I Passed my test about 7 weeks ago now but have only just got a job drivin class one till now ive been drivin class 2 the job i got was meant to be night trunking in a MAN tg 4.20 on an 02 plate. But an till the run gets sorted I’m on days doing drop offs an pick ups but I’m finding it hell! I find reversing really hard specialy when there’s loads of other drivers around! So if anyone can give me any tips reversing please do! thanks pete!
im no expert but i one thing i can say is that do not worry about what others think if you have to shunt it or even ask for help from said drivers standinga round doing nothing we all had to learn sometime and even though 90% of those drivers stood wouldn’t admit to it you can bet your bottom dollar that they did and were just as bad as for techniques i will leave that to others who have a lot more experience than me but all i will say is take your time and slow/small turns and get out and look if need be
Umm, I aint got the class one, but I can certainly see your dilema mate. If I was in your position, Id get out and have a look, stay relaxed while doing this and pretend the other drivers arent there, I know this is easier said than done. Then if you have anymore problems dont be afraid to ask for help, even just someone to wave you in. I currently do some shunting and to be honest I aint too hot at reversing myself, most of my reversing takes quite a few shunts, but Im improving and this has been noticed. I had to bite the bullet and ask for help, yeah I took all the slaggin etc, but to be honest it has made me a better driver and given me more confidence.
Thats just my personal experience, hope it helps. The big guys on the site will steer you in the right direction (pardon the pun) but Im just passing on the advice I was given here…
Hope things improve my friend and keep us posted!
regards
kev
Hiya pete, and welcome to TrucknetUK buddy
I too, am in no position to offer any advice as I failed my test three weeks ago, on the reverse, okay so it was me nerves that let me down…
But there are loads of guys on here that will no doubt be up to offer you all the advice you will need.
I can remember previous threads, and the main thing that I can think of, is… Take Your Time!!.. go as slow as you want to, and all those drivers standing around watching, have all been there, exactly were you are now, so they know what you are going through and what it was like for them.
They wont think any less of you for taking as many shunts as you need…
Good luck buddy, and I’ll hand you over to the guys that know…
All the best
Thanks 4 any help i think sayin take it slow an small turns is good because i think i have been putting to much lock on then it goes to far an is hard to bring back straight! I have heard people say u have to chase it around! It was my first day alone today an it was so scary sometimes! i’m fine goings forwards an backin up in straight line Its just doing one of them backwards L turns! I know this will improve but its one of those learning curves i wish i could avoid!
We all wish we could aviod the learning curves!! you must be doing something right mate as on straight reversing the trailer tends to end up all over the yard, I actually hit a brand new curtainsider recently and almost took the front of the trailer off, and it was just a straight reverse(albeit in the space I had I was quite a bit from between the trailers!!
keep at it, I do and I take criticism as constructive! Dont let the pressure get ya down!
Kev
LOL dont even start me on blind sides!!!
regards
kev
Yes i was feeling so much pressure being out on my own 4 first time!
pete1976:
Thanks 4 any help i think sayin take it slow an small turns is good because i think i have been putting to much lock on then it goes to far an is hard to bring back straight! I have heard people say u have to chase it around! It was my first day alone today an it was so scary sometimes! i’m fine goings forwards an backin up in straight line Its just doing one of them backwards L turns! I know this will improve but its one of those learning curves i wish i could avoid!
On reversing remember to give a little and take a little back!!
do it slow & smove you’ll get there!
Dont look whos watching you! forget them! most couldnt be bothered how you reverse if the truth be known its just all in your mind!
give a little take a little! you will get there!
Good luck to ya!
It’s the automatic thing to do when you’re a newbie - I did the same with silly amounts of steering and found myself spending all my time catching the trailer 
You only need about 15-25 degrees of angle to get the trailer coming round in a nice curve. Jacking the wagon at nearly 90 degrees to the trailer will have you in alsorts of trouble 
Go and do some practising in the truck park areas of MSA’s through the day when they’re virtually empty. Come up so you have to reverse in an L shape, take your time and do a half dozen reps each day and you’ll crack it in no time. That’s how I learnt and gained the experience quick 
Yes thats what iv been doing putting full lock on to get the turn started then its goes to far! Ill go in to work on sat my day of an practice in the yard i need so much!
I know how you feel, I’m on my second week of my first class one job, and was very wary of other drivers watching me reverse. When you see them do it in one you think why cant I do that, I have to take 2 or 3 shunts but I get there in the end, just take things a lot slower than they do.
pete1976:
Yes thats what iv been doing putting full lock on to get the turn started then its goes to far! Ill go in to work on sat my day of an practice in the yard i need so much!
You seem to know were you are going wrong thats half the battle won. The rest only come with experience, It took me over 20 attempts to get on a loading bay when I first started. 
Most drivers willing to help a newbie if they were willing to listern.
Hi guys, i’m not now a newbie, but what i did was this:
Just get out, weigh the reverse up, then walk over to the group of drives stood chatting, say
“Hia guys i’m new at this game, would one of you mind watching me back”?
They porobably won’t say much, but for sure at least one will come back accross with you.
Thanks for this thread. Startin my 1st class 1 job in 10 days and am fillin my pants. Good to hear of others in the same boat. Am worrying about movin from a straight 6 box to a splitter and range changer too. Have driven a Scanny with a splitter, but that was a rigid and didn’t have the upper and lower ratios on top.
At least I’m getting a Saturday morning before i start to have a practice in the new wagon. Hopefully that’ll help come the monday morning when I have to haul out and face the big-bad world in a bendy wagon for the first time in 9 years!
well after a lot of help from other people, I finally did a ‘first time’ (no shunt) reverse in the yard today ! (shame no body saw it -APART FROM MY HGV INSTRUCTOR!!!)
to cut a long story (ie almost 5 weeks) story short, I have now realised that going for big big space is no good as straight reversing is hard - I think this is due to the lack of visual markers/clues call them what you will, but basically you get lost in a big gap.
what I did was entered the yard, and saw the space facing me, so went in took a wide sweep right to left so I was facing t’other way; but crucially not straight back into the space, rather ‘kicked’ a bit so the cab was about 10 foot right of the back of the trailer- looked back Out Of the window so I could just see exactly where the arse of the trailer was rather than a mirror image and slid it in (oo-er missus…). A handy hint I was given by 2 or 3 other drivers was to use one hand on the wheel and spin it round left then right a bit here a bit there - also not get fixed on looking at one bit, rather looking to see where you want it to slide in 
The only downer was that the gap i left between the trailer I parked next to and mine was about 8 foot rather than the 2 or 3 that the other guys manage… oh well that’ll come with time
lostpup the biggest hint i can give you from my experience of several different wagons over last 5 weeks and their gearboxes, is just take your time, slide the stick around cus if you try to rush it or force it it wont go in, or the lorry cab jumps up and down or the revs skyrocket or theres a crunching noise lol, just slide it around nice and steady like and calmness will remain in the cab
Yes the MAN I drive has 4 on 4 wiv a spliter so 16 gears an its got a button on the side of the gear stick, which u can use instead of the clutch pedal when moving it just makes life easier! As foe backing up i think everytime i do it i learn more so more u you do it the easier it becomes! I think!
pete1976:
Yes the MAN I drive has 4 on 4 wiv a spliter so 16 gears an its got a button on the side of the gear stick, which u can use instead of the clutch pedal when moving it just makes life easier! As foe backing up i think everytime i do it i learn more so more u you do it the easier it becomes! I think!
Pete…i guess you are also aware that if you use the “comfort shift” button when selecting a lower gear (i.e. after using brakes approaching a junction) that it will “self rev” to slot in? A delight aren’t they?
LostPup, 'till you get used it, just use the range change & don’t worry about the splitter. (Just make sure its in high on a 56 mph run). THen once you are used to the box, you will find you have the confidence to “play” with the splitter. i.e. changing up 1/2 a gear when going up hill heavy.
Then move your splitter back to low before moving the stick, repeat process.
Reversing ■■
Nobody can teach you how to reverse neatly, its all down to practice. After over 10 years experience, I’me still practicing. Almost any time that someone is about, watching, I make a hash of it. If the yard is full of wagons but empty of drivers, it just slides in, no bother at all.
Range-Changers and Splitters ? ?
These are simply a method of trying to turn an unusable straight 16 speed box (unless you have a 10foot long arm) into a more managable system. There are 2 main types of Range change. The slap-over type where you have a 4 speed box with a gate to slap the gear-stick through, into another 4 speed box. These are also known as 4 beside 4 boxes.
The other type has a switch, usualy on the gear-stick, so you go up through the first half of the box, throw the switch and go back to 1st to continue up the box. These are known as 4 over 4 boxes.
Both of these types of box, to progress through the gears you start in the LOW range, progress 1 2 3 4, change the range to HIGH and continue 5 6 7 8. That normally feels like changing down to 1st again to continue on to 2 3 & 4. If you throw the switch by mistake the computer will not allow you to change from high to low if the revs would damage the engine. Also the switched type will not change untill the stick goes through neutral.
Splitters are also refered to as half gears, which gives you an idea where to find and use them. They are also operated by a switch on the gear-stick (if you’ve got both, the range-change switch is usualy a flip switch on the front of the stick, the spitter is often a rocker switch on the side). So, to progress through the gears, you would select 1st low range low split, 1st low range high split, 2nd low range low split, 2nd low range high split, etc. Ending up with 4th high range high split. Normaly of course, because nothing is ever simple, we select gears according to -the weight of our load, angle of hill up or down, going straight ahead or round a corner, etc etc etc. We also don’t normally split in the low range and not that often in the high range. I normally only split (when on a straight level road) in top, when accelerating to full chat with a heavy load. Then just before hitting a hill which I cannot quite climb in top. A longer climb, let the revs drop right down to the bottom of the green band (keeping your boot flat on the floor all the way of course ) and change down a full gear. Then, as the hill starts to level out, change up half a gear as the revs climb up to the top of the green, then the other half as the revs climb again. Simple really
If you are really worried 
about how to use a certain box, ask one of the regular drivers. Its better to feel a bit of a fool in the yard, than to turn into a REAL fool and put a wagon off the road because you were too scared or ashamed (or whatever) to ask.