Why is it better to have the tandems slid forward when alleydocking?

Discussion in 'Experienced Truckers' Advice' started by expedite_it, Sep 16, 2022.

  1. LtlAnonymous

    LtlAnonymous Road Train Member

    6,084
    21,041
    Dec 23, 2016
    0
    Jack...butts? Lot of censored stuff. Lol
     
  2. Truckers Report Jobs

    Trucking Jobs in 30 seconds

    Every month 400 people find a job with the help of TruckersReport.

  3. Elroythekid

    Elroythekid Road Train Member

    2,606
    5,663
    Sep 9, 2010
    Halifax Nova Scotia
    0
    Trailer doesnt get shorter, but it reacts like it is because of the shorter wheel base. You just have to be aware of the tail swing.
    Me, I've had a hard spot or 2 to get into, and if its tight on both sides, I'll drive the axels back so I dont have to worry about the tail getting the object on my blind side.
    And.....
    G.O.A.L.
     
    lester and expedite_it Thank this.
  4. expedite_it

    expedite_it Road Train Member

    1,646
    863
    Sep 8, 2012
    0
    There was a lot of room on the long side of the loading dock, so I didn't need to GOAL.
     
  5. expedite_it

    expedite_it Road Train Member

    1,646
    863
    Sep 8, 2012
    0
    With the tandems forward, you would only have to worry about the tail swing if you had to drive forward and make a correction.
     
  6. rockeee

    rockeee Medium Load Member

    338
    654
    Apr 22, 2015
    Kalama, Wa
    0
    Expedite, why are you asking these sort of questions like you asked below from post #8 if you already know the answer? You have apparently been a driver for 10 years or so, so.....I am a little confused at some of the things that you don't seem to know or understand or....your just beating poor Mr. Ed to death because?

    "Are you ONLY worried about tail swing when you have to make a pull up and drive forward during the back, or are you worried about tail swing when you are actually moving the truck in reverse as well?"
     
    LtlAnonymous Thanks this.
  7. Long FLD

    Long FLD Road Train Member

    11,807
    48,339
    Mar 4, 2015
    0
    I’d say about 95% of the time I slide my axles back before starting into a hole. Just makes it easier because you don’t have to worry about the tail of your trailer getting into the trailer on your blind side. Plus you know where the back of your trailer will be when you start cutting under it to shove the front end of the trailer over.
     
    lester and Hammer166 Thank this.
  8. Hammer166

    Hammer166 Crusty Information Officer

    7,452
    26,980
    Aug 18, 2007
    ~8600+' and loving it!
    0
    Come on now, that's trolling and you know it! Tailswing matters just as much in reverse as it does going forward.
     
  9. expedite_it

    expedite_it Road Train Member

    1,646
    863
    Sep 8, 2012
    0
    What I wrote in post #114 is incorrect. It's not trolling. I was just wrong. But if you never let the nose of the trailer go east of the rear of the trailer when doing a sight-side 45 degree alleydock, there will be no tail swing.

    In general, yes, tailswing matters just as much in reverse as going forward.

    However, using the way I do an alleydock back, tailswing is not a factor when going in reverse.
    Using the diagram I used in post #32 with the same compass point directions as in post #32, tailswing will never be a problem as long as the nose of the trailer never goes east of the rear of the trailer on a sight-side back.

    On a sight-side back, I never let the nose of the trailer go east of the rear of the trailer.
     
    Last edited: Sep 20, 2022
  10. expedite_it

    expedite_it Road Train Member

    1,646
    863
    Sep 8, 2012
    0
    I recently was at a shipper in which all the needs for forward space was illuminated to me. I will call this shipper "shipper X". At shipper X, I got a live load at a loading dock. There was only about 90 feet of forward space from the dock pads on the loading dock to the fence directly in front of the loading dock. After I got backed in to the loading dock, there was less than 20 feet from the grill of my truck to the fence. I had to make a blind-side back at this facility as there was not enough forward space to the west to make a sight-side back. My back at shipper X displayed to me that the required forward space is not only about the length from where the tandems come closest to the obstacles to the front of the truck.

    At Shipper X, there were no obstacles to the side of the loading dock. The only thing that made the back difficult was that there was so little forward space. There was about 90 feet of forward space from the dock pads to the fence at the north boundary of shipper X. There was about 30 feet of forward space to the west. There was about 50 feet of forward space to the east. So I had to do a blind-side back.

    I made sure that the tandems were slid all the way forward as I did this back. In situations in which there are no obstacles on either side of the parking spot at a loading dock, having the tandems forward still requires less forward space to the North BOTH because the shorter wheelbase trailer reacts much faster if one needs to pull up to make a correction AND because the shorter wheelbase trailer will react to movements of the truck faster, allowing one to move the trailer toward the loading dock (I'm talking about east-west movement here) faster than if the tandems were slid to the rear.

    In your last sentence of your post, I don't know why you only mentioned how having a shorter wheelbase allows the trailer to react much faster to do a pull up to make a correction without mentioning that a shorter wheelbase also allows one to move the trailer on a east-west direction of movement much faster than if the tandems were slid to the rear. If you had mentioned it, i would not have needed to make this post.
     
  11. mustang190

    mustang190 Road Train Member

    2,844
    6,111
    Jan 18, 2011
    Florida Panhandle
    0
    After reading through all of this, I’m glad I pull a tanker!
    Just back up under the rack and avoid hitting all the pipe racks and tanks!!
    Then find the break room and have a cup of coffee.
     
  12. expedite_it

    expedite_it Road Train Member

    1,646
    863
    Sep 8, 2012
    0
    As long as you don't let the nose of the trailer go east of the rear of the trailer when doing an alleydock back, I don't think that tail swing is an issue, even if the tandems are forward. If you are doing a 45 degree alleydock (sight side) back, as long as the nose of the trailer never goes east of the rear of the trailer, there would not be any tail swing. However, once the nose of the trailer goes east of the rear of the trailer, then there would be tail swing to the west (the rear bumper of the trailer would swing to the driver's side of the trailer).

    When I was in trucking school, I was taught to never let the nose of the trailer go east of the rear of the trailer on a sight side 45 degree alleydock back.
     
  • Truckers Report Jobs

    Trucking Jobs in 30 seconds

    Every month 400 people find a job with the help of TruckersReport.