BackingHelp

Slow and GOAL ...

 

since your new to your truck. park the trailer in a spot. disconnect from it and pull out. practice a couple times lining up your cab to your trailer.

every truck is different when you look out the side mirrors. practice getting your cab to line up with king pin. don't push under. pull forward go around lot. do it again.

once you understand how your cab reacted to your practice up to trailer.

you will have a better understanding of the different trailers you will pull by how your cab steers and what blind spots it has.

backing a trailer is dependent on how you know your cab.

 

your feelings are very normal.

When backing always go slow, take your time, pull up and GOAL as many times as you need to.

Don't worry about other truckers watching or laughing at you, ignore them.

 

Take your time and get out often and check when you cannot see. Also remember of the position of your tandems the trailer will turn differently. Driving by brail is not a good thing in our profession. I just stopped by my terminal today and I saw the brand new trailer I dropped on Sunday got hit this morning. One trip to Alaska and now the $80,000 reefer trailer has about $10,000 worth of damage to the side.
When you have time and room practice your backing skills. If need be turn off the CB when other guys have a chuckle at your expense. You will have days your are a backing pro and the next day you feel like you have never been in a truck before. Happens to all of us and try to stay calm when things are not going well and remember it is not a race always slow and steady.

 

I have no idea what this means. What does hooking and unhooking from a trailer have to do with backing?

 

You've obviously never watched some drivers try to hook up to a trailer...
they get in a rush and high hook, get the kingpin way off center and or slam into the trailer.
Not just back into so it catches, but slam hard enuf to slide the trailer wheels.
Guess some people dont need to watch what they're doing...
Baby steps..Different cabs steer differently, he's saying get used to cab, then practice with trailer.

 

I'm assuming you're parking on the non-blind, driver's side. The other side introduces a whole new set of problems.

1. Look out the window for the setup. I mean roll down the window, lean out, and turn your head. Note how the trailer angel looks and where you begin your pivot to find that sweet spot. Imagine extended parking lines that reach from the parking spot to way beyond your cab. Watch the rear wheels on the trailer and where they cross those imaginary lines. This gives you a clue as to when to pivot and how much.

2. After the above setup, use your mirrors. Keep in mind the parallax error in mirrors--your tandems will appear to be disproportionately further out than the rear trailer wheels....but since you don't have troubles backing in a straight line I guess you don't need that suggestion.

3. Use several small "pull ups" to straighten the trailer with the parking spot after the initial pivot. Watch drivers at truckstops and you'll see they do this often. Don't worry about pivoting and lining the trailer up perfectly on one try. Use small S-turns to make tiny corrections and align the trailer with the spot. Tiny corrections = 1/4 turn of the wheel....maybe a little more or less depending on your rig.

4. Here's an oddball suggestion: Buy one of those cheap wireless cameras from Harbor Freight or on line and stick it on the back of your trailer with magnets. Then compare your "####pit" view with the camera to get a sense of when things are aligned right.

5. As was said before, go slowly......super-slowmo !

6. Visualize mentally that you can do this with perfection. Your mental state is often overlooked and underrated by driving instructors. Use a mantra if it helps.....like: "I'm having fun with this challenge!" or, "I'm such a stud (studess?) that I'll nail this one!"

7. Finally, send me an unmarked envelope with some cash in it. (I also take Paypal, gold, silver, diamonds, and small children.) LoL....Ok...so I laugh at my own dumb jokes! Who cares?

 

Practice! When you have some spare time and are in a place that's conducive to some practice time, try all of the great feedback listed above. Needless to say, it's not a good idea to try this at a crowded Pilot or TA in the early evening, but there are lots of places with large lots for you to practice in.

BTW, if you need help backing at night into dark docks, try putting a bright flashlight back by the dock where your driver's side trailer tandems need to go in order to line up with the dock. Then you can just aim the tires for that bright light... but just make sure you don't run over that flashlight.

 

Glad I keep this all ready to go...

Use the steering wheel to your advantage! Everybody teaches "steer the opposite direction"...bad thinking, poor instruction!

Your visual part of your brain is already doing a "reversal" with all the information coming in through the eye...it has to reverse the image to be processed. So when you try to think "opposite" you actually are stressing yourself a bit more. Here is the trick I taught all my students for 15 years:

The top of the steering wheel turns the direction you want going forward, the bottom of the steering wheel turns the direction you want to turn going backwards.

The set up is the most important part of backing into a dock or parking location. Let's learn what I call the "Banana Profile":
1. With the units in a straight configuration, drive across the front of the location until the space between the tractor and trailer is at the midpoint of your location.
2. As you cross this midpoint, turn right to a 45 degree angle away from the point. Drive straight (45 degrees from the location) until the tandems are at the midpoint of the location. (You must be watching your driver’s side mirror) As the tandems attain the midpoint turn the wheel left (again) to put a bend in the tractor/trailer until you have achieved the "Banana Profile". (The tractor/trailer has the same shape as a banana.) Now straighten up and continue until you have clearance of the driver’s side rear corner of the trailer and the location the trailer will be backing into.
3. At this point, you should be able to smoothly "track" right into the "hole". Just visualize the line and adjust the turn aspect (declining) as you enter the hole and straighten up as you go.

LET THE TRAILER DO THE WORK...ADJUST TO THE TRAILER, DON'T FORCE THE TURN MOVEMENT BY OVER STEERING. The longer the trailer, the more time it will take to show its movement. Don't get anxious, be patient, and let the trailer make some movement, then you correct the tractor to the movement of the trailer.

1. When backing, place your hand palm down on the center bottom of the steering wheel.
2. Use the bottom as your guide for the direction you want the back of the trailer to move.
3. Having your hand, palm down, gripping the wheel will prevent you (with the natural limits of movement) from over-steering. DO NOT LET GO OF THE WHEEL!
4. Grip the window post (the separation bar between the wing window and the door window) with your left hand, and again, DON'T LET GO. This "anchor" stops you from moving around in your seat...every time you move it changes the visual perspective in your mirrors...SIT STILL!
5. A tractor/trailer combination will NEVER back in a straight line...you need to "add" and "subtract" turn movement constantly. A little adjustment either way will keep the units straight and where you want to go.
6. If there is no "guide line" painted on the surface, visualize the straight line you want to line the driver’s side (sight side) of the trailer then the tractor onto.
7. When you start backing, pay attention to the tandems (trailer wheels)...these are your first and primary points of lining up the unit. As soon as the tandems have gone into the box, begin reducing the turn aspect of the tractor (bring the nose around to the "square line" with the trailer. Now change your focus to the midpoint of the trailer...just before the midpoint gets to the "line", get the tractor square with the trailer so there is no turn occurring...you have achieved the aspect of straight line backing once the tractor is square with the trailer and the midpoint of the trailer is in the box.
8. Keep in mind there are 3 "pivot points" to a tractor/trailer combination.
8a. Tandems are the rear pivot.
8b. King pin (drive wheels) is the center pivot.
8c. Steer tires are the forward pivot.
To move the tractor trailer either direction (right or left) you must accomplish an "S" configuration/movement with the tractor/trailer. Which direction you need to move the units is the direction you begin the movement. (This is for forward adjustments...if you have not centered the units in the dock.) To move it will require 3 steering movements...make sure the movement is sufficient (far enough forward in distance) to achieve the moving distance required (right or left). Just imagine you are driving on an "S" painted on the ground and follow it COMPLETELY.