Struggling with backing, new driver.

Had to back into a tight dock once. Trucks on both sides of the dock and both were parked a bit crooked to create even more of a bottleneck to get into my dock. So, it was tight as ever to begin with. Also, I'm a Swiftie and seems many worry about Swifties not being able to back without hitting things. Anyway, the guy on my left side seemed a bit paranoid I was going to hit his truck and kept blasting his horn at me when I got close to his truck. I HAD to get closer to his truck than he wanted me too, it was really tight. I wasn't going to hit his truck. I knew where everything was. But, his constantly blasting his horn at me annoyed me. I finally just ignored his horn and wrestled myself into the spot. Closest I got to his truck was about 6". I know that close, but it was a really tight spot. I had less than a foot on my blind side. At least he never got out of his truck and approached me. I don't think it would have been pleasant for either of us!

 

You Tube videos & practice. Takes time and practice to get the hang of it. An Art form if you will.

 

@jc3737
You got this.
Backing is driving in reverse.
You gotta know where your back ends is, and think about where you want it to go.
Ain't NO SHAME in GOAL.... None... Zero...
I helped a friend learn to back using a toy truck.
I covered the trailer in Vaseline so he wouldn't touch it, and could visualize the mechanics of the trailer articulation...
Gross, but effective...
Personally, when I back up, I turn each one into a straight back...
Get into position, pull up, gently adjusting in small bites as I back.
Demand to do it at every opportunity...
Seat time is the only way to learn and gain confidence.
You got this.

 

That is a good vid but lots of times you don't have nearly enough room like that lol but should help the OP some.

 

Like this place here. Hardly any room at all to pull up and get straight so if your not close like within a foot on either side you have pull out and start from the Set up again.

In a circumstance like this OP you cant do 12 and 9 o'clock position they talk about. Just not enough room. So what you do is pull down along the fence leaving about a truck width and a half from you and the fence. That way it leaves you enough room to make your 2nd correction getting back under the trailer so you don't rip your bumper off on the fence. Seen it many times happen here. If your in a situation with a fence like that make sure you leave adequate room to get back under the trailer w/o ripping your bumper off

The fence is closer than what it looks like in the pic.

 

You are right. Plenty of room for sure. That is why I intentionally used the word fundamentals. The OP doesn't sound like anybody has taught him any of the basics to backing. I think that video gives a pretty good step by step for the newbie.

 

It depends on the scenario and and who is signed into the QC. If you are on public property and backing up, the person signed in to the QC as a driver has to do it, legally.

It doesn't matter if it's private property from what I've been told.

So if it's a road back, who ever driving has to do it.

 

Your trainer should never be signed in as the driver, any time spent on the road with the trainer driving is training time wasted!

 

That's the team driving vs the trainee doing all the driving.

It has pros and cons. I would argue that the trainee needs some time alone while the trainer is in the sleeper, not bothering the trainee.

That's the way I was trained and it worked out well. I enjoyed driving down the road by myself, and also learning to sleep in the back while the truck was moving.

But I agree with you 100% that trainees do not get enough experience backing while they are in their 6-week training period.

I train drivers after their 6-week period in paperwork and loading procedures. In my opinion the best way to do that is to cut the umbellic cord and force them to make some decision on their own. In theory it it shows them they know more than they realize and it builds self confidence. Unfortunately, I get a lot of guys that were never taught how to scale a load or were never allowed to back up the truck, not even once.

That's in theory. I don't know, the work still has to get done and some rookies can make some big mistakes. But in my case it worked out very well.