parallel park

Got to be able to put'er where she'll fit....usually at the END of the day....when you're tired & ready to climb into bed.

At least for the DMV test, you should be well rested.

 

had to do plenty of 1 and an occasional 2.

 

you have to be able to "see" the track you want the trailer to go to.

Best thing for seeing "that" is to go to your local toy store and pick up a toy tractor / trailer and practice with them on the table or floor.

You will see how a tractor/trailer wants to behave. Once you start to see these in your mind and can picture your hand moving your truck that way in the parking lot/street, it goes much better.

 

Short answer: See the hole, put'er in the hole.

Long answer: Think about the tractor as the steer tires for the trailer. Visualize the path the trailer tires are going to have to take to get where you want the trailer to end up, and then think about how you'd steer that trailer in. Make the tractor act accordingly, guiding the trailer in along the path you've decided it should take.

 

Kansas requires parallel parking.

I've not had to do it a lot but did the other night about 1 am in a rest area in Nebraska. It can be frustrating. But as with any backing, attempting to not get frustrated is the key.

 

Wow, that is sharp PB, pic 1 looks like a dropped trailer with a bob tail parked in front of it,
But I zoomed in on the pic and it snot
Good job PB!
I can parallel park on either side easily but never could master angle parking.

 

I have never ever had a reason to parrallel park. I am still a new guy and I assume the only time you would need to do it is when you need to squeeze into a rest area and trucks are parked alongside the curb? I almost attempted it one night but was able to find another place to park. Just try to do what is needed to pass the CDL test because some of those things won't even be used once you get out there. I wish my school would have taught us how to blindside alley dock.

Anyway, I do know how to do it since we did it all day in school and I was good at it. There is a formula to it which is impossible to explain. You have to look at the corner and angle your trailer to point in the middle where the two corners of the space meet, then back up and when your drive tires are two feet behind the front part of the space you want your hood to get next too, then you turn into the spot and you will be in there. That probably makes no sense since it is hard to explain, but that is how its done.

 

Parrelll???parking is hard, I suck at it and I've watched a lot of other trucks suck too. Even the ones with the extra long sleepers on them that can't fit in a regular spot suck at it and they should be practiced at it.
Backing up is 90% luck and 10% skill. Even though 76% of statistics are made up, alledgedly, (Jay Thomas, Sirus\XM 104 2:00 central time Mon to Thurs.) Sometimes we can hit the hardest spot easy and sometimes we can hardly hit the easiest spot.

When I did my skills test in Indiana, which the school ran, it was all set up, line a cone up, turn the wheel so much, line another cone up, turn the wheel etc and we were parked.

 

I think you've got that backwards....and even then, you are being overly reliant upon your "luck". Luck really doesn't have anything to do with it....unless you suck at backing, in which case you might get lucky and hit your spot every once in a great while. Once you figure out what you're doing, it really isn't all that hard to do.