Things I have learned as solo rookie.

One thing that makes it easier for me is that I have a set route. I pretty much go to the same places all the time. Occasionally I would get different stores, customers but for the most part I know where I'm going and the difficulty of each stop.

I get more nervous when they give me someone else's route and every stop is an adventure cuz I just don't know what to expect. Even if I google the places and use satellite it doesn't really help me that much cuz I can't tell how big the parking lots are or where they have the receiving area.

 

Pls delete

 

Why?

 

My post.
Wrote something changed my mind.
Edited it. I can't delete it myself.

 

I found a lot of the warehouse crew making $11 an hour...Aren't in a big hurry to unload you.Yeah..they set up an obstacle course,park their cars straight out from the docks etc.I Avoid truck stops unless I have to get fuel.

 

There's nothing wrong with knowing your limitations. It's what helps keep you safe. I can count on two hands the number of times another driver has asked me to back their truck up for them. They were all rookies. More were women. I never gave them a hard time. To me it was no big deal. They asked for help, big deal. I had them sit in the passenger seat while I did it and explained what I was doing and why.

The only one I had a problem with was about 10 years ago backing up a Useless Express truck. It didn't have a clutch. That's not right. I looked like a horse trying to count really fast every time I started to slow down.

 

Back, back, and back some more. The only way to get good at it is to practice. Stop and say out loud when you are backing "OK, I'm too far left. I need to do..." before you do that thing. I did what many new drivers do at first, kept trying to pull forward when I didn't know what to do, or if I was too far left while backing, put in in forward gear and steer to the right going forward, which only put your trailer rear facing farther way from where it needs to go.

When you stop for fuel or food at a truck stop or customer with multiple empty spots, designate one empty spot as an imaginary parked truck and back in right beside the imaginary truck, but viewing the painted line between you and him as a landmine and avoid driving over the line as if you will get beat to a pulp if you touch it.

Work on what to do when you have room on either side of parking spot/dock door but minimum space in front. Have a plan for lots of space in front and minimum space beside the space. Improve one skill at a time until it works, then improve another skill.

If you don't practice, you will be no better at backing in 5 years then you will be next week. OTR drivers are lucky to back one or twice a day. Imagine a baseball pitcher throwing 1 or 2 pitches per day. He'll be 100 before he's any good.

 

And learn from it. After every backing situation, ask yourself what you should have done differently. Over time you will recognize the same patterns coming up over and over.

Here's a backing tip. I see a lot of rookies approach a spot/dock at an angle that's too shallow. To avoid that, imagine a line extending out from the inside edge of the spot (the blue line, in the image below). Get your tandems across that line as soon as you can (green line). Otherwise you come in too shallow (red line).



Another technique would be to imagine your truck sitting right in front of the spot, ready to back straight in. Now try to put your truck in that position. Don't even enter the spot until you're dead straight.