Is there help for solo drivers who have trouble reversing?

Probably hopeless . That teammate's trainer should have rejected him .
Your BF should stand firm on his sleeper berth time and report the problem to his DM .
And what fine trucking school turned this incompetent individual loose on the public ?

 

seen that" more than a few time's over the yrs. one or the other of a team with No" backing skill's! How you get your CDL with out that basic skill??? is really...beyond...reason! but to stay in the industry, and not progress in that ability is...sad! for all concerend.

 

You can dinged while being off duty? Off duty IMO is off duty.

 

Maybe he doesn't know what to look for? Or perhaps he's making HUGE motions with the steering wheel? That'll flip his tail back and forth because he's contantly over compensating. (I learned that the hard way)

Can your bf take him somewhere and have him practice straight line backing?

 

I dont think thats a good idea, Nana. See, teamate is using bf as a crutch. BF can back, but he doesnt back well enough to show teamate how to. No offense meant to the young lady, but its true. BF idea of showing him is getting out and guiding him back. Thats not the way to do it in this case. A good trainer would be able to talk him through the process from the passenger seat, from setup to execution.

I believe that teamate has the mechanics down (the opposite steering thingie). I'd say that either his approach and setup are wrong, or he doesnt know when to start following the trailer and oversteers. Find someone at the next truckstop to show him. He'll pick it up.

 

Well, in a friendly way I believe it would be time to give dude a "come to Jesus" talk. Have him pull out his books and figure it out. As wacky as things are I don't need someone else dragging me down, or into a situation.

And as far as chaining up? I was a flat land subtropical trucker! Chains went on the airplane tires on our swamp buggies! If the guy is chaining up? I'm going to be awke as I don't want to be in the sleeper when this yuck-yuck is behind the wheel.

One thing I wish I would have had in school here recently was skid pad training. I have had some hairy things happen in the past. Never an accident. A week or 2 into my first semi job I had a trailer come partially around. I pulled the trolley brake and drove out of it. It must have been a drive axel lockup as I straightened out. I never had any formal traing back then. My trailer brakes were most likely out of adjustment. I learned to adjust them several months down the road.

I used to keep 4 spares ready, carried 2 with me. Yes they were Dayton wheel with no safety equipment to contain a possible rim explosion. Did my own brake adjustments, oil and filter changes.

1981 R model Mack.