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

Same here, except on old tricycle tractors with trailers and wagons loaded sky-high with hay. My grandpa and cousin could do a 90° back into the barn with a wagon behind a trailer, a skill I never came close to attaining. (A "wagon" has 2 axles, 1 fore and aft, and the front axle steers).

 

You'll do better every day. As huge as that rig seems today, it gets smaller with experience.

 

Hmm how long? Lets see This is my 39th year at this(since first legal D/L) 3d generation--learned how to drive in a tractor trailer and was driving one for 3 years BEFORE I was allowed to borrow the family car--LOL
I have done exclusively LONG HAUL MULTI DROP REFER---
Yesterday--9 stops METRO ATLANTA--hit first 6 doors--blindside off street--one shot--no problem--last 3 stops--2 took some effort--3d I think Im still tryin to get into.......
All kidding aside--it takes time and practice and PATIENCE--DO NOT judge yourself against others--and DO NOT make it into MORE than it is.....ANYONE can learn how to do it..just RELAX..
And while there has much GOOD advice on here--the one thing I WILL tell you--is
SET-UP is the ONLY THING that really matters--if your START off WRONG--chance are you WILL NEVER fix it--DO NOT be concerned about pulling out and starting over--it is typically YOUR best play...

 

Love backing up and hooking up a trailer. The turning is the most favorite thing I love doing. Including back up one time I was playing around just for fun. But I shouldn't have done that somebody ask me what the hell are you doing? I should learn my lesson from that dude.

 

I've been driving for a few years now. 2 yrs this time out and 10 yrs back in the early 80's. Backing is always very easy till it isn't. I'm doing a dedicated run now so get to dock usually twice a day plus parking empties at the DC. I can go weeks trouble free then WTH am I drunk. I had to blind side into a tight dock at a store, with 2 fricken storage containers right in front of the docks (why in the hell they dropped them there) tried to get in the dock 3 or 4 times. pulling out again resetting trying again over and over. Each time i was either going to hit the trl in the next dock, the trash compactor on the other side or one of the containers . I finally got close as I could dropped the trl,pulled out and repositioned my tractor hooked again got it closer and repete 3 times but in it went. Moral of the story is where there is a will there is a way. Don't know why they dispatched a condo for that store but that's another story....