Sizing up turns.

Everything from tandam settings, turn radius and wheel base of tractor, hell even road conditions can change your swing. One word, time. Seat time is the only thing that will change your turns.

 

Mirrors, mirrors, mirrors

 

Keep the turns wide. Once you start shaving your turns is when you'll start bumping curbs and clipping poles. But like streetbeater said, it really depends on your rig, tandem position, and whether it is a tandem axle or a split tandem.

But a general rule of thumb, for right turns, stay straight until the trailer tandems meet where the curb/shoulder begins to curve. That's what they taught me back when I learned to drive a truck 19, almost 20 yrs ago.

 

It won't be long,...and you will be able to tell easily how wide you have to Swing to make a turn.

 

keep swinging wide..


take as much room and time as you need to make the turn without bending up equiptment (or anything else)..

 

Like everyone else said. Don't worry about tightening up your turns, they'll tighten up on their own as you gain time in seat.

One day you'll look out the mirror and realize the trailer is hugging the turn perfectly with no apparent effort on your part.

That said, I always take turns too wide if I can't see what the trailer is doing due to darkness, etc.

 

No matter what you do, always, always ALWAYS use ALL the space available to you. Every time. You've seen the crumpled guard rails on the inside of exit ramp curves? That's from drivers shaving their turns. Don't be that guy.

 

You can't turn "too wide". You can turn "too short". I'd be willing to bet turning incidents almost always occur where the driver had oodles of room and didn't use it.

Learn to drive the trailer. By that I mean steer the tractor to put the trailer tandems exactly where you want. It takes "practice".

You can use "laned" two L lane turns to evaluate. Try to make the trailer track exactly in the middle of the lane all the way around.

 

boy you got that right !!!


we already have enough of those guys...