Is there much less backing running flatbed?

3:30 Friday afternoon, downtown Toronto. Biggest concern other than blindsiding that grey building with the piece, was the 7 million cityots on the sidewalk trying to walk between my hood and the building. it's never the same. But still wouldnt trade it for doors. Yee haw.

 

A 30k trailer has nothing on a lattice boom laying on the ground near where you have to turn around. It is laying there because the crane will need it the next day for the other loads you are bringing in. You knick anything on that boom and not only do you get to buy a new one but the job also shuts down because that boom section needs to be replaced. All that happens in a warehouse is a few thousand dollars and one truck out of comission maybe.

Then you add in the fact that all the workers have their pickups right near there and the state workers that just HAVE to park as close as possible to the job.

Last year we went into Yellowstone park and it literally took 15 minutes of jockeying back and forth just to get turned around. Oh, and we are usually in mud or ice when trying to do this and there is no sliding of axles.

I have been places where we had to use the forklift to slide the trailer around just so we could get out.

Or you are out in the sticks and when you take a corner that is tight you notice your trailer is NOT going to stay on the road and you are already scraping dirt off the bank with the bumper on the other side. And that is going forward.

I remember one excavator that I delivered I had to back up 12 times in order to move the trailer over a little at a time because of the corner and the fact that I was turning onto an old wooden bridge. What a pain that was.

So no flatbedders do not dramatize the places that have to be backed into. Even though you may have a tight dock to get into, at least it was designed for trucks. I have even had to back through creeks to get the back of the trailer to the other side so that the 2 cranes could pick the piece we brought in.

This was in Yellowstone Park. Just slightly more room on this side of the bridge to turn around and it still took 15 minutes to do so.

 

If it's any consolation, chicks dig it, and dudes dig it when chicks can do it. (Not in daisy dukes looking for the fellas to "help" in exchange for ?????)

 

Nice.7.30 am downtown Buffalo NY backing sleeper truck with 53 footer off the street into dock designed for straight trucks.Biggest concern was a freaking parkmeter right in front of the dock across the street so I couldn't use that sidewalk to pull up and streighten.No cityots on the sidewalk as I took it as well as part of the street.Yeah,the place was designed for trucks.The problem was that it was designed for straight trucks and many warehouses were designed for 48 footers.As for being in sticks ,I already had trailer in a ditch when taking left turn on some country road but managed to back up out of it.

 

Haha yeah I forgot about that manouver

 

OP, just be sure to take pics

 

I did not even mention the time that we had to use the crane to pick and spin the trailer then hook up to it again. Mainly because that was easy.

 

All of our trucks have reverse. Just tKe it easy and get out and look when you're not sure.
Cheaper to stop and look than get stopped to look.

Good luck.

 

I do understand OP's concerns though.When I started I was very stressed out about backing up and the last few miles before destinations I was spending worrying about what kind of place I will have to back up to.

 

We all have difficult or tight backing situations but they are not embellished. Spread axle does not respond like a tandem or even a triple axle trailer.