I failed my class 1 on reversing today…thing is I knew I wasnt up to scratch on this and the instructor I feel didnt take me seriously when I kept telling him…his reply was “you`ll be O.K on the day”…Yes it was utterly my failure to get to grips with it but I feel a bit let down and peed off with the lack of guidance and concern …
Id had maybe 20 reversing attempts maximum during the course and managed to get into the box around 10 times,sometimes with a shunt (I understood the manoeuvres with this bit) and 2 or 3 times in one go (which I DID NOT understand...pure luck).....Im O.K getting by the middle cone no problem but can`t get to grips with the rest…oversteering and angles etc
Can anyone offer any tips in what to look or aim for from this point…say maybe covering the far cone and working down gradually or something that will help ?
I have today,laid down,shut my eyes and tried to visualise it all and think I may be finally beginning to understand how to relate to it…I have a couple of hours booked for reversing practise and a re-test on 10 March but could do with some ideas…
On another point…it`s a bit late in the day but are there guys/gals around who offer a days help etc or is it all 5 + day courses ?
Try not to beat yourself up too much. If you’ve not done it before you can’t be expected to pick it up just like that. Have you done any other reversing during your training? My instructor used to make me reverse into a side road or just practice reversing in a straight line etc. I had experience of reversing ( tractors and caravans) but still had to get to grips with a 40 foot trailer. The excersise on the test is just one hurdle… when you’ve passed you’ll have to reverse into a variety of tight spaces. I think if you can get to grips with reversing a trailer in general then the excersise on the test makes more sense and if you get it wrong you’re more capable of correcting it.
Reversing can be a bit of a pain - stick with it and you should get it. I would have thought any decent training company would be able to offer you reversing practice on a daily or half daily basis - although you may well need to be flexible about when it happens, since they will be more interested in being able to sell the 5 day course… … …
Best of luck with it… …
G
PS - If you managed 10 out of 20 then you are not doing too badly !!!
No we didnt do any other reversing and I dont have any experience with caravans etc…to be honest I`d got to grips with reversing in a straight line and the “prodedure” for getting round the middle cone on the test and CAN understand the mechanics behind that part…but certainly not capable of correcting any errors really aside from the most minor…
I spoke to a friend today who is an artic driver and my confusion is becoming a little clearer…(even trying to formulate the questions to my confusion seems difficult )…but its basically this...to move the trailer to the right requires a left turn...for a right turn I must turn left...that I can understand :slight_smile: .... but in my mind I see that sometimes you also turn right to move right and the same with left :confused: ......and its HERE Im in a pickle because I am muddling up "pushing" the vehicle (and then straightening up) and "moving" the trailer...Ive no idea if this makes sense but my friend realised the confusion (I think ! ) and has cleared some of it up…
Im going to find or make up a toy with the same characteristics of an artic and see whats what…
I have thought of another way of describing just what I mean here in relation to this… it may seem a bit convoluted but I need to understand things in this way in order to see what`s going on …
Imagine you are in a staight line…you move forward turning,say,right…you then stop keeping the steering in the same position… …in order to return to the starting point you surely will just select reverse gear and you then arrive at the original point you started from…this is then STILL keeping the steering wheel to the right…not steering LEFT to go right !!! …if you see what I`m getting at then you can see where the mix up lies…
…so from the way I see it,the above means I`m turning in an arc of a circle…which is DIFFERENT to turning from a STRAIGHT position ■■?..
So in relation to the test,(or for any future manoeuvres ),when I am past the middle cone I need to TURN the back of the trailer to the right using a LEFT steer and then see things as if I`m on the arc of a circle (from the RIGHT)and straighten up and so on ?
I hope someone will take the time to give an explanation,
Don’t know if this will be of any help, but I think of it like this:
To make the back of the trailer go left, steer right. To make the back of the trailer go right, steer left.
When the truck is “bent” so the trailer is pointing where you want it to go, you then steer into the inside bit if the bend to straighten up, or away from it to make it bend more. So…Say this < is your bent truck from above, you would steer right to straighten, or left to make bend more. If this > is the truck, you steer left to straighten etc.
Remembering the two basic points above, steer whichever way you need to steer to make the truck bend. If you keep that lock on once you have reached the desired degree of bent-ness, it will keep bending more (see 2 above) so to keep it at that angle you need to start “following it round” - ie. steering into it just enough that the bend stays the same, no more or less. You’ll get the feel of that bit with practice. Then you can slowly start straightening out as you get to your goal.
Try and avoid making whacking great movements of the wheel. Do a little bit at a time, so you’re “nibbling” at it rather than trying to do it in one big flamboyant turn. Make sure you allow time for each movement of the wheel to have an effect at the back end - so have a little nibble, then go back a touch and see what happens, then have another nibble, and watch again, and so on.
If all else fails, stop. Get out. Admire the truck being so bent it only needs a feather bower 'round the aerial and gold earrings on the mirrors to give Edna Everidge a run for his/her money. Point at it, cackle, and tell anyone who’s watching that yourtruck’s fancying itself as the next Julian Clary. When you’ve stopped giggling at the sheer stupidity of this image, get back in, pull forward, and try again. You should be relaxed enough to give it a decent go second time around.
Not much use for test, I know, but helps in practice.
To make the back of the trailer go left, steer right. To make the back of the trailer go right, steer left.
I never got on with thinking of it that way, even though I know my left from my right (honest). I always remembered that the cab goes towards the hand that goes UP… … … works for me anyway … …
Hmmm…I have to laugh as I must seem a very muddled fella …but I THINK that I at least have the idea now,(if not the practical) of what is being said…which was not really explained by the instructor …we were told to turn left or right etc but not WHYor HOW to look at it,which for an idiot like me is the most important point…
So if,say,needing to move the rear of the trailer to the right,a left steer is required… once the desired degree of angle is reached then a right steer ( steering into it) is needed to “follow it round” or push the trailer to the desired point …
Yes,one of the faults Ive been making is not to allow time for the trailer to respond and then oversteer but from giving this all a massive amount of thought I think that Ive got the basic thinking involved…and this is obviously the basis for the future once I`ve got the test out of the way…
I`ve got a couple of hours booked for some practise and 2 more the next day if I need them but IF my thinking is now right about how to approach reversing then I should be O.K.
As regards point 5…I would have given Dame Edna Everidge a run for his/her money today I can tell you…
Lucy:
5. If all else fails, stop. Get out. Admire the truck being so bent it only needs a feather boa 'round the aerial and gold earrings on the mirrors to give Edna Everidge a run for his/her money. Point at it, cackle, and tell anyone who’s watching that your truck’s fancying itself as the next Julian Clary.
ROFL!
As for stephanovich’s problem, I’d echo everything Lucy said, but I remember it as “push the bottom of the steering wheel in the direction you want the trailer to go.”
I think I also tend to suffer from the problem of making small movements, then thinking that it’s not doing enough and oversteering.
Just remember that you’re not expected to come out of the test as an expert at reversing. I passed nearly two and a half years ago, and I still can’t reverse for toffee.
To paraphrase Tony Blair, the three most important things to get you through the test are practice, practice and practice.
MrFlibble:
but I remember it as “push the bottom of the steering wheel in the direction you want the trailer to go.”
exactly how i do it Mr Fibble, when I get into position ready for the reverse…i position my left hand on the bottom of the steering wheel and which ever way i want my trailer to go I move that hand that way…
… soon as i want it to stop turning I then steer normally into the side that the trailer is filling my mirrors…
steve_24v:
I’d suggest you don’t get hung up on the finer points of reversing and just learn how to get it in the box…
How many shunts are you allowed ? use them and pull forward as far as poss
Yes…a valid point that I accept …perhaps Ive a flaw in the way I see the reverse or slower to learn than others but I feel that if I know what is happening ,then Ill achieve the end result…
2 shunts are allowed but I wasted the first and the second I`m told was lined up nicely but…well need I go on ?..I blew it…and I guess only practise will pull it together…
Im O.K with all the other requirements and exercises...at least as far as anyone has a good chance of getting through the test and Im confident about it…just the ■■■■ reversing
Mate, don’t beat yourself about it as my reversing was total pants too.
I was pulling my f’ing hair out on my training trying to master the reversing.
On my first test I failed on the reversing as well.
I had another 3 hours training just doing reversing. It did help.
Just keep at it.
As my instructor said the penny will drop and it eventually did with me.
BL
I don’t want to confuse you any further, but if you know all the little ways that help others, you may just find one that ‘clicks’ in your own mind.
The one for me was - steer towards the side that you want to go away! So, if you look in your mirror and the trailer is there, and you want it to go the other way, steer towards it.
Well I went and had 2 hours of reversing practise yesterday and…YES !!!..I finally can see what is required …it all seemed to fit into place and every attempt went into the box,sometimes in one and sometimes with a shunt and it`s given me a real psychological boost .
I must say it`s a relief so all I need to do is keep it all together for the re-test on saturday…1pm.
I used all the “clues” available and when positioning the unit by the cone at the beginning of the reverse the instructor asked how I managed to get my position…I use the yellow right hand line which I can see as parallel to the bottom of my window so I know I`m not too near to the left cone …it was a new one on him …but I guess we all find our own way.
…
…but I THINK that I at least have the idea now,(if not the practical) of what is being said…which was not really explained by the instructor 
…we were told to turn left or right etc but not WHYor HOW to look at it,which for an idiot like me is the most important point… 
…but I guess we all find our own way.