Still need help on blind side back

advice, 1st get spotters like you did before, and if customer says its your problem, then make it their's too by stating unable to deliver, when their management hes that bet you get help. 2nd, if you try without spotters, get out and check as many times as needed, its always a pain in the ### to blind side.

 

The power mirror is your friend with a sleeper cab

 

Its easier with a daycab but I still wouldn't call it easy. With a longbox you can spot your position out the back window and usually get back in front of it but not with a pup trailer. Pup trailer you just have to get the feel for how they turn and take a guess at when to get back in front of it. By the time you can see down the passenger side it's way too late.

 

I'd say it's pretty safe to say most people suck at them! Your friggen blind! I'm a local guy and always hit the same places, I've got one stop where the only way in is to blind side parallel in, but I've got that down. If it were somewhere else I'm not used to, it'd be one of those GOAL days for sure.

 

blind side backs have me getting out of the truck and looking when in doubt but then i never went to a driving school. never enough experience to not apply the basics.

 

Also when you have a spotter, tell them where you want them to stand. Many want to stand behind the trailer and wave you back and even with an empty flatbed trailer you can not see them.

There are also a couple of rules that I follow when backing, even straight....

1. Roll down the windows and turn off the radio. Dad drove this into me as a kid backing his boats or RV. He said it was so I could hear him scream when I ran over him... LOL

2. I like my spotter where I can see them out the drivers mirror. I can always stop and have them check the other side or I can myself. I want them to watch the side I can not see.

3. Get your hand signals straight with the spotter. If you do not understand what they are trying to get across to you, stop and get out of the truck.

 

If only that were true for where I worked.I had to blindside once a day at transcont dock1.They're part of Tyson.The dock wouldn't have been so bad if it wasn't for the cement barrier right next to it.

 

I figure any customer that has a yard that forces an OTR 70'+ tractor/trailer into a blind side back deserves to have us take a LOOOOONNNNNGGGGG time getting into the dock, so I get all crippled up and make darned sure I got my three points of contact on every step getting into and out of my cab and mosey around my truck completely, then get in and back up another foot and repeat the process....

 

When you do a sight side back you know where it need to go and how to get it there.

With a blind side I just do the same in reverse. Set up is a mirror of a sight side and you know where your wheels need to go. Just take it slow and goal when needed to make sure you're actually on the track you need to be but once I got past the mental hurdle I don't find them that bad.

I tried playing with the mirror but for me it seems to mess me up worse when that mirror isn't set up the way I would normally have it.

I got one of those 'blind side helper' mirrors but it doesn't seem to help that much. I find it more useful to stick my head out the passenger side window and/or goal when getting in line.

I had to do a pretty tight blind side not that long ago. Three guys came out to watch. I guess they get a kick out of us struggling. I thought oh crap, this could be embarrassing.

Like mentioned though, I envisioned how it would go, relaxed, set up properly, got out to look a few times and corrected before it was too late. It actually went in nice and easy. Almost as quick as if it were a sight side.

The audience seemed disappointed. If they only seen me struggle with a nice easy one the next day.

I've also done them where it took forever and I couldn't get lined up to save my life. Also with an audience. After the first time that happened I made it a point to do at least on a week at a not busy t/s with lots of room until I got somewhat comfortable with it.

I still dread them at a dock but getting over the mental hurdle and realizing it's just the mirror image of what we usually do has made it a lot easier. Goal often to make sure you're on track and it's not that bad.