First Class 1 job....passed 7 years ago.... reverse tips?

NEW AND WANNABE DRIVERS (INTERACTIVE)
1

Hello everyone,

I just finished my first week driving artics. I haven’t stepped in an artic for 7 years and that was only for 1 week at that! Let me start by saying it’s the best fun in a job I’ve ever had, and is a hell of a lot more challenging than the old 18 tonner I was driving, but at the same time, I really need some advice as it’s been so long since I’ve had any formal training on them. When I passed during my army career, the only reversing I ever did was with the cones during a week long intensive course, and I dont even recall doing a proper reversing maneuver during the C+E test!? And if I can be quite honest, they were more concerned about flying us through the test so we were ready for a tour of Afghan, so I didn’t even learn a hell of a lot from that “intensive” course.

While I managed to get parked on the bays all week…eventually… it still took me a good 2-3 shunts for what should be a straightforward angled reverse into the wheel guide bars (I’m not sure what these are called?) that straighten you into the shutter doors. I have the benefit of pure daylight and I still feel like a complete idiot when all the veterans “helpfully” stare at me while im sweating buckets. What tends to happen is I would eyeball the rear-most axle of the 3-axle trailer and draw an imaginary line from that to the parking space, and what I find is while travelling on said imaginary line, the back end slightly overshoots my target, and then I have to snake it forward and go for it again so my arse end doesn’t hit the lorry parked in the next bay… Don’t even get me started on the home depot, pitch black, no lighting and because its a one-way system the only method of getting onto the bay is the blind-side reverse, now I have recently started cheating by using the electric mirror and actively moving it with the trailer which gives me at least a line of sight to the nearest object I need to avoid hitting, but seriously is the proper technique of the blind-side reverse really guessing work? (for if I ever got a unit without an electric NS mirror). Any tips on these, because most service stations I see all require this maneuver as it seems the trucks that arrive earliest take all the good-side spaces first (understandably) haha

Luckily for me, I have been able to take a 45 break whilst the forkies do their thing at my drop, but I’ve heard when its busy, I will have to take my tacho break at a services as they need me off the bay ASAP. I have not dared attempt parking at the services yet because im petrified of the tight spaces between shiny new trucks, but it angers me inside because I know this is a skill I must master, and I just want to master it safely for both good-side and blind-side. I drove through wetherby services and as i was passing through to get diesel (the only thing I have dared to enter for) another trucker set himself up for a blind-side reverse, seen his reverse lights go on, moved about 2 feet then he changed his mind and actually just drove out of the place altogether. That made me feel somewhat not alone, but I would really like to be properly equipped to manuevoure this beast whereever, and whenever I need it to be. Any advice or is it just a case of playing around until the penny drops? I don’t mind jumping out of the cab 10 times to see where my arse is headed, I’ll take saftey for others before showmanship, but the yard im reversing in really shouldn’t need it, am I looking at the wrong part of my axle, maybe not feeding the wheel back in quick enough? (One day I set the trailer where I needed it to be, but by the time I had my cab straight, it had cocked up the trailer further in the direction I wanted it to be, should I start feeding faster, earlier, when the trailer is about half-way to the target?).

Sorry for the long-winded post, I hope some of you experienced truckers can help a newbie out, this is the career I’ve dreamed of for many years and now I have to learn as much as I can but unfortunately I have never really been given proper guidance. (p.s. I am safe at driving them, I can maneuver forwards through tight spaces, but once that reverse gear is engaged, I start doubting myself). Thanks for reading :slight_smile:

2

Tri axle trailer watch a the middle wake that is the pivot point, tandem watch the front axle. Once you know where the pivot point is and watch that wheel you should know exactly where the trailer is headed and where it will end up.

Most drivers at our place take at least 2-3 shunts to get it on a bay some even take about more goes.

On a good day I back every trailer on in one hit from pretty much any position in the yard but then again I use a tug and do it all day long. If you have the room in the yards then get the trailer and unit as strongly in front of the bay as you can then ease it back with small movements to correct it as required.

3

Taking shunts is nothing to do with inexperience, it’s just a matter of luck.

On a good day you’ll get it straight in, on a bad day you’ll be shunting back and forth. Veterans take shunts, newbies get a hole-in-one sometimes, it’s nothing to be ashamed of or to worry about. The key is to get where you need to be without hitting anything, that’s all that matters.

4

Read this post mate… Class 1 reversing - NEW AND WANNABE DRIVERS (INTERACTIVE) - Trucknet UK

It’s from a newbie, who I agreed with, as I also learned this great reversing technique for tight bays many moons ago!!

Hope it helps you!

5

As a rule start with using all the room that is available to you. The more room you have to play with the less likely you are to need loads of steering correction. Folk only seem to remember you when you get it wrong and t**t something and forget the previous 100 times when you didn’t. Take your time and don’t allow anyone one to rush you.

Tony.

6

Many thanks for the kind replies guys. Some great tips and friendly words of wisdom there. Lennox that post was a great read :slight_smile:

Also thanks for the pivot point help, I will remember that for the rest of my trucking career!

With regards to the post link, I have suffered the same problem as the OP on the first week on the job, whereby I would be hesitant to put a full lock on to start the trailer going in a sharper angle which I needed on one occasion, where I was in a situation like this:

|------- I I I {} o I I {} {} {} {} {} I I-----|

Key:

I = Red Lit Bays, Empty but can’t go onto them
{} = Other parked up truckers
o = Green lit space (the one I was told to tip off at)
|- = Yard boundary markers

I had to get the trailer sharp 90 degrees to snake around that truck which is parked to the left of my bay, but by the time my trailer swerved around him (and believe me it was tight to his front) my back end was 45 degrees too much to the right of the bay wheel bars, I reset my position tried again and failed, luckily the polish trucker seen my troubles and helpfully moved off the bay as he was due to leave anyway, but I believe that happened because I didn’t put enough lock on to begin with. Seriously though, great help guys, looking forward to work next week, week 2, Im going to brave out the services and see how I go at Trowell or Tibshelf, I’ve heard they have some hard parking spaces.

As a side note/question, I have done a very sharp forward turn and heard the back wheels almost skidding and I had to add generous amounts of throttle to pull it around when I done a yard 360 turn, is this normal, I think thats what put me off doing such sharp turns from then on?

7

Airtrooper719:
straightforward angled reverse into the wheel guide bars (I’m not sure what these are called?) that straighten you into the shutter doors :slight_smile:

I like most people I know refer to these as banana bars

8

TheNewBoy:

Airtrooper719:
straightforward angled reverse into the wheel guide bars (I’m not sure what these are called?) that straighten you into the shutter doors :slight_smile:

I like most people I know refer to these as banana bars

Also, be careful with these wheel guide bars… they will guide you in somewhat if your not perfectly straight, but one time, I was slightly on the ■■■■ going in and rather than take another shunt I kept going. Unknown to me, it trapped the spray suppression ( that’s mudflap to you and me! ) and pulled it around the wheel, pulling the complete mudguard off with it!

Ouch, so perhaps better to get straight, rather than be lazy and allow the wheel guide to straighten you up! :smiley:

9

Lennoxtown:
Also, be careful with these wheel guide bars… they will guide you in somewhat if your not perfectly straight, but one time, I was slightly on the ■■■■ going in and rather than take another shunt I kept going. Unknown to me, it trapped the spray suppression ( that’s mudflap to you and me! ) and pulled it around the wheel, pulling the complete mudguard off with it!

Ouch, so perhaps better to get straight, rather than be lazy and allow the wheel guide to straighten you up! :smiley:

Ouch! :open_mouth:

They are commonly called Bananas, or Banana bars!
And you guessed it, they are yellow…

You see some lovely gouges and dents, and those should be read/interpreted as; Yes people do ■■■■ it up, and you should respect them! :laughing:

10

Lennoxtown:

TheNewBoy:

Airtrooper719:
straightforward angled reverse into the wheel guide bars (I’m not sure what these are called?) that straighten you into the shutter doors :slight_smile:

I like most people I know refer to these as banana bars

Also, be careful with these wheel guide bars… they will guide you in somewhat if your not perfectly straight, but one time, I was slightly on the ■■■■ going in and rather than take another shunt I kept going. Unknown to me, it trapped the spray suppression ( that’s mudflap to you and me! ) and pulled it around the wheel, pulling the complete mudguard off with it!

Ouch, so perhaps better to get straight, rather than be lazy and allow the wheel guide to straighten you up! :smiley:

I learned my lesson on that yesterday, came in too tight to the nearside axle/nearside banana bar and heard an ear-deafening screeeeech (I was almost sure my wheels were clear of it from my view in the mirror) well, that ruined my “hole in one” so had to take a shunt in front of the, as always, helpful staring audience :cry:

Still though…not as bad as the massive CRUNCH and shouting drivers I heard at Wetherby services truck parking on Monday, about 9pm. Some poor sod must have went into another lorry whilst reversing, I was filling up so didn’t get a proper look, but all I know is, better that guy than me haha :smiling_imp: