Where to put tandems for alley dock?

I think there are 2 dynamics to the OPs question. The first one is the test. I suggest setting that tandem to the position you learned to alley dock. The 2nd point is regular on the job backing. Remember there are some situations where there is very little wiggle room and yard trucks and other trucks are running by. In these situations try to set those tandems in another place if possible. When starting that dock you want to get those trailer doors open ASAP and get into that door. This is why I said I always used the settings I had on arrival, then made the tandem adjustment once in the door. A good driver should have that backing maneuver committed to muscle memory in any setting.

 

I figure the best place for the tandems is under the trailer, in the alley.

 

Thanks to everyone for your advice. I took the test again with the tandems at the 41 foot mark....and barely passed! I barely grazed the first corner cone, corrected with 5 Pullups and did great on the final stop. Accumulated 8 out of 12 negative points but still passed. I did screw up the road test by touching a curb which leads me to ask this: Would it make sense to slide tandems all the way up for the tight corner turns of the road test? Would you?

 

nobody told me I do what works for me.

Plus boss man wants tandems slid to rear while we are on the dock unless customer specifies otherwise.

 

it went over my head I guess !

 

She said that too!

 

The simple answer is yes. Especially if you pushed the tandems all the way back for an alley dock test. In most states, tandems all the way to the rear is illegal on public roads.

The real world answer is more complex.

I understand that some companies load their test trailers with a few pallets of sandbags, or something else with some weight to it, so drivers testing won't jerk an empty trailer around in fits and starts. Steven's Transport had some loaded trailers at their facility, if I remember right, but I did not test there for DOT, so unsure if any of them were used for the official road test for licensing. I doubt it, but I do not know.

SO, before you test, ask the truck owner or their representative if the trailer has anything in it for weight, and if so, make sure you can push the tandems all the way forward. You almost certainly can. A testing company almost certainly will not load a test trailer so the student can make weights illegal on either drives or tandems. Trust, but verify.

Failing that, if the trailer is unsealed, or if there is an access port you can open, look inside and see if it is empty.

It probably will be empty. But be sure.

If the trailer is loaded, with an unknown weight, I would leave the tandems where you found them, or move them forward only until the trailer is road legal in your state.

In most other circumstances, I would push the tandems full forward to reduce off-tracking.

 

Im the same way , its easier for me to back a spread than a closed set