I'm beginning to understand the frustration

I’m wondering why the trailer feels sluggish pulling it out of the yard, in the grass.

When I hit the pavement, it got much worse.

Oh - would help if I retracted the landing gear.

This is after 15 years of driving.

I was told there was only one perfect person - and they crucified him.

 

I don’t get frustrated with rookies trying to back in, I get out of my truck and offer help. I’ll give simple advice and offer to spot for them.

 

Amazing what being able to thing about something, digest it, process it, etc that helps. Get into a tight spot way too many rookies try to bull their way through something instead of stopping and thinking about it. I think that's what moves one from a rookie to an experienced driver. The ability to stop, think things through, and not make the situation worse.

I have a very, very routine job. So routine I do everything the same way every night so I don't miss something from shear complacency. I hit the same door at the warehouse 5 times a night, and the same door at the plant 5 times a night, that's how routine it is. There are times I cannot hit that door after doing it for literately 100's of times. Just sometimes the mind is not in the right spot. I gotta turn around, take 5 and do it again. When that happens I'm usually good for another coupe hundred docks, but man is it annoying to know I can do this in my sleep, but for whatever reason it's not working now...

Point is, can be the most experienced driver, can have 30 years wreck free, can be an ultra diamond pure platinum driver and have all the awards the company can give out. Sometimes the mindset just shuts down and to keep all those accolades one needs to stop and 'reboot' and get a clear head to move on without trouble.

 

I'm fresh outta CDL school. No shame in doing pull-ups. Who cares if you pull-up 1,000 times, as long as you get it in there with no damage/injuries. I couldn't understand the students that refused to pull-up. I think it's simply ego and/or fear.

 

Yeah in the real world u do as many pullups is necessary to get it in the hole without hitting anything

 

I barely got through CDL school. I had to work with multiple trainers on backing. Now, 17 years into my career, I may not stop and start every five feet, but I also know to be diligent, check every angle, and take nothing for granted. You'll never see me floor the accelerator as I'm backing into a spot. That may look cool, but it's dangerous.

When I see one of my driving brothers or sisters struggling to get into a spot, I just assume it's the spot's fault. There must be a tricky angle or something.

We all started somewhere. Having the confidence of a 10-year veteran is not going to serve you well in the beginning.

In fact, I would say I never have any frustration with the operation of someone else's truck, as long as they are being safe. It's the guys who have it all figured out so they cut a few corners that bug me.

 

Amen. That person needs that job. They're trying their best. Offer to help with a spirit of humility instead of contempt.

 

I heard humble pies taste terrible.

 

I used to watch Just Truckin’ on youtube until he started sharing too much of his wife and kids at home. He even posted a video of his hot wife having a tattoo near the promised land laser removed. You could see the stubble from her shaved pubes. I’m like, dude, don’t you think you’re putting a lot out there?

Anyway, a female truck driver was repeatedly scraping a mirror against his truck while she was trying to back in. He didn’t get mad, and he backed it in for her and gave her some pointers.

I thought that was sweet.

 

I was a commercial bus driver for 20 years before switching over to trucks. Well over a million miles, maneuvering a coach bus effortlessly, I felt like a Jedi master.

Truck driver training humbled me! I learned enough about backing to pass the CDL test, but real world backing didn’t come easy, I didn’t have any feel for where the trailer was going and if I didn’t set up just right, I was in serious trouble. My shifting was a nightmare, too (they stopped putting manual transmissions in buses decades ago). My first two company trainers told the training director that I just wasn’t getting it.

Fortunately for me, he liked me enough to give me one more chance, and smart enough to know that repetition was what I needed. He gave me a truck and pointed to a trailer in our yard and told me to spend the whole day practicing parking it. I spent 8 hours doing just that, and by the end of the day, I had reached an acceptable level of competence. As for the shifting, once I internalized what gear works at any particular speed, that came much easier as well.

I’ve been driving OTR for a year and a half, and I’m a whole lot better than I was then. I might not be a Jedi just yet, but I’m pretty comfortable behind the wheel.