Still having problems with backing

If you're not on a tight delivery or pickup schedule, try pulling into a truck stop mid-day when most of them are pretty empty and practice backing in between the lines on a spot without the pressure of other trucks around. That's what I did when I started and where I honed my backing skills. Most new drivers get frustrated because they feel like they have an audience watching their every move. An empty lot eliminates that pressure.

 

Hopefully you dont park this badly.

 

Stop picking spots with 400 yards directly in front of the spot. First, by doing so you learn nothing. You postpone the day when you can back a trailer. Every excuse you use to keep doing that just makes you look/sound like a steering wheel holder. Second, unless the only time you ever arrive at a truck stop is when you are stopping to park at the end of your day, you have time to practice the 45 or 90 back, you are just choosing to not practice this. A whole pile of excuse will never grow into professional competency.

The VERY few rookies that do park in spots are almost always pulling a quarter mile in front of their spot which has them backing blindly across aisles where traffic is driving and the rookies approach this aisle from out of the blue if you are a driver using the aisle for its intended purpose.

Every day practice a 45 or 90 degree back. EVERY day. Not just on the days when you have nothing else to do.

 

Then drive around the lot and come back to the spot with a perfect setup. The setup is the most important part of backing. In trucking, whenever you feel the pressure to hurry up, DON'T. Take a breath and slow down. You are not helping anyone if you hurry up and crash into someone. You will block everything for even longer than if you slowed down and took your time.

Have a very clear picture in your mind what setup you want. Have a clear picture in your mind when to start cutting the tractor and have a clear idea of how to correct the problem of the trailer being too far on driver-side or too far on the passenger-side. It's more important you are consistent, even consistently wrong, than you try technique A, then technique B, then C, and so on. Once you are consistent, even consistently wrong in the same way, you know exactly what needs to be corrected. Then you correct that. IMO, most rookies don't have a clear picture in mind, and they just make random steering inputs and they always favor pulling straight ahead which is the surrender move.

 

I think you are doing fine, no accidents. You're only a week in and backing is what truck driving is all about in my opinion. Learn from each backing experience, make sure you're using the same points as guides(turn when my drives are where I want to back) that way you will be able to adjust your setup.

I have gotten good advice from several exceptional drivers and one of my favorites was to use all available space. If there is space, I use it even if I know I could make the maneuver using less.

If you're backing up next to my truck and get out 50 times to make sure you don't hit me I will be impressed. There is a driver who takes the safety of his equipment and other's people property very seriously.

Don't let someone else "drive your truck". You do what you need to do in order to get the job done right with no accidents. I promise we will get over the fact it took you a little longer to get backed in. No one will die.

Oh and buy a cheap handheld cb, that way if anyone is nice enough to help you out they can talk to you as your backing.

 

Boy it takes guts to admit that in public. Good on ya for that.

You can aim a rifle, right? Look in your mirror, down the side of the trailer.. Theres your scope. Drive FORWARD until its aimed at your target.. The cone, pole, line, pump, bumper etc. Now ease back and stare at that target thru your crosshairs. Steer to stay on target. If your trailer side gets off target, dont keep going. Stop! Pull up and get back on target sooner than later. Small fix if ypu do it soon. Big fix if u delay.


Try not to loose both sides of the trailer in your mirrors. Then youve got to extrapolate position in your brain and it goes by experience knowing your size. For now stay in atleast one mirror as long as you can. Try to setup so that you go direct from passenger mirror to driver or vice versa quickly with a short travel distance. If you havent seen the mirrors in a while, stop.. GOAL, and dont get all dyslexic.

Put your hand on bottom ofthe wheel. If that hand moves toward passenger door, so will your tail lights.

Grab a hand truck at harbor freight. Hold it behind you and walk around. Now youre a semi truck. Back around the aisles.