Backing with not much space tips.

[Rusk_Tuskins]

Rookie here,
My trainer was a weird dumbass and didn't really teach me how to back into a hole when there's not much space on the opposite side of the hole. (Imagine a packed truck stop with not a lot of room between the rows and you want to park in one of the last spots, if you will). I understand a 90 degree is the best and often only option, but I'm having a hard time with it.

Anyone care to share their method in such a situation? I'm mainly looking for a good, reliable set-up (like distance from the row of trucks, distance from trailer tail to edge of the space...etc.) The rest I can figure out. But feel free to get as in-depth as you like. Let's say I have tandems all the way forward.

Thanks

 

[quillcom]

I think me usually having my tandems all the way forward has been the main cause of my difficulty

Yep.

Though I usually drive with mine all the way up too. I am in a very urban area where the turns let alone the docks are very tight.

While backing if you remember to watch where your tandems are in relation to your cuts and the other trailer instead of focusing solely on your trailer, this should help you also.

 

[Rigjockey]

Nothing wrong with being super close to what you can see. It gives you more space from what you can't see.

I don't like to be perpendicular with the hole when I start to back in like that. However, the goal is to get it parked without damage. Any time you accomplish that you're fine.

Yup you do it 500 times perfectly and nobody notices. not a word from safety or anyone but the one time you don't get it right you hear it from EVERYONE!

 

[BlackBart]

Oh and don't freaking film yourself AND talk/narrate while you're doing it. It's a distraction. Same as having the radio on. Your brain can't focus on both at the same time.

Lookin at your reflection in a window while your doin it? That’ll mess with your brain too

 

[Rusk_Tuskins]

Are there wireless back-up cameras that can easily be transferred from trailer to trailer? Is that a thing?

 

[Electric Chicken]

Lookin at your reflection in a window while your doin it? That’ll mess with your brain too

So will that guy pulling out right as you're backing in.

 

[Electric Chicken]

Are there wireless back-up cameras that can easily be transferred from trailer to trailer? Is that a thing?

They exist but moreso for RVs. Backup cameras also mess with your head because opposite nature of it. I had a wired one on the back of my other day cab and ended up not using it much.

 

[Mike]

So will that guy pulling out right as you're backing in.

That can cause a minor heart attack!

 

[Shreck]

That can cause a minor heart attack!

It really gives you a heart attack when your sleeping over the steering wheel and the guy parked beside you pulls out.

 

[BlackBart]

It really gives you a heart attack when your sleeping over the steering wheel and the guy parked beside you pulls out

Oh gawd...I remember the last time I woke up from a cat nap. Thought “OH SHIT” and frantically reached for the knob

 

[mndriver]

A
Go get a toy semi and practice backing it up. It’ll show you from an overhead what these guys are saying.

B
Never be afraid to practice while waiting to load/unload if the opportunity comes up.


C
You’re always an example.

D
Some days a good one

E
other days, a bad one

F
Neither one is wrong.

 

[Hammer166]

You guys make it so hard...

The goal is getting the trailer to enter the slot as close to lined up as possible. That's means setting up the back with truck only far enough from the opposite row to allow maneuvering and as much angle to the trailer as you have room to get.

Then you just drive the trailer in. And that's the hard part for some... It comes down to how your brain is wired. For some it's a natural, intuitive thing. Others, no matter how practiced, still have to think about which way they're turning the wheel.

 

[Electric Chicken]

You guys make it so hard...

The goal is getting the trailer to enter the slot as close to lined up as possible. That's means setting up the back with truck only far enough from the opposite row to allow maneuvering and as much angle to the trailer as you have room to get.

Then you just drive the trailer in. And that's the hard part for some... It comes down to how your brain is wired. For some it's a natural, intuitive thing. Others, no matter how practiced, still have to think about which way they're turning the wheel.

There's no one way to set up. This is what I had to work with last night.

 

[Hammer166]

There's no one way to set up. This is what I had to work with last night.

View attachment 85896

No ####ing shit?!? That's why my response was very general in nature!

Don't know why I even bother....

 

[Electric Chicken]

No ####ing shit?!? That's why my response was very general in nature!

Don't know why I even bother....

I was affirming, not arguing.

I don't know why you bother either. Stupid parking lots...

 

[Sinister]

Go slow. Do one thing at a time.

 

[389 Hood]

The thing that I see is drivers that insist on using their right foot. Let the truck just idle and slowly guide into the hole. Maybe it's not the same with an autobox, I don't know. But even with a manual trans I see the tractor jumping, rocking and lurching all over.

 

[Electric Chicken]

The thing that I see is drivers that insist on using their right foot. Let the truck just idle and slowly guide into the hole. Maybe it's not the same with an autobox, I don't know. But even with a manual trans I see the tractor jumping, rocking and lurching all over.

My Mack auto does a lot better with this than any Cascadia auto I ever experienced. And I drove a bunch.

 

[389 Hood]

A good low reverse gear helps a lot. I drove one autoshift back when they first came out. The only time I ever liked it was in stop and go traffic. Prior to that, I drove one trip with an Allison and loved it. Eaton has a lot to learn from a true automatic transmission builder. But, I much prefer to control my own vehicle.

 

[Electric Chicken]

A good low reverse gear helps a lot. I drove one autoshift back when they first came out. The only time I ever liked it was in stop and go traffic. Prior to that, I drove one trip with an Allison and loved it. Eaton has a lot to learn from a true automatic transmission builder. But, I much prefer to control my own vehicle.

Not once has my truck done something I wouldn't have done myself, and it can be manually operated. That's as good as having a manual, with more efficient shifts and minimal throttle for downshifting.

I'd buy a sleeper version of this truck in a heartbeat.

 

[389 Hood]

I had a CH613 for a fuel carrier that I worked for here. It had the E-7, 427 with a 10 speed. I loved it and bitched up a storm when they took it away and replaced it with a Volvo. That had the auto-shift in it with the manual option deleted. That POS would start off in low gear, loaded or empty. The only think I liked about the Volvo was the handling of it. It was a very large Vette in the way it would corner on ramps. I felt like I was driving an aquarium on wheels. All that glass and a tiny back window that you had to air up the seat to see out of. How these guys drive hitting their heads on the ceiling is a wonder.