How long did it take for you to learn to back-up a truck & trailor?

its good to have a place to discuss things with other students, its been a great resource

 

Did you guys GOAL today in school?

I GOALed today at my drop. Inside the building. Wait, let me clarify that: after I pulled my truck through a garage door big enough for a full rig to pass through, and had it shut behind me, I had to back into a completely enclosed dock designed for 45'-day-cab-drivin LTL's with a 53' with a sleeper on it. Took me about 30 minutes total to get square to the dock, and had to GOAL to check my front space and my blindside.

Our *general* guideline for pulling out of a space is to wait to start turning until your turn signal on your trailer has cleared the front of whatever is next to you. It was so tight that with my tandems slid all the way forward I still couldn't swing and get out safely. Had to shimmy over to my passenger side about 3' just to get enough room to bend it out. And I'm sure there are guys who would be quick to tell me how luxurious it must have been to have THAT much space. Definitely *my* tightest one so far.

Not trying to make you nervous, but trying to reiterate my point: EFFING GOAL haha. I believe, even being new, you can avoid hitting ANYTHING as long as you take enough time to do it correctly, and by correctly I mean safely. Remember, I'm only 3 months in myself.

Good luck!

 

Haha I had to goal in a truck stop last night, while going forward, guy were parked so far down the row, that even coming into the turn as wide as possible it was hard to clear, every one coming around the corner was clearing the guy on the end with under an inch of room, almost positive some one hit em by the end of the night

also backing on ice is fun, my reciver tonight didn't salt the yard or the docks...pure ice

 

There are "formulas" for backing (e.g., the 45° and 90°, etc.) and your instructors should be teaching them to you. I can't do that here but I can offer a couple tips many students of mine found helpful.

1. Three things: Setup. Setup. Setup. Setting up improperly for the backing maneuver is the most common error among experienced and rookie drivers alike. A good setup makes backing far easier.

2. Get out and look and imagine performing the back first, before setting up.

3. Imagine you are sitting in the rear of the trailer facing backward and steering from the front. Jump back and forth in your mind between there and the cab.

4. Corrections should be made small, even "tiny", and EARLY. When steering occurs in the rear, corrections have greater effect (think forklift).

5. Make every backing maneuver "practice", and strive to put that thing dead-center in the door (or dock plate, they aren't always centered), and square, and have your rig lined up perfectly straight.

6. Whenever you have the slightest doubt about clearance Get Out And Look! A lot of rookies seem to feel embarrassed about doing that, but "real" drivers are not. Generally, they've experienced the embarrassment of backing into something (who hasn't?), which is most often a lot worse.

7. Use all the space available to you that you think you need.

8. Turn off the CB, and don't take anyone's word for your clearance.

 

I can't imagine how hard it must be for ppl that have never backed any type of trailer or even a car for that matter. I grew up on a farm and was backing things since I was probably 8 years old on the 4 wheeler. To me its lime second nature. Not saying I'm perfect or could hit any hole but. Backing is a fundamental like a sport. Some are natural some will struggle. Its not like algebra with only one right answer.

 

I'm still learning.

 

LOL,thats funny

 

Just saw this, sorry. I know you will too! Your thread struck a chord with me in my current situation I wish you all the best of luck in school and on the road!