Have left the world of driving 7.5t for Royal Mail and the endless hours of chucking bags in the warehouse that went with the job 
Got lucky via a friend of a friend and today drove this back from Huntingdon to Worksop with a colleague:
Iām now ā ā ā ā ā ā ā ā myself about having to reverse into shop yards as my reversing is still very patchy indeed and iāll probably have to be out on my own in a couple of days - eeek!!! 
Try reversing it around in the yard as much as possible just to get the feel of it.
When you have to reverse into a loading area dont be afraid to get out and ask someone to help.
If they know you are new then I am sure nobody will mind you asking.
Better to ask and be safe than to make a ā ā ā ā up on your own.
Aye, tomorrow iāll ask them if i can do an hourās reversing on my own at the bottom of the yard after work.
I think as long as i donāt have to do any blindside stuff iāll be ok if i take my time and donāt get flusteredā¦
Not a bad rig, for all of 20bhp (see badge)ā¦ 
Good luck with it all. Let us know how you get on. I am routing for you.
Cheers
NB
Thanks
Very nice.
Best of luck and enjoy!
Mike_:
Aye, tomorrow iāll ask them if i can do an hourās reversing on my own at the bottom of the yard after work.I think as long as i donāt have to do any blindside stuff iāll be ok if i take my time and donāt get flusteredā¦
Go on - try some blindside BUT get out and look - A LOT.
A few tips for shop deliveries, if the yard looks tight and youāre not sure, ask the back door staff how the other drivers do it.
Look for tyre marks on the concrete and follow them.
Watch out for overhead obstacles like stairways, canopies and gantries, like I always do 
sometimes you may need to drop the suspension
If you spin it around in a yard and you find you canāt quite get it round you can gain an extra few feet by backing the unit into the trailer depending on how much clearance youāve got but be careful doing this for obvious reasons.
And finally some yards have their hidden secrets, there is a shop that we have to deliver to in a narrow street and the only way that you can reverse into it is to go past it and follow the road down to Tesco spin it round in their car park and come back up again 
Big Roy:
, there is a shop that we have to deliver to in a narrow street and the only way that you can reverse into it is to go past it and follow the road down to Tesco spin it round in their car park and come back up again
Not in Horncastle is it?? did one the other week that sounds exactly the same
hi mike and well done mate.
Ive only been driving artics a year and went straight into driving for a small supermarket chain here in the southwest.
Some of the stores are silly access and it was a steep learning curve.
Just remember it does get easier
Ive learnt to do a few things that help and i think is good practice.
Where possible pull up before attempting to reverse to back door or bay.
Get out and look at access, get in your mind how your gonna approach it.
Speak to back door guys, ask how other drivers approach it.
while reversing keep it dead slow, if in doubt get out an have another look.
Better to spend five more minutes getting it right than 2 hours filling out accident form with TM.
**Because alot of mine were night deliverys, i got some little flashing red bike lights and put them on the normal crap they leave in the yard, i.e skips dolleys, cages .helps me to see.**Anyway, enjoy yourself, the cold sweats will ease after a while
[quote="Stevewoods
Not in Horncastle is it?? did one the other week that sounds exactly the same[/quote]
Thatās the one Steve, Somerfield in Horncastle, and the woman in the house opposite always comes out to her door, to make sure you donāt shunt the motor into her front room, itās a tight one that
Mike_:
Aye, tomorrow iāll ask them if i can do an hourās reversing on my own at the bottom of the yard after work.I think as long as i donāt have to do any blindside stuff iāll be ok if i take my time and donāt get flusteredā¦
Yeah dont be afraid, i usually look for the easiest way to spin around in our yard, but sometimes ill have a back into a tight spot for some practice
Plus, i dont stand out that much because some of the Slovakians are alot worse
Iāve been on the artics a year as of last week funnily enough, straight onto them, no rigid work, but youāll never look a wally getting out and looking. Iāve got better at the real right manouvers now, my trailers very deceiving beause we have empty racks on flat beds, i laught at myself when i ā ā ā ā it up when looking at the trailer and the rack is about to nudge the other trailer
Quick shunt, and another and job done
Thanks for all the advice everyone
Got sent out on my own yesterday to sunny Scarborough. The driving was fine as expected but i freaked a bit when arriving at the yard to find it chock-full with cars. Luckily they soon vanished when they saw me and with one oops moment where i nearly scraped the gate post I got in and back onto the bay with no problems apart from a fast heartrate
This is supposed to be one of the easier yards to get into as you can come in via a side-gate, straighten up (well almost) and then back onto a bay. Iām now rather worried about what a tight yard will be like, but i guess in at the deep-end is the only real way to learnā¦
You are doing great so far. I am sure you will get into those tight ones just as well as the big ones.
Keep us posted.
Cheers
New Blood
You seem to be doing fine
Tip. Always park outside and walk in the yard as others say then work out youār best options,
ā¦Never Drive in with out looking first ā¦
And never be afraid to ask someone watch you back and if you can not see them in youāe mirrors STOP untill you can
When you spin around, especially if its tight, Get out and make sure your susies arenāt caught on the corner of the trailer before you attempt to straighten up.
Nothing worse than an air line parting company with the truck in an awkward place.
Good Luck.
Iāve started a blog about my learning curve and experiences in the industry - iāll try to update it with useful info for anyone whoās just starting out like me - no domain name yet but you can find it here:
Hope somebody will find it useful
Hi Mike_, Iād go with the advice youāve had above, and Iād add just two little thoughtsā¦
Whatever you do, please do the reversing very slowly and donāt worry about how many shunts it takes.
Nobody is keeping a score now.
As the other posters have said, you look like youāre doing just fine.
Sound advice there = as always, ask the back door lot they see the drivers everyday and they will help you back it in
Mind you there is 2 shops that you need to have your wits about.
1 is Great Yarmouth - its a blind side reserve and there is a 2000 year old wall (roman) on the N/S as well, you canāt hit the wall, but get the angle right you will not hit this
2nd is Salford - you will go up above the shops on the shopping centre, and its tight as a jocks rear end., as you go around the corners on this one, keep to the left as you dare to go as your going to need the room to turn right (turning space) like a post above says, a little trick when you find that you just need that little bit more space is to back the unit up a bit (careful not to jack knief the trailer) to give you a tighter turn (I use this method at Salford)
I have sent you a PM as well
Note - them vemis machines are a pain in the rear when you donāt have a card - beeps every 10 seconds - urrghhh!!!
Replied to your PM fella
Great Yarmouth is the horror-tip apparantly!
Aye, the Vemis is a pain but iāve already been told a few āworkaroundsā