Must be a fresh batch of new drivers this week.

Well yea, that is how most of the parking is in your country, northern BC anyway.

 

I had to do it for the CDL test and in tankers I have to do it frequently to unload at customers. Most chemical plants were built somewhere between the age of the dinosaurs and the arrival of Columbus.

 

Tll me about it, when I first started trucking it was pulling a lowboy and I was in and out of plants and refineries all the time on the gulf coast. I think some of that stuff around Texas city was built while Texas was still part of mexico. lol

 

The military bases were built decades ago for much smaller trucks. Add in the concrete barriers that form a slow speed chicane (all the barriers have gouged and tire marks) and it gets tight. Then get to the dock and you need to turn left into a narrow opening into car parking, line yourself up to the gate, then maybe back up a quarter mile or more, THEN parallel park at the edge of the dock between equipment to give room for the big forklift with the 10' blades to maneuver a 10 ton piece on the deck.

All tight quarter work begins with the mindset that if a truck can fit, I can get 'er done.

 

LOL I do a lot now on bases, we have 3 of them here, my truck is 310 wheelbase, but I ran a 325 on the base for several years, with 3 axle sidedumps, and up to 53 foot flats, mostly 48 though.
The one that was 325 was a freight classic, and the steering was not centered, it turned way sharper to the left than it did to the right, some places was a downright pita. The 3rd season I ran it, the mechanic claimed he fixed it for me, well he at least made it turn right, which was better, but lefts were a pain. lol

 

This looked like day 2 or 3 of driving school. I am surprised this guy found his way into the parking lot.

 

Low bedding in the bush as I do often, it is very common to have to back out many miles of road. I have frequently been training a gal to low bed the last several weeks. Day one, we went down a narrow road, unhooked the neck, unloaded the dozer, hooked back to the trailer, and then she backed out 7 kms. She asked is this normal? "Just another day for me I do this all the time". We hauled equipment to the same spot now 6 times in 4 weeks, she backs out of there so easily its almost boring to her I think. All of my drivers have to be great at backing up, its just the type of work that we do. When i did my road test in 1985 the examiner made me back up through all sorts of cones. Run over a cone and its a fail. Backing up for me is so simple and easy its no challenge. B Trains, quad pups, anything at all. Backing up on an unplowed road in winter is the hardest, the snow all looks the same in the mirrors making it really difficult to distinguish between road and ditch.

 

I put some led lights on the back of my log truck, it sure helped when everything is white, It sure helps if there is some tracks to see though.

 

On the Pipeline when the Super pulls up and says hop in you know it's going to be a cluster somewhere on the ROW. Go get the teamster he'll back it out 3 miles. Time to earn my pay. Lol