I'm a pilot so I relate a lot of things to flying. Backing is like landing, the most important part of every trip and the skill that takes the longest to master, which won't happen in school, it won't happen for years. Just take your time, learn to visualize your tracking and GOAL, there's no shame in it, unless its to see what kind of damage you did because you didn't GOAL earlier.
I dreaded backing. I thougt I would be that one guy who would never get it. I was jealous of truckers and their skill of backing. Did it take me longer than others? Probably. But I did get it. I can put my 53ft in los angeles to docks where they never take 53 footers. I can do double blind sides (A stop we have not meant for 53 footers). My point is you will get it. Dont be afraid to go baby slow. Dont turn the wheel so much. Get out and look. Backing is actually kind of fun now.
Just relax, it comes to you eventually, and it won't be in school. No one expects you to be an expert backer out of school. When it comes to straight line backing just steer towards the problem and use slight adjustments in the wheel.
i spent a great majority of my time in truck school learning how to back it up. here's something to remember: the 27' trailer is more difficult to back than the 47 or 53 foot: it's more sensitive and requires constant adjustments. look in your driver side mirror. never lose sight of the corner of your trailer. in your driver side mirror, you will see where your corner is going. if it's going to the left, turn the wheel to the left a bit and hold for some seconds--and the trailer will begin to drift right. correct this drift immediately, turn your wheel to the right, and your trailer will begin to go left again. it's a series of minute adjustments that you make as you go along--and you must anticipate where your trailer will be , otherwise you'll end up outside of the 'cones' or in somebody's truck at the dock ... and once you figure it out, alley dock it at a 90 degree angle --it's even more frustrating than straight backing haha
I was once told by a grizzled old vet that just watched me back my trainers truck into a spot at a truck stop that I did a good job for a rookie.. And he passed on this bit of "wisdom" "We have 10 gears to go forward, and 2 to go backwards, which do you think is tougher?" Take your time, and as others have said, setup is 90% of the back. My shuttle job has me backing 8-10 times a night. Last three weeks have been mostly blindside [ugh] due to the exit door on the plant being kaput.. Take your time, breath, and don't be afraid to get out and look. We all have cases of CBFS syndrome. Some days you nail it every time, other days you couldn't hit the building, let alone the dock.
look in your driver side mirror. never lose sight of the corner of your trailer. in your driver side mirror, you will see where your corner is going. if it's going to the left, turn the wheel to the left a bit and hold for some seconds--and the trailer will begin to drift right. correct this drift immediately, turn your wheel to the right, and your trailer will begin to go left again. it's a series of minute adjustments that you make as you go along--and you must anticipate where your trailer will be , otherwise you'll end up outside of the 'cones' or in somebody's truck at the dock ... and once you figure it out, alley dock it at a 90 degree angle --it's even more frustrating than straight backing haha[/QUOTE] Right there is the advice that helped me the most when starting out backing.Watch your drivers side flat mirror and if the trailers drifting left,steer slightly to the left,emphasis on SLIGHTLY!!I always wanted to oversteer.You'll be surprised how much a little turn of the wheel moves the trailer.If you're oversteering,its almost impossible to back straight(for me anyways HAHA!)If I could learn it,you can.Good luck!!
