Backing help

seriously, go out to a toy store, and buy a big rig toy truck, one that (if possible) the steers turn.

set up an area that you can use maybe pencils or pens, or sticks, as the docking area.

we can explain it to you, but it is easier for you to try it with the toy truck.

i personally always tried to put my rig at about a 45 degree angle to where i needed to start my backing.

that's about all i can help you with.

 

I got good at backing by simply practicing as much as I could. I also never back unless I have to. Now I pull doubles and I can back a set up a little. I've been learning it just like a van. I can easily back a pup trailer with a dolly behind it like it ain't nothing.

Practice makes perfect...

 

Why didn't you go to another flatbed company?

 

Lawnmower and yard cart maybe? Not trying to be rude but that’s how I will teach my daughter when the time comes.

 

I can put a 53' 102" anywhere. Trying to back a U-haul trailer with my SUV is a disaster.

 

Practice is the key, watching videos can only show you WHAT you are supposed to do. DOING is what makes you better. You need to back the truck every single time you stop the truck instead of only backing the trailer when there is no other option. Look for 2 or 3 empty parking spots side by side. You are aiming for the middle of the 3 spots. If you can't find 3 spots then settle for 2 spots with painted lines. Back into that spot assuming you will be set on fire if your trailer tires TOUCH any of the painted lines. If you are stopping for food, go find a parking space and back into it before you do anything else. When you stop for fuel, get fuel and then go back into a parking space, every single time.

Here is a Schneider video that shows what I try to do each time. You are better off watching one video and doing their procedure over and oevr and over rather than watching every video and getting confused. What I learned from flying airplanes is you are MUCH better off practicing exactly the same way over and over than you are doing it the same number of times but each attempt is different than any other attempt. Better to be always wrong in the same way, AT FIRST, and then fixing that mistake you keep making. When I started, and many times even today, I often wind up too close to the truck on the driver side of the parking space I am trying to park in. I know how to fix that mistake and I have good visibility while I am backing. So I just keep using my usual procedure as it keeps me from hitting the vehicle on the blind-side. Don't be your own worst enemy. That just discourages you and freezes you at the current level of skill. Keep getting more practice. Back into a spot every time you stop the truck until you can always back into the spot you want. I still get anxious when backing 30 years later. It's a job, not a spa weekend.

 

short wheelbase vehicles are MUCH MORE DIFFICULT than a standard tractor and 53 foot trailer.

 

Ain’t that the truth. I have had 48’ trailers with a single screw day cab in all 5 boroughs of NYC. I can blind side alley dock pretty much 1st time every time.

Borrow my buddy’s little utility trailer with my crew cab long bed truck and it takes me 10 try’s to get it backed in the same spot he can whip it in with his pickup.

Sometimes he kids me by asking “Are you sure your a truck driver?”

 

No one has a magic formula.
Every person sees it a little different.
It's all about the set up.
Practice every day and watch how others do it.
It takes most people about a year to get used to the truck