So I have my CDL but am a functionally incompetent trucker. Now what?

well first, you chose 2 men that well......let's just say you could have chosen better....like maybe me, and Tom Selleck.???

seriously, it does take time to be proficient in backing. just TAKE YOUR TIME and make a pull up if you have to, in fact, there have been days/nights i had to make SEVERAL pull ups.

take your time, i am worth the award you seek, as long as you don;t mind my wife being a part of that party.>??

 

Practice, practice, practice. Too many well meaning “Instructors ”. Get alone in a parking lot, or a warehouse after hours. You’ll get the hang of it. Just like tying shoelaces, eventually you’ll get it.

 

Maybe a little battery operated lantern. Wonder if the Tact Light ghey advertise on TV would hold up.

 

I lost count of how many flash lights I bought.... my former company gave us drivers this great flash light (among many other flash lights)... But it uses 3 big batteries...

 

Sounds like your ready to be promoted to the office.

 

I know I was accused of being insensitive,,,no wait, I said that, anyway, it's the schools fault. Anyone can drive straight forward, but not enough time is spent on the most basic functions of a truck driver, loading and unloading the trailer, guess where? LOADING DOCKS!!! It's the most important thing about trucking. If I was in charge, I'd say, "you practice backing in, including a "black hole" dock, I don't care if it takes you a week, you're gonna get it, or get out".
And another thing, I started out small and worked my way up. Started with pickup trucks, then straight trucks, dump trucks and finally T/T. Most applicants today, are going from a Honda Fit, to a 65 foot semi. Not the best way to do it, bound to be issues.

 

I tried to teach my wife how to straight-line back a boat trailer so we could go on a boating/RV getaway.

She was hating me pretty hard after 15 minutes. She made me go in the house. After an hour by herself, she still didn’t get it.

I just told her not to get into a situation where she’d have to back up.

Problem solved.

With the right teacher, you’ll get it. You just have to rewire your neurons, and that happens through practice.

I had already been backing a cargo trainer for 25 years when I got my CDL, so it came easily to me. One instructor who is a former Stevens driver gave us some good tips. Look at the rivets on the side of the trailer and use those to gauge what the trailer is doing. Keep the steering wheel rocking back and forth around 12 o’clock slightly as you back. That keeps you from losing it so quickly.

For offset and alley dock, there are some geometry cues that let you know what the trailer is doing. They’re too hard to explain here, but it’s basically a right triangle formed by the trailer, bumper, and side of the hole. Once you envision those legs of the triangle, how they get longer or shorter, and what that indicates with respect to trailer movement, it’s like Eureka!

Good luck!