Hi all,
Just wondering if anyone can give me more help and advice on reversing in tight areas or reversing into a bay.
I have only been driving under two weeks, and was set loose by myself for the first time on Friday, but I’m still struggling with reversing.
Just do add on, I am driving an arctic.
I know it will take time and hopefully one day will just click!
Any advice is appreciated!
Just taking your time mate
And remember don’t be a ■■■■ take a shunt lol
No honestly just take your time and take as much shunts as you need.
And remember when reversing
Left is right and right is left.
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Make it as simple as you can by giving yourself loads of room, aiming to be pretty well straight before you arrive at the gap. Avoid blind side reversing until you’re more comfortable. And get out and look as many times as you need to.
Pete 
Go slowly. Seriously - drive at a slow crawling speed. Don’t over-steer and wait a second or two before moving the steering wheel. Get your head out of the window and watch the centre axle (on a tri-axle trailer) - guide the wheels on that axle into the bay.
As people have said, just take your time mate and it will become more natural in the future. If ever unsure stop and get out and check.
Don’t take any abuse of anyone who tells you to hurry up, everyone has to learn at some point and no one was born a perfect reverser - there are people I work with now who have been driving over 30 years and still get out and check on occasions or have to take a shunt so don’t worry about it. Just enjoy it.
Just remember when you have finally got it, when your further until your career don’t be that guy that gets impatient with drivers who are just starting
Peter Smythe:
Make it as simple as you can by giving yourself loads of room, aiming to be pretty well straight before you arrive at the gap. Avoid blind side reversing until you’re more comfortable. And get out and look as many times as you need to.Pete
Peter…lots of newbies on here struggling with reversing,yet they’ve passed their HGV 1 test! 
not having a dig at the OP,or any other newbies,but surely more reversing should be involved in the training of artic drivers?
carryfast-yeti:
Peter Smythe:
Make it as simple as you can by giving yourself loads of room, aiming to be pretty well straight before you arrive at the gap. Avoid blind side reversing until you’re more comfortable. And get out and look as many times as you need to.Pete
Peter…lots of newbies on here struggling with reversing,yet they’ve passed their HGV 1 test!
not having a dig at the OP,or any other newbies,but surely more reversing should be involved in the training of artic drivers?
Different scenarios, testing stations are built on the level, they don’t have other traffic moving around and reversing around a corner in the wet and dark is not the same as between two cones
Congrats on passing first off, well done
As everyone has said, take your time, and do follow that wheel on a tri axle not the first one…
Like we all see some of the experienced guys and girls with all their blinged up trucks, chrome, pipes and lights, they attack a parking bay at 330 mph and still stuff it up and need a shunt, but don’t they look good… Lol… If you work for a small firm, ask to pop into your yard on a Sunday and try a few in the yard when no one is around… Good luck
Roymondo:
Go slowly. Seriously - drive at a slow crawling speed. Don’t over-steer and wait a second or two before moving the steering wheel. Get your head out of the window and watch the centre axle (on a tri-axle trailer) - guide the wheels on that axle into the bay.
How to you get your head out of the window 
Remember left to bend right to mend only move the steering wheel slowly at half turns as what you put round 1 way you will have to take off the other wait for the trailer to react 1st before moving again slowly slowly wins the race get out & look if need be if another driver around tell them you just passed & can they watch you back & help most will don’t be frightened to take as many shunts as you need /want
animal:
How to you get your head out of the window
Er - I generally just press the button to lower the window then stick my head out and watch the trailer wheels…
What did you think I meant?
Roymondo:
animal:
How to you get your head out of the windowEr - I generally just press the button to lower the window then stick my head out and watch the trailer wheels…
What did you think I meant?
Emmm yes I know to press button to lower the window but then emmm how do you get head out when sitting near steering wheel
Even in a class 2 it was a huge shock for me when I got sent out into the city centre in a manual 26t after learning in a 13-14t DAF! Especially the manoeuvres.
It would undoubtedly have helped me to have attempted some trickier manoeuvres with the help of the instructor, but this isn’t a shortcoming on their part - their job is to get you through the test and they succeeded in my case and the one above. When I do my class one I think I’ll probs pay for a few extra lessons just to practice the more difficult manoeuvres.
Basics of set up for a normal bay (good side).
Get trailer parallel and closish to bay. About 1-2m. Then drive slowly past it looking for people and stuff. Drive past it about 2 bays. Then left turn. Get it as straight as possible with the doors of the trailer a bit past the bay. A slight kink in unit is no bad thing to assist seeing rear wheels.
Then follow advice given.
animal:
Emmm yes I know to press button to lower the window but then emmm how do you get head out when sitting near steering wheel
This is a wind-up, isn’t it?
Peter…lots of newbies on here struggling with reversing,yet they’ve passed their HGV 1 test!
not having a dig at the OP,or any other newbies,but surely more reversing should be involved in the training of artic drivers?
100% agree. And we offer as much reversing training, with and without cones, as the candidate would like. But IME folks don’t normally want to incur any more cost than absolutely necessary.
Pete
Practice, practice, practice and more practice!
When I first started shunting and parking trailers I would always pick the hardest and tightest spots to get in, as it was more challenging. It pays off big time in the long run!
I would get drivers turning up claiming they couldn’t get on bays unless I moved trucks and trailers out of their way. I always called their bluff and asked them for a bet, knowing full well I could do it.
More often than not they would try and then seem surprised that they managed to do it, yet they were willing to give in initially without evening trying.
Positioning is key. Look at some diagrams how to position yourself before you start reversing it will make the manoeuvre alot easyier. Even the more experienced driver will struggle to get in a space if he’s not setup correctly.
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Peter Smythe:
Peter…lots of newbies on here struggling with reversing,yet they’ve passed their HGV 1 test!
not having a dig at the OP,or any other newbies,but surely more reversing should be involved in the training of artic drivers?100% agree. And we offer as much reversing training, with and without cones, as the candidate would like. But IME folks don’t normally want to incur any more cost than absolutely necessary.
Pete
Indeed Pete, when i took my course, back in the stone age 
, the straight to class one was a 10 day affair with the test on the 10th day, so almost one whole day could be devoted to intense maneuvering, this paid huge dividends to trainees once out on the road.
Are there many new passes who want a full day maneuvering, obviously paying for it? because i would recommend this as a worthwhile investment for many.
The other thing about reversing, and i speak as someone who’s been reversing lorries for well over 4 decades (probably not far off your time 
), is how much easier it is when you have a manual with a proper clutch, and i will name the very worse vehicles for reversing control, it has to be Daf’s and Ivecos over about 3 years old with arsetronic gearbox, on which the clutch is near enough an on/off switch…sadly the typical fleet lorries so many new drivers will end up in just when they could do with something with a more sensitive auto-clutch engagement.
I totally agree with that, a manual is so much easier for tight and precise manoeuvres.
One foot on the clutch and one on the brake, no need to touch the accelerator as they easily have enough torque to get moving slowly and controlled.
Regarding auto, it seems a lot of people forget the tortoise option, which makes things much smoother and less jumpy
Roymondo:
animal:
Emmm yes I know to press button to lower the window but then emmm how do you get head out when sitting near steering wheelThis is a wind-up, isn’t it?
Well I could press Botton to lower window move seat back look out window move seat forward reverse a little stop move seat back look out window move seat froward reverse a little & repeat
Ok it not helped by the fact I am 147cm