Had to put a fridge on a bay couple of weeks ago, long time since i drove anything but a tank, made a right bloody pigs ear of it, so you know that practice malarkey every bugger’s on about, i’ve had 42 years practice and still can’t drive 
I only started driving back in February so yes still a newbie but as for reversing yes I absolutely hate blind side but have had to do it and only one time has it gone perfect for me (more luck than judgement I think), as for good side it is hit and miss, the other week every reverse was first time and great but then the following week it was an absolute hash haha, must admit though that week it went all good I had a couple of drops that were very tight and impressed even myself so that improves confidence but I always get out and look if I need to and have never been ashamed to ask for help to watch me back when not reversing onto a bay
I gave up trying to back on to bays,I tell good in I can’t do it ,they send people out with pump truck and load it
DickyNick:
Rjan:
andy2514:
Evening all, I’m really struggling with reversing onto bays, anyone got any tips pleaseHere’s a tip: it’ll never get much easier! [emoji38]
I always envy a shunter who can start at 90 degrees across the bays, put his foot to the floor going backwards, and still get it in in one smooth movement! [emoji38]
Which part is it you actually struggle with though or what tends to go wrong?
To be fair though, those shunters are more manoeuvrable, you can make corrections much quicker to save a total balls up, visibility is better all round, and the shunters are going onto bays they go onto 100s of times a day every day of the week so they know exactly where to start putting lock on and exactly where to take it off without really thinking. Put them in a normal 6 wheel unit and into a yard they don’t know I bet they would need as many shunts as anyone else.
Absolutely correct. A tug makes life so much easier and doing it every day you get muscle memory. You do it without barely even thinking. (ex shunter)
Life with a unit is always more difficult and different yards and bays etc.
Lewy:
I only started driving back in February so yes still a newbie but as for reversing yes I absolutely hate blind side but have had to do it and only one time has it gone perfect for me (more luck than judgement I think), as for good side it is hit and miss, the other week every reverse was first time and great but then the following week it was an absolute hash haha, must admit though that week it went all good I had a couple of drops that were very tight and impressed even myself so that improves confidence but I always get out and look if I need to and have never been ashamed to ask for help to watch me back when not reversing onto a bay
get on roro trailers get in dock practice blind side,all you need to do is wait for the bang,don’t let shutters see u hit the other trailer
andy2514:
Evening all, I’m really struggling with reversing onto bays, anyone got any tips please
yes let me get on my bay first and then spend as long as you want ■■■■■■■ about , does my head in when I want to get on and you lot who can’t reverse are back & forwards , in and out the cab
dozy:
andy2514:
Evening all, I’m really struggling with reversing onto bays, anyone got any tips pleaseyes let me get on my bay first and then spend as long as you want ■■■■■■■ about , does my head in when I want to get on and you lot who can’t reverse are back & forwards , in and out the cab
Dozy - will you let me below the bridge before you go ? I hate it when i get stuck behind one of yours who’s stuck below a bridge .
Wow a post from the great dippy dozy not moaning about his perfect Friday’s but has the nerve about saying to let him get on the bay first because some people struggle with reversing and your Mr Perfect, really hope I see you somewhere then I will take a great deal of time holding you up especially on a Friday so you don’t get home…complete idiot you really are moaning about your job etc etc and yet you do nothing about it, get a bloody grip you whinging idiot!!
To the OP don’t listen to dozy. Yes it’s true some drivers have forgotten they had to learn once and couldn’t do it straight away. Most will understand and one or two might even offer help if they see someone struggling. But you’ve got to put up with the fact you’ve also got impatient tossers like dozy who work for companies that plan everything so tight that the driver ends up getting annoyed when they are delayed for 5 minutes. Just tell them to do one and take as long as you need.
DickyNick:
Rjan:
andy2514:
Evening all, I’m really struggling with reversing onto bays, anyone got any tips pleaseHere’s a tip: it’ll never get much easier!
I always envy a shunter who can start at 90 degrees across the bays, put his foot to the floor going backwards, and still get it in in one smooth movement!
Which part is it you actually struggle with though or what tends to go wrong?
To be fair though, those shunters are more manoeuvrable, you can make corrections much quicker to save a total balls up, visibility is better all round, and the shunters are going onto bays they go onto 100s of times a day every day of the week so they know exactly where to start putting lock on and exactly where to take it off without really thinking. Put them in a normal 6 wheel unit and into a yard they don’t know I bet they would need as many shunts as anyone else.
Oh no I didn’t mean a shunter in a shunt vehicle. I just mean you can tell an ex-shunter driver (driving an ordinary unit) a mile off when they pull those sorts of reversing stunts that leave mere mortals watching in awe! 
Rjan:
DickyNick:
Rjan:
andy2514:
Evening all, I’m really struggling with reversing onto bays, anyone got any tips pleaseHere’s a tip: it’ll never get much easier!
I always envy a shunter who can start at 90 degrees across the bays, put his foot to the floor going backwards, and still get it in in one smooth movement!
Which part is it you actually struggle with though or what tends to go wrong?
To be fair though, those shunters are more manoeuvrable, you can make corrections much quicker to save a total balls up, visibility is better all round, and the shunters are going onto bays they go onto 100s of times a day every day of the week so they know exactly where to start putting lock on and exactly where to take it off without really thinking. Put them in a normal 6 wheel unit and into a yard they don’t know I bet they would need as many shunts as anyone else.
Oh no I didn’t mean a shunter in a shunt vehicle. I just mean you can tell an ex-shunter driver (driving an ordinary unit) a mile off when they pull those sorts of reversing stunts that leave mere mortals watching in awe!
I’ve been a shunter for a couple of years (in fact, most of my class 1 experience is in a tug) when I’m in a tug in my yard, I’m a God, when I’m in a unit… even in my own yard it all goes to pot! When I have to go elsewhere? Well, I just need some more practice! 
I’m in and out like a jack in the box! But… I can change trailers with the best of them
I really struggled reversing when i started 5 months ago. Id aim for bay 6 and end up on bay 8. It really does get easier as everyone says.
Only tip id say is of going between 2 trailers, make sure your nice and tight to offside trailer if drivers side reverse and if not then shunt forwards. I did stupid thing and i saw quite big gap so knew the back end of nearside must be very close to trailer but i carried on and tried sorting it out. Busted 3 buckles and foot long tear in curtain. Lucky it was another stobart trailer.
Blindside? A piece of cake! (In a terberg) put me in a unit, and the video earns you 250 quid. Seriously, being in a unit is like being blindfolded!
It’s not so bad in our yard, I know it. There’s plenty of room, I know to stay about 6 inches from the line. Straight in and quickly every time. I dare say, if I drove every day, I would pick it up, maybe in future I will? When I have to go Manchester or reading on the trunk, that is when the fun begins.
A couple of months ago, I covered on the rigid… oh my god! How the ■■■■ do you guys drive them? Seriously, the turning circle is like that of an ocean liner, could I get it to reverse? Could i ■■■■! Keep going the opposite way to the one I want! Pass the Valium! I won’t do that again and for some reason I’ve never been asked to
jbaz73:
A couple of months ago, I covered on the rigid… oh my god! How the [zb] do you guys drive them? Seriously, the turning circle is like that of an ocean liner, could I get it to reverse? Could i [zb]! Keep going the opposite way to the one I want! Pass the Valium! I won’t do that again and for some reason I’ve never been asked to
The beauty with a rigid is that if you can’t turn it, even with a thousand shunts back and forth, you just put the ■■■■■■■ in reverse and go back the way you came! Whereas an artic is inherently longer and if you get into a pickle it can be difficult to get out of it going backwards if there were any tight turns involved on the way in!
That said, years ago an agency asked me to cover a shift driving a rigid, and on paper it sounded straightforward. I gets there and this wagon had an absolutely lethal swingout, unlike anything I’d ever driven on rigids - there literally seemed to be more wagon behind the rear axle than in front! And I was being sent to sites that were only designed really for Transit vans.
Anyway, before the day was done I was getting mentally exhausted from the places I was having to take this wagon, and tore the side off a middle manager’s brand new car in one of the company’s yards. When he came out to have a look, he almost fell to his knees like that Beadles About clip where they knock the fella’s van off the dockside into the water
I gets back to the base anyway and was expecting to be told never to darken their door again, and instead the supervisor seemed quite relaxed, and was just like “Oh fiddlesticks, I guess these things happen. We had another artic driver in here a few weeks ago did the same thing, it’s a bit of a swine that wagon isn’t it?”, and he tells me to get on the blower to head office to report it.
So I gets on the phone and the girl I’m talking to starts laughing and says “that wagon must be jinxed, we’ve had 5 bumps in it since the start of the year” (it was only like March at that point).
And I says back to her sheepishly, trying to reassure myself, “oh yeah, the supervisor John said another fella did the same thing a few weeks ago”.
And she laughs out loud at me and says “never mind that, John himself wiped a car out driving that wagon last week!”
I was like that a few months ago. Now about half are good and half crap. Last week I did a really tight blindside reverse easily when I took a wrong turn into a tight dead end. A few minutes later I struggled to get it on the bay with Loads of room. As is usual there was another of our company drivers there passing the usual helpful comments about agency drivers.
Move slow, steer fast and take your time. It gets easier all the tme
Apart from all the good advice, just want to add: don’t compare yourself to others that seem to be perfect and do it in one with panache. You can be sure the same bloke will have an off day and make himself look brand new every so often!
That said, when it goes well for you don’t forget to feel smug and pat yourself on the back. It’ll come mate 
Rjan:
jbaz73:
A couple of months ago, I covered on the rigid… oh my god! How the [zb] do you guys drive them? Seriously, the turning circle is like that of an ocean liner, could I get it to reverse? Could i [zb]! Keep going the opposite way to the one I want! Pass the Valium! I won’t do that again and for some reason I’ve never been asked toThe beauty with a rigid is that if you can’t turn it, even with a thousand shunts back and forth, you just put the [zb] in reverse and go back the way you came! Whereas an artic is inherently longer and if you get into a pickle it can be difficult to get out of it going backwards if there were any tight turns involved on the way in!
That said, years ago an agency asked me to cover a shift driving a rigid, and on paper it sounded straightforward. I gets there and this wagon had an absolutely lethal swingout, unlike anything I’d ever driven on rigids - there literally seemed to be more wagon behind the rear axle than in front! And I was being sent to sites that were only designed really for Transit vans.
Anyway, before the day was done I was getting mentally exhausted from the places I was having to take this wagon, and tore the side off a middle manager’s brand new car in one of the company’s yards. When he came out to have a look, he almost fell to his knees like that Beadles About clip where they knock the fella’s van off the dockside into the water
I gets back to the base anyway and was expecting to be told never to darken their door again, and instead the supervisor seemed quite relaxed, and was just like “Oh fiddlesticks, I guess these things happen. We had another artic driver in here a few weeks ago did the same thing, it’s a bit of a swine that wagon isn’t it?”, and he tells me to get on the blower to head office to report it.
So I gets on the phone and the girl I’m talking to starts laughing and says “that wagon must be jinxed, we’ve had 5 bumps in it since the start of the year” (it was only like March at that point).
And I says back to her sheepishly, trying to reassure myself, “oh yeah, the supervisor John said another fella did the same thing a few weeks ago”.
And she laughs out loud at me and says “never mind that, John himself wiped a car out driving that wagon last week!”
Glad that I’m not the only one old enough to remember Beadles about 
Do you remember game for a laugh?
I can’t believe Jeremy Beadle is dead, just read Wikipedia
jbaz73:
I can’t believe Jeremy Beadle is dead, just read Wikipedia
I think that someone had a small hand in that!
the maoster:
jbaz73:
I can’t believe Jeremy Beadle is dead, just read WikipediaI think that someone had a small hand in that!