Please give me advice on straight line backing.

I just look at the surrounding like use something to align yourself too also you don't have to turn the wheel back and forth all crazy just a little fix and turn it right back to straighten out.

 

Ok I am not a driving school instructor. I have trained people before. Either you are confusing what they are saying or I am confused as to how or what you are saying..Having said that I will try and help you with some easy real world tips..

1. The setup is the most important part of backing.. If you don't setup properly you will never hit the hole..
2. Don't be one of those turn the steering wheel hard one way and then have to go just as hard the other way use small corrections (unless you have know what you are doing)
3. Don't ever ever ever use the fuel when backing slow and steady is better than an accident.
4. Get Out and LOOk. even in school get out and look..
5. Use every mirror on that truck they are there for a reason..
6. Don't worry so much about the trailer worry where the wheels are going it will show you a path if you look (they will telegraph everything)
7. Having state 6 don't forget about the trailer it is 13' 6" high and may get something with 13' 6".
8. While we are on the subject don't be afraid to ask questions.. If you don't understand ask.

Here is what I suggest you try next time.. get the trailer going in the proper direction slowly..as soon as the trailer starts to move in that direction get back under it (straighten up) from here you should be able to slowly VERY SLOWLY guide the trailer back into the correct position. Remember your instructors have been doing this for years they can back up in their sleep I am sure, also remember this they aren't on the road for 1 reason or another.

 

Congratulations. You have just discovered one of the dirty little secrets of the trucking industry. The often misguided belief that having a certain amount of experience as a driver automatically qualifies someone to be able to teach those skills to others. It doesn't. There are methods and principals involved in teaching people effectively but sadly they are all but nonexistent when it comes to CDL training.


So you often find that every instructor has their own way of doing things and they will often tell you that you're wrong for doing the way some other instructor told you to do it. This violates one of the basic principals of teaching but like I said, no one seems to think effective teaching is important when it comes to operating 80k lb vehicles on public roads.

Anyway here's what you do for straight line backing and almost every other skill you need to learn. You listen to the instructor that you're working with at that moment and you do it his or her way so his or her ego gets stroked. Then when his or her back is turned, you do it whatever way works for you. There isn't going to be an instructor in the truck with you when you take your road test nor will there be one with you when you're driving on your own. So go through the motions the instructors want to you go through, then do whatever works best for you when it really matters.

In the case of straight line backing, use whatever mirror you want to use and look where ever you want to look. In fact, I would recommend you take your time and pick one or two references to use but occasionally look at everything else as well just to verify that its all doing what you expect it to be doing. So you could watch the trailer wheels and their track as well as the back edge of the trailer wall and its track against whatever imaginary or real line you're trying to get it to follow using whatever mirror works best for you. But you should also take a quick peak now and then at the relationship of tractor to the trailer just to make sure you're not getting it too bent and/or to verify that things up front which stick out such as your fenders and fender mirrors as well as the tank steps are not getting too close to hitting anything.

 

As long as it takes. Its just going to depend on how much drift and how much you turn the wheel. If you turn the wheel more i.e. like all the way to the stop, the truck is going to respond faster. If you only turn a tiny bit then its going to take longer to get any perceptible reaction out of it. The thing with straight line backing is that you kind of want to avoid having to make large corrections. But that doesn't mean a quick 'hard' turn of the wheel can't be used. It just means you're going to have to quickly counter that hard turn or you'll end up getting the tractor out from in front of the trailer too far.

 

i know it seems like they are giving you conflicting advice, but really they're all just giving you differrent methods of doing the same thing.

in order to back successfully, you need to learn two things. first, what moving the steering wheel does when you're backing. in other words, how much a movement on the wheel affects the trailer. to do that, back in an open area, not trying to hit the hole. pull up and get straight, then back and watch what the trailer does when you turn just a bit, and then when you straighten back up, etc. get more accustomed to making the trailer move left or right and then back straightend up so that part is easier for you.

then second, get in the truck when it's already in the hole, and pull straight out. stop every few feet and look at the mirrors. no, don't just look at them, EXAMINE them. look for reference points and figure out what YOU can see to line up the trailer. i don't care if you use the west coast (flat) mirror most, or the convex, or whatever. use them all, but you will find that probably one is your "go to."
you're right about the convex distorting the distances. so the flat is probably a better choice for that, but i don't mean ignore the convex. use it for more of a big picture.

after you do those two things, put it to practice by backing in. but don't just back it in, GOAL! GET OUT AND LOOK! every few feet, get out and look. examine how the trailer is sitting in relationship to the tractor and the parking space. ask yourself, "from this position, will it go in?" if the answer is no, PULL UP. pull up as many times as you have to. if you get into a jack that you can't get out of, then you didn't pull up soon enough. make 100% sure you don't lose your driver's side mirror. if you do, you've jacked it too much and should have pulled up.

i believe after you do these two things that you'll have a better feel for what your steering wheel inputs actually DO to the trailer, AND where the trailer actually needs to be at each point during the back. pretty soon you'll be backing like a pro!

 

What I found that works for me when backing down 2 rows of cones in a straight line back is to look in the mirrors for some fixed object in the far distance and aim the trailer edge for that item, keeping in mind the cones.

Some instructors will say to hold the bottom of the steering wheel so that if your trailer drifts to the right, you pull the steering wheel to the right.

 

What I wa taught in the school I went to regarding the steering wheel & how much correction to give. We had to drive up through the cones, then back straight thru them, so theoretically your set up should be good to start with. Then we put our hand at the top of the steering wheel at the 12 o-clock position. Whichever mirrors you choose, I use mostly the flat ones, as soon as you see your trailer start to stick out more on one side, you turn your wheel toward that side, but only to the 3 o-clock or 9 o-clock position. Then as soon as it's corrected, move the wheel and your hand back to 12 o-clock.
The idea really is, make very small corrections as soon as needed. It takes practice! And in time you find that every case and every set up is unique, and requires a bit different action. But that's the general guideline I was started with.
Good luck, and kudos to you for keeping at it!

 

Which CRE school in Indiana, Burns Harbour or Richmond? I know at the Richmond school when I was there we (refresher students) were not allowed on the backing range due to abysmal failing rates on the cdl backing test causing a backup of students from previous weeks on the range.

I dont know that there is a right way to back, I basically learned by trial and error and while I never had an accident, I certainly wasted a lot of time, mostly overcorrecting caused my problems, that and I took get out and look to heart, and that took time too.

Nowadays, I am okay at it, but I still get out and look at my blind side all the time despite experienced people telling me they don't have to, but I don't trust them, if I can't see my tandems on the blind side, I get out and look.

I think the most important thing to do, is choose a way of doing it, and practice as much as possible, I know at CRE they don't give much time for practice, hopefully your new school will.