a few tricks I have learned..

I used to haul a lot into Cali. and the law is,, no longer than 40' to the center of the rearmost tandem. Since I liked to haul with tandems more to the back (as long as legal weight wise) I would wait untill at state line to move tandems, and if possible would run them as far forward as possible to be in compliance. Most times well under the 40' restriction. Of course it's all about personal preference. Another important point (and may need to go without saying) but, when leaving shipper headed to Cali. especially with a heavy load weigh load California LEGAL..I once picked a load up in PA. had to have trl reloaded three times before legal fo CA. Customer was getting a little upset. But whose ticket would it have been? I tried to offer suggestions since I hauled to CA. quite a bit. I'm just a driver what do I know. I did get paid for each time I returned as well as detention. So a word to the wise always Know your load., And remember you are in control of the load and are responsible for any and all infractions..FMCR are'nt just for drivers, but for all involved in the industry on any level.

 

not all companies use 36" king pins. they range any where from 12-18" set back on a dump box all the way to 48" which isnt very common but it is out there.

 

They wanna move to the bottom of the hill sooner is all.......

 

53 foot trailer, 40' mark is very easy surprised nobody has posted this, Go to the back of the trailer, count 2 1/2 trailer panels forward. Trailer panels are 4' 2 1/2 gives you 10' plus the 3' setback of the kingpin, and your there.

As far as backing into tight spot there are two methods I use 1 is a imaginary line (arc) using cracks and things in the lot as place marker as to where I need to be on the way back in. The other is follow the tire tracks of the trailer that just pulled out of it. I the set up take all the space you have.

There is one of the produce house's in Salinas that had a double corners blinds side back to get into one of the doors, that just sucked, and Melissa's Produce in LA really tight for a 53' to get into, you have to be within 1 or 2 inches of the fence as the tractor swings around to get under the trailer.

Stop bashing poster's if you disagree with a person fine, but don't attack them. Were here to help and learn from each other.

 

A standard set back on a 22',40',48', 53' Van type trailer 36" is. Dirt trailers, pneumatics, end dumps, bottom dump hoppers are not the normal in this forum.. The setback on my pneumatics are 18" but thats not the normal. Most of these driver are pulling van's and 36" is the normal.

 

I think that's great advice.

I worked as a jockey over the Christmas holiday last year. Really thought there was nothing I could gain from it, and never would have applied for the job, but ended up with it after a bait and switch from the company hiring me for another position (they wanted jockeys but advertised for road drivers, then didn't tell you until you were ready to start). I was very good at backing before then, or at least thought I was, but I learned more about backing in that month than I did in years of driving.

My first day I noticed a lot of spots where it was so tight and awkward that I knew it was impossible to back a trailer into without moving some of the trucks and/or trailers around it. Next day I found out it was possible, but had no idea how they did it. Day after that I saw how to do it, but couldn't do it myself until I learned how the next day. Sucked really bad at it for a little while, but with some practice I got good at it. By the end of the month, after learning some techniques that I would have never figured out myself, there was not a spot on that yard where I could not put any trailer under any circumstances.

Yes, the trucks are different and made to go where a sleeper cab won't fit, but the experience gained translates well to any truck.

 

When I worked for Rite Aid I would volunteer to do the yard work when they needed it. I learned alot form it also. Having to move and spot, setup double,docking as many as 100 trailers a day. There, or then the driver never backed in the trailers to the doors they would drop them in a spot and we would grab them with the yard gote and spot them. It was faster over all. The gote could spot 2 or 3 trailers sometimes in the time a driver would spot 1.

 

I found that if the spot was pretty tight like one of my regulars in NYC I would get out and pull the pin on the trailer tandems and lock it down and then start my move into the hole and then set the trailer brakes and slide the tandems all the way back and finish the back as I had to go around a dumpster swing up onto the curb and then into the building.

We'd pull the 4 or 5 pallets off and do the breakdown and then I pulled out. BUT in the opposite direction going back up the street as it was a dead end from where you started the backing manuever. Once I was back on the street and straight I set the trailer brakes and slide the tandems back to the front then back a few holes and then got out and locked the pin and closed the doors and then locked them in and checked that they were locked in and headed to the next drop.

Having the trailer pin pulled as you're backing into a hole and able to slide to change the turning radius of the trailer is not unsafe. I do it in tight truck stops but forgetting to lock them back can either scare the crapola out of you if they were all the way forward and slammed into the stops when you applied your brakes or if you're really unlucky and going fast enough when applying the brakes you can pull the trailer right off the tandems! That will NOT make your day!