Backed in but truck not straight

Setting your mirrors exactly parallel with the trailer is crucial to being able to back straight. Anytime I start having problems it's usually because one or both of the mirrors are slightly out of wack.

Another issue that is common is that one or both of the lines painted to guide you are crooked or not exactly perpendicular to the dock.

 

But will the dock plate protect his mirror when the guy next to him backs in or pulls out?

 

Yes it does that too.

 

Silly cat...

 

You are correct to be worried. Make a habit of getting into a spot with your truck and trailer in a straight line. Make sure your steer tires are straight as well. You want nothing sticking out that can get hit.

The only time I park with my steer tires not straight is if I plan to open the hood and either inspect or repair areas that need the tires turned hard to the left or the right.

 

Backing at night sucks big time, especially when it's raining and the water on your mirrors make it impossible to see anything. Some places are poorly lit, others have no lines, I've seen lines painted crooked to the dock too. Just do the best you can and don't worry about what others think. If you make it in the slot without hitting anything other than the dock, you were successful.

 

Your best guide to being straight when parked in a dock door is the view out of your passenger-side mirror. The edge of the trailer should be parallel to the line on the ground. When you are absolutely straight in the dock door, and you look down the trailer length in your driver-side mirror you will appear to be angled toward the ride side (passenger side) in THAT mirror.

So if you parked exactly right you will see:
Driver-side mirror: you look to be angled toward the right.
Passenger-side mirror: your trailer rail will be parallel to the line on your passenger side.

When the dock door has no painted lines or they are worn away, I will lay my gloves on the ground in a straight line where the line on the driver-side would have been.

 

Today I spent 1:45 either backing or talking about backing. Do that 3 times a week, 30 weeks a year, for 7 years and you get pretty good at Backing Theory 207.

 

Backing sucks. I hate it.

 

I rely on the holy dock plate to fix many flaws and sins in backing.

I think in my life time I only had one person make a stinky scene about the trailer not being square. Of all places Ford Buffalo Assembly NY. I was about a inch off on one corner. Foreman stood on it and say, this is BS driver, get it square. Dockplate is like a freaking foot reach....

Now allowing the fact that this overunionized puffball has been riding the clock so long he needs to make noise over one stupid inch, I slammed the trailer back in there perfect square.the BOOM caused half the factory floor to stand back.

Blessed silence.

Cost me a box of door bolts and a little time. But it's worth it. And I'll tell you why.

There was a 440 volt stack of mains next to the trailer about 4 inches from the side of the dock from the platform floor to the ceiling inside the docking bay. 3 high. Total of a thousand volts and god only knows how much nuking plant power flowing through them.

That foreman can have his precious inch. A few more over this way would have gotten him nuked and a proper truck fire to boot.