Hi,
I passed my class 1 in May, got my first driving job on rigids in August where I did 4 weeks, then they put me on class 1 after that. So I’ve been driving class 1 for 4 weeks now. My reversing has improved over the 4 weeks. When I started the only reverse I’d ever done was the one in the test so I didn’t have a clue and probably looked a right idiot at some of the RDCs where there’s acres of space and reversing into a space is easy as long as you set yourself up right when going forwards! But I was there taking 10 shunts!
I’m struggling though with parking in a trailer park, say for example if there is one space left between 2 trailers and you have to reverse into it at a right angle because there is not enough space in the yard to get yourself lined up to come straight back into it.
This is one reverse manoeuvre that I feel like I’ve not improved at all in 4 weeks. Tonight the trailer park was quiet so I thought I’d find myself a space which fit the above description and I planned to go in and out a few time to practise. But after about a 1000 shunts and getting out a 1000 times to see where the end of the trailer was I gave up and put into an easy space.
I can reverse round a corner through nice wide gates off a road into a yard from a right angle, so I know the principle of what to do, ie which way to turn the wheel! I just can’t do it at all when its into a single space between 2 trailers.
I don’t know how to get better because I don’t know where to set myself up for this reverse, I don’t know at what point to start putting left lock on and at what point to start taking it off again. I’m just stabbing in the dark every time and every single time making a mess of it and not learning because I don’t know what to do.
Try to take as wide an arc as possible into narrow spaces, ie don’t start the manoeuvre with the rear of your trailer right next to the space if that makes sense? That way you’ll be able to make smaller adjustments more easily and be able to straighten up into the space sooner. Hope that makes sense, it does in my head anyway!
Typical newbie mistake in this area is throwing a load of lock on at the start. By doing this you lose control very quickly because as soon as the trailers not going quite where you want, you have loads of steering to do to correct it and you’ll never be quick enough. Thing to remember is that once the trailer has started turning, it will keep turning, you just need to control it.
Try starting the reverse into the space with one single turn of the steering wheel, wait for the trailer to start turning then take all the lock off, keep slowly edging back and see how it goes, then just make adjustments… If its going too far, get the cab back straight. If it’s not going enough, put a bit more lock on. Once it’s more of less there, take a shunt to straighten.
Most people are pretty terrible at reversing at first, don’t sweat it. I was driving Class 1 for a good 6 months or so before I really felt comfortable reversing.
If you’re turning into a tight space using the minimum distance it’s mostly a case of the trailer pivoting around the centre of its axle line and at that point you’re mostly dealing with getting the arc of the tail sweep to end up in the right place in the gap between the trailers.Most of that arc will be controlled by just using lock to get the unit at the right angle to the trailer then getting rid of it and let the drive axle do the steering.IE as you go further back with the wheel straight ahead the drive axle will steer/swing the tail sweep to where you want it.It’s then just a case of winding on the lock to straighten up the unit relative to the trailer as it goes back.It takes a bit of practice to get all the angles spot on but you’ll be able to do it without even thinking about it after a while.
Thanks. Just on the issue of positioning yourself for this manoeuvre before you even start going backwards, how far away would you want yourself away from the other trailers on your right hand side? And how far past the space your wanting to reverse into would you want the end of your trailer to be before you start turning it? As I said, I’m just totally guessing all this stuff at the moment and therefore it’s all going wrong very quickly!
Rowley010:
Thanks. Just on the issue of positioning yourself for this manoeuvre before you even start going backwards, how far away would you want yourself away from the other trailers on your right hand side? And how far past the space your wanting to reverse into would you want the end of your trailer to be before you start turning it? As I said, I’m just totally guessing all this stuff at the moment and therefore it’s all going wrong very quickly!
Theres no exact answer to that really & I can’t say I ever think about it much. The main thing you want to worry about really is that you have enough room on your nearside for the cab to swing back round.
Rowley if you pop onto the new drivers forum, there’s a current and several older threads where reversing has been discussed and several advisory posts that might be worth your while reading.
One titled How Much Angle, one titled Reversing, one titled Blind Side.
Basically, you won’t ever learn to reverse under pressure like this, you need to practice and perfect it where there is no danger of hitting things which takes the pressure off, read those threads for fuller explanations.
Are there more experienced drivers in your company willing to help? Sometimes seeing someone else doing it first helps, then have a go and let them give you pointers.
Rowley010:
Thanks. Just on the issue of positioning yourself for this manoeuvre before you even start going backwards, how far away would you want yourself away from the other trailers on your right hand side? And how far past the space your wanting to reverse into would you want the end of your trailer to be before you start turning it? As I said, I’m just totally guessing all this stuff at the moment and therefore it’s all going wrong very quickly!
What works for me is start turning away from the space you want to enter when the front of the trailer has just passed the edge that will be on you sight line side (driver side for good side, passenger side for a blind side) then start from about 45 degrees of bend and about 10 feet from the target space, then SLOW and steady as you move back. To be honest if you have the knack of going round corners through gates then you may be over-thinking things and stressing yourself excessively. One day it will just click in your subconscious and from then on you will probably wonder what all the fuss was about.
Folks telling you not to worry probably doesn’t seem that helpful but it really is easier when you are relaxed about what you are doing. And just because this works for me doesn’t mean that this is what you will use. Try lots and go with what works best for you.
Wire twister’s right, you’re probably thinking about it too much, not to mention tensing up. Imagine doing it when you’re half ■■■■■■ (no don’t get on it) nice and relaxed and not giving a toss whether or not you’re being watched. Nick a load of cones from some roadworks… shouldn’t be too hard to find.
easiest way is to try it with just the one trailer and imagine the other one is there (less pressure and things that could go wrong).
I also very rarely ever set up so its a right angle reverse even in some of the tightest places you can get it to about 45’ so no need to try it at such an angle.
boredwivdrivin:
When reversing between 2 trailers/trucks ::
Draw an imaginary line on floor extending from the side of nearest trailer , out in front of it
Stick YOUR trailer wheels just inside the imaginary line .
Straighten up along
imaginary line
Bingo yr in
+1
If your lucky theres something in line to aim at and as stated always try and go in as straight as possible.
Dont worry about other drivers taking the ■■■■ its part of the job, most will help first before a light ribbing.
Weve all been there and even the most experienced legends can have an off day.
As the saying goes, “Dont be a ■■■■ have a shunt”, (the zb is slang for a womans juicy bits).
I had a new truck (yep im showing off), last month and it was like starting from scratch all over again.
Dont ever get complacent though, you can do a great tricky reverse one day then ■■■■ up the simplest one the next.
Starting position is half the battle.
Oh and dont worry about complex angle calculations etc, after a while you will get the feel for it naturally and even though different weights alter things slightly it will become second nature in no time, unless your like me and hopeless.
Try and practice whenever possible and dont go for the simplest parking space at the services, thats reserved for me…
Whether it is a trailer park or an RDC bay even after many years I still always have a good look at the trailers parked nearby to see how the width of the parked trailer compares to the yellow lines and any wheel guide hoops. If the yellow lines extend forward of the front of the trailer or whatever is parked in the bay, I use the line to aim for. Doesn’t help if it is an unmarked bay though.
Don’t be a ■■■■ take a shunt is what I was brought up on, and I’m still a ■■■■
Take your time learn what works for you, I think this is the failing of our class 1 test the reverse exercises don’t reflect the reality of the workplace.
I remember on my second run I pulled into a deserted (Saturday night) services and practised reversing into empty bays… I was ■■■■■■■ hopeless…
Don’t let impatient pricks rush you, they were all there once, and if they start beeping their horns get out rip them from their cabs and punch them, they tend not to do it again!!
Here’s how I do it which I learnt when doing shunting in one of the smallest yards I’ve ever seen because it requires less room than trying to do it in a large arc. I drive along the line of trailers about 15ft away and then swing in towards where the empty bay is, swing out sharply towards the left and then put some right lock on which puts the trailer pointing at a nice angle towards the gap and you end up in the position in the image. You’ve then just got to put some left lock on if you need to and reverse in. Doesn’t matter if you’ve pulled too far forward because all you do is just get the unit in front of the trailer and reverse back straight a little bit but ideally you’re aiming to judge it so the rear of the trailer is maybe a foot forward of the corner of the trailer that’s next to the space you’re wanting to be in and a few feet in front of it if possible. It’ll then nicely curl round into the space.
Far easier to reverse into a gap when the trailer is already pointing some of the way towards the direction its going to end up in.
The biggest mistake people make is not giving the trailer time to react to steering input and putting more and more lock on. They then end up in a situation where their cab does a mile going left to right, right to left for every couple of feet the trailer goes back.
(drawing isn’t quite perfect but you get the idea…)
peterm:
Wire twister’s right, you’re probably thinking about it too much
Every time I think about it too much I make a right balls up and also it seems to be the case that the more room I have the worse I am as well. Last night I did that and took 3 shunts to get into a bay I normally do in one go. Looked like a right amateur but at least I had an agency hi-viz on so had a get out of jail card.
Conor:
Here’s how I do it which I learnt when doing shunting in one of the smallest yards I’ve ever seen because it requires less room than trying to do it in a large arc. I drive along the line of trailers about 15ft away and then swing in towards where the empty bay is, swing out sharply towards the left and then put some right lock on which puts the trailer pointing at a nice angle towards the gap and you end up in the position in the image. You’ve then just got to put some left lock on if you need to and reverse in. Doesn’t matter if you’ve pulled too far forward because all you do is just get the unit in front of the trailer and reverse back straight a little bit but ideally you’re aiming to judge it so the rear of the trailer is maybe a foot forward of the corner of the trailer that’s next to the space you’re wanting to be in and a few feet in front of it if possible. It’ll then nicely curl round into the space.
Far easier to reverse into a gap when the trailer is already pointing some of the way towards the direction its going to end up in.
The biggest mistake people make is not giving the trailer time to react to steering input and putting more and more lock on. They then end up in a situation where their cab does a mile going left to right, right to left for every couple of feet the trailer goes back.
(drawing isn’t quite perfect but you get the idea…)
If I ever need to reverse on a giant piano I’ll refer to this pic
