Using mirrors only on a 45 degree back?

From the time your day starts, you have 14 hours before you are no longer able to drive. Of those 14 hours, only 11 can be used for driving.
However, once those 14 hours have passed, you can still legally log any other time as on duty not driving, you just can't legally drive again til you show a minimum of 10 hours consecutively off duty, sleeper, or combined off duty and sleeper time.

You subtract your total driving and on duty not driving from your 70

 

Coming into trucking with a background in 45' busses suddenly makes me realize that I don't know ANYTHING! I am finding y'alls info and stories more than useful. I know I'll be in here reading everthing I can during the next four weeks while I'm in school. I wish I had Tater as my trainer!

 

No, I don't sleep "nekked" in my rig. I don't sleep fully dressed either, and certainly not with my boots on. Just saying hat when I am home it is nice to not have to walk across the lot especially when it is raining, cold or snowing. I know some have other creative ways of dealing with this, but that isn't for me.

Good luck in shcool and down the road. Just aim to be a safe professional driver and you will do fine.

 

Train yourself !
That "cup" can be a mental image,think of it as actually being there
and be smooth in everything you do.
Practice backing with your shoulders square against the seat on the easy
stuff,learn to pop the door and use the door to move your mirror for a wider view.Try sight side backing with your left eye closed,what you see with your right eye will be much different.
Trust in yourself and your ability
When you quit spilling the cup in the cab try putting one on your trailer DOT Bumper and sneak up on those docks . . . . .

 

If your doing a driving test for a company you better look for the hazards when you set up the back. It's all in the setup. I use my mirrors for backing all the time, but most of the trick to backing is knowing how to set it up, and being observant while preparing for the turn.

May Truck had me do a parallel park in the drive test, The afeyt guy though he was being cool moving the cones around while the maneuver was happening. Every time he would move the cone I would pull forward till I located it, then proceed with the parking request... Never hit it...

 

Dark dock or TS back: I came up with an aid for these. Maglight flashlights can remove the lense and use it as a "candle" (the lens cap becomes a base). I set it to candle mode to light the parking area and set it on the ground where I need it. It's helped me to see the nose of that pretty big car I was parking next to a few times.

I keep a handful of glow packs (chemlights) as emergency backups too.

 

Can I come watch you back up your doubles?

I bet it's almost as entertaining as watching me back my spread. LOL!

 

Only read the first few posts on this thread so someone might have already made my point but here's my .02.

I had a P&D route in Central Pa for a couple of years at Con-way and always pulled a "hand me down" 53' Truckload wagon with swing doors. Anyone that has ever run LTL knows what a beast a 53' is let alone with swing doors delivering to anywhere from the biggest plant in town to a wine refrigerator in a new development without paved roads yet.

Bottom line - if I needed mirrors only then it was mirrors only, if I had to open my door I had to open my door, if I had to block a street for a second to get out and look on a blindside I did, if I thought it was necessary to walk a 1/2 mile on foot into the new development before I took the truck in I did, if I then decided I had to back all the way in there because I couldn't swing around I did.. Bumps and bang ups are part of running LTL P&D and I can say honestly and with pride I never hit anything other than the dock I was aiming for. My only "accident" at Con-way was for getting stuck on a 10 ton road attempting a delivery in a snowstorm. A wrecker had to yank me up the hill so I was charged with a preventable..

Anyway, forget what these miserable companies are teaching and use your own head. If you have a good one on your shoulders and like driving, you'll be able to make a good living at it no matter what path you decide to take..

 

pedaling freight with swing doors....i thought only our dispatchers were stupid enough...

 

Air ride and ABS equipped.. I threw a tantrum one time to keep that trailer.. Not sure how much you know about Central Pa but that trailer never let me down in the middle of January on the steep down grades I had to run.. Plus once I got used to it, the doors were a pain but it had earned its keep with me - even though Con-way charged me a point for getting stuck on a 10 ton road with it in a snowstorm..