Reversing the bloody thing

[cooper1203]

Ok this is getting worse and worse. The trailer seems to be defying physics and and staying ut with the unit getting tighter and tighter to the trailer. Not only that i seem to take 20 different shunts with steering and end upin the same place each timeor some how manage to end up further over on the wrong side than when i started ie if i am trying to move the trailer over to the right by the time i have got it straight im 6 foot further over to the left.

this is how i set up and where i want to be and where i end up

number 1 is the aproach and 2 is where i start to turn ie middle axel inline with the right hand line of the bay

number 3 is how i think it should look after set up and number 4 is how it acctualy looks with the cab almost 90degrees to the trailer before i can see the bay

[drover]

You’re turning to late if your waiting for middle axle of trailer until you turn. Start the turn around half way down the trailer, full lock, nice & slow then turn the other way to straighten it out, simples!

Honestly don’t stress about, watch the other drivers don’t over steer when trying to just correct a little & move very slow!

[juddian]

Get yourself into a marked parking space, hopefully a big old lorry park so you can drive forwards into a space that you can then drive forwards out of then reverse back into, hopefully somewhere you can then drive out of on your own side and then reverse back into.

This will be an ideal practice run if you are loaded so leave tyre tracks from your trailer, or if empty the ground is gritty so again tracks left.

Then pull out at a sensible angle, once out pull up get out and have a look see where your vehicle is in relation to the gap and what your tyre marks tell you, then get back in and reverse back in on exactly the same trajectory.
Once you’'ve done this a few times you’ll sense what sort of room and line up you need.

In the scenario you describe, don’t worry too much about feeling too far to the left, remember on a triaxle trailer pivotting on the middle axle its surprising just how quickly you can revocer that ‘‘too far to the left’’ position as you push the tractor out further and then as it all comes into line full right lock it over to straighten up., don’t even attempt to make the reverse in one shunt, gently does it sometimes you only need a short second bite to bring it all in line.

You’ll get there, we all did, none of us started out good at reversing.

Also have you found own your way of doing this, some lean out the window, some do it all on mirrors, myself i open the door and lean out which is what i’ve always done.
Personally i’m quite reasonable at blind siding because i do it every single day even if i don’t need to, to keep my hand in, but buggered if i can reverse in on my own side on mirrors alone.
Experiment and find your own method that suits you, not what others do or say you should do.
One other thing, are you starting off with spotlessly clean windows and mirrors and with properly set mirrors, if you can’t see clearly you’re already losing.

From your diagrams you ideally want to be starting from position 3, get into that position going forwards, starting from position 2 no bugger would be able to get a trailer in even a Terberg wouldn’t have enough lock.

[carryfast]

Numbers 1 and 2 look suspect if possible you need to set up some of the angle on the approach by steering away from the bay to the left then to the right to create something that looks like 3 before you start to reverse.
While if the unit is getting into an L shape it means you’ve left it too late changing lock to follow the trailer with the unit.
If the line is wrong then trying to fix it by shunting will generally just make it worse because the unit’s rear/drive axle/s steers the trailer not the steer axle and you’ll run out of space before that can change locks.As opposed to a rigid where you can change locks between shunts.
Look on the bright side it all gets much less boring reversing an A frame under a demount box.

[toonsy]

From your description you’re starting the turn too late. Try starting the turn when the back of the trailer is at the line to start with.

Also from your pics line up as you are, but swing left when unit is level with bay and then turn the unit right once trailer is at an angle to back in. That way you’ve started the reverse turning of the trailer before you’ve even engaged the gear.

Ultimately any of us on here can only give you tips, but its up to you to implement them or not and unfortunately that comes with practice. Biggest tip I can give is to not get worked up by it all. You’ll not get to some sort of “Eureka” moment either you’ll just eventually find that it comes easier one day.

[the_maoster]

Like picking up the fat lass at ten to two in the nightclub you need to remember that what you put in you at some point need to take out.

What that translates to is try it with less steering input as you have to at some point take that input out of the equation. Try it, you may just surprise yourself.

[ets]

You need a better setup on approach. If your trailer is ‘‘touching’’ the lane it’s too close (assuming cab lined up with trailer). Stop a little further than the right lane of the bay you’re parking on. There’s a way to do it from the position you’re describing (close to the lane) but if you have the space I’d pull a bit further before starting the reverse

Another thing if you need or feel like you need to take more than 4-5 shunts it’s usually better to reset completely and try again

[nightmail]

The success (or otherwise) of a reasonably successful reverse depends a lot on your positioning of unit and trailer prior to reversing. You need to see where you are going. If you’ve got a lot of room then use it.

[richiem1987]

From where position one is, if there is room, I try and have it so the trailer is at a 45 angle to the bay, with the rear of the trailer about 10-15 feet from the bay, with the cab parrallel to the bays. By doing this, you then done a lot of hard work before you have even engaged reverse. I appreciate, this isn’t always possible, but if there is room, that’s what I do.

From there, it’s easy to get into positon 3, as you push push the trailer back, watch the back wheels, then follow the trailer round and straighten up, nice and slowly with small adjustments before going into full lock to straighten the cab. The last bit is the hardest part, but from there, its easy to do a shunt to straighten up.

If you don’t have the room, it’s harder but use as much space as you can get away with, and any angle on the trailer towards the bay just makes life easier. Slow and steady wins the race.

[crunch13]

I said this on the last thread you posted and I stand by it - if you are on here drawing diagrams then you are overthinking.

Just try and relax, don’t rush and don’t hit anything.

Trial and error and one day it will just click!

[osark]

cooper1203:
Ok this is getting worse and worse. The trailer seems to be defying physics and and staying ut with the unit getting tighter and tighter to the trailer. Not only that i seem to take 20 different shunts with steering and end upin the same place each timeor some how manage to end up further over on the wrong side than when i started ie if i am trying to move the trailer over to the right by the time i have got it straight im 6 foot further over to the left.

this is how i set up and where i want to be and where i end up

1

number 1 is the aproach and 2 is where i start to turn ie middle axel inline with the right hand line of the bay

0

number 3 is how i think it should look after set up and number 4 is how it acctualy looks with the cab almost 90degrees to the trailer before i can see the bay

One guy that explains it simply and thoroughly here: youtu.be/O8I0OwRHzUQ
Reversing exercise for yankees in Arizona wanting their class A CDL

[pa22]

another helpful video if you have a spare 20 mins

youtube.com/watch?v=INnt2k71kBI&t=900s

[crunch13]

And a little story for you from when I was new that might make you feel better…

I got to this place (can’t remember where it was now) and I had to reverse around a corner on to a bay that had a wall on one side, took me what felt like about 4 hrs but was probably at least 20 mins, finally got on, got out to open my back doors but couldn’t because of the wall. Had to pull right off, open back doors and do it all again.

Could have cried

[drover]

crunch13:
And a little story for you from when I was new that might make you feel better…

I got to this place (can’t remember where it was now) and I had to reverse around a corner on to a bay that had a wall on one side, took me what felt like about 4 hrs but was probably at least 20 mins, finally got on, got out to open my back doors but couldn’t because of the wall. Had to pull right off, open back doors and do it all again.

Could have cried

I remember feeling well chuffed reversing straight onto a bay one day in one go with a yard full of people watching, only to discover that I’d put it perfectly in the space between 2 bays!

[stu675]

drover:

crunch13:
And a little story for you from when I was new that might make you feel better…

I got to this place (can’t remember where it was now) and I had to reverse around a corner on to a bay that had a wall on one side, took me what felt like about 4 hrs but was probably at least 20 mins, finally got on, got out to open my back doors but couldn’t because of the wall. Had to pull right off, open back doors and do it all again.

Could have cried [emoji38]

[emoji38]
I remember feeling well chuffed reversing straight onto a bay one day in one go with a yard full of people watching, only to discover that I’d put it perfectly in the space between 2 bays!

I was quite pleased with myself not too long ago getting in parked pretty straight in a bay. Shame it was 2 away from the one I was trying for!

[night-and-day]

As the others have said it’s all about how you position yourself before the reverse. Imagine where the unit and trailer would be pulling out of the bay and try to get it in that position before you start reversing, always try to have the bend on before going backwards. Also with practice you’ll learn that when reversing you need to start taking the bend off before the trailer is where you want it because if you wait until it is in the position you want it and then start taking lock off it is too late and the trailer will keep turning and you’ll over shoot it

[noremac]

It looks like you are ending up a bit steep and quite possibly running out of room opposite as well? It is actually perfectly possible to do it that way, but having the combination almost straight before you enter the bay isn’t always possible and it is quite hard to control the trailer with consistency using heavy amounts of steering.

Possibly try the same as what you are doing but going a bit further past the opening you want (not necessarily the starting point, but maybe the finishing point a bit further on).

The method of driving along in front of the trailers is just one way to set up. You could equally drive in straight, but further out and gradually put a bend on the trailer as you come back. At some point it would get you to a similar point. Point is there is more than one way to skin a cat.