Don’t panic I’d been driving 10 years before I got a job that required backing on to a bay
bets of luck but it did make me laugh that youre worried about reversing onto a bay first off then your next worry is how to make time to go to truckstops!
easy way is dont worry it will come every driver has days when it just dont go right 1st time.
Dipper_Dave:
You might be lucky and get a trailer with a soft dock system which automatically applies the trailer brakes when your almost on the dock.
Absolutely hate them, biggest pain in the backside ever thought up by a non driver. 
One trick I used, which to be fair was on a rigid, I had the curtain buckles marked on the drivers side and wherever they lined up on the road was my markers.
For example:
4th buckle from back lined up with top of kerb would mean the tail lift tip would just be on the kerb.
4th buckle from back lined up with bottom of kerb would mean the tail lift would clear the kerb.
6th buckle from back lined up with ground was my marker for docks.
8th buckle from back lined up with wheels.
war1974:
bets of luck but it did make me laugh that youre worried about reversing onto a bay first off then your next worry is how to make time to go to truckstops!easy way is dont worry it will come every driver has days when it just dont go right 1st time.
bald bloke:
silvasurfa67:
bald bloke:
Big Truck:
Keep watching your trailer wheels and where they are going rather than the sides of the trailer.Don’t forget your spray suppression’s (mud flaps) on the bananas they can rip them off then you’re stuck at an RDC with a VOR trailer.
you just said a whole load of stuff I didn’t understand there mate, sorry :-/
Who me ? Bananas are the metal guides that well basically guide you onto the bays, some places don’t have them but most do and sometimes they’re painted yellow hence the name bananas, just watch your flaps, keep it tight offside so you know nearside you have plenty of room.
Actrosman:
bald bloke:
silvasurfa67:
bald bloke:
Big Truck:
Keep watching your trailer wheels and where they are going rather than the sides of the trailer.Don’t forget your spray suppression’s (mud flaps) on the bananas they can rip them off then you’re stuck at an RDC with a VOR trailer.
you just said a whole load of stuff I didn’t understand there mate, sorry :-/
Who me ? Bananas are the metal guides that well basically guide you onto the bays, some places don’t have them but most do and sometimes they’re painted yellow hence the name bananas, just watch your flaps, keep it tight offside so you know nearside you have plenty of room.
thanks for the pics mate, all clear to me now 
Biggest mistake I see from new drivers is over steering , trying to go from lock to lock , losing it and being nowhere near . Until you get used to it try to get as straight as possible ( if there is room use it , you can also see in both mirrors throughout ) reverse slowly on engine tick over only , small adjustments of steering should be all that is needed . If you’re lucky enough to get a Volvo FH / FM they’re easy to reverse with good mirror set up , Mercedes are hard work especially the six leggers … best to raise the mid lift to limit wheel spin , something you don’t want while reversing . Good luck.
I’ve been doing Class 1 for a few months now and am getting to grips with reversing reasonably well. My continuing problem is leaving it too late once I’m well into the bay to straighten up the bend, so I have to pull forward to correct the oversteer on the trailer. I haven’t got my eye in on when it’s time to take the bend off, and because it takes time to bring the cab round straight it’s too late. Doh!
Tooz:
oh and if its a drop and swap…dont forget to take your number plate off the trailer first !!
That was me at Gadbrook the other day, crawling under back of the trailer
Also, if you’ve got a column tail lift on the back - put it down! Done that as well, just as I was getting my head down “you’ve left your tail gate up drive” 
Do that with a drop & swap and you really won’t be popular. 
rob22888:
Tooz:
oh and if its a drop and swap…dont forget to take your number plate off the trailer first !!That was me at Gadbrook the other day, crawling under back of the trailer
Also, if you’ve got a column tail lift on the back - put it down! Done that as well, just as I was getting my head down “you’ve left your tail gate up drive”
Been there done that
ORC:
I’ve been doing Class 1 for a few months now and am getting to grips with reversing reasonably well. My continuing problem is leaving it too late once I’m well into the bay to straighten up the bend, so I have to pull forward to correct the oversteer on the trailer. I haven’t got my eye in on when it’s time to take the bend off, and because it takes time to bring the cab round straight it’s too late. Doh!
Don’t worry about this it gets easier with time, although it varies from truck to truck and trailer to trailer, some are more forgiving than others, eventually you will be picking almost the exact point to start bringing her straight or have enough room to do a little shimmy with the other lock on to correct.
Your doing well recognising that youve taken the lock off too late and nudging forward a bit, this is half the battle.
Thats said I still do this after 20+ years of driving (albeit with 10 years off in the middle), but then my moments of excellence when i get it right are done when no ones watching and when I bugger it up every sod and his dog is around.
Also feeling pressure as others are watching can distract one slightly but don’t worry there aren’t many class 1 drivers around who haven’t made a lash up of the smplest reverse, I mean i’ve done a nice bit of bay reversing (perfectly spaced between the bananas) only to realise I have ended up on the wrong bay.
Don’t get me started on blind side reverses, i’m lucky to be in the same RDC when completed. 
Dipper_Dave:
Don’t get me started on blind side reverses, i’m lucky to be in the same RDC when completed.
PMSL me too!
The-Snowman:
Dipper_Dave:
Don’t get me started on blind side reverses, i’m lucky to be in the same RDC when completed.
Me three…
The angled bays are tricky enough, and all I have to work with is a tiny image in the nearside mirror to figure out if I’m about to hit the trailer next door or not. If it’s dark that makes it even worse. And I have yet to attempt a right-angled blindside reverse - I wouldn’t know where to even begin to do that…
ORC:
The-Snowman:
Dipper_Dave:
Don’t get me started on blind side reverses, i’m lucky to be in the same RDC when completed.
Me three…
The angled bays are tricky enough, and all I have to work with is a tiny image in the nearside mirror to figure out if I’m about to hit the trailer next door or not. If it’s dark that makes it even worse. And I have yet to attempt a right-angled blindside reverse - I wouldn’t know where to even begin to do that…
I try and extend the landingstrip using a bit of imagination or even a peice of litter on the tarmac to aim at and put loads of lock on early then bring her round a bit, if theres enough room you can alsways adjust a bit. Also look at the trailer from the drivers side will give you a rough idea of the angle the trailers at. Leccy mirrors help but I come from an era these didn’t excist on basic trucks when it was literally blind and guesswork oh and a smidgen of luck.
Try and get her straightish as soon as possible and avoid going into the bay between two other trucks at an angle if possible.
Worst blindside I ever did was after a 15 hour shift, last parking space at the truckstop, just went for it and luckily a couple of drivers helped me out- one to guide me in and the other to mop my brow and give me moral support… 
Don’t worry about it man.
The driving school will show you how to pass the test then it’s just practice, watching how others do it etc.
I think they even allow you to get out to have a look how far you are away from the barrier thing when doing the reversing on your test now
Big Roy:
You’ll know when you’re on the bay when it wont go back any further, it’s a sort of controlled crash
Or in the case of our shunters, a crash
Good point, dont watch the shunters and do what they do !!..you would be banned from site within 2 mins !!