Blind side backing solutions

You need to get a copy of they 5 minute thing. You are required to back safety not speedily. If the company is putting pressure on you to work in an unsafe manner they are handing you a lawsuit in the future. Plan ahead for it.

The secret to all backing movements is the set up. The key to the set up is the mid distance between your steers and the rear tandems. Put that point aligned
with your parking spot and turn out to your 45 or 90. You are now set and all you have to do is back up. You turn the wheel exactly like you do only the opposite direction.

I know that doesn't seem to make much sense but once you do the maneuver enough you will understand it or you will have found a new career.

The key to doing this at a truck stop is to ask for help. And even with help, never do it anywhere close to my truck.

 

I'm amazed no one has mentioned getting a spotter. In my driving I've had to blindside many times. Many of those times I've had other drivers to walk up and start helping me. I can't tell you how many drivers I've helped both sight and blind side. Not meaning to hijack this thread but one of my biggest peeves is watching drivers make fun of greenhorn's instead of helping and mentoring these guys. Drivers learn bad habits then after a while these bad habits get passed down. I seen greenhorn's have horrible times trying to master things and see older more seasoned drivers sit in their trucks and shake their heads or laugh and make jokes about it on the CB. I guess I should have just deleted this and not hit the post button, but dang it I'm getting sick and tired of all of this kind of crap.

 

Biggest group of sissies on the planet. Will sit right there with their phones to take pics and get video to post online. And in response to your post, the fearmongers will start spreading fear.

Would you believe that in almost 30 years, I have yet to spot someone and have an incident? So why all the fear? They use the same reasoning with giving out showers.

Cry and bellyache about your lot in life, but you're too afraid to do anything to help yourself and help others. I don't believe there's anything worse than living a coward's life.

 

I found in all backing especially for a beginner finding a way to break it down into small detailed steps is the best way to do it. you dont need any more than then your plane and convex to do these well. that combined with goal and you'll be fine. just gotta practice.

 

I pivot my passenger side mirror enough to see if Im hitting anything or not. Just take your time, its not that bad!

 

Wow. My company preaches GOAL, GOAL , GOAL.

Slow, steady, safe!

Even with a spotter, GOAL!
Communicate with spotter on the ground , obstacles of concern, face to face.

No matter how much a spotter nods, they can't hear what your saying from the driver window.

Which YouTube video would you prefer?

1) a doychebag laughing at your 12 goals, and 10 pullups?

2) or your damaging your truck , another truck, or causing property damage??

 

Very true more often than not. Like these 2 fine gentlemen who stood there talking the whole time I blindsided into the last spot beyond them.....the black trailer to their left in the last door.....never once made a move to spot for me but were standing there watching and waiting for me to hit something.

Unfortunately for them I stuffed it in there with only one pull up lol



One of those spots that as others have mentioned, there was no other way. By the time you got turned around in that small space into the last door, it was almost a 90 blindside, further complicated by the other tractor in the way closing up the turn radius that much more getting turned around for the setup.



For the OP, in situations like that, just take your time, power mirrors are your friend, and get out and look as many times as you have to. If you can get the initial angle right, many times it will almost put itself in there, but it takes time to learn. In a case like this I'll always pull beyond where I normally would setup and turn that almost 90 into a 45 into the hole. The shallower the angle you have to work with the easier it is to get it in with fewer issues.

 

The idea of 5-minutes and 3 pull-ups max is something to aspire to be able to do in most situations after you get some experience. I understand when rookies are having trouble at trickier places, and I will certainly help if I can (and especially if they are in my way!). The important thing is that you make your pull-ups count and that you don't make things worse by making the wrong corrections. One mistake people often make when pulling up is to head the wrong direction. If there isn't any room to straighten the truck out, you can make it harder on yourself if you pull up in the direction you want your trailer to go. For example, if your trailer is too far to the right and you pull up to the left but can't go far enough to get it straight, your trailer will be aiming more to the right than it was to begin with. I swear it wasn't until I started working locally and backing many many times a day that I started to really get some of those concepts.

Don't be too hard on yourself. Excess pressure can lead to bad decisions and you can screw the truck up worse and worse the longer you take. And don't be afraid to re-set if need be. Sometimes you can't fix a bad setup and have to do it again to give yourself a chance to get it in the hole.

 

Don't try to reinvent the wheel, GOAL is it. 95% of the time a blind back is avoidable, no mirror will help you when you have to jack almost to the point of hitting yourself. I blindside a lot but not a big deal in a daycab. Even them most of them I could avoid if I turned myself around.

 

Here is a case in point. Its a bit extreme I know, but still shows what I mean. An obviously green driver in an agonizing spot. What does this guy do? Yes you got it, he pulls out his camera and starts filming. Then starts making fun of the guy.