Sounds like your doing too much too soon,take it steady with you steering wheel movements.
bigvern1:
I’m still here too!
Though mostly as a reader these days. Age is a great teacher! 
It needn’t take much steering at all, once you have the trailer turning you can take all the lock off & it’ll keep going until you get the unit back behind it. I suppose you could potentially get on a bay with just one turn in each direction if you nailed it.
Radio 2’d Chris Evans was rattling on recently about reversing caravans, and mentioned the idea of holding the steering wheel at the bottom, apparently he reckoned doing this tricks your brain into turning the wheel in the opposite direction if you where reversing while holding the steering wheel at the top.
Personally I’m an advocate of the “little and often” method, as all too often I see drivers using far too much lock and ending up in a predicament.
I’d also say that most of us can reverse a trailer like a driving God on a monday, and the next day make a complete rats ar$e of doing the same thing
peirre:
Radio 2’d Chris Evans was rattling on recently about reversing caravans, and mentioned the idea of holding the steering wheel at the bottom, apparently he reckoned doing this tricks your brain into turning the wheel in the opposite direction if you where reversing while holding the steering wheel at the top.
This is the way I was taught,have been doing it this way for 14 years.
Biggest factor by far is your starting position. Try and position your trailer so the back end is slightly past the bay you want to reverse on and angle it back in with small wheel movements. Once its roughly in line with the bay don’t be afraid to pull forward to straighten it up so you are then reversing back in a straight line, don’t try and get it on in one, until you are better take as many shunts forward to straighten up as you need…
Oh, did I say, your starting position makes a MASSIVE difference to how difficult your reverse will be. 
If its any consolation I found reversing a nightmare for at least the first 3 months of driving, still had wobbles up to a year, now im a reversing God , and Ive found Ive tweaked my technique quite a bit over the last year or two, so you will be constantly learning till you retire/die
bigvern1:
I’m still here too!
I’m sorry but who are you? 
Well I never drove an artic last night. Instead I was driving a rigid. Got there to be told I wasn’t allowed to drive them because I hadn’t passed an assessment. I’m good enough to drive when they are desperate though… Big plus is - I now find reversing a rigid really easy. It doesn’t make sense.
Anyway - I asked what I’d be doing and was told I needed to sit in the transport office and wait. Was told I might be needed to help out in the warehouse or act as a drivers mate… I explained this wouldn’t be happening and asked them nicely if it would be best if I go home. I’ve not really been enjoying working here and stood for 5 minutes and explained how it wasn’t for me. Nearly miraculously I was given a little run on my own and told I didn’t need to go out with other drivers if I didn’t want to. They must be desperate - as they were basically begging me to stay.
I’ve decided that this job isn’t for me. And won’t be going back anyway. I did what was asked last night - but the truth is I hate working nights. I don’t like dragging cages around which are over weighted. And I despise with a passion being made to sit in a day cab for 12 hours with another ‘driver’ who 9 times out of 10 will be a degenerate. I just like my own space - and suppose I just don’t have the patience for it.
I’m not really sure how I’ll learn to reverse an artic. But it certainly won’t be double manning, multi drop handball rubbish. Cheers for all the advice again.
Where in the country are you?
The only real answer is…
As many as it takes
It is not a competition, you do not get a medal for getting it right first time, just take your time, and turn slowly
Wally Webb:
Where in the country are you?
Midlands. And there is shed loads of work.
I told the transport manager last night that I wasn’t putting up with being a ‘gofer’ as I can get another job tomorrow. His face was a picture. John Lewis have asked for me to do an assessment. Co-op down south have offered me an assessment for a well paid class 1 job. And I get offered loads of work through agencies every day. The only job I’ve applied for is the co-op and that was just to see if a new pass can get a well paid job for a decent firm. XPO have the contract at Andover and they seem desperate for drivers as well.
If they think I’m sitting there twiddling my thumbs in the transport office on an uncomfortable chair they have another thing coming. I’ve literally been there 3 weeks and have driven three times. For about two hours back each time. Many of the drivers are autistic and don’t like others driving. One terrified me. He was going the wrong way around roundabouts, doing 55 in small villages with 20 limits and literally had me having to hold on going round corners - the color of lights meant nothing to him. When I told him to behave he tried getting aggressive - when I accepted his offer to get out of the cab he changed his mind. Still drove like a ■■■■■■ though.
Dude, it’s just practice and time. That’s all. Don’t use full lock, I would say half to a full turn at a time is all you need.
When I first drove class 1 at Swains, they paired me up with an EE guy who had very little English. He reversed by constantly going from lock to lock to lock… he tried to get me doing it, from the outside looking in at me behind the wheel, I must have looked like a hummingbird!
shuttlespanker:
The only real answer is…As many as it takes
It is not a competition, you do not get a medal for getting it right first time, just take your time, and turn slowly
Another legend returns 
3 movements not turns.Assuming a 90 degree turn not blind side,left to break the trailer into the right turn,right to follow it and then left to straighten the unit with the trailer.On a good day.
Think the op has all the answers really on technique, but one thing to add is double deckers turn much quicker than std 3 axle trailers. Can confuse when switching from one to another.
On the jobs front, if you dont like ■■■■■■■ cages around then coop wint be any good as thats all it is amd some are insanely overloaded, esp the drinks ones. Thats why they pay a lot.
Oh and they have rear steering trailers - much more fun than std ones for reversing.
Thanks everyone. Really appreciate all the advice.
I’m just seeing the assessment as practise for one when I can reverse. It’s good experience. One day I’ll get there I’m sure - and look back and wonder what I was flapping about.
Has anyone mentioned sticking your head out the window and looking at the trailer wheels? On a good side reverse obviously.
trevHCS:
but one thing to add is double deckers turn much quicker than std 3 axle trailers. Can confuse when switching from one to another..
Do they? Why? The only thing to affect how a trailer reverses is axle position and spacing. If a triaxle double decker has same spacing and position of axles as a standard trailer it’ll reverse the same
switchlogic:
trevHCS:
but one thing to add is double deckers turn much quicker than std 3 axle trailers. Can confuse when switching from one to another..
Do they? Why? The only thing to affect how a trailer reverses is axle position and spacing. If a triaxle double decker has same spacing and position of axles as a standard trailer it’ll reverse the same
I guess you’d have to turn more with a double-deck trailer when it’s really windy. 
Lots of good advice here already. Dont forget, mirrors, mirrors and yet more mirrors, not only for bays but any kind of reversing…would have saved smashing a fully freighted tilt through the workshop doors… 
… 