Struggling to learn how to back up

Discussion in 'Trucking Schools and CDL Training Forum' started by Almendra, Oct 16, 2020.

  1. bryan21384

    bryan21384 Road Train Member

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    That's what my trainer told me too, but I never learned that in trucking school. That's a greatest to get practice till it clicks
     
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  3. tallguy66

    tallguy66 Medium Load Member

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    YouTube has a lot of good resources on backing. If you ever have down time in at a receiver with empty spots that have lines, use that to practice.
     
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  4. Cattleman84

    Cattleman84 Road Train Member

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    You need to find a big empty parking lot to practice in... While you practice your boyfriend can go get a massage, and something to eat.
     
  5. brysol01

    brysol01 Medium Load Member

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    When backing watching your mirrors turn the wheel twords the mirror that showed the most side view of the trailer , to even out the profile on each side
     
  6. Badmon

    Badmon Heavy Load Member

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    Got to go slow. Dont whip the wheel too much. As you get straight with your trailer turn the steering wheel less. When i was learning to back my biggest issue was turning the wheel way too much. Take your time and go slowly
     
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  7. FozzyNOK

    FozzyNOK Road Train Member

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    You're already at a disadvantage. The training of a mate is almost never a good deal for the person being trained. Especially if its a "Me Tarzan - You Jane" arrangement. I always advised people (married or not) to train separately if they were serious about getting into this meat grinder. Men are usually the worst at this concept. Men tend to take over and due all of the "hard stuff" (as they see it) And the other partner is relegated to fueling, washing windows, going into the shippers/receivers to fetch paperwork and drive in a straight line down the highway. if you want to be trained, go seek training from professionals. Time in the seat doesn't make anyone a trainer/instructor.
     
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  8. Rugerfan

    Rugerfan Road Train Member

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    Turn the bottom of the steering wheel the way you want the trailer to go. Go slow, and get out and look when you need to. Don’t stay fixated on your driver side mirror. Look in both mirrors, and remember you’re tail swing with a 53’ trailer if your tandems aren’t all the way to the back.
     
  9. olddog_newtricks

    olddog_newtricks Medium Load Member

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    Top of the wheel or bottom doesn't matter so long as the wheel gets turned the correct way. It's really just a mattfer of which way you are more comfortable with.
     
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  10. Blue Zombie Trucker

    Blue Zombie Trucker Light Load Member

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    The point is... when going forward, you turn the top of the steering wheel in the direction you want the vehicle to go.

    It's easy to turn a trailer the correct direction when backing if, instead of thinking about it in terms of turning the top of the wheel, you think of it in terms of steering with the bottom of the steering wheel.
     
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  11. FozzyNOK

    FozzyNOK Road Train Member

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    That's the thing about backing. Everyone loves to talk about what worked for them like it means something. It really doesn't. When teaching backing the most important part for the trainer is getting outside and watching what the driver is doing. universally the first problem is staring..and not steering.. or steering wildly. staring and fixating in the drivers side mirror is the first main issue that most drivers have. Straight backing is the first challenge to get done and set in their minds. if they cannot straight back, they will never be able to back at an angle. A lot of this comes from their years as car drivers. They do not know how to use mirrors at all. The reason that car companies started putting mirrors on the right side of the cars... is so it would look uniform. The average driver has no idea how to back up a car more than a few feet. We used to have a backing bobtail day before we would get them hooked to a trailer. Bob tail day was the best day to start assessing who the starers were. Backing serpentine between cones really helps people understand how mirrors work. when the cone goes out of sight on the left, the next place you will see it is on the right.. getting the drivers to quickly move focus from one side of the truck to the other is imperative to get them less panicky. If the driver is looking on the wrong side of the truck when all the action is going on on the other side... that's the issue. Most of them never see what they hit.
     
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