Extremely nervous about backing

First you need to relax and give yourself a break....

Take your time and watch your wheels....They'll tell you the trailer's path more accurately than the corners of the trailer.....

Some drivers find it easier to place their hand on the bottom of the steering wheel.
What this does is, if your trailer is moving too far to the right and you need it to kick left....You turn the wheel (Remember...hand on the bottom of the wheel) to the left.....And visa-versa if you need to go to the right...

Btw....I was stationed at the 7th ATC at Graf......535th Engineers CSE back in the early 80's.....

We used to go to Vilseck quite often.....Is the Happy Rock still there?

Spent a lot time tipping some Hefe Weizens and trading shots with many a "Kommrade" there.....

 

A few tips:

*The trailer pivots on the tandems, not the ICC bar. If your school will allow you, slide the tandems all the way back as it makes things easier.

*Steer into the problem. If the trailer is too far left, steer left. If the trailer is too far right, steer right.

The objective of a schools backing course isn't to teach you to back, believe it or not. A schools course is a fixed course, meaning you're doing the same back every time. In reality, you never will have the same scenario twice. The objective is to teach you how to set up the truck and trailer. The setup is the biggest part of backing. If you cant set the truck up properly, you're not going to back into any spot. With a proper setup, backing is very easy.

As silly as this sounds, buy yourself a toy truck. 1-64 scale works the best. Practice different backing maneuvers with the toy truck so you can get a general idea on what a proper setup would look like.

 

As i get closer to getting my cdl backing has become easy at this point.
I just put it in my head if i can see the trailer some, turn the wheel left, if i can't turn right.
Works for me.

 

So glad I saved this in my documents....

Use the steering wheel to your advantage! Everybody teaches "steer the opposite direction"...bad thinking, poor instruction!

Your visual part of your brain is already doing a "reversal" with all the information coming in through the eye...it has to reverse the image to be processed. So when you try to think "opposite" you actually are stressing yourself a bit more. Here is the trick I taught all my students for 15 years:

The top of the steering wheel turns the direction you want going forward, the bottom of the steering wheel turns the direction you want to turn going backwards.

The set up is the most important part of backing into a dock or parking location. Let's learn what I call the "Banana Profile":
1. With the units in a straight configuration, drive across the front of the location until the space between the tractor and trailer is at the midpoint of your location.
2. As you cross this midpoint, turn right to a 45 degree angle away from the point. Drive straight (45 degrees from the location) until the tandems are at the midpoint of the location. (You must be watching your driver’s side mirror) As the tandems attain the midpoint turn the wheel left (again) to put a bend in the tractor/trailer until you have achieved the "Banana Profile". (The tractor/trailer has the same shape as a banana.) Now straighten up and continue until you have clearance of the driver’s side rear corner of the trailer and the location the trailer will be backing into.
3. At this point, you should be able to smoothly "track" right into the "hole". Just visualize the line and adjust the turn aspect (declining) as you enter the hole and straighten up as you go.

LET THE TRAILER DO THE WORK...ADJUST TO THE TRAILER, DON'T FORCE THE TURN MOVEMENT BY OVER STEERING. The longer the trailer, the more time it will take to show its movement. Don't get anxious, be patient, and let the trailer make some movement, then you correct the tractor to the movement of the trailer.

1. When backing, place your hand palm down on the center bottom of the steering wheel.
2. Use the bottom as your guide for the direction you want the back of the trailer to move.
3. Having your hand, palm down, gripping the wheel will prevent you (with the natural limits of movement) from over-steering. DO NOT LET GO OF THE WHEEL!
4. Grip the window post (the separation bar between the wing window and the door window) with your left hand, and again, DON'T LET GO. This "anchor" stops you from moving around in your seat...every time you move it changes the visual perspective in your mirrors...SIT STILL!
5. A tractor/trailer combination will NEVER back in a straight line...you need to "add" and "subtract" turn movement constantly. A little adjustment either way will keep the units straight and where you want to go.
6. If there is no "guide line" painted on the surface, visualize the straight line you want to line the driver’s side (sight side) of the trailer then the tractor onto.
7. When you start backing, pay attention to the tandems (trailer wheels)...these are your first and primary points of lining up the unit. As soon as the tandems have gone into the box, begin reducing the turn aspect of the tractor (bring the nose around to the "square line" with the trailer. Now change your focus to the midpoint of the trailer...just before the midpoint gets to the "line", get the tractor square with the trailer so there is no turn occurring...you have achieved the aspect of straight line backing once the tractor is square with the trailer and the midpoint of the trailer is in the box.
8. Keep in mind there are 3 "pivot points" to a tractor/trailer combination.
8a. Tandems are the rear pivot.
8b. King pin (drive wheels) is the center pivot.
8c. Steer tires are the forward pivot.
To move the tractor trailer either direction (right or left) you must accomplish an "S" configuration/movement with the tractor/trailer. Which direction you need to move the units is the direction you begin the movement. (This is for forward adjustments...if you have not centered the units in the dock.) To move it will require 3 steering movements...make sure the movement is sufficient (far enough forward in distance) to achieve the moving distance required (right or left). Just imagine you are driving on an "S" painted on the ground and follow it COMPLETELY.
__________________

 

I was driving for maybe 2 weeks (in 1982) and one day at a CF terminal I was trying to bump the dock in a armstrong steering truck w/ a pup trailer. Not a good way to learn. After about 6 tries I finally did it. Got out and there were about 4 line drivers sitting on the dock and one joker said. " Need any help." Well that guy did me a big favor. Right then and there I decide I was going to be one very good backer upper. It took 30 years but yeah backing up a B train or T/T in a TS ain't no big thing. If there's daylight between the truck and an object your good to go.

 

Backing is easy, I just got used to looking at the rivets on the sight side of trailer

 

Most anything is "easy" once you know how to do it!

Backing is the most critical, and most difficult part of trucking....yet it is the thing we do the least of!

 

In 2010 my wife decided she wanted to go OTR with me.Was tired of working in casinos so I said,ok.I got a job with Swift and she went to their driving school and out with a trainer,then she teamed up with me.

We hit Ontario West on a friday night one time and she was driving.T2000,Swift on the trailer and a female driving so you know what was coming over the cb.Needless to say she nailed the backup perfect with no reposition needed.

She then grabbed the mic and I asked her what she was doing,"Gonna say Hi to everyone."oh,ok.

"So any of you Super Trucker Mother******* have any more comments for the helpless female Swift Driver?"I proceeded to hide in the sleeper,lol.To my amazement there was not one comment except for an old timer o/o across from us,his comment made her weekend."Nice job young lady,excuse me,Driver."

 

I think a lot of your nervousness will diminish during your training. Hope you have good trainers and spend some good time practicing. Don't feel bad when you make mistakes for you are learning and others will be making mistakes too.... Like folks here said, even drivers with 10 + years of experience have bad days... It happens with all of us. I have been driving for over 4 yrs and still not a good backer. And maybe will never be but I don't get upset with myself any more. As long as I don't hit anything and put the truck and trailer where it needs to be, that's fine. Just be patient, don't rush, take your time, take it easy, go slowly and if you are not sure, get out of the truck and look as many times as you need. Ignore others. Don't let anybody rush you. When backing at a truck stop, I turn off my CB because I don't want to hear jokes and negative comments about my backing. I am a little female and sometimes that attracts others' attention... I can accept help and sometimes I even ask for it. Don't feel embarrassed. Fear and anxiety will not help you, on the contrary they may cause you to screw up. So, be patient, focused and have faith that you can do this. It's not as hard you may think it is. But only time and practice will show you. All the best to you and thank you very much for your service!