Hi. I’ve just had my first C+E job yesterday evening and was kitted out with a Daf CF85 auto and box trailer with three rear axles. the first mission was to reverse onto the dock. However it took me about six attempts to get it straight, the main problem being that it felt like there was a lot of resistance to going backwards, I’d have to give it a hefty amount of gas to get it to shift then it would lurch backwards instead of allowing me a smooth controlled reverse. Does anyone have any idea what I was doing wrong? I don’t remember it being like this in training. The triler was empty, one axle lifted and I had the rotary dial set to the snail setting too. Hope someone can help as I’m out again tonight and would like to get it in fewer attempts!!
Low air?? 
Did you have the steering rear axle locked on the tri-axle trailer, they should auto lock, although they don’t always work in auto
Lee MacPherson:
Did you have the steering rear axle locked on the tri-axle trailer, they should auto lock, although they don’t always work in auto
I had that issue with a low loader trailer. Taking me ages to get it where i wanted it as the trailer was turning too. That was with a Daf XF auto unit.
didn’t know the rear axle was a steering axle. How do you lock it manually? I haven’t had this problem with any other trailer since then by the way.
Hardly any trailers have a steering rear axle, if it does it will say so, I see no reason why this one you had would’ve been rear steer.
I wouldn’t worry about it, it’s the auto box. I have the same problem sometimes especially with DAF and MAN autos but it’s not always a problem so i think it’s down to different models of auto gearbox or worn auto clutches. Often you’ll get one that you need to really give a lot of throttle before the auto clutch engages and as a result you have a lot of revs and so it’ll lurch. It’s something you can’t get around, it’s best to just make sure you bring the trailer back as straight as you can as reversing like this while angled makes the lurching even worse. Most auto boxes are very smooth in reverse, it’s just the occasional one that’s a pig. Try it on normal reverse too rather than slow (tortoise), should make the truck less sensitive to throttle movements so may make it gentler when the auto clutch releases.
What you say sounds about right, the problem seems to be non existant with most units but very bad with a small minority. Up until now I’ve always used low reverse, but will try high reverse from now on, especially now my reversing is showing signs of improvement! 
Well, it was only a possible solution for smoothing out the clutch release on the problem units. On one without the problem i’d stick to low reverse for getting on bays, very easy to have it go roaring off backwards if you’re not careful 
its nothing to do with the trailer, its the auto gearbox of the daf, its crap. if u want to make it easy use turle reverse,
I have had a very similar expierence with a double decker trailer with a auto MAN unit. nearly wrote on here to see if anyone else struggled with them, or was it just me. Taking my time as usual but for some reason could not get this trailer on the bay, after a bit of a fluster and a few shunts later (lost count) got on to the bay. Couldn’t believe as I’ve reversed into warehouses with a quater of space, with a ordinary tri-axle trailer! Felt a complete fool! Next time same drop with a 13" tri-axle taut, got onto the bay first time, couldn’t believe it!
Jus thought with the double decker there felt more drag, and with the auto transmission it was either to much or to little, not my bad driving haha!!
I put this down to 1 of 2 things, and all these are coming from experience.
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As Peter said, low air. If you’re shunting back and forth, using the brakes/handbrake constantly, but not revving high, you’ll use all of you’re air and you wont get the unit moving. (Done it myself on my first HGV job, used all air reversing off a road and blocked the road while i built it back up)
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Auto boxes. They will NOT respond straight away, empty or loaded. You have to be patient and gentle with them. Select your gear, watch on the dash for it to engage, squeeze the throttle until you feel it starting to pull, then squeeze more. Again, I did it myself when i first started, throttle down, nothing happened, pushed throttle more then suddenly it responds and jolts backwards/forwards.
As others have said, use ‘reverse manual’ if it’s a MAN, no mater how much throttle you use, it wont go over a certain amount of revs and you’ll just crawl back. DAF’s must have a similar setting?
The rear steer will make no difference at all in this situation
You just need practice with the auto box, it’s nothing to do with axles or air. You just need to use your right foot to suss out the biting point of the clutch then once you have that sorted control the speed of the reverse by keeping the pedal around that point. I have an auto DAF as my current vehicle and always use the ‘Turtle’ reverse setting and this method, which actually is harder to describe than do.
I assume the term ‘turtle’ is reverse manual Mr Coffeeholic?
C-Kay:
I assume the term ‘turtle’ is reverse manual Mr Coffeeholic?
No, auto, can’t remember the last time I used the ‘M’ setting on the box for anything, but with the selector knob pointing to the ‘turtle’ reverse rather than the ‘R’ one.
C-Kay:
I assume the term ‘turtle’ is reverse manual Mr Coffeeholic?
It’s slow reverse, doesnt rev over 1200 revs or something and alot easier to reverse with
gogzy:
C-Kay:
I assume the term ‘turtle’ is reverse manual Mr Coffeeholic?It’s slow reverse, doesnt rev over 1200 revs or something and alot easier to reverse with
Yeah, that’s what ‘Reverse Manual’ is in the MAN’s we have. I’ve never heard the term ‘turtle’ until this thread though
C-Kay:
gogzy:
C-Kay:
I assume the term ‘turtle’ is reverse manual Mr Coffeeholic?It’s slow reverse, doesnt rev over 1200 revs or something and alot easier to reverse with
Yeah, that’s what ‘Reverse Manual’ is in the MAN’s we have. I’ve never heard the term ‘turtle’ until this thread though
The symbol on the selector for ‘slow’ forward and backward in a DAF is a turtle/tortoise.
I’ve never driven a DAF (except our old T reg we use for a shunter in the yard), but when you say that it makes much more sense
I still think it’s down to shoddy auto clutches personally as like I say, especially being agency now i’m constantly in driving different trucks and most DAF/MAN autos are just fine and Volvo/Renault/Scania/Iveco autos i’ve never had a problem at all with but occasionally you get a DAF or Man auto that just will not pull away in reverse smoothly, it doesn’t matter how gentle you are with the throttle it’s a mechanical fault. Problem is it’s hard to explain to any yard people trying to get you to reverse somewhere awkward when the unit just won’t do it safely, they just think you’re useless but it’s not like you can tell them to try themselves. I can only remember it being so bad I had to give up once, it was an 03 (I think) DAF CF auto and due to the nature of the reverse I had jack it in at a bad angle and it would lurch so violently no matter how gentle you were I just gave up as I was going to hit something. Slow/Fast reverse made no difference on this one, whack a new auto clutch in and it’d probably have been like new.
turtle reverse is just a crawler gear, the other reverse is a low reverse gear. But here is something if you’re in low reverse and you flick the right stalk up you get a high reverse gear. Only found that out the other day and ive been driving this auto for over a year
Reversing without a clutch pedal just takes a bit of getting used to. These daf autos can make even the most experienced look like numpties.