Need to sharpen up my backing up skills

The posters main point was 100% wrong. Still is.

 

The best advice I'd gotten all day... granted however, the day was young. Let's see what the rest of it holds! Adventure time!

 

Do you have a truck to use, or are you asking to practice in someone else's? I'm in Columbus, but I'm a company driver (who'd get fired if I borrowed a truck and trailer from the yard).

 

A tourist walked up to a NYC cop and asked "How do I get to Carnegie Hall?" The cop responded: "Practice, Practice, Practice!"

I was given a lot of tips and advice for backing and really, it just comes down to backing the thing into places and learning to visualize what is happening. "Steer the trailer wheels" means nothing until you have done it and it makes sense. "Visualize the arc" is also meaningless until you are actually doing it and it works.

Take your time. Get out and look. Bail and reset if the setup isn't going to work. Always KNOW where your trailer is relative to what is around it. Don't back into MY truck.

 

Ok, so I have a few questions on this too. I'm not currently driving but about to start again. I have barely any experience, which I already made a post about.

Question 1: How can a company driver practice on his/her own, outside of their actual job assignments? I mean, when you take into account hours of service and idle time, which I know are seriously cracked down on. Is there any legal way a driver could just use free time in an empty lot or yard to practice on their own?

Question 2: How common are blind side backing situations in the real world? These in particular freak me out, and I've never done it.

 

Find an industrial area that doesn't have activity and don't hit anything. I learned on my own. Only being shown how to setup 45 but not perfect it.

 

If you are going to be with a trainer tell them you want to get as much practice as possible backing. They should be able to help you get that experience.

If you are going to be just handed keys and sent into the wilds on your own, take your time and make each opportunity count. If you have to sit waiting for hours for a dock assignment or delivery window go find an empty lot to practice in. Talk with your manager about what you want to do. I have a hard time seeing a supervisor tell you "No, you can't improve your backing skills. That's crazy talk!" You may be trading your fuel economy bonus for backing experience but that is a fair trade.

You have to manage your hours just like for anything else. If they are willing to put you out on the road, they expect that you can do the job.

Blind side backing is not something that the industry likes. Most places will be set up to minimize the need. A lot of times you can go around and come back into the yard the other way so you don't have to.

But when you have to, you have to. Get a good look at the space. Make sure you know what you are going to use to judge where you are in the slot (Other trucks, pavement markings/stains/shadows). GOAL as often as you need to make sure you are where you think you are. If you have the end of your trailer where it needs to be, you may be able to pull forward and to the left a bit and be able to see better as you back. The convex mirrors on your doors and fenders are your friend.

Stay calm. Ignore your audience. If you get a crowd gathered to watch, make sure you take a bow when you are done.

 

Absolutely use your free time for practice. Pretty much you will be backing at least once a day at the end of your day anyway for rest. The rest of the week you will be backing perhaps every day or so into docks at customers. Each of these is practice as well.

Not very often. Most of the time drivers will circle around to line up for a sight side back if blind side is the only choice. If there are two or more empty spots it makes it easier to blindside into without worrying about hitting anything. I blinded into a 3 hole spot yesterday and the driver a couple spots over jumped out telling me I should have circled around the lot even though I was one spot clear on each side of me. Some people are so brainwashed to never blindside but I say just like golf, you need to know how to use every club in your bag.

 

It definitely is a skill that can take some time to master but I would say the best thing is just to practice as much as you can until you really feel as comfortable as possible

 

Excellent advice guys, thank you.