Hello, i need some help. I am having trouble alley docking, and parallel parking. Alley docking- is it one turn right then hard left? parallel- i crank hard left until i see what in my mirror? then right and follow around?
Alley docking - once your drives pass the spot you want to back into, turn out to the right hard and then come back to the left, so your truck is still parallel to the line of travel but now the end of the trailer is past the spot you want, but angled in the proper direction. It's insanely hard to try to explain this in words.
Coming in shallow (or short...I will assume you mean so the drivers side of the trailer is turning in faster)...this comes from over steering the "bend angle"...putting too much bend in the pivot point. The trick is that you have to wait for the trailer to show you it's direction of travel...then catch the movement early so you don't have to over correct. Try using smaller angles, or rather don't turn the steering wheel so much. Let the trailer do the work, not you playing catch up. . Try sighting an imaginary path for the tandems to follow, once the tandems (trailer wheels) are set on their correct path, now you need to bring the front of the trailer in line with that path, and third to bring the nose of the tractor into the same path. Remember, there are 3 pivot points in a combination vehicle: FOR BACKING 1. Tandems 2. Drive tires, (5th wheel actually). 3. Steers. When backing, get each pivot point (in order) to the path, just walk each pivot point into the directional path. Remember, nothing in trucking is done with speed, when backing, the clutch is your speed control, not the throttle! Always idle when backing, there is no need for any throttle application. Never hold the steering wheel still in one position, it needs to be working right and left...as no trailer will back up truly straight, always add or reduce the turning pivot as needed for SMALL CORRECTIONS! The set up for the back is the most important part. As you cross the spot you are backing into, when your drivers side window is just past the midpoint of the spot, turn the rig right to a 45 degree angle away from the spot, allow the unit to travel so the back of the trailer (drivers side tandems) are at the point of turning out, then turn left back to the parallel line as you were crossing the spot, look back and stop when the tandems are at the line you want to back into the hole. Add some right correction just as you start moving back...what you have done I call "The Banana Profile"...the tractor/trailer has the shape of a banana...most of the time you can "follow" the trailer right back into the hole with small corrections to keep everything in line. Good luck...it just takes practice! Oh yes...just as you shouldn't over steer...NEVER OVER THINK THE ISSUE EITHER.
