Parallel parking?

I did my parallel parking today and this is how I did it, but note I worked on it for two weeks every morning and I nailed it perfectly without doing a pull up.

Here in Texas you do a pull up, then a straightline back then pull forward again and then parallel park into the next 'lane'.

For the parallel after I pulled forward I turned my wheel left two times, then backed for a three second count. Then turned my wheel right four times to straighten up. Pull straight back till my tandems (45ft trailer) hit the 'line' then turned right two turns.

As I pulled into the box, I turned left till I was straight. The only thing you have to watch for is ensure your tractor drive axels do not cross the outer box.

I did it at normal idle, no accelleration and it worked out perfectly.

 

Hey all,
Im taking my CDL B road test next week in a school bus. In practice I am having problems with parallel parking. If you could, please tell me some tips on parallel parking a school bus.

Thank you for you time

 

the main hing is NO THROTTLE.I took mine in Texas and it was from one lane to another. no throttle turn the wheel until the tandems cross the line then slowly bring it around remember steering wheel goes one way trailer goes the other out of 4 guys in the truck I passed and got a 93 took 4 points because the clutch was going away and chattered on takeoff. even tester laughed about the crappy truck but she gave me the points and explained when you drive your responsible for the truck and I had the points to spare. also breath they really are there to help as well as test.

 

Watch the swing of the overhang, use the crossing mirrors, As to the throttle control issue, I put one foot on the brake, and one on the throttle.

I used the same brake/throttle technique while in the school yard- you never know when you'll need to put the brake on the floor because a kid didn't look before crossing.

 

Wow....I do it quite frequently.

...as a company driver...




...and even now as an O/O...






Both of these were at the END of my shift, after dark, pulling into a motel for the night. At least on the DMV test, you are well rested and in full daylight. You have to be able to SAFELY park your truck at the end of your shift. Sometimes it's easy, sometimes it ain't.

Visualize the trailer going where you want it to go and remember...you aren't driving a truck pulling a trailer. You are driving the trailer...the truck is merely the steering mechanism.

 

Does anyone know what Oklahoma requires on their test?

 

I bet they are happy with ya'll. Taking up paying customers parking like that. 1 room one driver lose 8 rooms for parking.

 

I am a paying customer. I'll park my rig wherever it'll fit.:smt023

 

Parallel parking a Semi Truck is needed more than ever in Todays world given the fact that many Truck stops and roadside rest areas are becoming increasingly crowded and filled up after the evening hours begin. Sometimes the only parking spaces in these places are parallel parking spots along the ramps and the edges of the facility Itself or by making a new row of parking places outside of the lines of parked Trucks.

SETUP is everything when doing parallel parking with a Tractor Trailer. Before You can successfully parallel park a Tractor Trailer into a Parallel parking place You need to have Your rig as perfectly parallel to the parking box as is possible. You can then work with a formula for parallel parking without having to improvise by "making an angle".

The first thing that You need to do in order to Parallel park Your rig is to use both of the mirrors as a reference point while backing the rig, but If You are blindside parallel parking, use mainly the Left flat mirror because It will be Your most accurate POV, point of view. The Right mirror will be inaccurate for the most part for Parallel parking or Alley docking but It will give You a more accurate estimate about how far You are from the back of the parking box.

Secondly, use idle power and the Low setting on the Reverse and do not use throttle while attempting to do Parallel parking or Alley docking. You may ride the clutch for more control of the rig and keep the brake covered for even better control, but do not ride the brakes while performing this maneuver or You will possibly lose air pressure in the system and the spring brakes will activate until You can build up the air pressure again.

It is advisable to not make "rolling turns" with this maneuver until You have practiced doing the technique. It would be better to start this program of backing up and steering sequences in steps while You are learning to read the parking enviornment.

Tractor Trailers have some delay action at the tandems on the back of the trailer which means that You can run a risk of over steering the Trailer if You are specifically using the rear axles as Your aiming point while You are steering.

It is much easier to use the Landing feet connector rod under the front of the trailer (between the sand foot and the center of the trailer) in order to control the angle of the trailer more quickly as You steer. You only need to use about half of a complete turn of the steering wheel in order to make adjustments to position the trailer.

You can also use the document box or the middle of the headboard on the trailer to get an idea of how far the trailer needs to be angled in order to get Your steps in Your 1st set up.

In order to Blindside parallel park You need to be far enough away from Your parking box, about 6 to 10 ft.

When You are parallel and the sufficient distance away from Your parking box, turn the steering wheel hard all of the way over to the Left to the stops. Slowly, back up until You see Your point of reference on the front of Your trailer. Stop at this point.

Turn the Steering wheel all the way over to the Left and straighten out the Tractor with the Trailer so that they are lined up evenly. This is what is called getting behind the Trailer. You should have the tandems aimed at the back of the parking box at this point, but well outside of the box. Stop for the Third step.

Straight line back the Trailer to the parking box, using Your Left hand mirror for Your point of view. Stop here.

Turn You wheel hard over to the Right and back up slowly. The Trailer will angle towards a jacknife and the wheels of the Trailer will start to roll parallel into the box. Your trailer wheels are now are in the box parallel to the side of the box. Stop here for the 4th step.

Turn the steering wheel to the Left hard all of the way and start reversing slowly in order to push the trailer into the parking box. The tandems should remain parallel to the side of Your parking box. You should start using both side flat mirrors on the Tractor at this point in time.

The final step to Parallel parking the Tractor Trailer is to make the necessary final steering adjustments in order to finish aligning the Trailer in the box. It may need a little bit more Right or Left steering wheel inputs but never anything more than half the turn of the steering wheel.

You may need to do an effective "pull up" or go forward for at least 10 to 15 ft. in order to align the Tractor with the Trailer in the parking box and then reverse slowly, pulling the Tractor evenly with the Trailer into the parking box.

 

the only parallel parking i have had to do was in a pickle park late at night.