How to back up

My former trainer, a former Werner trainer, always stated,:

1) set up the entire rig as straight as possible.
2) Try to get the entire rig straight so you can see down both sides of the trailer and you can see the end of the trailer.
3) Back slowly,make small minor adjustments as you continue backing.
4) The more of an angle the rig is,the more difficult it is for a rookie to start the rig into a correct angle to back up.
5) Always walk the area to the rear if your in question,better to safe than sorry.
6) Always try to back so you see to the rear from the driver's side, that means even if you have to drive around, facing the other direction to back so you can see safely.
I see old heads doing this everyday!

7) Instead of backing to drop an empty,
( when dropping an empty,p/up a loaded trailer..."drop n hook") ,
see if you can do a "pull through" to drop your empty.
If that is an option on the lot, a lot safer than backing in between 2 trailers at 02:00 when you are tired,etc..
Better to be safe than sorry, then you hit a trailer while backing, you gotta wait for somebody to arrive to complete all the accident paperwork.
Try and find somebody at 02:00.

Still I think about these things for a second when I'm backing even though it's like second nature now.
Trainer was a good guy.

crusin

 

"Righty tighty--lefty loosy"......While looking at the driver's mirrors (while backing up) and watching the left side tires on the trailer....if you want to move the trailer CLOSER (tighter) to that yellow line...steer RIGHT. If you want to move AWAY (looser) from that yellow line...steer LEFT. "Righty tighty..lefty loosy"

 

Much like you I was struggling big time with backing ... then my trainer helped me back into a truck at a TA! I was hot , had to hold back from going off on the guy as a crowed gathered near a badly damaged long nose Peat! I felt like krap, this was my lowest moment and I was just ready to say "maybe this trucking thing isn't for me." Right then and there I decided that I had to do something to get better at this backing thing and my trainer was obviously going to be no help what so ever. (unless I wanted to wreck more stuff) Soon after that disaster at the TA we were at a drop yard and I spent 2 hours just backing into various spaces in the yard. All that backing up helped me to get the "feel" of how that trailer reacted to steering input and suddenly I was getting better and better at backing up. I was doing 45's and then 90's and with each backing maneuver I could see I was improving. As stated before practice, practice, practice is the key. Set up and Get Out And Look, then keep using GOAL as you move the truck to see what you are doing as you practice. Now I can pull off a 90 into a hole in the tightest of docks.

 

i had no problems with straight backing in school. the offset backing was the hardest for me personally. some schools teach it different ways. the school i went to WOULD NOT i repeat WOULD NOT let us steer hand over hand. we had to push-pull steer. for those who do not know what that is, your hands are at 9 and 3 o'clock. if making a left turn, you pull the wheel down no farther than the 6 o'clock position with your left hand, and push it up no farther than 12 o'clock with your right hand. doing it this way, you never release the wheel. you always have one hand on the wheel, and there is less of a chance of loss of control for new drivers. truth be known, it is probably safer for everyone if they all did that, but you know how it goes, you have to do what you have to do in order to pass the DOT and company road tests. what habits you develop when you are on your own is your own problem then.

so when i was backing, the easiest way for me to remember what to do was steer towards the object you want to avoid. if the trailer is getting bigger in your left mirror and getting close to the cones or lines, gradually turn the wheel towards what your about to run over. then you have to remove the correction quickly.

remember, at low speeds, corrections will take a second or two before you start to see them, and any correction you make, it takes the trailer 10 to 12 feet to respond to the change that the tractor is doing.

now that i look back on the training i had in school, it was really difficult for everyone really. no overhand steering, and you could not put your elbow out the window and steer with your right hand when alley docking or doing the driver side parallel. i cheated and used my electric mirrors to do me "leaning out the window" for me and not a word was ever said about that trick. they asked one time what i was doing and i told them. im using the adjustment in the mirrors to see my trailer tires.

the auto fails in school when testing are about the same everywhere. ours were shifting over railroad tracks, causing an accident, hitting a curb, running a stop sign or traffic light, being unable to see pavement between the tractor nose and the rear of the car ahead when stopped, too many missed gears and failed attempts at downshifting, killing the tractor when starting out, unsafe turns, failing to signal, cutting someone off etc.

looking back on school, it was great. each of the driving instructors had over 20 years of driving, so they know what the real world is like. they spent so much time teaching you downshifting and how to set up for tight turns (all the driving was downtown every morning and afternoon), that personally i got shorted on the backing. 10 days before my test date i had been on the backing range a total of 4 hours, splitting that time with 3 other students. i had to tell them i was not going out on the road anymore, i needed backing practice. that is all i did the final week i was in class.

it all goes back to taking your time, do not rush, please GET OUT AND LOOK and never assume anything. good luck!

 

aww shucks you'll figure it out.............the hand on the bottom of the wheel and steer to the mirrors do werk fer me............

 

Slow is key.............don't be intimidated by others, if your in doubt lv your cb on and listen for horns,..........don't be afraid to get out and look..........theres nothing wrong in that..........don't worry about the super truckers #####in an talkin bad about you, ignore them, they were there once too.........i'd rather run with a novice anyday, trying to be safe, than any super trucker who's willin to die