I rented an 8' u haul trailer to practice backing...

Okay, this might sound stupid, but yesterday I rented an 8' u haul trailer to get back in to the practice of trailer backing. I was never particually good at it, but after I got my CDL i went in to straight trucking and completely lost the skill. Prior to that I owned a small utility trailer but never "docked" it. So, the straight trucking LTL job has come to an end and it's time to get back into the OTR world. More money, better opportunity once I get experience etc... ANYWAY, I've got a roadtest on tuesday and it requires backing. I hooked up my little trailer and went to an open parking lot. Practiced for about two hours...I sucked. I think i got maybe three or four successful docks, the rest were near jackknife situations. People have told me this isn't smart, as backing those little trailers is actually ALOT harder?? Plus I don't want to put unnecessary wear on my car since this obviously is going to take me more than a couple hours for me. So what should I do? Should I keep trying to re learn on my own with this method or am i stressing myself out for nothing??? Thanks....

 

Thanks for the feedback everyone, much appreciated. The user who commented on holding the bottom of the wheel; great advice! My problem was indeed oversteering. My set up was just OKAY, but everytime i got the trailer where I wanted it to go I'd find myself in a quick jackknife position, completely messing me up. I moved my hands to the bottom of the wheel and it became much easier. I'm still far from perfect but just switching up where my hands were made a ton of difference. Now if I can just remember how to downshift properly, I think I'm good to go...

A quick follow up question; The company I'm going to work for requires a road test. However, they're still making me go out with a trainer for 28 days even if i pass. If I'm able to pass a road test, why won't they just release me to my own truck? I'm aware of the politics of refresher courses and why many insurance companies require them, but passing a company road test should be enough to get me my own truck right??