How to stop oversteering

Just don't stay out past 7p, unless you're running all night, on the East coast.... 5p if you're in Delaware and don't have two hours to burn, haha.
I'll grant parking late is one of the tougher bits about being out here solo - not parking, per se, but finding one single space at the wrong time of the evening... and then again, I've seen a lot of creativity... either way, I think you'll be okay.

 

See, I'm the opposite. Give me a few trucks as guides and I'm generally good with a pull up or two. Give me 8 open parking spaces... I'll find a way to take up 6 of them. It's awful.

 

I know its been said before, but a proper set up will prevent all this extreme steering. I know this sounds simplistic, but do your best job of pointing the rear of the trailer towards the spot and then making slow deliberate movements of the wheel, squaring the rear of the box to the lane and push it in. I like to keep my steering wheel moving slightly (watching how the trailer responds) so I know what to do quickly if I need to make a correction. If I do a pull up and it will not get the trailer straight to the lane, I will slightly load the steering wheel in the direction needed, so as soon as I move I'm working on getting straight with the lane and not wasting any real estate and or preventing more pull ups. I hope that helps.

 

There are two important concepts in backing that apparently aren't taught in CDL mills that are essential. I taught these two concepts to all my trainees.

FALL OFF

I use the term "Fall Off" to describe when you start backing the TRACTOR in a straight line and the trailer starts to "Fall Off" the straight line. If you continue backing the tractor in a straight line, eventually the trailer will be at a 90° jackknife position.

Here's a "mind experiment" a la Einstein: get the tractor and trailer in a 90° jackknife. Set the brakes and get out and place an object next to the passenger side rear trailer tire. Now drive the tractor IN A STRAIGHT LINE into the trailer is ALMOST in a straight line with the tractor. Stop, then back up the trailer in a straight line until the trailer is again at a 90° jackknife. Get out and see where that same passenger side rear trailer axle is to the object you placed on the ground.

You will find that when backing, the trailer will "Fall Off" faster than it will follow the trailer when you are driving forward. During this drill you will find your trailer in a 90° jackknife earlier than when you started driving forward.

Use this Fall Off to your advantage. Think of it this way, suppose you are in the middle of a row at a truck stop and want to pull out and take a left turn. You would pull as far forward going STRAIGHT as you can before taking a hard turn to the left. This avoids ripping the fender off the truck parked to your left, and by cranking hard left before hitting the trucks ahead of you, you avoid damage to them.

Now imagine doing ALL that in reverse.

The NARROWER it is between rows of trucks in a truck stop the FARTHER FORWARD you go before beginning to back in between two trucks. You stop next to the far row of trucks with your trailer SLIGHTLY toward the left off your tractor, then start backing the tractor IN A STRAIGHT LINE. You let the trailer Fall Off, then use...

FOLLOWING

... to maintain the radius of the turn. Think of following like this: suppose you did a practice drill on an empty street with curbs at an intersection. You want to keep the trailer tires a foot away from the curb, describing a radius of about 40'. In order to do THAT you have to START backing to BEGIN a jackknife by turning the wheel to the right, but then immediately turn the wheel to the LEFT and find the wheel position that will keep the trailer tires backing on a 40' radius. "Following" is keeping the ANGLE between the tractor and trailer that lets the trailer wheels following a wide arc.

Practice those wide arc turns whenever you can. Watch other drivers in truck stops, ESPECIALLY those pulling spread axle trailers getting into tight spots. Spread axles can DESTROY a set of trailer tires if you back them at 90° under load. They HAVE to use the principles of Fall Off and Following.

 

Find a set of B-trains to practice with. Learn to back them perfectly straight and any other type of single trailer won't be an issue ever again.

 

Lol, 10-4.

Just saying, that's how I learned the true art of backing. Once you figure out what an extra second of a couple inches of over-steer (literally turning the wheel and inch or two in some cases) throwing off the pup, you learn to counteract it before it happens. It really is the best way to learn the mechanics of backing, since things go wrong so quickly, there is no time to react after something happens, and overcorrection just throws everything off.

That's what I think a lot of new drivers have issues with, is thinking they can "correct" a poor setup by cutting the trailer over to where they want it to go. B-trains make it pretty much impossible until you fully understand them.

I've got the straight-line and putting the pup where I want it down... but I'm still having an issue grasping the "curved" back, especially blind-side.