Crooked dock placement

In addition to "can they get the plate in?" I also ask "can someone back ib next to me witgout hitting me?"

 

Tis true. There is one place that demands perfection Buffalo Assembly, Ford. (Buffalo NY) One inch off on one corner made the foreman tell me to get it square. Due to the excessive padding, I slammed the trailer in place and square. Cost me a few hinge bolts back there but blessed silence to unload. It was perfect square as if they welded trailer floor to dock. Now it's unfortunate the BOOM of that manuver caused the plant to stop a few moments on that floor to see who is hurt if anyone.

All my life I put all kinds of bent trailers or misbuilt docks. And that one particular outfit managed to demand what was not possible without some form of damage. (When you consider also inside that bay, there are three 440 volt mains stacked on the drivers side wall 9 inches from your padding protecting that dock... Its something I would be sure not ever to be back.

 

To the OP I carried a small square. A ruler off it's own angle. And a spray paint marker common to paving.

Sometimes a line was put down off that square to the dock, and it reacted to light that was left at that spot in the form of a lantern.

Put the tires on that, or the line of the trailer box above the tires. (IF tandems are crooked) on the left side and you should be in there pretty good with a minimum of effort.

 

Us flatbedders try to hit a dock we are lucky if we even get the frickin thing. Bein crooked ah hell its good enough

 

And you also don't know the orientation of the lines on the ground (if there are any) to the dock. I've seen several different situations:

1. No lines at all. Good luck with this.
2. One line on the driver side. This line can be lined up where if you put your tire on it you'll be perfectly lined up for the dock. Or it could be off a little bit. Ya never know.
3. Two lines that if you put your tires right between them each tire on each side will be on the line and you'll be centered perfectly.
4. Two lines that are so far apart you have to split the difference to get lined up to the dock right.
5. Lines that are not in the right place, not at a 90 to the building, etc.

You could also find a dock that's not straight like you think it is. Some of them are on an offset when you back up. I hit one so crooked one time I went to see why he wasn't loading me and I was like 30 degrees off. From inside the cab it looked good to me. Sometimes you'll back up straight and you'll line up with the expansion joints in the concrete in front of you not knowing that does not line you up for the dock necessarily.

Oh I've seen it all.

 

if you favor one side for backing, start looking more into the other mirror instead.

some docks will make you reset yourself, cuz they have weather stripping around the dock door, that keeps out the wind, rain, and snow, and if an air-conditioned dock, (i have been to many) you are letting out all that cold air.

some docks, if you take too long to back in, they tell you to make another appointment, you took too much time.

 

I've never seen that. I mean I've never taken a long time to back in but I've seen others that did and nobody I ever saw was turned away.

 

maybe you just ain't been around long enough.

as one example, i had a job at a carrier, great job.

we had an account at CVS, to pick up empty totes and bring them down to the (then) people drug store warehouse, in Fredricksburg, VA, that CVS had just bought out.

when i arrived at my pickup the gates were closed, they opened exactly at 7 AM.

there was a driver, sleeping at the gate, not blocking it however.

we all got into the gate, he was dead last, but he was inside the yard

we all went to the shipping/recieving window.

my load never had any appointments, just get there, quick load, and i'm out.

that poor sap was told to call his office, he was late....

like WTF...he was there, but the last guy in line.

anyway, he had to call his company for them to reschedule his appointment for the next day.

poor sap had to hold the phone away from his ear, the yelling was so loud.

maybe the CVS people did not like that he was sleeping at the gate? again, he was NOT blocking that gate.

i dunno.....but drivers get turned away for some of the most inane reasons.

taking a long time to back in, at some places i had been to, you got sent away.

i do believe that here on this site, newbies have told of this happening to them.

at Pass & Seymour that used to be on Long Island, once you hit that dock, DO NOT pull away to correct yourself...they "slam" down that loading dock plate, and get right to work, so you had better be near perfect, that ONE TIME..

pass & seymour moved south to concord, NC, i had been there a few times, and tell you what, they allowed you to correct yourself......lol...

 

I've been dealing with the same problem for years. I think I hit on the solution for me...

...when I adjust my rear view mirrors, I am sitting upright with good posture. But when I drive on the road I found I am have to lean a little bit to see properly out my mirrors to check my six. Then it dawned on me I was driving slouched forward. I started focusing on having good posture as I drive and now it's far easier to see what's going on behind me.

Then I applied that same posture principle to backing. These last few months my backing has improved quite a bit, because my eyes are in the correct position to see the mirror straight down the trailer.