Backing tips please.....

I remember this one kid in school nailing the 3 point dock in 1 try every time. I asked him how he did it and he said he was just keeping his tires on the marks left by other drivers. lol. With that kind of wit I hope he's doing more than driving trucks today.

 

Backing is an aquired skill---but imho--the most important thing is to relax--I always liken it to a kid gettin their first drivers license---seems like everyone was scared of parallel pkg on the drivers test--but most managed to get thru it--just relax--practice--and don't overthink it

 

And to me, backing is yet another reason why I still prefer a manual transmission to an automatic. The few times I had an automatic, seems like it was going backwards faster, and I had to apply the brakes more firmly. Now of course, when I back up, no foot is on the fuel, and the splitter button was in low range, so that ends that.

 

Good tips here, JP. I think setup is something you need to practice. Don't ask us how, just use your tandems, the headboard on the trailer, count seconds idling in 2nd gear (any gear you like as long as it's slow) but try to get a consistent setup. Some yards you'll jackknife a lot, some you'll have room for a straight shot. Above all, take your time. "If you don't have time to do it right the first time, where are you going to find time to do it over again?" Sound familiar? I hope so.

 

The whole idea of backing is to get yourself into a straight backing in position. There really isn't much more to it. You might have to make a few pull ups to get things to fit your eye. Take your time and don't panic just because you have a hard time at first.

I might be the crappiest backer on this entire forum, but I took my time and never hit anything.

 

Well, today I had to back 1.5 miles from the road to the portable ramp, on a mix of rocks and dirt, around several trees.........why, because there was no way in hell I could turn around once I got back there to get back out.

 

Some days I can put my rig onto a postage stamp with room to spare. Other days I'm stuck out there looking like a complete tool for 10-15 minutes. The biggest thing to remember is stay calm, breathe deep, and don't panic. As long as you eventually make it into the spot you were aiming for and didn't hit anything, you were successful.

 

Every truck is different so wouldn't you think that backing would be different too? It just takes practice and more practice to get it down. You can get the basics that will get you by with any truck and then you just build from there. We all make mistakes and I'll give you a very harsh example here just to show you we are learning every time and there are times when we become complacent on the job and have to be aware of this too.

I knew this driver and son team that was running for some time (LTL). The father had over 30 years safe driving and the son had a few years too. The came up to a warehouse to unload and the son got out to help his dad back the trailer into the dock. The son had the trailer door up and was leaning out the trailer giving the sign of come on you got this to go. As he got closer with the trailer the son was looking down to make sure he was clear. He had already checked the other side because they both were competent drivers always making sure not to hit or damage anything. The trailer getting close so the son gave the signal there was about one foot left so the father let the trailer coast back into the dock at a slow rate. When he got out he saw what had happened his world changed. The trailer had crushed his sons head between the trailer frame and the building. I saw him awhile back and he was a changed man. Very subdued and just waiting for his time to retire. We could say much to him and just wished him a good day. The whole point is you've got to pay attention because the worse can happen. You try to avoid all the bad and do the best you can do. Some of these hot-rodding drivers have yet to realize that. Good luck.

 

Best piece of advise I ever got and this applies to everything you do with a truck not just backing.

"You drive a big truck now, you are not in a hurry to do anything, they got to wait for you take your time."

 

I left a long winded dissertation on backing on this thread http://www.thetruckersreport.com/truckingindustryforum/threads/tips-for-backing.290658/.