I’m still pretty new to class 1 driving.
Have been to a couple of deliveries in the last week or so that have required me to drive in then spin round to unload and then drive out. Jack it round?
I was just wondering whats the tightest angle I can put between the unit and trailer before I cause myself any problems.
For any newbies yet to try this its pretty scary the first time you do it seeing your headboard so far out and feeling like you could reach out and touch the trailer.
I know what you mean = the trailer can get to a pretty scary angle! But I’ve had more problems with air lines getting snagged rather than the trailer colliding with the unit (though it happened once in Romania - joy!).
Same rule applies to this as everything else - - get out and look. (Like I didn’t and put a split in the side of the trailer).
Pete 
Saw an artic the other day do that around a mini roundabout couldn’t help wonder how do you know when to stop steering. Don’t think a rigid would have made it. Surely it must have some means of preventing a collision?
He wasn’t going slow either, he whipped it around there pretty fast.
If it’s really tight and you have no option than other to screw it round , it’s best to unplug the suzies , air and electrical and push the shunt button .
Much kinder than stretching the suzies and possibly snagging one .
Nothing worse than seeing someone screw a trailer round when there is no need , have a bit of respect for the tyres 
Can it uncouple if you steer too much or could that only happen at speed?
If it’s really tight and you have no option than other to screw it round , it’s best to unplug the suzies , air and electrical and push the shunt button .
Much kinder than stretching the suzies and possibly snagging one .
Nothing worse than seeing someone screw a trailer round when there is no need , have a bit of respect for the tyres
JS8576:
Can it uncouple if you steer too much or could that only happen at speed?
No. The pin is round so there is no difference to how it attaches no matter which way the trailers facing
Mikey D:
If it’s really tight and you have no option than other to screw it round , it’s best to unplug the suzies , air and electrical and push the shunt button .
Much kinder than stretching the suzies and possibly snagging one .
Nothing worse than seeing someone screw a trailer round when there is no need , have a bit of respect for the tyres
Totally agree, some people can’t respect the kit though!
Mikey D:
If it’s really tight and you have no option than other to screw it round , it’s best to unplug the suzies , air and electrical and push the shunt button .
Much kinder than stretching the suzies and possibly snagging one .
Nothing worse than seeing someone screw a trailer round when there is no need , have a bit of respect for the tyres
Totally agree with Mikey D on this!!!
You’ll ■■■■ the air/electrical lines way before you make trailer/unit contact.
And you’ll certainly scrub the tyres doing this a few times and everyone who knows what to look for. Like your boss or tyre fitters will know you’re damaging expensive tyres and if its for no real reason you will be called a ■■■■■
Ask me how I know about the connections, nearly doing a 135 degree turn at a very tight/narrow crossroads in middle of road sheared the red line metal connection completely off at join…so couldnt do a line swap I found out when I got out…boom brakes straight on going nowhere with a fully loaded semi-low.
Panicked, called boss, no one had a clue how to repair that one when they got it in their head what I’d actually done. Only answer was wait for fitters coming out, held crossroads up badly when it was dead on the road before doing the turn.
Tried to a repair a connection with PFTE tape and passerby holding connection tight as possible kinda built pressure but not enough at all to let brakes off.
Then thought 10 minutes in, why don’t you push shunt button you ■■■■■ What do they do in yards that do shunting.
Jumped out, did it, pulled away no problems got out the way, pulled up up and awaited fitter for permanent repair.
One last thing, if you do materials or move equipment or plant definitely as we don’t have a headboard on our trailers usually. If you allow anything to overhang your front edge of trailer say a dumper skip, which does happen with lots on stuff on board/large or long loads…that will join you in the cab very quickly if you dont remember when doing a very tight turn!!!
That’s something I’ve never done but heard the scare stories from other drivers. Never say never, so I’m always extremely wary of doing overhangs at front of trailer…only do when absolutely necessary unfortunately sometimes you have too. So you just keep reminding yourself all the way through the journey so you don’t smash up the cab with the load!
C
I was in a tight yard had to screw the unit round air line got caught ended up snapping it ok there was a fitter on site for there own did go ask as they went busy did help & sort it for me
But you not always that lucky
It will scrub the tyres this is why I try not to screw it round unless have to
At our place, its not always possible to be nice to the tyres. Round the back of our warehouse the only option is to screw it round. The fence and warehouse wall is all bashed up from drivers doing this. Sometimes though they do it in the main yard which is massive. Pop, pop, pop as the tyres jump across the concrete. Its not too bad with an empty but when its fully loaded it looks like the rear most tyre is going to pop off the rim!
I managed to jack a refrigerator round so tight once that I caught the cab’s wind deflector and cracked the gel coat a bit. I was another who naively assumed that there must be some mechanism built in that prevents it…there isn’t.
Apparently snagging the suzies is more common on curtainsiders because of the levers on the front corners.
Knowing how far is too far is, I suspect, just a matter of guesswork experience and good luck. If you think about it, that’s actually the case with other driving skills too. Push it as far as you dare and hope you don’t go too far. Once you’ve dinked it the first time you’ll have a better idea of where the point of no return is, and you’ll probably be much more cautious in future and allow yourself a better margin of safety.
I’ve been in some tight spots over the years, but always if having to do screw round (WTF are places planned like this? often enough by the companies who operate the vehicles too? eh Asda?) when you get close enough to the trailer it starts reversing away from you…doesn’t stop the really determined though who, as happened to mine, took a shunt on the other lock whilst jack knifed just to be sure it connected 
As above, doing unecessary U turns is rank amateur stuff, though strangely often practiced by those who have been doing the job years, yet never learned to drive a lorry nor take any pride in their work.
The above applies to normal artics, but be very careful with wagon and drags (not A frame, they’re different again having two pivot points) because whilst most combinations will turn happily with the prime mover at full lock, any shunt aimed at gaining a tighter angle can cause serious damage to the trailer chassis, can be a write off given the leverage involved…especially careful where the prime mover is shorter than the trailer, the problem being here that the contact and damage point isn’t the cab where you can see/feel it, the damage usually happens to the front chassis of the trailer and occasionally the hitch.
Usually less than a 90 degree angle is the max for these.
I’m sure some poor examples of drivers would do a complete 360 if they had a super low cab that could go under the trailer chassis.
The thing to do, as rightly said dropping the suzies is a good move, is when you get to a serious angle is to get out and have a good look all round, see for yourself how close things are and how much further you would dare take it should you have to.