Backing for the test

Ive been working on 90's lately and so far the best I have done was 1 pull up (usually takes 2 pull ups), however that was with a 45' dry van. 90's are very difficult and even my instructor can't do one without a pull up.

 

Because in "real life", pulling up a half a dozen times and/or G.O.A.L would be kinda dangerous if you have to do it in a street, hence the term "alley-dock". You're welcome.

 

I think there are lots of reasons why they wantyou to learn how to do it.

The big one for me is that Im going to be delivering to auto parts stores and car dealerships...so backing is going to be very important for me to learn.

 

That other cone is 70 feet from either the left most front edge of the lane or the right most, I'm not sure. Here is what passed the test for me.

When you begin your left turn see to it that the front edge of the front tire of the rear tandem is about three feet past the second cone from the end of the lane. Turn your wheel 360 degree and hold it ( if your tandems are moved foward, then start the turn when the spot on the trailer where that front tire on the rear tandem would be if it had not been moved up)

That should put you with that other cone approximately on your right side of your front bumper. Now turn on your 4-ways and holding the wheel in the same place, simply back up. Stop when the rear of your trailer is far enough so you can determine if your too wide or too tight. You can take as many stops as you need, but you only get one pull-up, the second one will cost you 6 points, at least in Wisconsin.

Now if after your stop, you realize your too tight, you want to turn the wheel to the left. That's gonna widen you up. Just before your trailer is aimed down the lane straight, crank it Hard Left to get under it. Back in as usual.
If your too wide, then straighten out your wheels (this only works of you still have an angle on the tractor from the turn. And just the same, when the trailer is almost straight, crank it hard left to get back under it.

I hope this helps.

PS remember due to the length of these vehicles, it takes any correction on the steering wheel about 10 feet of travel to effect the trailer.

 

After trying for a week, I finally nailed the 90 alley dock 2 times in a row without a pull-up but man that is hard to do. The key I found was to pull up far enough before backing. I was constantly taking 1 or 2 pull-ups to get it in straight, till my instructor told me to pull up farther (about a tractor length more than I was) and presto I backed it in twice in a row without a pull-up. Give yourself extra room to start floating into position and see if that helps.