i failed the alley dock for the third time! uggggh.....

It's Pretty good you get 3 pull ups and 3 get outs, Here In North Carolina you have to use a 53' trailer, and you only get 1 pull up and no get outs, and if u hit a cone you fail, if you go more the 6 inches to far back u fail, if your more then 6 inches to far away from the "dock" you fail, and you only get 3 attempts to pass any CDL test even the permit test and if you still dont pass you have to wait a year.

Good Luck and Dont give up!

 

Here's some things that helped me pass the alley dock.

1. Always try to keep that left cone/pylon in your driver's side mirror.

2. If you are too far to the left when you need to make a pull up, pull up to the left (be sure to keep the cone in your mirror) if you are too far to the right, pull up to the right.

3. Never short change yourself on a pullup. If you take a pullup, pull up as far as you can, that way you give yourself as much room as possible to correct your trailer.

4. Take the time to stop and think about your next move. I had a terrible habit of getting to the point where I just needed to move the trailer a little bit in one direction and then straight line it in. Instead of stopping for a moment and thinking about what I needed to do, I would start trying to back the trailer up the same way I would back a car, and just get myself totally messed up. However, when I would take the time to think about what I needed to do to move the trailer, I could put it in the hole every time.


These are things that helped me, they may not work for everyone. I go for my drive test tomorrow, and I am very nervous.

 

I agree with everything you say here except #2 and I'll make it quick cuz I gotta go to work. If you are too far to the left and need to make a pull up, why pull up into your mistake? If you can pull up to try and get your trailer further to the right. If you have the room and you are too far to the left, swing your tractor hard right then back left before you get to your stopping point, and just before you stop, make sure you crank the wheel back to the right before you get stopped

 

Well I'd like to chime in with another helpful 'Well in my state...blah blah blah", but he didn't ask for that.

On page 30 of that MASS CDL manual....it shows the alley dock which is a different set up than what I thought. Its not a 45 degree dock as it looks like a combination of both a 45 and 90. In lots of states you have to do a full 90 degree back to where the entire length of the truck and trailer was between cones. For MASS, it only looks like the last ten feet of the trailer need to be between cones...the rest of the cones on the drivers side seem turned out so that you can turn the trailer in there a bit easier. if that set up is correct, the way they picture it..Id say just hug that trailer along those cones on the drivers side.

As far as trailer length.....see if you can practice first with a longer trailer, like a 48 or a 53. I drive a 48 every day and on the rare occasions I've used a 26 foot pup trailer...I had a heck of a time backing that thing. The longer the trailer, the slower it reacts to your turns.

One trick lots of people say when they talk about backing is to watch the tandems. Don't watch the back of the trailer per se, but watch the trailer wheels...watch what they are doing. The reason is that the wheels direct where the trailer is going...you can see the wheels and if they are turning how you want. If you just watch the back of the trailer...your reaction time is going to be slower.

 

Yeah, I went to Parker. Enjoyed it a lot. I took the weekend class with Scott for my class A. I think it was about 3 months long. Did OK on my first test, except I used 4 pullups on the blind side parallel park, so I had to come back and retest. Passed from there.

For the alley dock with that short trailer, the things that helped me the most on that one were:

-Go very slow. Going slower allows you more time to see and react to the trailer turning. If you are taking another private lesson, try cutting your backing speed way down from what you are doing now and you will probably find it a little bit easier.

-As your backing, try to make a mental picture in your head as to exactly where your trailer is going so you can correct early.

-With that short trailer and small space to work in, setting up the maneuver is important and makes a huge difference. 1 foot off in any direction will change the whole picture.

I took my test with the same 38' trailer and they sure do turn quick.

If your going to go for another private lesson to brush up, I would recommend that you make an appointment with Scott. He is thier best at both general instruction and correcting problems.

 

Yes. On the class that I took, we always had Scott along with a second instructor. Parker changed out the second instructor a lot. They all had different training styles, and Ed + Scott seemed to be the best. My class had 3 people in it. So with two instructors and three people, two could work on maneuvers, while 1 was practicing on the road.

I was going to do private lessons, but after thinking about it a bit, I fealt that I could learn more by doing the full class. I'm very glad that I did the classroom as some of the private students have had to spend much more money to accomplish the same thing as the classroom students. I also learned a ton more. Also the classroom students get free private lessons on the maneuvers that they fail. I think Parker calls it a "clinic".

 

When I was in shcool learning to back up and all. I found it real help full to have toy truck. I know it sounds strange, but it really did help me understand how the tractor pushed and pulled the traier. It was easier to see the angles and all.
I also had some poster board that I drew some curves, turns and had my alley dock marked out with yellow lines and cones. LOL
I did find it very useful. Also, I repeated in my head over and over "If I want the back to the trailer to go to the left tun the wheel right."
For me, it helped, and still does to actually look at my wheels to make sure they are turned how I want them to be. May sound wierd, but especially when I was in school I would think my wheels were straight and they weren't, or I thought they were turned slightly to the right only to find they were over turned.
I think too, when we are leaning, we forget that it takes time for the trailer to react, that is why a lot of beginners over steer. You have to remember to wait and hold it for a bit.
That is where the toy truck came in very handy. I would put just a little turn in the wheel and was able to see what would happen if I just held it and continued.

Also, one finale thing, If you play pool, you have a good advantage. Because it helps to visualize your lines and all.

good luck, you will get it. Just remember to go as slow as you can.

 

Here's a tip that worked for me:

Get a trailer hitch for your car and buy, rent, or build a trailer.


Then practice, practice, practice.

i was then able to pass the test on my first try.

 

You aught to try blind-siding a 53' INTO a building with a single wide overhead door off a narrow one way street in Brooklyn NY while traffic is jumping sidewalks to drive around you.