Taking CDL and pretty nervous about backing

Same here, I have no experience with big rigs and very little exp with using the clutch but you gotta start somewhere. You can do it.

 

For us it was always better to use a pull up than encroach (cross the yellow line or hit a cone). Just pretend those cones are the testers mercedes lol. It was 3 points for encroach, you got 4 free pull ups and after that they were 1 point each.

The technique we used for alley dock was....

With the wheels straight turn the steering wheel one full turn to the left. Back up and watch your passenger side tandems. Stop when they split the crossmember of the landing gear in half (or you can measure 17" on the headerboard of the trailer, approx. the distance from elbow to fingertips, when that spot comes into view in the driver side mirror stop).

Now cut your wheel hard right (to the stop) and back up until your tandems and trailer are straight. Now you want to back up if needed until the first cone on the drivers side splits the driver side taillights on the trailer. You can use a get out here or if you are confident you can eyeball it from the truck.

Now hard right again and back up until you split the landing gear with the driver side drive tandems.

Stop and hard left. Back up and when your tractor and trailer are straight you should be right in the pipe between the cones.

This technique works pretty much the same with parallel park with some small differences in landmarks.

 

I finished school last week and watched a guy pass his backing test that i thought had 0 chance. This is a guy that the day before the test was doing alley dock and was alley docking the wrong direction. he didn't realize it until he could see where he was supposed to be going through his windshield! Yet he passed, so, just think, if that guy passed we can all pass.

Gravdigr: At the school i went to they told us to do one right( driver side dock) then one left and just watch the trailer and one right if looks like we're going too far and one left if it looks like we're turning in too early.... You're way sounds easier because it's closer to the offset and parallel.

 

I found being nervous was a big killer,backing is easy compared to getting your mind right..

 

Congrats iamgill. The advice I was going to give is just take a deep breath and be confident that you can do it. If you believe strongly enough that you can ain't nothing going to prove you wrong.

 

Maybe the road instructor was being super strict since he/she was being evaluated as well (did I understand that correct).

Your mostly done and have done it once already. Next time should be a breeze.

Mikeeee

 

good luck, im taking my cdl skill test in 7 days, i spent Saturday practicing some backing to get used to backing that particular truck/trailer combination. and almost all day sunday on my pre-trip, im really hoping i pass first try, the dmv here is so backed up it could be 3-6 weeks before i can get another appointment.

back when i was 16 i had a neer accident when taking my car drivers test that would have been 100% the other drivers fault and the instructor gave me praise on my avoidance, but i can see not knowing a vehicle is in your blind spot could get a fail, if you can try to get a appointment for a low traffic time of day. good luck too you report back on your test results when you re-take the test

my biggest concern on my skill test is my shifting, iv been practicing in a 13 speed now all of a sudden im going to be taking my test in a different truck witch has a 10 speed. i got very little on the road time with the 10 speed this last weekend, basicly i was just givin the key to the truck and a lot on privet property and left on my own to practice whatever i wanted, the guy went for a little ride around town with me up and down threw the gears for about a half hour to show me the new shifting pattern. the lot i was allowed to practice in wasn't big enough to get past 4th gear and my double clutching isn't nearly as good as floating gears i have been told that they have let some people float gears at that testing office and others had to double clutch. im really hoping they let me float. i hope you pass if you come back and say you nailed the test it will put a smile on my face.

 

In school we spent half a day every day of the last week doing pre-trip recitals.

It is important to know, to keep your truck safe. But on test day... the examiner asked us about 4 questions. That was it!

One was looking between the cab and trailer, "Do you see three hoses?"

and I was thinkning, no I see two and a cable! But I answered yes and we moved on.

He said, "Can they be crossed?" Of course literal me is thinking "yes, it is possible. You wont have brakes, but its possible."

I answered "no" and we moved on.

We were also taught the phrase, "not cracked, bent or broken" He did not accept that. We had to say, "Not damaged"

It was all about giving that answer that he wanted.

Mikeeee

 

Armstrong steering and combinations. No wonder my shoulders hurt.