making turns, whats your technique?

I just love to watch the four wheelers face when i swing wide at an intersection and it looks like i'm going to catch the left front corner of their car!

My rule for turns like that is i'm taking all i can get so sorry if it scares ya!....lol!
I pull the same trailer all the time so some turns i don't look in my right mirror if no traffic is around.
You just get the feel of whatever setup you drive after awhile.

 

I agree,I am the same way.

 

Now you tell me!...I drove around like a lunatic trying to find a #### left turn!...I ended up calling a friend who told me about the jughandles then all I had to do was figure out how to get turned around so it ended up being a right turn!...

Now on topic...

It's easy to lay out how we go thru a turn and when asked, we all probably think about a "standard" turn...To me, when it comes to turning, it depends on the turn as they come in many shapes and sizes...

Turning proficiency, like backing, is something only gained with experiences, hopefully all with happy endings, so I would say the mindset when learning is to take all the room you can safely and work that tighter as you gain experience...Use your mirrors to ensure, if you are too tight, you can stop and adjust, and if you're safe but far from corner, you can learn to massage it tighter as you see how turning changes the tracks of your rear wheels...

Heck, sometimes you need to start the turn before even getting to the intersection by, for example, moving over and taking left lanes to make a right turn onto a 2 lane road with a telephone pole on the corner...

You can swing wide many times as you learn, it only takes one too tight to make for a really really bad day...Or worse...That's my .02..........

 

It takes 40 acres to flip a ##### :/ It depends on the truck configuration. Some rigs have off track and others do not.

 

On a 48ft spread axel and a long wheel base tractor it seems like one needs four lanes, two going in and second lane out there's a lot of variable's year's ago a boss didn't believe in spot mirrors, I used to carry a spot on vice grips, we had cabovers go around a right corner with a pole watching the telephone lines if they weren't moving guess we made it!!

 

hit the 4 ways, take up every lane then make the turn. You probably don't have to pull 3 axle trailers though

 

The quick setup is the key. Know your surroundings and take what ever real estate possible. Make yourself visible, If you have the right away at a intersection do whatever ever is needed.
The lines painted on the road are suggestions, not barricades for tractor trailers. Use common sense. We aren't above the law. Light poles, concrete sidewalks curbs and 4 wheelers are expensive. Do what is needed to make a smooth turn.


I always think ahead a few steps for a quick setup, Always a 4 wheeler who stopped a red light late or loves moving up inside a intersection. Have to adjust on the fly

 

It just takes experience. I've been driving for a year now and I still occasionally make an a s s of myself on a tight right. Sometimes I stop and don't even try it till the cars clear out of the way. It's an art. No two intersections are the same and I pull everything from 28's to 53's.

 

i was pulling 48ft flatbeds for like 7 years and whipping those things around brookyln queens and bronx was a brreze. then i got into 53 foot vans and its like i never drove before. definalty had some ohh .... moments near lightpoles and stuff. luckly now im dedicated doing the same 4 stops daily so i can go in with my eyes closed. but that doesent really do much for expereince if i go off route with a tight turn i wont know how to approach it

 

Don't sweat it, NYers are the kindest truck friendly people you'll meet!