90* alley dock tips?

Hi, my name is Brian and I'm a 24-year-old student from Southern California. I'm new to these boards and today was my first day driving a semi at school. I drive a straight truck for work so I'm acclimated to the size of the truck but I'm new to driving with a trailer.

For my first day they had me straight back at first and I caught on quickly with no problems. After about an hour of practicing straight backing they told me to move on and start practicing the sight side 90* alley dock. I was able to make it in almost every time with maybe 1 or 2 pull-ups at most and no get-out-and-look's, but a few times I over-steered a bit much or turned in too soon to the point where I had to do a pretty big pull-up to make corrections. The problem is that the yard is very small and only accommodates two trucks at a time (family-owned school) so on my blind side there's a fence to my side and after I complete the 90* turn I can only pull up so far as there's a fence there in front of me as well. If I had more room I'd probably be able to make it almost every time without a problem; however, I can appreciate the challenge of minimal room because I realize out in the "real world" there will be very tight situations without any other way around it.

Here's a street view of the yard (zoom in with your mouse wheel to Joy St. next to where the "A" balloon is on the map and drag your mouse around to see the actual yard). It looks somewhat spacious on the screen but it's quite a bit smaller in person and with two trucks going at once I'm limited to only one corner of the yard. Link to Google maps: https://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&...9,d.cGE&biw=1920&bih=989&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=il

I've searched around for some tips and they've definitely helped, but if there are any experienced drivers here they can share some of their tips it'd be greatly appreciated. I know to look at my rear tandems, get out and look if needed, and "drive the trailer" and let the tractor follow. I'm very happy to have begun school and look forward to it every day - I find it very fun!

 

Thank for the quick reply, beav! Now that I think of it, I definitely need to slow it down a bit. I keep trying to see how fast I can get the trailer in the hole which isn't the right thing to do. I really need to practice on when and how much I should steer when backing as well. Tomorrow evening is my second class and I'll definitely pay more attention to my speed and steering input.

Again, thank you very much!

 

Thanks, Vision. My instructor has me pull up to the same cone each time so my set up is consistent. If it were up to me - I'd rather attempt it at 45* as it seems that's what most people end up doing anyway, but it isn't Burger King and I can't always have it my way . I believe I just need to stay consistent with how much and when I begin steering and counter-steering. I'll try work on that tomorrow during class and see how that goes! Hopefully it all works out because I feel I'm making very good progress in a short amount of time.

 

Oh, and I don't mean to sound ignorant but the school and instructors only speak English as a second language so sometimes it's a bit difficult to understand what they're trying to convey. Apparently the school is geared more towards Spanish-speaking students. I should have figured since my friend's dad and uncle from Mexico recommended me to the school! lol

 

Thanks for the reply! I've been wanting to know how the points system worked! It looks like there's plenty of space for the skills test so hopefully I should be okay. Just curious, what school are you attending at the moment?