Since I passed my class 1 the reversing in tight spaces is begining to get very bad and im ending up having 4-5 goes to park up 
Got to yard today which is small anyway full of lorries being unloaded and ended up being watched by everyone and had to drive out and come in again 
They said they were suprised I didnt run out of diesel by time I was finished 
HELP!
Donât beat yourself up about it mate-
Lots of drivers forget what its like to be the new boy
The best advise I can give you is to take your time and believe me it will come together- practice makes perfect(well better anyway 
) the more familiar you get with the truck the more you will be able to do with it.
probably not the best of help but donât be put of by it
OllieNotts:
Since I passed my class 1 the reversing in tight spaces is begining to get very bad and im ending up having 4-5 goes to park up
Got to yard today which is small anyway full of lorries being unloaded and ended up being watched by everyone and had to drive out and come in again
They said they were suprised I didnt run out of diesel by time I was finished
HELP!
How about - I would use less diesel if you gave me a few pointers instead of taking the {ZB} 
OK - youâve seen my signature (below) - now how do you feel when I tell you that it usually takes me 6+ shunts to parallel park an artic during the first few weeks if I have not driven one for a while 
"ROG:
How about - I would use less diesel if you gave me a few pointers instead of taking the {ZB}OK - youâve seen my signature (below) - now how do you feel when I tell you that it usually takes me 6+ shunts to parallel park an artic during the first few weeks if I have not driven one for a while
Or was that a few weeks to do 6 shunts to parallel park ROG
ROG:
How about - I would use less diesel if you gave me a few pointers instead of taking the {ZB}OK - youâve seen my signature (below) - now how do you feel when I tell you that it usually takes me 6+ shunts to parallel park an artic during the first few weeks if I have not driven one for a while
nick2008:
Or was that a few weeks to do 6 shunts to parallel park ROG
It could be 6 weeks to do 1 shunt
OllieNotts:
Since I passed my class 1 the reversing in tight spaces is begining to get very bad and im ending up having 4-5 goes to park up
Hi Ollie, Iâm sorry to hear of your woes mate.
Iâm fairly sure that the problem youâre having is the type that we all had at first, but most simply donât like admitting to it. 
IMHO, the problem youâre experiencing is caused by the fact that there are other âthingsâ in your immediate vicinity whilst youâre trying to shuffle your vehicle into the place you need it to be. The DSA test that you recently did is designed to get you used to the principle of how to reverse, but there isnât the time available to the instructor to cover a ârestricted spaceâ scenario and any other scenarios that you might encounter.
So Iâd recommend that you carry on as you are, because youâre clearly being very cautious, and Iâd advise you not to worry about what the onlookers might say. My next tip is that, over some time, youâll need 3-4 goes, then 2-3 goes etc until you have truly mastered the art of reversing an artic. All this is whilst remembering that even the most experienced drivers need a shunt or two now and again.
OllieNotts:
They said they were suprised I didnt run out of diesel by time I was finished
HELP!
Iâm wondering who âtheyâ are, but in any case, thatâs not really a helpful comment is it? 
Every situation is a bit different, so Iâd say that the proof of the pudding is in the eating and the fact that youâre doing the job safely and havenât hit anything are the overriding factors IMHO.
Good luck Ollie, and please donât let the idiots get to you.
Na dont worry mate we all been there its just a bit of pith take itâll all fall in place some time. Ask a artic drib=ver to back up a ridged and heâll stuff it up
Same as give some of them a wagon and drag they balls it up some can just get in and it clicks others have to think about it.
Youâll egt to the stage where you dont even think about it and it;ll be FFS whats all that about
I only had a few moments like that but i did a lot of 7.5t work on and off bays etc so i was half way there
keep going itâll come
Donât let them get to you Ollie, just take your time.
As deiseldave has said youâve not hit anything so just keep doing it safely.
In the few days driving Iâve done if I wasnât sure Iâd get out and look and if there was somebody to watch me reverse then Iâd ask them to watch me back.
If in doubt - ask
Good luck Ollie, and keep smiling!
Stu
ROG:
OK - youâve seen my signature (below) - now how do you feel when I tell you that it usually takes me 6+ shunts to parallel park an artic during the first few weeks if I have not driven one for a while
I forgot to add - itâs even more embarassing when the trainee does the parallel park in the same spot at the same time the very next day and gets it in one
Much to the delight of the T-bar owner (ex artic driver) and the regular customers who saw me struggling the day before
And you worry about the P-taking
Can only echo what others have said and that is if you have just passed your bound to be edgy at driving, reversing etc, even more so when â â â â inserts all stand and look at you⌠The first thing I do when I see someone struggling to reverse or do anythign is go give them a hand. Reason being is I know I was in that situation once myself, I dont like people struggling, and prob most importantly people might stand there watch, giggle etc but because your nervous/anxious you might reverse by accident into there unit/trailer⌠Would they stand and laugh then??
Just slow yourself down and take it easy, better doing it slow and right than fast and wrong to just try and be liek others who have done it for yearsâŚ
Thanks guys, knew it would be more practise. Guys taking the mick earlier werent even drivers theyâre warehouse staff some cant even drive a car! I offered one the keys he reckons he can show me how its done nob, wont let it get me down driving wise Im happy enough been on roads for 5 years now just the reverse I will keep plugging away. Youâve all made me laugh this afternoon anyway cheers
Oh and of course ive been taking time doing things slowly, 2nd job was blind side reverse only took 15 mins
4th day on job today and took 30 mins due to it being quite tight and things in way I couldnt stop getting out to look where trailer was much to amusement of the queue starting to build at tesco crick good job I was there 30 mins early so when staff came in I was ready for them 
Ollie I wouldnt worry about it, I passed my Class one in April 08 and for 3 months did hardly any reversing because I was night trunking. When I went onto days I got sent to Nettos at South Emsall, was trying to reverse onto a bay and just couldnt get it, no matter what I did, after 5 or 6 attempts I looked over and saw a bloke laughing at me, I wound the window down and asked what he was laughing at? He muttered something and I asked him if he would like a go? He replied that he didnt have a car license, let alone a Class one, to which I replied âdo us a favour and shut the ZB up!!â
I finally got it on the bay and then walked into goods in to see my âmateâ staring at me!! Turns out he was the goods in manager , he told me that he didnt think I would be coming back!!
All good advice here, remember itâs not a race, take your time and if you are not sure, get out and look and remember youâve got 8 corners to think about instead of the usual 4
Ignore the onlookers, it will all fall into place in the end and you will find yourself thinking how you found it so difficult to start with
The best advice I was ever given was âtake your time, ignore everyone else and donât get stressed. If you canât see, get out and have a look, take a deep breath and chillâ
Just one other thing use the Mirrors that one on the nearside, If you have electric ones use it as you lose the end of the trailer move the mirror then when your streight move it again oh yeah and if you have the curtains down put them up out the way after all thats what windows are for looking out of
like most people have said m8, keep you chin up ignore as best as you can that everyone who is watching you.
if need be get out and have a look at what you are trying to achieve,
even expirenced drivers forget this, i was in the yard the other day ther an expirenced driver was trying to park up between trailers, he â â â â â â it more times that i could count, in the end he ripped one of the buckles of the curtainsider. Instead of asking somebody to watch his blind side he just kept going at it and it getting worse as he was getting frustrated, me being the pup went up and asked do you want a hand m8 he got it in after that he he he
Like most have said take you time and dont rush as it only gets worse, one tip i was given and it seems to help me is when trying to straighten up steer towards the mirror that you see most of your trailer in.
i always watch other drivers putting tucks onto the bays it gives you a rough idea of were you want your unit and trailer to be,
keep a sense of humour, and if fork lifters/warehouse monkeys are gobbing off jump out and tell them to have a go at it
ollie mate.
thanks for chering me up. i thought i was the only one with reversing problems. as im like a new fighter pilot duaring the war. got the tkt but not had enough hours for the experiance.
hope all goes well for you as the lads said in the latter posts, it will come in time. good luck bud.
squannogs:
ollie mate.
thanks for chering me up. i thought i was the only one with reversing problems. as im like a new fighter pilot duaring the war. got the tkt but not had enough hours for the experiance.
hope all goes well for you as the lads said in the latter posts, it will come in time. good luck bud.
Hi squannogs, Itâs not just you mate.
IMHO, itâs a thing that gets to many people when they undertake their first few steps on the long road to experience.
Taking your fighter pilot analogy, and I think itâs a good analogy, nobody could reasonably expect you to fly like an ace when youâre just fresh out of basic training.
My post to Ollie above might apply to you too, so please donât expect too much of yourself, cos Rome wasnât built in a day.
I got to Appleton trading estate today, know Ive done the right routine before to set me self up for warehouse door and messed it up totally to amusement of lads across road who shouted mates inside to watch I decided when iâd gone wrong to keep going and shunted round till I did an 8 point turn and drove back down road and parked up outside instead, they look so upset I didnt give em a show