Failed first time at road test hit curb on Parallel Park

Nope, I pull an end dump. lol

 

I agree,generally as a rule you should get out and look,I always do..But at the DMV here,you can not GOAL.I guess they figure in the real world most use their mirrors to back.

 

In wisconsin, parallel was not part of the testing process. Just the other day I did have to somewhat parallel park my trailer at this cluster receiver lot at Kroger distribution center. I get it into the unmarked spot on the edge of the lot and then the guy in front of me decides to leave..lol, I could have waited and done it straight line. Oh well, good practice. I don't recall being in a situation where I had to parallel park the rig like you would at a street like one would parking a car. In the big picture its not much different than alley dock, just not a dock.

 

You guys who don't have to parallel park are lucky. Starting this month in CA we're required to be taught six different maneuvers for the skills test. Straight backing, offset backing right, offset backing left, parallel park left, parallel park right, and alley dock. The tester will then pick three maneuvers at random during the evaluation and ask you to perform them.

Hopefully I catch the tester on a good day and get all sight side stuff.

 

I ride my clutch a lot when parking. You have too...idle in and you will be going too fast and likely to hit something.
You probably just have to get used to the feel of a truck clutch to avoid the jerking.

 

When I went through CDL school it was winter and half the time the range was down plus you had all the regular driving to focus on. I'm learning that backing takes some time to learn. I continue to improve. When I first started solo I would park at rest areas at night so I could just do pull thrus. Now I go to the truck stops and will still take the easy spot but don't really fear the harder ones. Slowly my confidence is building and my setups are becoming more automatic. Lately at tougher docks where other drivers are at I will talk to one or more of them and dicuss my setup and then do it. After I'm in I will go back for a critique.

I wish they taught us more backing at CDL school but I'm not sure if it would have mattered much. When you're solo you have no choice but to get your trailer into the dock. Just a challenge to meet.

 

I'll be testing in Wisconsin. Do they just do straight line, and alley dock?

 

I like that idea of asking about setup and critique. I'll definitely keep that one in mind. I have no shame in asking for assistance when it comes to risky things.

 

Well I'm figuring out that setup is really the key. If you set up right, it makes all the difference between a difficult back and a reasonably doable back. I'm not that good yet so i typically need a pull up or two, but if the initial shot into the hole is correct, one easy pullup usually fixes it easy and in my opinion makes it safer, i.e. less chance of hitting something moving that trailer around in a tight spot.

 

Agreed, I had my first class yesterday evening and did the straight back pretty good. After an hour they had me start the sight side 90* alley dock. I made it in a few times with only 1 or 2 pull-ups but then other times I undershot or overshot the hole to where I'd need a good-sized pull up to correct it... our yard is very small, though, so if it's bad enough I have to start all over again. I suppose there's no better way to learn, though! Suffer in the beginning and benefit in the end.