Actually u folks got any tips on how to straighten the trailer and wagon once u’ve actually bent it round so the back doors r facing the bay…
What it mean…is i can get around the 90 degree angle…so the doors are facing the bay…but i’m always off to oneside or the other…of the tube guiders on the ground or the rubber bumpers…normally i go forward…swing a bit…then reverse back…half the time finding myself back at square 1…or gone too far the other way…then we go…backwards…forwards…backwards…forwards…sometimes for ages…till i eventually get it…(a lot of the time i don’t go too far forward…cos i know i’m going to ■■■■-off the shunters…blocking up their race track…
the main problem isn’t area’s where their is a fair space to run forward…like Tesco’s Chepstow…it’s when u’ve got a proper limited space…
I’ve seen others drivers do it…no probs…but i haven’t quite grasped exactly what their doing yet…although admittedly…99% of my reversing is made up on the spot…inch by inch…there is no logic…(rare one for me)…it just a case of…"■■■■ knows what i’m actually doing…just don’t hit anything "
Looking forward to your words…a great piece of advise was put on ere…the first time i cried about my reversing stress…which has worked a diamond…with the 90 degrees…trailer bend…just need info for the home straight
Take the turn off earlier , it’s all practice and guess work and judging when to spin the wheel when the trailer tyres are pointing in a certain direction .
I normally try to set myself at a 45 degree to angle in places where you can’t spin and get straight for the bay(s) .
Tighter than that i tend to come past the bay i want a good few feet staying close to it and then as soon as i start reversing whack a big turn on and pivot the trailer until the point i know it will go in whilst taking the big turn off .
If you line the trailer tyres up to the lines and you still have a turn on your going to overcook the bay . You need to get the turn off before the tyres line up with the bay lines . Do it slowly and you should be able to judge if you need to reapply a turn or put some on the other way .
Very rare i have to do that , and i don’t like doing that , thinking of those lines stretching and getting tangled up ■■■■■■ me off plus you risk damaging them , normally i can just set myself up at 45 ish degrees where ever i go .
It will come eventually , just watch other people and see what they do and where they set themselves up .
Take as much space as possible. Dont worry about the shunters. Take a tip from them & block the road while you line up properly. That area in front of the bay belongs to you until that trailer is sitting right onthe doors. Forget looking at impatient shunters ,concentrate on the mirrors & when you are finished with the thru way just give them the thumbs up. Everybody has to learn & shy truckers dont get very far …
SuperSmiley:
so the doors are facing the bay…but i’m always off to oneside or the other…
Problem isn’t with your reversing but in the bay which isn’t built straight (you can try to reverse so fast to the bay that building straightens)
Seriously, I don’t have anything but general “look where you are and where you wan’t to go and steer accordingly” tips to give as artics are quite unfamiliar world to me. You just have to trust yourself that you can do it and even tricky ones will be smooth in time. FLT driver definately doesn’t rate you any higher even if you manage to do tricky reverse at first try.
before you start concentrate on getting your start angle correct. try and work the whole manouvre through in your mind before you get there. Even experienced drivers have probs if your start angle is wrong
Once you get the back doors reasonably straight to the bay go forward as far as you possibly can and dont worry about shunters. Not giving yourself enough room is the one major cause of reversing probs.
As you go forwards dont use the mirrors, stick your head out of the window and get straight between the lines.
When you are straight check your steers are straight ahead and come back at that. Once again dont use your mirrors as a total guide as many wagons have an optical illusion effect tempting you to steer. If you think about it, if you are straight and your wheels are straight, coming back at that must put you onthe doors.
If you are out go forward again as far as possible and learn from what happened.
5 Use only one main reference point (usually the offside rear wheels against the bay line) and put your head out of the window to view it , you would be amazed how much of a difference that can make as the mirrors on some wagons tell you its in on one side and out on the other
I think that most reversing problems happen between your ears. You worry about it and the problem grows. Most people try to rush it to get it over as soon as possible and avoid looking a pratt. The result usually is that you look like a pratt. take your time and forget about everyone else
Why not ask another driver for help, Most are only too willing as they remember what they had to go through. If they wont then they are [zb]s and youve lost nothing. If you do that it takes the pressure off
If you get it totally wrong and start to go into strangle angles, pull off and do it all again. you need to be good to recover from a jackknife position.
Dont lose faith, reversing will come. Its a process your brain learns instinctivly.
To prove how much of an instinctive process it is i find I have to relearn it all again if I’m in a left ■■■■■■ as my brain is programmed to the right. You should have seen the mess i got myself in last year when I had a left ■■■■■■ for a week!!
Left or right hand drive I always use mirrors Learnt that in the old days reversing into dinghy ferry boats. You have to see both sides in case a helpfull nutcase gets in the way near side or off side. I found with truck & trailer I just lined up the nearside wheels to the line & followed them…
Well Supersmiley, its one of those things that is difficult to teach. Best advice I have had is if you need to shunt, make it work for you and go as far forward as you can and get as lined up as you can. I have yet to get on a bay in one - in my two months of class 1 work, but ,at the loading bay at my base, which involves a long reverse into a greenhouse with three inches of clearance, I do it in one every time due to the long straight run.
I like to take evey opportunity to practice as well, motorway services are good, I always back into a clear space rather than drive in - sometimes twice if I am not pushed for time. Another good one is reversing round a corner on industrial estates keeping those trailer wheels just of the kerb. Have patience
it will come…
harry:
Left or right hand drive I always use mirrors Learnt that in the old days reversing into dinghy ferry boats. You have to see both sides in case a helpfull nutcase gets in the way near side or off side. I found with truck & trailer I just lined up the nearside wheels to the line & followed them…
Totally Agree with you but the point I was making was the differing tales some mirrors tell on and offside tempting you to make an ajustment when none is needed
If I am reversing in from 90 degrees I normally try and get it so that by the time my back end is going into the bay (ie between the front of the next trailers) the trailer is out by about 5 degrees and the unit & trailer practically straight and then use minimum steering to angle it. All on good side of course - Since the trailer is crossing the line you want slowly and you are not jacknifed it is easy to finish it off…
I used to try and get it dead straight from the off, but it is so much easier to mess it up …
Does that make any sense ■■ It does in my head anyway - so hope it helps…
i back onto bays about 60 times a day! to be honest I have no advice for you as it depends on the trailer you have on at the time. Most is just down to experience. Just dont be afraid to roll forward and straighten up so you can push it back onto the bay straight!!!
Interesting one that, as I was always taught that a trailer will pivot on the axle nearest to the unit, and following that rule works for me. I’m going to have to bow to greater experience here though, and try it TheBear’s way next time…
here’s a good tip for you. Never assume that the markings on the floor and the big yellow wheel guides are straight, often they are not and you will shunt yourself silly trying to be straight until someone comes up and says, “oh, they’re not level take no noticeof them”!!! If your’re aligning the rear of the trailer up correctly and not finishing with the cab straight then you have straightened up late and left yourself no room, you need to straighten up earlier. This means turning the trailer in when you are well out (in a straight line) , so you have a longer run to get straight and level the cab. Experience as with all things wil perfect this.
every now and then i have to back in a tight entrance of a busy road with only a foot to 18 inch both sides,they one a fine day go and take the piller out even tho ive been there a dozen times,so as they (all above )have said,take your time do, it slowly,sod the shunters,practise in the yard or where you can put two trailers in the same position so as to keep trying till you smooth it out.
p.s if you go to tesco at HARLOW,try to keep away from bay 12 that has got to be the mother of all bays to back on with tracter units parked opp to limit your room for getting it in,plus a bloody big post just where you dont need one.
Lucy:
Interesting one that, as I was always taught that a trailer will pivot on the axle nearest to the unit, and following that rule works for me. I’m going to have to bow to greater experience here though, and try it TheBear’s way next time…
Middle axle = pivot point. If you were in the position to keep the same trailer for at least the duration of the life of the tyres you would see it is the middle (of a tri) set of tyres that wear the most.
Our tyre contractors are often seen swopping the tyres from front to mid, mid to rear & rear to front - only to do it again a few weeks later.
Bloke at asda at wigan last night made an abortion of every single reverse he did .
Screwed the bay up and had to move several times , and screwed getting in between two trucks to wait for paper work .
I did feel sorry for him as it was a proper abortion on both accounts . I would have helped but i was too busy undoing my curtains and 2 hours behind on my book in time on a bay with another supermarket to follow . ( i normally trunk but got 2 supermarket tips last night /this morning , All i can say is Morrisons at burton latimer , every supermarket shoukd be like that . Booked in at 0320 got there at 0335 straight in tipped and paperwork done out the gate at 0358 … )
By the time i had got onto a bay and tipped and then back into a space he was just mopping his brow after just getting in .
Fair play to him he stuck with it and i.ve been there , struggling .
Two irlams drivers just left him ( he was an irlams lad ) i thought they would have hopped out and given him a few pointers .
Tis all a learning curve and you won’t learn if it is all easy …
plus you risk damaging them , normally i can just set myself up at 45 ish degrees where ever i go .
- Since the trailer is crossing the line you want slowly and you are not jacknifed it is easy to finish it off…
