45 degree alley backing help please

Thanks a bunch!!! I was told by my trainer several days ago I was being way to hard on myself, and I should have no problem at upgrade testing. The other night in Ohio he told me I did good, then as we was sliding the tandems forward I forgot he had slid the trolley lever down to check the brakes and slid the tandems as I tried to pull forward off the dock. After the trainer walked back to the cab and told me that we release the trolley bar when moving forward, I felt like a 2 year old and called myself every name in the book as I drove south toward Kentucky. This job will be the best highest paying job I have ever had in my 52 years, and when I think of all the ways that I could screw it up it makes me stay awake at night. USA Truck has a lot of money invested in me to this point. I want to make them a good hand and make their investment in me pay off, as both the company and I make money. I am the son of a truck driver, my father drove many years and finally had to do a medical retirement from W.R Grace in the early 90s. I have been around trucking most of my life, and it really embarrasses me that I am having this kind of trouble.

 

You are merely doing the standard "rookie" thing...over thinking the obvious...stop thinking so much and just do the work!

As I used to....aw heck I still do...say, "Are you being paid to think or drive?"

 

Ok guys I'm sitting here studing my pretrip I've got it down just wish me luck on that dang 45 back I hope I pass it I've worked to hard not too. Ill let you know how it goes

 

Stay calm, think about it, see yourself as completing the job. You will do fine.

 

Thanks for posting this... I was taught this way of 'visualizing' WAY back on the farm 30+ years ago by my Grandpa... When the instructors on the range were teaching the "top of wheel" I completely ignored them and went back to my roots. I never got caught by any of them, and it made things so much easier for me to get the hang of it.


Another thing that helps some, is to armchair drive it. Sit in your favorite chair and practice. You can talk it through, or just run through it in your head, as you actually act out the turns. Also, critiquing other drivers performances on the range (to yourself at least, might not want to come across the wrong way with some drivers), you can learn a ton from other drivers.

 

I passed my pretrip coupling and writen test today still have the 45 and I'm so nervice about it I've got to pass.

 

Wow! I passed!!! Everything I'm going Monday to get my real CDL! Yah! Thanks to everybody you have no idea how much it help

 

Woo Hoo Cloud Rider!! Congratulations!!

 

Fantastic, I know how I felt after passing both my C1 and Indiana state tests to get mine last month. I just returned from a trip to California. I have close to 130 of the 175 line 3 hours I need to be able to do my USA Truck tests. I still am having some problems with the 45, but now understand they will help me with it at Van Buren before I test.

 

I also passed my backing tests to. In my case USA Truck has changed their testing a bit. Before you HAD to setup and do the alley dock to upgrade. Now all you have to do is backup in a space and you can do a straight line back to pass. I had to do this 2 times. I did my backing using the 45 because to me its actually a bit easier. Practice does help a lot. (as I write this I am thinking about all those 45's my trainer made me do in Michigan the last 2 weeks I was with him)