Getting Good at Backing

I used to practice at terminals when we were at em. Big back lot with lots of empty trailers with random holes to aim for. Still not too good at backing lol

 

Hand you have a decision to make. Nobody can make it for you. Either you are ready or you are not. There is no halfway. If you are not ready you need to notify whomever runs the training at your company and tell them. Quitting or being fired at this point is MUCH better for your record then having accident after accident because you are not ready. I can tell you from experience that there are a lot of tough places to back into. Some require you to blind side back as well. Give this a LOT of thought then do what you think is best because honestly nobody in here can make this decision for you. For all of us practice makes perfect. Some of the old hands in here can park a 53 footer on an ants butt but this has come from doing it over and over and over. However if you are not ready you might get into trouble somewhere and do some serious damage.

 

cant learn backing from a book or a trainer just gotta keep trying you will get it

 

Practice makes perfect......idc if it takes 30 mins to back into every dock or truck stop....at the end of the day, if you didnt hit anything you did fine!

BUT REMEMBER G.O.A.L , you think taking for ever to back is embarrassing....try taking 30 mins then backing into something.....

Something that always stuck with me is turn towards your trouble

 

Another thing you could do.....if you have drop and hooks at a dc or something.. do it 3 or 4 times in a random hole to help get some time in....

 

Step one is to not care what anybody thinks or says, that makes step 2 possible.

Backup every chance you get, practice pushing the blind side around corners and long straight shots that are narrow; take any and every opportunity you have to reverse even if pulling forward is an option.

The time will come (and pretty soon) where the only comments you get from others when you back is "wow".

 

This is in a 2016 FTL Cascadia, 5th wheel set at the 3&4 pins, tandems at the 6-8 hole from the front (which by the way is the sweet sweet spot for being legal on your scale out for most loads up to 47,000 lbs.).

Backing...
It's actually very basic.
Starting point...
1) pull parallel to the spot you want with your truck and trailer in a straight line.

2) reference the furthest line/boarder and line your bumper up to the line as a starting point.

3) then pull fwd 2 spots (or 2 lines/boarders)

4) turn your wheel to full lock and go fwd until your truck is at a 45* angle.

5) then go full lock the other way until your truck is straight.

...you will now have your trailer set up to back in with minimal adjusting.

6) straighten your wheels and back in.

7) as you get lined up to the dock door, move the steering wheel either way ONLY small amounts to make fine adjustments. Small amounts = reference the rounded corner of your trailer. Looking in your mirrors, back until you loose sight of the corner, then do the same for the other side. Repeat until you line up where ya need to be.

DONE...

 

The only variable is how close you are to the perpendicular starting spot. Backing is all about the set up.

 

I think he means perpendicular where he states parallel. How far off of the line of bumpers do you want to originate the setup from as your driving down the row and selecting your spot? I'd say about 7-10 feet but I never bothered to measure it ... Don't want to be too far off [unless you just have a huge area to work with] and you don't want to be too close, either.

 

Haha, yep. End of the night. Perpendicular is the correct word.
I went back and edited the original post.
Haha, thx