Backing tips please

I back 4-15 times a day into a dock with a variety lengths of trailers. You have good and bad days, just get out and look. You don't need to be perfect.

 

About 10 years ago, I put a 53` in a dock, where in front of you is a wall and you would have to pull up, then back many times, before you could get it in there. Dispatch calls me up and says " Can you go get that trailer you dropped yesterday, They cant get it out". Now these are all top notch drivers, or they would not be working there. I had to laugh. Took me a little to get it in there. There is a trick to getting it out. Oh yeah, It was all blind side backing.

 

Blind siding backing is difficult sometimes. Many years of practice, will make it easier.

 

And I thought i was the only person in the whole world that had a hard time backing up in to a hole with no lines,like in MO at a Kwick trip DC,i was the only trailer in site,and took me a whole lot of times to get it in there then i still was not right. no lines + 30 doors. But i bumped a dock in MN in a yard loading mulch bags in the same 53' box bound for ND,and i hit that dock first time perfect, and the guy even complimented me on my backing skills, I gave him the ol LOL and told him i just got back out here driving after 16 years of not driving and use tp pull a 48 and this was my 2nd load on a dock,and it was all gravel and dirt.I will remember some the advise others driver said on here very good feed back. now if i could back in the dark...........

 

I actually forgot about the coke can/bottle trick. They taught us that when I started driving at USA Truck(they aren't completely useless). Either way, if you had plenty of room, you'd walk out 5 steps from the corner of whatever you're backing around. Of course those perfect backing instances don't always appear, but with nothing else around you'd be great.

 

That's when a motorized mirror comes in handy.

 

How come no one ever showed me how too back up. I remember one saying, keep trying, you`ll get it.

 

back then, no such thing as motorized mirrors. Get out and move them manually.

 

Yep, those can be the hard ones. Like everyone said, practice and a reference point.

If you're having trouble getting it square with what you're backing up to the simple answer is use both mirrors.

 

I find it easier if I don't move them at all. Moving them may save a goal but kills my perspective.