Backing up

I guess the first "heavy" steering turn would be to jackknife the trailer. Then multiple turns on the wheel to "get under" the trailer and follow into the parking spot or door. I learned to get the trailer straight to turn to the side of the trailer I see or "turn to the side you see." Don't know if there is a specific name for this though.

 

Probably because they are bad at backing. Lots of them everywhere you look. In the US, probably 30% of the truck drivers have been doing it less then 6 months and never backed so much as a uhaul trailer until a few months ago.

 

Probably "over steering" is what you are thinking of. Making huge wheel turns when only a slight one is needed to straighten out the trailer.

 

There is no insult created for this type of backer. Like steering wheel holder for example.

If you are looking to start a trend of giving those who do not back as well as you think they should a hard time. Don't

There are many different ways to get a trailer into the dock and many trailers have their own specific behavior that will require attention. For example. 20 foot triple axle container for shipping that weights 55000 pounds and turns SHARPER than the tractor (Which is actually equal to or even longer in length, turning radius etc) are really big pains to back in my book. They are also tippy.

Some are spread axle and if they are using a dump valve for the aft axle spread to come off the ground they are putting everything on that forward axle to pivot.

Once in a while in the old days we used to give driver a hard time if they wriggled all the way back into a spot that has like 5 feet on either side of the trailer. The symptom is understood when that person is just using the mirriors of the old style which may or may not have the correct angle after being beat on a little bit enough to throw someone off.

I sometimes take that steer tires and crank em all the way over and start the process what I call a tug boat, pivoting a stubborn trailer with bad tandems for a variety of reasons space permitting to force it to be in line into dock.

Backing a semi is a case by case basis. I can smoothly get into any spot backing up one time in one move without stopping or pausing or pulling up. that took me years of doing it before I got that good.

And no matter what I will hop out a go look a thousand times if I have to to be sure that everything is in order during a back up in a difficult situation.

Finally but not least. Your fatique status or how tired you are will determine your success or failure in backing up. If you have been running all week on no sleep and someone says pick a dock in a beautiful big land building etc you will not be able to do it. It has to do with the brain function at the higher levels involved in the task of backing that is not functioning when you are not well rested or too tired. Or even drugged or drunk.

Worry about your own backing. Don't be filling your stress levels or spending unnecessary problems provoking a situation when you see someone not doing very well, doing it very badly or actually about to hit something. That's when you might have to run out there yell WHOA #### YOU! They'll stop. I have a voice practiced on the baltimore docks that when used properly with a volume of air delivered just so anyone will hear me almost a mile away provided there is no wind. Even my wife tunes her voice real low when we are outside so I can hear her from 600 feet despite being deaf. It takes a ex Marine Sargeant to be able to do that.

SHE is not a good backer. She can do it but you have to serve everything to her on a silver platter so she has the least amount of problems backing that thing in. That's where I came in. HOS be darned.

Finally the english language, certain words you will hear are some of the most eloquent and profanity reduced to what I call a caveman language delivered just so to someone who obviously is not thinking or using his or her brain trying to do something. But the same english creates serious problems when used in slang for someone trying to hard with too much wheel and too little brain in docking. It might even get you beat up or worse.

For all truckers there is THE dock that is something of a nightmare. When it's over and you are out of there with a damaged truck that now needs repairs all over wiping out the profits for a month, you have to carefully explain to the angry owner who has to fix it that particular place is not for big trucks period. What do you want? A pat on the head, attaboy chief you are a a bonfide hero for getting into and out of a spot no one thinks a big trucks should go. That's not going to happen.

There has been a few of THE docks from hell in my time. Usually the result is some form of property damage that may or may not get me fired. But I can gaurantee you I will never ever worry about that place ever again in my life time. They will make sure of that.

 

I would say the people that don't turn the wheel much are people that start the back further away from the spot. Once the trailer starts heading towards the spot it will continue to turn sharper and sharper while the tractor is kept backing in a straight line. They leave more room for the trailer to do the turning.

 

I drive it forward backwards.

Leave me alone ILUVCATS...