Newly Licensed but can't back to save my life

My first year driving was with werner, (add joke here). They have lots filled with their own trailers and, since they're a 'training' company, I would practice backing in their yards. Straight, 45, 90...I did them all. I'd back slow enough that if I hit something I didn't damage it too badly. Any damage that was incurred...well, they ARE a training company and I figured they'd rather me damage their trailers than another company's.....

As everyone else has stated, backing takes practice. If you're allowed to practice in the company yard, practice backing between trailers. Alley docks are normally 90° backs, so really practice those. Sooner or later, you'll get the hang of it. Also, try positioning your mirrors differently. I've found that a slight adjustment to them can make a huge difference.

 

It's all in the setup. A bad setup will cause the need for extra maneuvering to get into the hole.

When I started out I watched a ton of videos and spent time watching other drivers back at the truck stops, learning from those that were good, and those that sucked.

Of all the videos I saw, the one here helped me the most. Pay attention to how he positions it for setup, keeping in mind that all setups are not the same, but with adjustments it's a good basis to be familiar with.

 

Practice, get someone to allow you to practice with their truck with cones, pay them if you have to. This is very important to get right, as you are a fresh driver learning the basic skills.

Why would you pay?

Because of this reason alone.

I had one of my trucks the other day get destroyed by someone with a new CDL and no backing experience - Zip - Zero - NOT A SECOND.

He got out once to see what he had to do, but then did everything wrong. he hit the truck three times to get the trailer lined up to park. He admitted to he felt something, he thought it was a curb and the last time he got a little running start to "get over the curb" which did most of the damage to the truck. It was hard enough to push my truck into the truck parked next to it, but didn't do any damage.

He said he never had to do any backing other than straight line backing for his road test.

His "trainer" went into the truck stop to get a sodi water and cheese burger telling the driver to park it. The trainer told my driver it wasn't his problem the guy backed into the truck (my driver almost got physical with).

From the shop report, not only did he rip the hood apart, but flattened the tire, damaged the steering linkage, and when the guy hit the truck the last time, he bent the front support radiator back, destroying the condenser and pushing the radiator into the fan. The initial cost for the repairs are sitting at $21,000 ad the insurance adjuster is going out there today to look at it.

 

Alley docs can be a pain. Wait until you are forced to do a blindside one.

I will only add that if you are truly questioning glasses. Yes, get your eyes checked. I had to start wearing glasses jus this year. Didn't realize how much I was faking it until I made it until I forced myself to get my eyes checked. Am I a pro at alley docks. Not by anymeans, as a dedicated route there is only 2 locations where I need to. But glasses helped more than I want to admit. The depth perception got a lot better and I wasn't have to rely solely on set up timing.

 

I will respectfully disagree with this. You can go "so far" past where you have to be and yes you have more space to correct things but your also in a situation where you are driving past your objective and setting yourself up to "have to" make more corrections. Either way, OP you will get the hang of it, it just takes time.

 

It works for me. We all do it differently. But you are right on what you said. I correct a lot, but it works for me.

 

Look up a Youtube channel called Advanced Truck Backing. He has some pretty good videos to help understand the concepts. Getting a good setup definitely makes a big difference in how easy it is, but not every situation lets you get the perfect setup you're taught in training. As you gain experience, you start to get better at knowing how to make a less than ideal setup work, or at least how to fix it.

 

The majority of my driving career up until last June was livestock and flatbed. I had experience backing in weird and/or tight areas but when I started pulling a van and going to warehouses and such I couldn’t set myself up correctly to save my life. This is the video I watched that helped me more than anything.

 

Watch YouTube videos. Find one that YOU understand. Has to have good angles and top views work good too. The key to backing is learning the steps. I’m new too but I realized that these schools don’t really teach us properly.

They should explain it like a math class. Teach the formula. Tell me hard right, hard left, straight back, hard left, hard right. Once I know the steps, now I can apply it in the real world. So find a video that shows you the steps clearly. That made a big difference for me when it came to maneuvers.

 

A new driver was having a lot of trouble at a truck stop backing up. After a while the radio started blowing up with guys joking and laughing at him. An old timer came on the radio and said, “I’ve been sitting here several hours watching and some of the rest of you didn’t do so good either.” It got really quiet after that.

 

I never look at the tail of the trailer when backing. It really is pointless. You’re not going to hit anything with the tail of the trailer unless the docks are 6” apart from each other or something ridiculous.

Focus on your tandems. Not the tail. Focus on pivoting the tandems around. If there white or yellow lines are short, drop a glove 10 feet farther out or so from where the painted line would extend out to and pivot around the glove.