are automatically applied â handy for those tight parks!
As for that self-parking trailer? Well, you might just have to wait a bit longerâŠ
If the Passat or Audi isnât for you, what is? Hereâs a bit more on choosing the right kind of towing vehicle
