loading docks - how tight can an 18wheeler back up?

Good point . I was wondering how wide the area in front of the dock was to allow the front of the trailer and tractor to make the swing . A 45 degree would require much less space in front of the dock .
O.K. , I reread . 70 feet in front . A 45 degree would still require much less in front .

 

I dont have the answers but thanks to the architect for having the thought to ask....I cant tell you the number of places ive been to where you have to back up blind side either the way the docks are set up of how the lot is set up & I think...WHAT THE HELL WAS THE GUY ON THAT DESIGNED THIS PLACE?

 

I don't drive, my husband does, I rode with him for a couple of weeks. I saw some drivers who were astounding in their ability to back and turn but not many. Most of them take a lot of room and do a lot of backing & turning repeatedly before getting into a tight spot. You might learn a lot by hanging around some truck stops and watching as they fill up and spaces become scarce. While you're thereyou can buy yourself some scaled models of trucks to practice with.

 

My biggest problem with underground loading docks were the support beams that always seemed to be right in the way. So if your dock is 60 feet long, you have a truck that is over the length of the dock after it's parked. It sound like you have engineered enough room into it, but for any seasoned driver to really give you a good handle on it, he would have to see a picture of the layout.

However, guessing as I go, I'm taking it as there is one way in and out, correct ??? Therefore if you don't provide ample room in the other direction, your truck will be forced to pull up and back out in the same manner he/she got into the dock. So, you'll need to factor in how much exit room the unit will need as well. You don't want to have to make them back out.

The truck has to pull in and get the left rear side of the trailer as close as possible to the point where it wants the trailer to line up when starting backing. From there, it has to pull up at a 45 degree angle. This is a crappy diagram, but it's all I could find in a hurry. That's the position a truck will have to be in to start it's reverse travel. Pay no attention to the foot markings, I just wanted to give you an idea of how a truck has to maneuver to get in a dock.



The only reason I used this pic is because I would like to point out that a truck can not start to do it's swing to get into that position until clearing any obstacles. So if you had a dumpster sticking out where the 20 foot line is, you have to plan your room from that point.

It sounds like the truck isn't blind side backing as I read it.

You're watching too many videos of guys stretching out to 350" wheelbase. 47 foot of tractor is a lot of ride. I'm not scared of wheelbase myself, but the PITA of having a tractor that big far outweighs the functionality of it. I wouldn't want to see this dude spend 100K extra on a dock to accommodate the Tony Acosta's of this world.

But you make a good point, on 13'6" height of a unit, make sure you have enough vertical clearance on the entry/exit to go from level ground to the incline of the ramp. I've typically seen those entries have a minimum of 16' vertical clearance.

I've been there. And it's design is outdated because trailers were 40' feet long and tractors a lot shorter when it was built. Hence, the destoyed bumpers and torn off trailer doors on a regular basis.

I'm not following the question as well as I would like. Like it's been said before, you're dealing with 102" wide trailers, with swing doors. If you are leaving 10' of width, it's basically 120", so it is possible to fit.

He'll learn to pad everything with rubber if he bases it off the clown fest that is dinnertime parking at yer local Pilot.

Don't know if I was any help or not. When I was younger I always took an interest in architecture and after many years of fighting to get into poorly planned docks, it's a breath of fresh air to see someone asking the trucking community for ideas.

 

Some places with space issues use yard dogs to dock the trailers.

 

Usually, those places are forced to do so, because they we're designed long before the invention of 53' trailers and they have a lot of docks to contend with. This is a 2 dock design the architect is trying to put together, and he is just being proactive in the planning.

It would be a lot more cost effective to design it correctly from inception instead of having to buy an Ottowa and pay someone to operate it "xx" amount of years for the duration of the buildings function.

Welcome to TTR, BTW. I see you are kind of new here, hopefully we'll see your husband soon as well. I use to deliver supplies to the Papa Johns in Winder. Nice area up there.

 

I hope it's not bad form to piggy-back on an old thread, but I'm also trying to lay out truck maneuvering space at a new dock.

It's for a new building on an existing site and will require a sharp turn prior to backing into the dock (~150° to the driver's side). The design vehicle is a 20' tractor with a 53' trailer, and it's only a single-truck dock. We'll add a new approach to the existing road and a concrete apron for maneuvering in front of the dock.

I sketched it up to illustrate, and laid in AASHTO's 180° turn template for a WB-65 truck (65' wheelbase). That template showed me that it can make the turn, but what I don't know is how much space in front of the dock the truck will need to straighten up and back in. Ignore the fact that in the template the truck starts the turn off road. I didn't have a 150° turn template. I think if you click this image it will show up bigger.

Please let me know what you think. I can't imaging a truck would have to fully straighten out before backing in, so it probably wouldn't need all the space I have shown, but I don't want to cut it too short. And I think the exiting maneuver ought to be easy as pie. Thanks!

 

As long as it's only a single dock what you posted shouldn't be a problem.
The arrows make it a little confusing as to this being a one-way roadway.

I suppose worst case I'd come all the way in, turn around and make a proper sight-side backing, rather than trying to aim the trailer with the blind side.

 

Depends how much space you have. Example if I had a sharp turn. That's why we are train to do all of this. Something the turn is so ####ty, like it will male you crash. Stupid ####### people!! Who works on road and others.