Bit of advice needed please
New on the class 1 and finaly made a break through getting shifts but my problem starts of course with the reverse, I know this comes with practice ect and ive successfully pulled of a couple of difficult ones but my problem is the setting up. Ie going for say bay number 3 il spin round to get straight as poss for it but whem I look in my mirrors im aiming at bay 4 lol I find comical rather then stress over it and can hear the benny hill music in my head when it happens but what is it im doin wrong here? Am I just still in rigid mode or am I missing something ((other then the bay I want)
Anyadvice appreciated
Cheers folks
You shouldn’t try to get as straight as possible, you should start your reverse with the truck angled at around 30 degrees to the bay, then you have the chance to make alterations to your manoeuvre.
You’re not going wrong at all mate.
Practice makes perfect.
I’m still getting better after 34 years.
Sling ya head out the window thats what i do and +1 with what “harry monk” said. A month and you’ll be ok.
Harry Monk:
You shouldn’t try to get as straight as possible, you should start your reverse with the truck angled at around 30 degrees to the bay, then you have the chance to make alterations to your manoeuvre.
As Harry says, imagine bays 2 and 4 with artics on them, thirty degree angle and then back up ( I look in my offside mirror and aim the rear offside of the trailer at the artic on bay four ) gradually follow it round, piece of cake! Good luck! 
many will tell you " DON’T BE A CNUNT, do a SHUNT!
Wot he said, the trouble with getting yourself straight first is that different trailers describe different drag arcs or cut the corner at a differnt pace if you prefer, same trailer will behave differently depending on whether the lift axle is down or not…just love it when the automatic lift axle decides its time to come up half way through a manoeuver, very helpful 
…
If you start off at an angle you can simply alter the track the trailer takes depending on which bay you want, if you’re straightish and in line for the wrong bay its hells own job in the short spave available to put it right, end up pulling right out and starting again.
Practice your reverses in quiet truck parks every single time you stop hell even pop into MSA’s when passing and do a couple, normal, blind side, every which way, it’ll come.
cheers fellas will take that on board and will be out there practising tomoz 
5 seconds of planning or 5 minutes of struggling … take your pick
If that means stopping and getting out to plan it then thats how it will be done
usersteve:
cheers fellas will take that on board and will be out there practising tomoz
as all of the above, plus, don’t try to hard, little and often can work.
if its any consolation, i can go to a yard with empty bays either side of the bay i want, and make a right balls up of it.
we do yearsleys in gillingham a fair bit, (tight yard) and i always get bay 7, (tricky) normally with something on bay 6 and 8 yet i never struggle here. i often find the lesser amount of room i’m given, the less fuss i’ll make of it.
Exactly as ROG said
“5 seconds of planning or 5 min of struggling”
Main thing is you take your time, if you only starting best to stop get out and plan what you want to do. Any of the other drivers say anything say you started once to.
play it by ear as every bay docking is different regardless as to how many times youve done it weather its at a new place or somewhere youve been loads of times.
just locate where you want to put it and aim for it at the best of your ability.
practice makes perfect as the old saying goes.
make sure you open the doors first mate