SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR POSITIONING A TOW VEHICLE AND A TRAILER

A method of operating a tow vehicle and a trailer includes identifying at least one of transient state of operating characteristics or steady state operating characteristics. A transient state based estimation is performed if the transient state operating characteristics are identified to determine a transient state based effective trailer wheelbase and a towbar length and a steady state based estimation is performed if the steady state operating characteristics are identified to determine a steady state based effective trailer wheelbase. An estimated effective trailer wheelbase is determined relative to the tow vehicle based on at least one of the transient state based effective trailer wheelbase and the steady state based effective trailer wheelbase. The tow vehicle and the trailer are maneuvered based on the estimated effective trailer wheelbase.