Conor:
When it comes to a 90 degree reverse for example unless there isn’t the width ( and you do have the width available in that image) you’ll never find me in a situation where I’m 90 degrees to where the trailer is going to go. Say it’s on your right. As I’m approaching I’ll approach to the left, drive in towards the gap where the trailer is going to go on the right then turn left and at the end a slight turn to the right and you end up in a position where you have the trailer at say 30-45 degrees to the gap it’s going into, or at least already part way through the turn, with the rear of the trailer a few feet past the gap and the unit already turned to the right slightly so it’ll start to turn the trailer as soon as you hit reverse. You’re now only doing a 30-45 degree turn not a 90 degree turn.
I do that always (have unit at an angle at the start of the reverse) but in this case what happens is my trailer ‘‘cuts’’ the corner too much forcing me to jacknife hard at the last second to try and spin it in place, coming dangerously close to the barrier (the angled part of it) at the same time, hence I started trying to do a 80-ish degree to have more room for the jacknife and line up the trailer as soon as it reaches the posts but it’s hard to nail the moment and the initial positioning to still not introduce the front into the barrier.
I’m not agency anymore but guess what I did on my first day on the ‘‘new’’ job
Actrosman: @Juddian…why can’t you do anything with the midlift on a Merc unit? It’s only a button press away
Agreed, the old square Axors which i found a far better working lorry than the reputation they seem to have here might suggest (superb with manual box) were by far the best tractor i’ve ever had for snow driving, utterly refused to get stuck, that low rev lugging engine via the manual box really came into its own when the roads were bad.
Sadly the new shape Axors we had for a while the driver had no input to the mid lift once loaded, they instead fitted some sort of judder device to the transmission supposed to assist with grip in poor conditions, to be fair these might have been basic fleet spec, an utterly miserable vehicle in every way.
Conor:
When it comes to a 90 degree reverse for example unless there isn’t the width ( and you do have the width available in that image) you’ll never find me in a situation where I’m 90 degrees to where the trailer is going to go. Say it’s on your right. As I’m approaching I’ll approach to the left, drive in towards the gap where the trailer is going to go on the right then turn left and at the end a slight turn to the right and you end up in a position where you have the trailer at say 30-45 degrees to the gap it’s going into, or at least already part way through the turn, with the rear of the trailer a few feet past the gap and the unit already turned to the right slightly so it’ll start to turn the trailer as soon as you hit reverse. You’re now only doing a 30-45 degree turn not a 90 degree turn.
I do that always (have unit at an angle at the start of the reverse) but in this case what happens is my trailer ‘‘cuts’’ the corner too much forcing me to jacknife hard at the last second to try and spin it in place, coming dangerously close to the barrier (the angled part of it) at the same time, hence I started trying to do a 80-ish degree to have more room for the jacknife and line up the trailer as soon as it reaches the posts but it’s hard to nail the moment and the initial positioning to still not introduce the front into the barrier.
I’m not agency anymore but guess what I did on my first day on the ‘‘new’’ job
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Ironically Conor’s angles and positioning look off to me.That trailer ain’t going in that slot with the rear overhang going in that direction v the trailer pivot point and the unit facing where it’s going starting at that distance from the trailers.
The trailer needs to be going in steeper than that and the unit needs to be at a relatively sharper angle relative to the trailer at that point to bring the rear over hang into line.The clever bit is then using enough lock at the right time to get the unit back into line so it doesn’t over steer the trailer.Bonus points if you haven’t got much width to start off with meaning as close as it gets to an unavoidable 90 degree turn.It’s then a balancing act between where the front and rear corners of the unit and the trailer are going.Ironically similar applies when driving out.
( Just like our old Feltham depot ).
Actrosman: @Juddian…why can’t you do anything with the midlift on a Merc unit? It’s only a button press away
Agreed, the old square Axors which i found a far better working lorry than the reputation they seem to have here might suggest (superb with manual box) were by far the best tractor i’ve ever had for snow driving, utterly refused to get stuck, that low rev lugging engine via the manual box really came into its own when the roads were bad.
Sadly the new shape Axors we had for a while the driver had no input to the mid lift once loaded, they instead fitted some sort of judder device to the transmission supposed to assist with grip in poor conditions, to be fair these might have been basic fleet spec, an utterly miserable vehicle in every way.
I assumed every unit with a midlift had a lift button…the old 52 plate Megaspace had one (obviously none steer, typical Merc) as did the 54 plate Scania, which was a twin steer…incidentally, we have a 68 plate Scania in on lease atm which has everything chucked on it…all those extra led spots, fridge, microwave and even leather interior…but it’s a non steer midlift, which I wrongly assumed it would be for a Scanny! Some of our drivers moan about not being able to lift the axle when loaded but that’s simply because they just press the ‘lift’ button and not the ‘weight transfer’ button or moan that to get the axle back down they have to switch the engine off… they don’t know to press the ‘stop’ button which lowers it back down…not necessarily needed but I like to drop the axle before finally touching the bay ready for the reload…takes a bit of pressure of the air suspension I guess the way some of the loaders drop the pallets on!
Carryfast:
Ironically Conor’s angles and positioning look off to me.That trailer ain’t going in that slot with the rear overhang going in that direction v the trailer pivot point and the unit facing where it’s going starting at that distance from the trailers.
It’s almost like I just quickly knocked something up in paint to give a general idea of what I was meaning rather than drawing something to scale.
Carryfast:
Ironically Conor’s angles and positioning look off to me.That trailer ain’t going in that slot with the rear overhang going in that direction v the trailer pivot point and the unit facing where it’s going starting at that distance from the trailers.
It’s almost like I just quickly knocked something up in paint to give a general idea of what I was meaning rather than drawing something to scale.
I’m tempted to suggest that may be CF could have used his imagination a little.
But I’ll bite my tongue on that.
No science
as tractors 4x2 6x2 mid lift ts are all different as is tandem tri etc all pivot differently in different combinations.
You can either reverse or you can’t
Those that can’t never really get it they just get by badly normally.
ETS:
For real. I remember talking to a self-proclaimed master of reversing Romanian driver who told me a story of how he got to know a shunter and after many years of getting to know him he finally revealed an ancient secret trick for spinning it on a dime in reverse - it involved something about placing an object on the imaginary extension of the line on your close side (assuming a good side reverse), then planting your middle wheel on it (just so it’s behind your middle trailer wheel) but I couldn’t quite understand what he was trying to tell me. Anyone know this trick and can you explain to me please? 10 times out of 10 on a tight reverse I’ll hold the angle for too long and end up with my trailer on the line but cab still at an angle so no good. He was saying something like when the middle wheel is there you stop and start to straighten…? Not sure as there was a bit of a problem communicating
Something must have got lost in the langauge barrier, this vide explains exactly what he was trying to say youtube.com/watch?v=UjJ0kcmy2W0
Carryfast:
Ironically Conor’s angles and positioning look off to me.That trailer ain’t going in that slot with the rear overhang going in that direction v the trailer pivot point and the unit facing where it’s going starting at that distance from the trailers.
It’s almost like I just quickly knocked something up in paint to give a general idea of what I was meaning rather than drawing something to scale.
It’s too much aggro to post a diagram.I’m seeing that diagram as might as well go in a straight line along the trailers then more left lock slightly sooner than yours taking the trailer up at a steeper angle.Then turn the unit to a sharper angle on the right.That would be very similar to the reverse at our Nuneaton depot often with trucks parked opposite.
As for Feltham don’t even go there.With hindsight I don’t know now how we did it but it did involve literally pivoting it on its axis and balancing the over hang into the slot and the front corner of the unit v the railway sleepers that formed the embankment opposite when turning follow it.We sometimes dropped the trailer with the unit still at a slight angle to the trailer in that regard.
robthedog:
No science
as tractors 4x2 6x2 mid lift ts are all different as is tandem tri etc all pivot differently in different combinations.
You can either reverse or you can’t
Those that can’t never really get it they just get by badly normally.
When reversing or trying to shunt in a tight space he difference between mid axle up or down is night and day.
shullbit:
Something must have got lost in the langauge barrier, this vide explains exactly what he was trying to say youtube.com/watch?v=UjJ0kcmy2W0
robthedog:
No science
as tractors 4x2 6x2 mid lift ts are all different as is tandem tri etc all pivot differently in different combinations.
You can either reverse or you can’t
Those that can’t never really get it they just get by badly normally.
When reversing or trying to shunt in a tight space he difference between mid axle up or down is night and day.
shullbit:
Something must have got lost in the langauge barrier, this vide explains exactly what he was trying to say youtube.com/watch?v=UjJ0kcmy2W0
Now do it with a loaded trailer
Then do it in reverse with an A frame drawbar don’t need for the box at the end.Just a post with a polo mint at the right height and a nitting needle stuck to the back to the trailer will do.Breaking the mint with the needle will pass bonus points for putting it through the middle.
OP should try this
Had to do a 90° reverse off a side road into the gates of an old mill yard today.
Bit tricky but no problem, couple of shunts but blocked the road for a few minutes.
What made it a bit more difficult was the cars full of Asian youths shouting all kinds of racism and violence at me… “move it mother ■■■■■■, I’ll chop your head off you white ■■■■■■■ etc”
So yes there is systemic inbred racism in this country, don’t think there will be a protest about this though somehow.
Didnt even worry about the manouvere, too busy staying calm and resisting the urge to crush these little gimps in their mums cars against the wall.
idrive:
Didnt even worry about the manouvere, too busy staying calm and resisting the urge to crush these little gimps in their mums cars against the wall.
Lost control of vehicle in panic and fear of your life.
idrive:
OP should try this
Had to do a 90° reverse off a side road into the gates of an old mill yard today.
Bit tricky but no problem, couple of shunts but blocked the road for a few minutes.
What made it a bit more difficult was the cars full of Asian youths shouting all kinds of racism and violence at me… “move it mother [zb], I’ll chop your head off you white [zb] etc”
So yes there is systemic inbred racism in this country, don’t think there will be a protest about this though somehow.
Didnt even worry about the manouvere, too busy staying calm and resisting the urge to crush these little gimps in their mums cars against the wall.
I would have ground to halt to build my air back and enjoy a nice cigarette in the process
idrive:
OP should try this
Had to do a 90° reverse off a side road into the gates of an old mill yard today.
Bit tricky but no problem, couple of shunts but blocked the road for a few minutes.
What made it a bit more difficult was the cars full of Asian youths shouting all kinds of racism and violence at me… “move it mother [zb], I’ll chop your head off you white [zb] etc”
So yes there is systemic inbred racism in this country, don’t think there will be a protest about this though somehow.
Didnt even worry about the manouvere, too busy staying calm and resisting the urge to crush these little gimps in their mums cars against the wall.
I would have ground to halt to build my air back and enjoy a nice cigarette in the process
I’m tempted to kidnap the truck and go wild on a weekend night at the services parking until I get it right. I’m sure my next employer will be impressed by my 1 move 90 degree reverse
If it’s any consolation, it took me about ten years before I even began mastering reversing into a bay, and not over steering. For me, the trick is to “go in steep”. By that I mean exploit the space you have to get the trailer lined up with the bay as much as you can before your back end has entered the bay. When you “go in shallow” you get the rear into the bay when you’re still at 45 degrees. They’re more difficult to rescue even for experienced drivers.
It’s very difficult to explain. It’s a knack that comes with experience. But one factor which is definitely true is that fewer and smaller movements of the steering wheel is what you should aim for. It’s possible to reverse onto a bay in one go with just a few tiny steering wheel movements. Also, and I still do this, take it slower than the average driver. Don’t rush the manoeuvre, you won’t get any more thanks, pay, or recognition for rushing it.
Another tip is to stop, look at the bay, and imagine pulling away from it. What line would the trailer take? Where would it end up once you’ve pulled off, turned left or right, and straightened up? That’s where you start from, and that’s how you go in steep.
idrive:
OP should try this
Had to do a 90° reverse off a side road into the gates of an old mill yard today.
Bit tricky but no problem, couple of shunts but blocked the road for a few minutes.
What made it a bit more difficult was the cars full of Asian youths shouting all kinds of racism and violence at me… “move it mother [zb], I’ll chop your head off you white [zb] etc”
So yes there is systemic inbred racism in this country, don’t think there will be a protest about this though somehow.
Didnt even worry about the manouvere, too busy staying calm and resisting the urge to crush these little gimps in their mums cars against the wall.
Slap on plenty of fake sun tan combined with some real it’ll be fine we should then be accepted as the guests we are in our adopted country.Just make sure not to say a word because our foreign English accents will give us away.
