R420:
If it’s a heavy trailer then you shouldn’t be screwing it round there anyway as it’ll wreck the tyres. A light trailer is doable but as Judd says, take your lines off beforehand and shove in your shunt button on the trailer (next to the park brake button) - make sure your unit hand brake is on before doing it . If the shunt button springs back out and won’t stay in, you can pull the button off and take out the spring behind it and chuck it in the bin - it will stay in then The point of taking your lines off (and by extension, requiring the shunt button to release the brakes as you can’t do it with your lines disconnected) is so that when you screw it you don’t stretch your lines and - more importantly - you stop them from dragging across the leading edge of the trailer which will be lathered in fifth wheel grease which will get all over your lines, cat walk, clothes, boots, gloves, car seat/carpet, floor at home… it gets everywhere.
Just be aware that you’ve no trailer braking when you’re moving on the shunt button with your lines off. This is manageable with a light trailer, but a heavy trailer needs careful handling as your foot brake pedal effectiveness is reduced by half and believe me, your arse will nip if you need to stop it quickly if you’ve built up a bit of a speed .
If it’s practical to turn round outside and reverse in, do that, then you’re on your good side.
Take your time and do get out and have a butchers at any time you’re feeling unsure on clearances. Don’t just keep edging forwards, hoping for the best, as that’s how the scrapes happen. Also watch your front corner trailer overhang too. You might get cab round okay, but your trailer corner will be heading for the stacks of pallets in the corner, cages, other yard junk etc, until you’ve straightened it up.
Careful with the shunt button - and remember to put airlines back on. I once took a trailer all the way from Southampton to Boots Nottingham with not a single airline/susie connected. Wasn’t too heavy and got away with it. But if you forget you might end up taking it out with no lights/indictators or trailer braking etc.
I could if the space to the left in the image is free but they keep some trailers there usually so I’m thinking worst case scenario (you can see the yellow lines there - those are parking bays but at that time when the image was taken they happened to be empty. Or they put rigids there which have been loaded and are ready to go)
I can see what you mean, yes if they park anything opposite the bays it will make it more interesting for sure. If your unable to reverse down to the bay then you just have to go for it where the biggest gap is and get out and check.
Ask anyone to watch you round, even just someone to shout stop when you’re going to clout something is enough don’t have to be a driver
Careful with the shunt button - and remember to put airlines back on. I once took a trailer all the way from Southampton to Boots Nottingham with not a single airline/susie connected. Wasn’t too heavy and got away with it. But if you forget you might end up taking it out with no lights/indictators or trailer braking etc.
Sod me , did you not notice the lack of trailer repeater indicator flashing, nor the lack of trailer braking effort? Mind you i’ve known blokes take the wrong (empty) trailer 150 miles and not realise till they got there it lacked the 28 tons of goods they were supposed to deliver.
You can stress those important points in the forthcoming video on maneuvering tips.
sammym:
I might make a video myself giving my top reversing and blindsiding tips. I see many blokes far older than me and who have done the job far longer who are not very good. I don’t claim to be the best in the world but I have it all worked out.
Oh how I laughed when I checked up the page to see who was offering blindside reversing tips.
Why not just reverse back all the way rather than do that stupid turn?
No doubt the risk assessment says you must. And you’d get sacked if you used a bit of common sense and did it properly. At least in that situation you know it’s possible - you will have a bit of paper or a microlise telling you it can be done, but telling you how to do it as well!
If I was going to spin it round there I think I would come down the right hand side of the yard, then turn anti clockwise. You’ll be able to let the nose of the unit go Into the space in front of the bays on your way round and win a wee bit of room
Why not just reverse back all the way rather than do that stupid turn?
No doubt the risk assessment says you must. And you’d get sacked if you used a bit of common sense and did it properly. At least in that situation you know it’s possible - you will have a bit of paper or a microlise telling you it can be done, but telling you how to do it as well!
Not sure reversing through a mini roundabout is the right thing to do. Site planning is questionable of course but if space was limited…
Why not just reverse back all the way rather than do that stupid turn?
No doubt the risk assessment says you must. And you’d get sacked if you used a bit of common sense and did it properly. At least in that situation you know it’s possible - you will have a bit of paper or a microlise telling you it can be done, but telling you how to do it as well!
Nothing wrong with that turn, would rather have a nice yard to turn round in than back it in off a busy road.
Much less risk turning in the yard away from the numpty general public
Careful with the shunt button - and remember to put airlines back on. I once took a trailer all the way from Southampton to Boots Nottingham with not a single airline/susie connected. Wasn’t too heavy and got away with it. But if you forget you might end up taking it out with no lights/indictators or trailer braking etc.
Sod me , did you not notice the lack of trailer repeater indicator flashing, nor the lack of trailer braking effort? Mind you i’ve known blokes take the wrong (empty) trailer 150 miles and not realise till they got there it lacked the 28 tons of goods they were supposed to deliver.
You can stress those important points in the forthcoming video on maneuvering tips.
Let’s just say I learned a lesson and frankly no one got hurt and I didn’t get into any trouble. Shamefully I only realised when I was waiting for a bay to come available - I opened the doors and was walking around to get some fresh air when I noticed. I was only loaded with packaging and can’t say I noticed a big difference in braking either.
Here’s what happened: I met the nicest shunter in the UK who guided me every step of the way from the U-turn (had to reverse a bit to avoid the artic near my bay and then again for the rigid opposite side) to the docking. Great guy!
Later that night I had to do a slightly wider one on my own which was ok, then 2 more reverses on bays, 2 times back to the yard where to my great embarrassment I took 2 resets and 3 attempts at a straight reverse on a bay with the 3 adjanced ones empty and 2 truck lenghts of empty space ahead…
For some reason every single time I overshoot me OS lane and end up misaligned by a foot relative to the bay (to the right of it). I’m very paranoid about my ns going over and smashing whatever is there
ETS:
Here’s what happened: I met the nicest shunter in the UK who guided me every step of the way from the U-turn (had to reverse a bit to avoid the artic near my bay and then again for the rigid opposite side) to the docking. Great guy!
Later that night I had to do a slightly wider one on my own which was ok, then 2 more reverses on bays, 2 times back to the yard where to my great embarrassment I took 2 resets and 3 attempts at a straight reverse on a bay with the 3 adjanced ones empty and 2 truck lenghts of empty space ahead…
For some reason every single time I overshoot me OS lane and end up misaligned by a foot relative to the bay (to the right of it). I’m very paranoid about my ns going over and smashing whatever is there
Good that someone helpful was there. They do exist.
And, its better to worry a bit, rather than feel embarrassed after hitting summat! Keep on as youre going. Don`t fret and eventually things will fall into place*.
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*Mostly, we all get odd “off-days”!
Youre nkt the only one to fudge an easy reverse. We go to a place where the bays are tight and its a hard turn normally with stuff either side. Normally get it on without much messing. Went there one time, five empty bays in a row, three attempts
toonsy:
Youre nkt the only one to fudge an easy reverse. We go to a place where the bays are tight and its a hard turn normally with stuff either side. Normally get it on without much messing. Went there one time, five empty bays in a row, three attempts
Absolutely. I might cover this in my reversing tutorial. A tight reverse is much easier than a load of empty bays - unless you are using my ‘easy-way method’.
The reason for this is down to focus and perspective. When we have something to focus on, (as in another trailer on the drivers side) - then we aim to get the unit straight before the trailer. Our focus is forcing us to get it going earlier. Without this focus, we lose perspective and leave the minor tweaking far later which makes something that should be easy hard.
A simple way to avoid this (using the ‘easy-way’) is to imagine the white line is a trailer. Your absolute focus might be not touching the white line on the driver’s side. You need your trailer straight enough to get it in before you get to the start of the line! Using this simple method you will be able to park easily with loads of empty spaces. All the work must be done before at the start of the reverse!
Give my method a try and I can promise you that you will find it much easier, and will be more confident getting into a specific ■■■■■■■■■■■■ every time.
sammym:
Absolutely. I might cover this in my reversing tutorial. A tight reverse is much easier than a load of empty bays - unless you are using my ‘easy-way method’.
Give my method a try and I can promise you that you will find it much easier, and will be more confident getting into a specific ■■■■■■■■■■■■ every time.
What reversing tutorial? can you point it to me, I am not the best at reversing in the world and normally hate anyone watching me, incidentally which is what most drivers do nowadays. They would prefer to video you and pop it on youtube rather than guide you. It was Stuart Keedwell who taught me to reverse properly but to this day because I am not a frequent driver, it always catches me out. You’re guide sounds a great idea even for experienced drivers I am sure.
ETS:
Here’s what happened: I met the nicest shunter in the UK who guided me every step of the way from the U-turn (had to reverse a bit to avoid the artic near my bay and then again for the rigid opposite side) to the docking. Great guy!
Later that night I had to do a slightly wider one on my own which was ok, then 2 more reverses on bays, 2 times back to the yard where to my great embarrassment I took 2 resets and 3 attempts at a straight reverse on a bay with the 3 adjanced ones empty and 2 truck lenghts of empty space ahead…
For some reason every single time I overshoot me OS lane and end up misaligned by a foot relative to the bay (to the right of it). I’m very paranoid about my ns going over and smashing whatever is there
Straight bays in an empty yard on a dry, clear, sunny day - impossible .
Blind side in a crowded yard, at night, ■■■■■■■ it down, mirrors fogged up with raindrops, blinded by floodlights and silhouettes everwhere - no problem, first time without needing a single shunt .
ETS:
Here’s what happened: I met the nicest shunter in the UK who guided me every step of the way from the U-turn (had to reverse a bit to avoid the artic near my bay and then again for the rigid opposite side) to the docking. Great guy!
Later that night I had to do a slightly wider one on my own which was ok, then 2 more reverses on bays, 2 times back to the yard where to my great embarrassment I took 2 resets and 3 attempts at a straight reverse on a bay with the 3 adjanced ones empty and 2 truck lenghts of empty space ahead…
For some reason every single time I overshoot me OS lane and end up misaligned by a foot relative to the bay (to the right of it). I’m very paranoid about my ns going over and smashing whatever is there
Good well done [emoji106][emoji122]
Nice to see you found a friendly person to help.
Here is a place we go too… its a one way system so you come in from the top of the picture and normally have to park on the right and wait for a bay. So if you dont fancy blindsiding it in you can spin it round (45ft) trailer no problem
mark1284:
Here is a place we go too… its a one way system so you come in from the top of the picture and normally have to park on the right and wait for a bay. So if you dont fancy blindsiding it in you can spin it round (45ft) trailer no problem
Stupid question but, can’t you drive all the way up and then turn left past the bays, reverse straight into the area to the right and then drive back to the bay area for a good side reverse?
. If the shunt button springs back out and won’t stay in, you can pull the button off and take out the spring behind it and chuck it in the bin - it will stay in then The point of taking your lines off (and by extension, requiring the shunt button to release the brakes as you can’t do it with your lines disconnected) is so that when you screw it you don’t stretch your lines and - more importantly - you stop them from dragging across the leading edge of the trailer which will be lathered in fifth wheel grease which will get all over your lines, cat walk, clothes, boots, gloves, car seat/carpet, floor at home… it gets everywhere.
.
