Most difficult backing.

hell a couple weeks ago i was bored in one of my company yards.. there was a tiny little spot the only way to get into it was a blindside alley dock with very little room to pull up and manuever.. bein a flatbedder i dont do a lot of crazy backing so i wanted to give it a shot, needless to say i never did get er in there,, but it was a good learning experience...plus doing little stuff like that it not only kills bordem but u never know where ur gonna find urself in a ####ty situation and some extra practice might come in handy.. just make sure not to hit anything

 

Quitter!!!!

 

lol i know right im glad i dont pull box trailer some of the tiny holes u gotta hit, i would give up

 

Yes. That overhang does not even exist, does it.
Until you hit something backing in, or pulling out.

Pretend all you want.
The tail DOES exist!

 

Same here. Now, I have all confidence in the world.

 

If done properly there is no reason to hit anything doing that back. As you approach look to the left all the way to the dock. Check for anything that can damage the truck and the truck can damage. If you see something get it cleared. One help is to visualize that pivot point and commit it to memory. Start the setup and remember a 53-foot trailer has a heck of a lag. Start getting the tractor behind that trailer as soon as you hit that pivot point. Watch the tandems as well as the trailer. If in doubt GOAL. Also, remember most preventables happen because of hitting something with the right side of the tractor. Make dang sure nothing has entered that area as you come back. Keep your head on a swivel and GOAL GOAL GOAL!

 

I find that the view of my right side seems to be askew compared to my left side which seems straight. To compensate for this seeming distortion, I rely on my left side to be my guide for becoming straight.

In doing this, however, you can't simply ignore your right for the sake of backing up straight. As soon you do that you will likely hit something. G.O.A.L.

You're going to become sick of that acronym, but it'll spare you a backing booboo.

Keep close watch on the direction of your tandem tires. If they point toward another trailer, wall, or post, then that means continuing to back much further will result in hitting something. Get as close as you can safely, then pull forward.

Some backings are ridiculously tight so patience and perseverance are a must.

You won't become good at backing in a day, week, or month. To improve my backing accumen, I regularly took on challenging backings when it was safe to do so.

One time, I had a chance to watch experienced yard dogs back at a busy distribution center from a nearby grassy knoll. It was a good learning experience watching from an elevated position.

 

Have you seen this video? Practice is the only way to become proficient but I've showed this video to a few people I know and it helped them a lot.

 

If you have a dump valve for the aft spread axle, you can go float the entire spread axle flat on it's forward axle. Then you will really be able to stick it into pretty tight places. Just be careful to float those rear duals at idle when you do.

 

Get out and look or goal is the best way and practice till it becomes second nature. That overhang in the back definitely matters, especially if it's scraping against someone else's trailer, always be mindful of where it is. Been doing it for over 30 yrs and still find myself standing next to the driver side tanks looking under the trailer to see where my passenger side tandems are, patience, patience and more patience and the same goes for practice. Oh yeah, and always be mindful of where the front of your tractor is, especially if you have a big hood, I think that's one of the reasons Cabo's were so popular back in the day, backing was a breeze. These new Hoover style trucks look like a pain in the ### to back, but I wouldn't know, haven't had the pleasure, yet.