Tandem placement and turning radius

I used your photograph in post #45 on this thread and a ruler and some algebra mathematics to calculate the forward space to the south in front of the guard shack at Westrock in Stevenson, AL. When I am talking about forward space to the South in the photograph, the South means the bottom of your photograph, not the direction south on a compass. I used a ruler to measure the length of the tractor-trailer on my computer monitor. The length of the tractor-trailer in the entrance lane in the photograph is 1.5 inches on my computer monitor. I estimated the tractor-trailer to be approximately 70 feet long. Then I measured the forward space to the South in that photograph from the exit (lined up with the guard shack) all the way to the curb. The forward space to the South from the exit to the curb was 2.5 inches.

Then I used algebra to calculate the forward space from the exit to the curb. The forward space from the exit to the curb is just under 117 feet. But there was a line of trucks taking up part of the forward space to the south. I estimate that line of trucks would remove about 12 feet of forward space. So I had approximately 105 feet of forward space to the South.

here is a photograph of the mathematics:



105 feet is not that much! I didn't have all that much space to the SOuth. I don't think I had enough space to do it all without a back before I moved forward through the entrance gate.

 

What area 100 yards away from the guard shack are you talking about specifically? Do you mean the open area that is right next to the letter k in the word Westrock in the photo on post #49? Do you mean the big open area of loading docks at the big building (north of the big building) right in the center of the photograph?

Probably the quickest way to go from the exit gate to the entrance gate would be to do what MACK E-6 suggested in post #41. But it was my first time to attempt to drive from the exit gate to the entrance gate at Westrock in Stevenson. I didn't have the benefit of hindsight.

But I admit that, yes, it probably would have been quicker to drive approximately 100 yards down the road to one of those open areas to turn around than to do it the way that I did it. Why do I use the word "probably"? I don't know how "open" those areas were when I was there.

In post #50, I initially argued with your comment because I thought (erroneously) that you were saying that there was over 100 yards of space for me to use to maneuver right next to the guard shack. But you were not saying that. You were saying to travel down the narrow road to a different open area.

 

Since I was turning to the left in the U-turn described in the OP, the rear of the trailer must have swung to the right when I slid the tandems forward and drive forward into the drop lot. Which factor made it so that I was able to finally get the rear of the trailer past the guard shack after I slid the tandems forward, the trailer swing to the right or the fact that there was less off-tracking with the tandems slid forward or both?