Tight Backing

Must not apply to me either. I'm not a guy, I'm skinny, and I make more than that .25 cpm too! A lot more!

 

Sounds like a place out in Sparrow's Point, MD I had to hit once . . . lovely at sunset with the sun in your eyes!

 

Lol well none of that applies to you now does it. Lucky lol.

That's not cheating I want that little contraption dozer thing...ugh my girlfriend was right. Men never grow up our toys just get bigger

You are right now would you care to explain that to NNG? You understand backing. Appearntly he does not course maybe we have the suckers definition of good backing who knows? I don't I know as long as I have to pay for my own insurance I'm driving safe and not hitting crap lol.

 

As for night backing without lights, your hazard lights flashing can give you a heck of a lot of depth perception....

and if you get a magnetic light, you can stick it to poles and stuff... Ive done that for students once or twice during power outages...

The hard part is not the dark, the hard part is when you start having problems seeing distance when you are tired.... which is why its important for trainers to let their students back when they are tired, not just during the day and all.

When you get out on your own, you cant just switch over to the other driver unless you are teaming... you HAVE to get it parked, you have no other choice...

I was doing laps around the Jackson GA Flying J, showing a student how to back... and this truck starts honking at me. So Im expecting him to be angry or something, instead he yells to my student "You got yourself a good trainer!".... I was thinking to myself "If Im a good trainer, I dont know if thats a compliment to me or an insult to all the trainers who cant... you know... teach backing"

 

I put it out there with him in mind, but hopefully everybody will pause and contemplate the real goal of backing. Doing it safely and effectively, not being concerned one iota about how long it takes. Or even who may or may not be watching.

Heck, when I was really green (now I'm just a lighter shade LOL) I used to lose my concentration thinking about not making a fool of myself in front of all the "real drivers out here" when I was backing. But when you really pay close attention to what is really happening at shippers/receivers/truck stops, you realize that even the seasoned drivers have their moments. Can't tell you how many O/O's I've seen attempting to pull into tight holes in a Pilot (they ALL basically suck so take your pick) and after a while just pulling away, saying "screw it, it's not worth it". They didn't look foolish or look like they couldn't back. They looked smart for not forcing something that wasn't worth it.

Somebody on this thread, with the overconfidence that he has will probably wind up learning the hard way because of pride. Pride always comes before the fall.

 

Good stuff. You just taught me something new, sir. Thank you.

 

That is true, I will respectfully kind of disagree with you. Your hazard lights can give you depth perception. This is true, ii don't so much have problems with depth perception unless there is an object that is sticking out in front of where the dock would be. That's the best way I can put it.

However if you have ever had to back at night in BFE you know that it is tough with every little light. I have had times out in the middle of no where, where I've had to back with nothing but the tail lights to light my way. It is not an easy task. That is where flashlights come into play for squaring up, spot lights on trucks get turned backwards for extra light, and the Johnson bar gets pulled down to supply just enough air to light the stop lights but not apply the brakes.

I remember backing into a truck stop well small country store just west of red cloud Nebraska one night. I shut down that night because the fog was so thick I could barely see past my hood. That was probably one of the hardest backing situations I have ever been in and the lot was empty nothing to key on and I spent 30 minutes walking around making sure I wasn't going to run over anything or into anything.

It is easy to judge distance and depth when you're backing up to a dock, or a curb at a truck stop. That becomes much more challenging when you have to back up to nothing but a ditch. With nothing but tail lights to guide you. I won't disagree with what you have said. You have made good points. And your advise is helpful. I like what you do with your students in forcing them to back while tired and throwing them in that scenario. You have to learn sometime and better that you learn with a trainer than have to learn it on your own as I did.

However there are some situations where you cannot be prepared for with a trainer such as that one. I was on my own giving them the tools that you have given them and the advice you have given them is very helpful. Hopefully they will use it.

 

Gettin the trailers tail end to the opening is the "easy" part. Now as for backing it's entire length into that "abyss of total darkness" with no more than a baseball-size gap on each side... is a whole nuther story!

LOL, thx for the game link, dude. It had me cussin, as the steering delay/reaction leaves a lot to be desired. Definitely a challenge, even FORWARD.

GT'er, nice little "backing" machine there! I also HAD to give Evan a thumbs up on the other vid. That ending ear-to-ear grin was a killa'!

Well Lilbit. Maybe it did apply to me after all. I musta' been drunk when I said "I was skinny". That, plus the .29 was a "little off". lol

 

EVERYBODY NEEDS TO READ THAT!!!

You were taught well. There is no shame in leaving a spot for somebody else that has more guts lot less brains. Any veteran will tell us that (I'm like you still green just a slightly lighter shade lol) as I said before maybe we have the suckers, or rookies definition of good backing, but I don't need to be some god almighty super trucker. I don't get that vibe from you either. I'm out here to making a living and learn. This forum has valuable tools reading it and discussing things helps all of us learn. Even veterans may learn a trick or two from rookies like me and you. There is NO shame in that.

The day we quit learning and know everything is the day we need to quit driving. There is something we should all learn every day out here. Yes I still learn, yes I will always be learning something. Hitting a tight hole in 30 seconds (truck on do not run with that lmfao) doesn't make you a truck driver, it means you can back, flying down the interstate at 90 with a load behind you doesn't make you a truck driver it means you want a ticket or have a death wish...or you're a chicken hauler or a bull hauler. What makes you a truck driver is getting up, doing your job, doing it professionally, safely, and doing it in a way that is going to get you home to your family. I have believed that for years and always will. Not everybody can handle the lifestyle we have, it takes a special breed. All walks of life try, we can see that on the forum, some succeed some don't, that is the nature of the beast. If you use the tools you are given, and continue to learn and progress, and you can handle what goes into driving a truck you have the best chance for success.

It is when you stop using the tools, become arrogant, and believe you know it all that you will fail.

Jmo

 

very nicely put 379!