Advice

NEW AND WANNABE DRIVERS (INTERACTIVE)
1

Well I’ve got a few more details on the job I start Monday and to say I’m nervous is a understatement. I know it’s normal but does anyone have any tips or videos I can watch on the reversing side of things, particularly starting position etc. I’ve just seen one of the reversing manoeuvres I’ll be doing and it’s going to be a steep learning curve for sure. I’ve not done much at all and it goes with out saying I want to impress my new employers for giving me a start with very little experience (a few agency jobs)
Thanks

2

Apologies I’ve posted this twice. Once here and the other in new job. :blush:

3

Take you time don’t be afraid to get out & look if another driver is there ask them to watch you back

Try not to worry as this will make it a lot worse

Sit & watch other drivers reverse when you can see how they position themselves small turns of the steering wheel don’t over steer

Look on you tube fro some videos

You will be fine

4

Also ask Tommy for a list of all the drivers don’t be afraid to call them & ask fro advice but ask Tommy who has been to these places

Depends which you are worried about

5

Thanks for the advice. From what was mentioned today I’ll be moving trailers from Washington to 3 locations around Team Valley. So hopefully should get to grips with it after a few days/weeks.
If I do struggle I might see if I can practice in the yard.

6

In a single statement, you’ll make a right meal of it! :open_mouth:

And so what?
Does it really matter when you’re a Newbie?
What will be important is whether you hit something…
So take as long as you want, be safe, hop out of the cab EVERY time you feel the inclining you feel it and sod everything else! :laughing:
Those that are watching have no importance in your life, and those that might be assessing you know you’re a Newbie and ONLY care on whether you’re a liability. Nothing else matters! :smiley:

Enjoy it and laugh at yourself when you screw it up! :laughing: :laughing: :laughing:

However you will be doing, is learning what you’re doing wrong… :wink:

7

Thank you I didn’t look at it that way. I’ll keep everyone posted with my good and bad days as it might help another newbie one day. :slight_smile:

8

Your employer knows you are new, so s/he ought not to be expecting the world.

I always say to my drivers when they start, I’m not bothered how many times you ring me up, I’d rather hear from you ten times a day asking questions than you make a mistake that could easily have been avoided by a phone call. Likewise with recent passes, 20 shunts is better than two and a damaged trailer.

Good luck and in a couple of weeks you’ll be known as One Shunt Godzilla :laughing:

9

albion:
Your employer knows you are new, so s/he ought not to be expecting the world.

I always say to my drivers when they start, I’m not bothered how many times you ring me up, I’d rather hear from you ten times a day asking questions than you make a mistake that could easily have been avoided by a phone call. Likewise with recent passes, 20 shunts is better than two and a damaged trailer.

Good luck and in a couple of weeks you’ll be known as One Shunt Godzilla :laughing:

Thank you I’ll change my profile name if I do get it down to one shunt. Might take more than a few weeks/months though. :slight_smile:

10

It’s one of those things, it takes a while.
Eventually it’ll just click and you will know from experience how to approach and carry out each reverse manoeuvre. So for now, don’t over think it just soak it all up.
Good luck.

11

Garns_:
It’s one of those things, it takes a while.
Eventually it’ll just click and you will know from experience how to approach and carry out each reverse manoeuvre. So for now, don’t over think it just soak it all up.
Good luck.

Thanks Garns

12

Use all the yard space you can. The more space you use, the easier it will be. Make sure your mirrors and windows are clean! Don’t be afraid to have multiple goes at it. I’ve been doing this since September and I still can’t get it in in one go.

13

I miss being a newbie. Now I’ve been doing it a couple of years people have come to expect things of me, and that newbie card is all but worn out…

I had a grotty drop in Dagenham the other day. Tight little side street for the drop, then the road runs into a 7.5 ton weight limit so the only way out is to turn around, and the only place to turn around is a little side street with parked cars everywhere. It took about ten minutes and several attempts to get a safe line, but that’s how it is sometimes.

Make the most of your newbie card, people do understand…honest. And if they cannot understand how hard it is when you’re first starting out then they’re probably too dumb to be on the road themselves. You’ll probably find that your harshest critic is yourself, but don’t beat yourself up about it. You’re going to make a few mistakes, just hope they’re not big ones.

14

Thanks guys how long did it take before getting used to the reversing side of things? I’m hoping that it won’t take me long considering I’m literally moving trailers around all day everyday locally. :slight_smile:

15

Don’t let anyone pressure you into rushing, control your speed when you’re reversing. What everyone has said before I’d just repeat anyway. One thing I was told a little while back that had me puzzled till I figured it out was a guy told me " it’s easier if you do most of your reversing going forward". Took me a minute but I think bout it everytime I get to a drop.

Sent from my ONE A2003 using Tapatalk

16

Godzilla41:
Thanks guys how long did it take before getting used to the reversing side of things? I’m hoping that it won’t take me long considering I’m literally moving trailers around all day everyday locally. :slight_smile:

Everyone is different, your concerns were my concerns just a short few weeks ago, lets just say Ive been sent to some rather interesting places in the last 3 weeks, and its certainly been an eye opener :open_mouth: … In short, I was asking the same questions as you, and getting a bit frustrated when there wasnt a hard and fast rule on where/how to position yourself, but as Ive found it really is different every place you go, and even if you go to the same place, you`ll never quite set yourself up the same each time either, it really is about repetition, you do learn as you go (which is basically what everyone told me, and they were right :laughing: :laughing: ).

As already stated, take your time, if in doubt get out and look, if you need to take 20 shunts then do so, dont feel like a muppet, everyone was new at some point, ask for help or for someone to watch your back end if youre not sure, its hard to explain but it does just seem to fall into place the more you do it. Youll be fine, just don`t pressure yourself too much :wink:

17

If you’re reversing onto a bay on your visible side with a 45 foot trailer, a broad rule of thumb is to drive across the front of the bays with a few feet of clearance (enough to allow for the tail swing), overshoot the bay you want AND the next one, then begin a sharp left using whatever room you have available, then a final shimmy to the right just as you run out of space - or you have all you need - so you have visibility. Your back end ought to be at an angle pointing approximately in the direction of the bay - if you’ve come up a bit short you’ll need to run forward a few feet or else the angle will be too sharp.

The angle will be different every time. Your mission is to adjust it as you reverse into the bay, correcting and tweaking as you go. Steer gently, drive slowly, and let it gradually line up. Remember as you’re reversing in to frequently check your nearside mirror for obstructions. Remember also to watch where the back end of the drive unit is going - it is heading in a different direction to the trailer, and could hit something. Remember also also that the far corner of the trailer is sticking out and you can’t see how far, or what it might be close to. IF IN DOUBT, GET OUT AND LOOK! Better for people to think you’re a fool than to hit their truck and remove all doubt…and actually few will think you a fool anyway, just a conscientious trucker playing it safe. Good lad… :slight_smile:

Until you get the instinctive feel, the bottom of the steering wheel will tell you which way the back of the trailer will go. Turning clockwise, for example, the bottom of the wheel is heading left and that is the direction your trailer is going to go. There are other ways of learning this (pushing the trailer into or out of vision in the mirror, for example), but the bottom of the wheel works for me.

Once you’ve done it enough times you’ll begin to learn to see when it is going wrong, when it’s time to abort and start again, or whether you can rescue the situation with a shunt or two…or three…or as many as it takes, there are no prizes. However, this will be tricky in the early days because you have no benchmarks or experience against which to measure your progress. What does ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ look like? Only time will tell you that.

18

Trouble:

Godzilla41:
Thanks guys how long did it take before getting used to the reversing side of things? I’m hoping that it won’t take me long considering I’m literally moving trailers around all day everyday locally. :slight_smile:

Everyone is different, your concerns were my concerns just a short few weeks ago, lets just say Ive been sent to some rather interesting places in the last 3 weeks, and its certainly been an eye opener :open_mouth: … In short, I was asking the same questions as you, and getting a bit frustrated when there wasnt a hard and fast rule on where/how to position yourself, but as Ive found it really is different every place you go, and even if you go to the same place, you`ll never quite set yourself up the same each time either, it really is about repetition, you do learn as you go (which is basically what everyone told me, and they were right :laughing: :laughing: ).

As already stated, take your time, if in doubt get out and look, if you need to take 20 shunts then do so, dont feel like a muppet, everyone was new at some point, ask for help or for someone to watch your back end if youre not sure, its hard to explain but it does just seem to fall into place the more you do it. Youll be fine, just don`t pressure yourself too much :wink:

Thanks this is appreciated alot. I’ll take it on board.

19

ORC:
If you’re reversing onto a bay on your visible side with a 45 foot trailer, a broad rule of thumb is to drive across the front of the bays with a few feet of clearance (enough to allow for the tail swing), overshoot the bay you want AND the next one, then begin a sharp left using whatever room you have available, then a final shimmy to the right just as you run out of space - or you have all you need - so you have visibility. Your back end ought to be at an angle pointing approximately in the direction of the bay - if you’ve come up a bit short you’ll need to run forward a few feet or else the angle will be too sharp.

The angle will be different every time. Your mission is to adjust it as you reverse into the bay, correcting and tweaking as you go. Steer gently, drive slowly, and let it gradually line up. Remember as you’re reversing in to frequently check your nearside mirror for obstructions. Remember also to watch where the back end of the drive unit is going - it is heading in a different direction to the trailer, and could hit something. Remember also also that the far corner of the trailer is sticking out and you can’t see how far, or what it might be close to. IF IN DOUBT, GET OUT AND LOOK! Better for people to think you’re a fool than to hit their truck and remove all doubt…and actually few will think you a fool anyway, just a conscientious trucker playing it safe. Good lad… :slight_smile:

Until you get the instinctive feel, the bottom of the steering wheel will tell you which way the back of the trailer will go. Turning clockwise, for example, the bottom of the wheel is heading left and that is the direction your trailer is going to go. There are other ways of learning this (pushing the trailer into or out of vision in the mirror, for example), but the bottom of the wheel works for me.

Once you’ve done it enough times you’ll begin to learn to see when it is going wrong, when it’s time to abort and start again, or whether you can rescue the situation with a shunt or two…or three…or as many as it takes, there are no prizes. However, this will be tricky in the early days because you have no benchmarks or experience against which to measure your progress. What does ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ look like? Only time will tell you that.

Thank you for your advice. I’ve been watching other drivers position themselves like you describe and trying to do the same. I’ve not hit anything from being careful and taking it easy. I’ve also been using the bottom of the steering wheel method and think I’ll stick at it. It’s early days but looking forward to more opportunities to improve my reversing. Thanks again :slight_smile: