Iv read through all the training bits on here and done a search but just wondered if anyone had any practical advice on C+E reversing during the training as i cant seem to get my head round the initial maneuver 
did you watch the videos that are in the TIPS thread 
dogthehunter:
Iv read through all the training bits on here and done a search but just wondered if anyone had any practical advice on C+E reversing during the training as i cant seem to get my head round the initial maneuver
the best advise from my instructor was not to think about it , i made some many mistakes just before my test on the reverseing but on the it was perfect donāt try to over think and it will come mate
delboytwo:
the best advise from my instructor was not to think about it
See i was the opposite by midway of the training course.
We spent two whole days on the reverse alone and even then it wasnt until the third/fourth day i could nail them 9/10 times. 
To start off with take it nice and slow, whatever you do dont rush. Alot is trial and error and ultimately (for me) ā¦ it comes with practice 
But like i say personally by midway it was more, if you do anything, weather it be the reverse or shuntā¦think it out. I on the first two days i would take a shunt only to end up back where i started 
but like i say with a little trial and error i would be thinking āif i do this then iām gonna be in this positionā
buy a toy artic & practice at home with it i was given that advice as you will see how it moves ect
dogthehunter:
Iv read through all the training bits on here and done a search but just wondered if anyone had any practical advice on C+E reversing during the training as i cant seem to get my head round the initial maneuver
Hi dogthehunter, Could you please explain the way that your instructor has explained this to you?
Iām asking because there are several different methods for instructing candidates on this exercise, and we wouldnāt want to confuse you by explaining it differently.
If you havenāt yet started your C+E training, then please donāt worry yourself about grasping the principles of the reversing exercise at this stage because youāll probably end up in a worse tangle than youāre in at present.
Itās actually far easier to learn this in practice, rather than in theory or reading written explanations.
If youāve had an instructorās explanation that you donāt understand, or youāre making mistakes during the actual exercise, then we might be able to help. 
If you havenāt actually started your C+E training yet, then Iād suggest that animalās idea (above) would be good for you.
dogthehunter:
Iv read through all the training bits on here and done a search but just wondered if anyone had any practical advice on C+E reversing during the training as i cant seem to get my head round the initial maneuver
Put simply, steer towards what you want to avoid
I know where you are coming from, I tried the C+E before the internet and found little help or instruction from the ZB that was taking my money.I managed the reverse part of the test but still failed.Would recommend a model lorry with steering front wheels.Or buy tractor and trailor from Toys R Us .The scale is different but the principle is the same.Good luck you need that as well.
Would suggest you ask your instructor to explain it again - and again - and again. And if that fails, ask him to explain it differently. Any half decent instructor should be able to explain this exercise half a dozen different ways with no problem.
He should have already realised he hasnāt got through to you. Itās his problem - - not yours.
If he cant, ditch him and get a proper instructor 
We spent two whole days on the reverse alone
Thatās shamefull. It sounds like the instructor either didnāt know how to teach it or couldnāt be bothered. W+D should be totally cracked within 2 hours. Artic 4 hours. Any more should just be ācomfort practiceā and thatās worthwhile in itself. But to spend day after day going backwards will just drive anyone crazy. (But it saves an awfull lot of fuel rather than doing road work; maybe Iām just sceptical). And before anyone starts, Iāve had in excess of 35 years experience of teaching reversing so I do know what Iām talking about!
Totally agree with Peter in the post above - nowt to add
Without hijacking the thread* ā¦
Peter i wont have a rant at yourself, i have totaly respect for instructors (i know i couldnt be in a vehicle with someone i didnt know and have total trust in them).
For me it proved useful, the instructor talked us through a fair amount of reverses (from him demo-ing the first couple to sitting in the cab/walking alongside) saying try this try that until i got the idea completely right in my head like. The rest of the time was spent practising and like i say on a trial and error basis. Ultimately i also found this to be great simply because flash it forward a few years (week i hope actually ) and i might be backing on to bays and iām not going to have the instructor in the seat to the left of me saying try this try that. I actually learnt how to, in those two days, recover a trailer that would otherwise been erm (trying to think of a clean word) ā¦ ā¦ been screwed up otherwise. Lord knows i had enough practice during the week up there. 
Like all things in the worldā¦first impressions count. We knew that before we even went on the road we would need to do the reverse and braking exercises. If you can nail them then obviously it shows that you can take it serious rather than someone who is there because they have nothing else to do.
We did a bit of road work obviously driving to and from the reverse pad and from a personal experience this was great simply because it allowed me to get my toes wet without being overawed by it all. I remember the rigid and i wanted to chuck the towel in on the first morning because all we did was road work and i must have hit every kerb. We went up the reverse pad and weirdly enough it was the reverse that saved my sanity
However, ultimately i think it comes down to different trainers and different styles. The world would be a boring place if everyone was the same.
Peter Smythe:
W+D should be totally cracked within 2 hours
Whoops i must be below average thenā¦
Peter Smythe:
But to spend day after day going backwards will just drive anyone crazy
Unless, like me your already there 
- Well not too much
Ok its easy to reverse in this forum or give advice. From my point of view as a instructor, this is something that is very hard to teach. An instructor can only give a certain amount of advice then it is up to the pupil learn by trial or error. Very often sleeping on it can work very well. Many times I have had a pupil who cant grasp the reverse but after sleeping on it have come next day and mastered it!!!.
too late boysā¦i failed on the reverse didnt even make out of the test centre ā¦the instructor was very good he explained it like thisā¦
to get the bend in the trailer you put full right lock on until the leg of the trailer is in the middle of the mirror then start bringing the unit left until parralell with the yellow line then bring the front wheels to the line and run them along the line until the unit and trailer are in line and you have a clear view of the back of the trailer the rest i can do just the initial bit
Cheers for the PM rog just got it
Im not sure about doing it again as i can only afford one more shot and im terrified of mucking that up
So sorry to hear that dogthehunter.
If you do go for it again (and i hope that you do) then i wish you the best of luck (although iām sure you wont need it)
I might be getting the wrong impression of your instructor so I apologise in advance if I have BUT it seems to me from what you have written that your instructor knows of one way to teach this and that IS the way that it will be done !! - again, apolgies if I am incorrect in my take on this.
I have come across a few āold styleā instructors who do this and are inflexible on this issue.
I had one where I last worked and it took him the best part of 2 days to get to a stage where the trainees could do the artic reverse to a test standard.
I used āother methodsā and got all but one to the stage where they were at test standard for the artic reverse in 2 hours - 3 hours if there were 2 trainees. Arrive reversing pad at 10am, both trainees done & dusted by 1pm
The one that had struggled a bit managed to ācrack itā on the morning of day 2 of training.
To reverse an artic is difficult. To teach someone else to reverse is very difficult. But a good, experienced instructor can get this cracked in a very short time. To spend days on reversing is ridiculous. The problem comes that there is a trend to teach to pass a test. This applies with all the training - not just the reversing. I teach folk to drive trucks. Yes, they have to pass the test - but that is the formality at the end of the course. It is not the sole aim. The same principle works with reversing. If an instructor only teaches the reversing exercise he has failed in his duty. The trainee should be taught how to reverse. Yes, there is a set exercise and that has to be rehearsed. But itās dead easy if youāre taught how to reverse the truck first.
The situation is that instructors are only teaching to test standard. Anything short of that will fail. Given that few trainees will perform up to their ability on test, those that are only taught to test standard are on a sticky wicket. Those that are taught to actually drive, and reverse, will stand a far better chance of passing the test.
I always seem to be on a rant - - but Iām fed up to the back teeth with seeing posts asking for help on what are the very basic issues. Stuff that should be taught during the course by a decent instructor.
Peter Smythe:
The same principle works with reversing. If an instructor only teaches the reversing exercise he has failed in his duty. The trainee should be taught how to reverse. Yes, there is a set exercise and that has to be rehearsed. But itās dead easy if youāre taught how to reverse the truck first.
Spot on - the underpinning knowledge is vital
to get the bend in the trailer you put full right lock on until the leg of the trailer is in the middle of the mirror then start bringing the unit left until parralell with the yellow line then bring the front wheels to the line and run them along the line until the unit and trailer are in line and you have a clear view of the back of the trailer the rest i can do just the initial bit
The description above should work - subject to a couple of things. Firstly, the start position. You must be as far forward and as far to the left as possible. Candidates sometimes get this round their neck as the examiners will show the diagram and give the instruction to āposition the truck between the conesā. This, if followed literally, will put the candidate some 2 or 3 feet further to the right than they should be. To make it clear, the examiner should, from standing at the cone at the nearside front corner of the truck, be able to see the cone near the yellow line (on your right) and the cone behind you (B cone). Provided he can do that, the truck is positioned within the rules.
Secondly, itās all very well doing the āfull right lock on until the leg of the trailerā etc etc and āthen start bringing the unit left untilā etc etc - but there are two primary variables which will, nearly always, lead to distress. The first is the speed of the steering action (how quick - or otherwise - you turn the wheel) and the second is the speed of the truck. This is why the exercise is hard for those people who are not taught how to reverse - but are taught only the exercise. Itās like trying to play Beethovens 5th on the piano without learning how to play scales! (and yes, before you start, I am a musician!).
So I emphasise that to attempt to teach only the exercise is a folly. The trainee must be taught to reverse and then, and only then, be shown the exercise that has to be completed for test. It will then seem really easy.
Honestly, I canāt remember the last fail I had on reverse.
i trained in a wagon + drag and the instructor did an excellent job of breaking down the reverse exercise into stages but as others have said on here it was literally just to get me through the test rather than actually learning to reverse the truck. i did have a 4 hour course in an artic after i passed the C+E and found the reversing so different.
The first part of the exercise (blindside), I found to be completelly method based, and you need only to worry about where the unit is, but when the trailer has the B cone on the off side (good side) this is where the practise and understanding of where the trailer is and how you need to maneuver the truck to get it in the bay comes into play. The best way I found to familiarise myself with the principles of how the C+E moves was to play around with a pallet truck while I was at work and imagine myself as the unit and the pallet truck as the trailer. The thing that my instructor insisted that I take on board was to turn the trailer a little, then line the unit up with the trailer and āsee how weāre doingā, definitely no extreme angles, and line up to the bay nice and early (removes the need for a shunt) and maybe compensates for any rear overhang you may have (rear end swing certainly smacked me in the face when I started reversing onto peoplesā driveways when I started driving a skiploader) Does this make senseā ā ?