Backing Up On the Job

While in cdl school and training at a company there will always be someone outside the truck ( or should be) They will most likely stand near the right front of the truck, not so much to give you signels but just watch you back into something and laugh! J/K The will yell if you are going to hit whatevers back/over there. The trick is to back up as straight as possible and make small corrections as you go while useing both of your mirrors.
I'll give you a big tip now and you'll be ahead of your class (for about 2 seconds)
GOAL = GET OUT AND LOOK!!!! As simple as it is some don't do it and end up paying the price.

 

Keep in mind the kingpin will pivot so basically when ur backing , right is left, and turning left will make ur trailer go right. sounds simple but ive seen alot of students forget this at first.

 

shoot, I still have my days where I have problems backing.lol just didn't have my mind in the right place.

just take it slow and like he said, get out and look, as often as you need. I've was just at a place where it was blind side and tight and took 20 minutes backing in. must have gotten out 20 times to look at the sides, dock guys wouldn't help. they watched and laughed. then asked if I was a rookie, "we have trucks in here all the time", yeah day cab with a window in back and pup trailer. one that came in after me , made it look easy and it was for that rig.

given time it will be a natural thing, you will be able to see the curve of your trailer wheels in your head as your turning corners forward and back.

I can sometimes run over a can on the blind side of trailer without the mirrors. I just know where the tandems are going to be. usually.

 

I'm all squiggles too in hopes that you are female! Never heard that term from a potential male truck driver! If you are male, no worries, just don't say that while in trucking school!


I think nyroadie pretty much covered it. After school you will go with a trainer of your chosen company. You will be surprised how much the real world teaches you and you should be backing with no problem in no time. Its all in the set up and once you get a grasp on that it is relatively easy. Also like Nyroadie said the most important thing is to get out and look! This will insure you 100% that you will never hit anything! I have over 16 years experience and if there is any doubt I get out and look. Sometimes I even do it before I start. If its dark or you are unfamiliar with where you are it good to get out and take a mental picture. I look at obstacles and check out any landmarks that I can use. Also cracks or lines in the pavement can help if there are no painted ones. At night not all facilities are well lit or have light at all and it can be very difficult to see anything from the cab of the truck. Also taking a mental picture will really help you when blind side backing. Try picking an object or lining up with something in front of you that correlates with what is behind you. Most importantly, take your time and don't get in a hurry! In the real world traffic and other truckers are going to make you want to hurry and make mistakes. You need to just block them out and do your job.

All in all there is nothing to it and just takes a little getting used too!

Good luck...

 

As I have stated so many times before that everyone is sick of it, I did not start out with a trainer, I started out with a company before I had any real experience. I did not know what I was doing. The school taught me how to pass a CDL test. That is it. Great school but you learn trucking from trucking. It would have been great to have a trainer but the pay isn't very good from what I hear.

For the longest time when I would back I would put the truck in reverse and pray that the trailer would go the right direction. I like having multiple doors open so the trailer could pick which ever one it wanted to go into. The problem was I was not driving the trailer. People would tell me how to do it but it made no sense to me. Then in San Antonio a man spotted me all the way during a backing. He kept using the term "now follow your trailer around". Something clicked. I get it. Backing a trailer is one of the most fun things you get to do on the job. 8 years later and I still get a kick out of hitting a dock dead center. I know it is something that I had problems with and overcame those problems.

First, when backing a trailer, it is all about your tandems. If you have them all the way back you are less likely to hit the trailers on either side of you because the trailer tail does not swing so much, but you are longer so you have to be very careful you do not hit anything parked in front.

Watch the wheels. There is usually a line painted going into the dock. Line up your trailer wheels about 4 inches inside that line, then line your tractor wheels the same four inches and you are straight. That is all there is to it. No mystery, just start out with the back wheels and follow up with the front. Follow the trailer back and you are there.

The get out and look thing is important. You are looking to see if there is anything there to run into or over. Lots of places have trailer stands that are hard to see as well as wheel chocks. You need to make sure they are safety out of the way. If there are no lines painted on the lot, pick out a crack or anything that gives you a target. If nothing else, just look at the dock. But remember, it is the wheels that you have control over, not the side of the trailer. Move the wheels, the trailer will follow.

Seeing is the most important thing. At night the lines are very hard to see. I purchased two magnetic LED lights. I got them a local tool shop. I am sure dieselboss can find them for you. I slap them on to the stringers (iron or steel) and they light up my tandems and the ground. All backing is the same. The schools give all your different things names to make it sound harder but it is just driving in reverse and not hitting anything.

Trailers are not women, you can tell a trailer what to do and they will actually do it.

 

I've laid a glove or a soda can down , if no lines. just something to get a visual on.

I was never in a driving school, had to learn by backing next to other peoples trucks. talk about nervous !!

 

I guess i was lucky when i got my Class 1 license. A small trucking company i worked for driving ten wheeler let me practice at my convenience with their TT's. Probably took alittle longer but i think it worked well?
Cant tell you anything the previous members havent said already. Go slow. Everytime i watch these newbies try to show off and back up fast is a good laugh. I am impressed more by someone going slow and easy and looking like a class act. And as said already, if your backing up and your not sure where truck/trailer is, get out and look. It is better than hitting something. Your gonna look like an idiot when you back into something, because knew it all and wouldnt GOAL! Best wishes at school.

 

Ya Woody brought a good point in which I myself do too. Driving or backing while watching your tandems is a good way to back. Keep your eye on your tandems and back slowly making very small corrections as you go along. Never over steer, this will just set you off to far in the wrong direction every time. Remember it takes a few seconds to see the results from the steering wheel to the tandems. Backing slowly and steering in small increments helps give you time to correct any mistakes. Above all, like everyone has posted above, GET OUT AND LOOK! You are not an idiot for doing so. You are an idiot if you don't!

 

Just got out of cdl school the way they taught us to straight line back was put your hand at the top of the steering wheel watch your trailer out the driver mirror and when you saw the tread on the trailer tire go 9 o'clock see the header board go 3 'o clock you get to far outta line go as far as 6 o'clock lol i killed alot o cones before it clicked for me good luck