Parking in truck stops

This one....sometimes you have to nose in

 

If you were nosed in and somebody clipped tour trailer tandem, just think what he would have clipped if you were backed in. lol

 

Not necessarily sometimes when nosed in the trailer sticks way out.

 

You can generally get more vehicles parked in the same area with perpendicular spots.

But if you search the forum for 'what do you want in an ideal truck stop' you'll find dozens of posts about pull thru parking or angled spots to make backing in easier.

The designer hears those comments but does not actually understand what they mean and then lay out the lot. If you put them all sight side angles you have trucks pointing both ways, which makes backing a pain if anyone is a little too far forward, or half the spots are on the blind side.

Good intentions, paving roads, etc.

 

Ssooner or later you gonna have to

 

What used to be a small property damage claim of $ 3,000 - 10,000 is now $ 15,000 - 30,000 with the cost of the new tractors. Doesn't take much to cause $ 25,000 in damage to a new $ 180,000 tractor. One of the most frequent claims we see involve truck stop parking damage to a third party unit.

 

Angled parking is much easier , atleast with a spread axle it is. Dont have to put trailer at much of an angle to get it in there, although some lots are real tight in space where others are more open. I like to get plenty of backing room and will pull up further than normal so i can walk the trailer back there with minor adjustmentd. Start along same side of trucks as our spot is on and set up at 45 degree angle from row of trucks . turn the wheel about 1/4 and hold it until trailer gets angled towards hole and she should go right in with minor adjustments either direction, provided u have set uo correctly. Ive found the convex mirror works better in angle spots, because its easier to get thr bigger picture and line up ur trailer.

.When the spots are straight its much harder IMO because u have to do more work with the trailer and constantly adjust it . and sometimes it is inpossible to get a spread axle in the tight spots

 

Like you I struggle with backing those things up. But I would recommend that you not nose in unless you can back straight out of it. That means that you can drive straight into it and not have to worry about offtracking.

Sometimes you can pull into a parking lot and see that one empty spot directly ahead of you on the end next to the grass. That's a nose in candidate. But if its in the middle of the isle somewhere, I wouldn't do it.

Not only is it tricky to pull out but it makes parking for other people in spots around you harder because your tail will stick out farther.