So i passed my c+e a week last Friday and was given a days work for an agency yesterday. Had to go to aldi at neston. All smooth all the way there with no issues. Got to there yard and was told any bay between 26-29. This is where I started to go wrong. Got it onto bay 26 with 2 shunts and it was nice and straight etc etc but it was just so messy getting it there. My problem is knowing where to position myself to set off for the reverse. Is there any tips anyone can offer as to how to approach the position (this is before I even hit the reverse gear)!! May seem like a daft question and I’m sure ill get the hang of it eventually but if there’s a simple way of setting myself up I’d love to know so I don’t look like a complete nob haha.
Thank god it was a Saturday and there was only one other wagon in the yard or I’d have had an audience as well.
Nearly everyone struggles with reversing in the early days. And even the old timers mess up some days.
A few tips I’ve learned.
Use all the space you need. When you are positioning yourself, picture a snake so your back end comes round then make sure the unit is the right side of the trailer to push it round if it needs correcting.
Little movements can make an impact too so it’s not always necessary to go from one lock to another.
Don’t rely on the mirrors if its on your side. Stick your head out the window.
If there’s a blindside reverse and its in a big yard, swing it round in the yard so it becomes a good side reverse.
If in doubt get out and look.
The key to having a good start is getting the back end lined up. If that’s not lined up then you have a lot of work on your hands. Again, stick head out of window to see how it looks.
And above all… Don’t let the ignorant drivers, who would rather glare and laugh, phase you. They all were where you are.
It will come in time. Practice wherever you can. If there’s a harder reverse in a service area for your break, use it for practice (where time permits).
I’m sure there’s things that others will come up with but hope this helps.
I’m having trouble with this myself. What I’ve found so far is when you get the set up right it looks like you’ve just driven out or the space when you look back. I think of it how I wound set it up if in a van but the trailer is the van and the unit is the vans front wheels so point it as you would them ! if that makes sence… also if you want to move the front of the trailer put your hand on the top of the wheel and turn the direction you want and the back of trailer put you hand at the bottom of it.
Yeah I pulled into the yard with the bays behind me on my left hand side so think I made it hard work to begin with! Think this will come with experience tho because another guy came in, swung round so they were behind him on his right and stuck it straight in!! Got another full week booked in for next week so will get plenty of practice hopefully!!
In all honesty, 3 months tramping is the best start I could have had.
Average of 5 reverses a day in different environments and got myself to a point where I no longer sweat about it.
I’m not saying I’m perfect. Still make a mess of it once in a while.
It will come with practice though. Watch the others while you are stuck on a bay waiting. It will give you an idea of how to (and how not to) do it well.
The more you reverse, the better you should get, don’t worry about other people watching you, keep your concentration, & don’t rush . everybody has probably been there at some stage, whether a newbie or someone who has done it for years!! it only take a bit of fatigue to set in, & how easily everything can go pair shaped Sometimes a ‘banker’, or somebody watching/helping you back can be good thing, & sometimes a hinderance Like dar said, stick you head out of the window if nessessary, & with little movement on the steering, allow time for the trailer to react. If you need to, get out & Look don’t just glance
My advice is pretty much the same as the comments already posted, once you’ve got it going in the right direction make little movements in the steering.
Single double and triple axle trailers all move differently when you start to pivot them with the unit back on bays, so use as much space as you can to try and get it in as straight as you can, that way you’ll have full view of both sides of the trailer.
Don’t worry about the other drivers watching we all do it (me to see if I can steal some tips for next time).
Reversing will get easier in time so don’t worry about it, I’ve been to places where all the bays are empty and still had to take a couple of shunts.
cheers all, was in a twin axle trailer with a really big overhang and it just seemed to get away from me really quickly, didnt help that i started off from the completly wrong position, but still got in on after a few shunts. Ill get the hang of it im sure, just need all the depots to be 2 miles wide and empty for the next few months till i get my head round it, then they can throw some tricky ones at me haha. think the good thing about the agency is that ill get to experience lots of differnet depots, wagons, trailers and built up some experience of each, before i get used to one trailer and unit and then come unstuck if im given something different. they seem to have lots of work for me aswell so pretty lucky in that way
Great photo Luke , I took a couple of photos of mine on my phone, only I don’t have the facillities to put them on the forum You’'ll get the hang of reversing, just give yourself time, just remember- Rome wasn’t built in a day
I had to take a picture, 1st because I’m sad like that and I have a picture of every truck I’ve been in since I started ( think its because I’ve got a portfolio of around 500 kitchens and can’t get out the habit of takin pics of my work!!) and 2nd because my little boy who’s five is transformers mad and thinks I’m lying about not driving Optimus prime so I have to prove to him when I get home what I’ve actually been in lol!
I used to be taking a lot of photos of livestock & agricultureal equipment, & plant machinery, I suppose I never dropped the photography habit either, & in fact the photos become interesting when they become ‘olde worlde’, as more modern vehicles are made. There are a lot in my family that like to see them too,lol ) ) )
Where you took the photo of your truck, looks very spacious for reversing, good luck with your new job, you’ll soon get to grips with it,:-)& your truck photo is a definate improvement on ‘kitchens’ IMHO, & I bet you little boy is very proud of you too
Was massive! Had 26 empty bays to drive through which i Was relived about cause if they’d been full and I’ve had had to slot it between two other trucks I would have took a lot more than two shunts! Little lads buzzin about it! Shame all the health and safety laws are so tight cause I used to love going out in my old mans truck but think those days are gone?
Luke222:
I had to take a picture, 1st because I’m sad like that and I have a picture of every truck I’ve been in since I started ( think its because I’ve got a portfolio of around 500 kitchens and can’t get out the habit of takin pics of my work!!) and 2nd because my little boy who’s five is transformers mad and thinks I’m lying about not driving Optimus prime so I have to prove to him when I get home what I’ve actually been in lol!
nothing sad about taking pictures chap its how history is recorded .
20/30 yrs from now you’ll be showing all the newbie drivers how it was in the old days and telling them how easy they have it .
take as many as you want aint nowt wrong with that . if you take a look in the silly old ■■■■■ forum you’ll see plenty of posts with drivers saying how they wished they’d had a camera back in the day , if they had them we may even have a photo of a guy big j with an 8 pot gardner in it …
Luke222:
Little lads buzzin about it! Shame all the health and safety laws are so tight cause I used to love going out in my old mans truck but think those days are gone?
I remember the days as a kid out with the old man in his truck, had some great times. Its a shame more kids don’t get to do this these days, I left school and started as a lorry drivers mate because it. Trucks don’t even smell the same these days !
Luke222:
Little lads buzzin about it! Shame all the health and safety laws are so tight cause I used to love going out in my old mans truck but think those days are gone?
I remember the days as a kid out with the old man in his truck, had some great times. Its a shame more kids don’t get to do this these days, I left school and started as a lorry drivers mate because it. Trucks don’t even smell the same these days !
aint that the truth , they dont fill the yard full of smoke and burn the skin off your eyes like they used too … ahhh the good old days
Good job getting work and with the reverse! And share more pictures please! That trailer does look a bit odd, big over hang at the rear and short wheel base.
Like all the others have said, it’ll all come good with practice. Personally I’m still waiting…
I had a chat to my Dad the other day, and asked him how long it was until he felt comfortable with reversing. He told me that in all honesty, he never did feel 100% confident, as every one was different!
The one big point that I learned, is to make sure that you leave yourself enough room on both sides of the unit, especially if you’re going in somewhere tight, like between two others on a bay. I caught myself out several times at first, by not being able to straighten the unit up after a perfect trailer position, because I was too close to a fence / post / lorry etc. Try to picture yourself driving out again afterwards to give an idea of the sort of line you need to be aiming for.
Oh, and the other thing which helps is always make sure you’re going for the right bay I went to Lidl at Enfield on Friday, and with the help of another guy spotting for me, pulled off a blindside reverse onto the bay, tight alongside another lorry, then realised I was on bay 71 and should have been on 70, which wouldn’t have been quite so tight.
One day you’ll realise that you’re not sweating everytime you have to reverse - not that it will necessarily be a doddle, you’ll just take it in your stride!
have a new job coming up which will be mainly bay work and looking for tips online. so far ive found that if you drive past your bay as close as possible looking down it (driver side) make sure its clear and when your shoulder is on the the second bay after it OR your fifth wheel of the trailer is on the bay you intend going into, swing out and snake the trailer. then aim to keep the trailer wheels dead on the line (If their is one) as possible when reversing.
anyone confirm these as good tips?
The only part im nervous about is actually hitting the bay. when do you stop when you hear a tud!!!■■
This is exactly what I was looking for! Ill give ur way a go next time I’m going for a bay. Once the initial position is set up the rest should follow on I think. Really just goes to show how useless the reversing excercise on the test really is!
And I went really slow when I thought I was somewhere near, felt it touch and then nudged it back till it wouldn’t move and put handbrake on so it didn’t push forward, think that’s ok to do but if not can someone correct me before I start braking bays!!
. everybody has probably been there at some stage, whether a newbie or someone who has done it for years!! it only take a bit of fatigue to set in, & how easily everything can go pair shaped 
Like dar said, stick you head out of the window if nessessary, & with little movement on the steering, allow time for the trailer to react. If you need to, get out & Look 
don’t just glance 
You’'ll get the hang of reversing, just give yourself time, just remember- Rome wasn’t built in a day 
I went to Lidl at Enfield on Friday, and with the help of another guy spotting for me, pulled off a blindside reverse onto the bay, tight alongside another lorry, then realised I was on bay 71 and should have been on 70, which wouldn’t have been quite so tight. 
