I been out training for about a week now. I have not driven a truck in 9 years, and that was only 6 months experience. Everything has been going good, I've been hitting all my backs and been driving in LA area most of the week. Today I had to back in a tight spot in a weird area and I just was struggling. It was pretty tight between two trucks and no pull up room hardly. A guy moved a trailer just so can pull in. Man I feel so weak and pitiful. I'm not giving up but it was a reality check that I'm not as sharp as I thought and still have much to learn. I just don't want to go through this when I get out on my own.
You're going to have rookie mistakes its all part of trucking.There's no shame in asking another driver for help and advice.
You'll have rookie days ten years from now. So it took a while to get in, you didn't hit anything which is what matters.
Feeling bad over that? Pfft. You didn't destroy anything.sometimes its best a guy drop to give you space. I've needed it and have done it. No big deal
I've been doing this a few years and if someone wants to move a trailer to make my life easier backing in then heck yeah. I don't think it makes you any less of a driver.. The days of aiming for perfection to please a trainer are over, safely hitting a dock is a job well done IMO. Speed will come will experience
Everyone on here has gave you solid advice. Don't worry about that for a second. I'll have days where I can alley dock blind side stab a jacked up dock first try, next day I'll pull into the biggest DC with the most doors and be the only one there and get a door in the middle and hafta pull up 3 times. Don't worry about it at all. Like mentioned here, you didn't hit anything and did it safely, no shame in that by any means.
I think I'm getting old. I stopped caring -or even remembering- if I had trouble backing in. Lol. I say that as encouragement to the OP. I do vaguely remember worrying about the whole backing thing, but I'm not sure when I stopped caring, or even thinking, about it. What I'm trying to say is- don't worry, it gets easier. Just get thru this period without destroying stuff (as others have said) and one day you'll realize you haven't even thought about backing in years. You got this brother. Don't sweat it!!!
Some spots are just hard even for the most experienced drivers ... to the point luck and Angeles will hopefully step in and provide some additional help on top of whatever you can bring to the game. And later you'll find that some spots and scenarios work to create weird "optical illusions" [from your POV] that make it difficult, and onlookers thinking WTH?
A rookie mistake is one where you hit something an experienced driver didn't. You just had a hard time backing. No biggie. I hit the same two docks every day, and some days it takes 5 pulls ups... As for getting a trailer moved, well if they order a 53' trailer in a spot made for a box truck, a professional driver will ask them to move trucks around. A rookie (or supertrucker, same thing) will keep trying until they damage something.
