backing

[patriciajnsn]

Curious as to whats the hardest backing youve ever had to do reefer has alot of difficult places they like sending u to god awful warehouses thats barely bigenough for straightrucks let alone 18 wheelers but the backing ive had doesnt even compare to this company imdelivering in chicago inside dock with only an inch error room on both sides of trl finally after 3 hrs of hell and stress i parked it and was about to give up but after sitting an hr and calmed down i thought id give it one more try and i aced it it was easy once i was more relaxed and just took my time this was an inside dock with dam poles on both sides cars everywhere only way to make it is hop the curb ppl across was worried about their precious lawn well i didnt even touch the lawn
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[Mike]

There was a place I went to in Ohio, can't remember the city. Hell, I can't even remember the product. It was around 15 years ago, so I have an excuse for not remembering

anyhow, when you pulled up beside the place, you proceeded to blindsiding off the street onto their gravel drive that went to the back of the building. As you arrived at the back of the building, you then proceeded to doing a "u-turn back" (complete 180 degree change of direction) into a sunken dock with steel railing on each side.

Thankfully, there was only one dock, meaning there were not smartass super truckers present to agitate me while I was doing this.

 

[2xR]

Beldon Wire in Richmond, IN is my nightmare...

First, you gotta' circle the building, hugging the fence on your right because there is a building with electric boxes protruding on your left. It's really tight where the driveway curves around the corner of the building.

Upon reaching the rear you gotta' get turned around to back up into the dike where the inlet pipes are located. To do this you drive straight toward the building, crossing a set of tracks that always has rail cars separated just far enough to drive between them. Just before bumping the building I turn hard right and drive down a little driveway just far enough to get the rig parallel between the tracks and the building. Then I back up, staying as close to the building as possible because when I get far enough back, I pull forward, making a right, going out the way I came in, between the rail cars. To accomplish this the entire tractor has to be inside the dike which is basically just big speed bumps, that connect, forming a square that would retain any spilled liquids.

If it has become wet, even with dew, it is nearly impossible to get out of the dike because the steer tires won't get a grip while trying to turn out, and, over the big speed bump. Meanwhile those rail cars seem a little closer than when you started this maneuver.

Even when the deal works correctly, I swear, it about twist the truck chassis into a pretzel.

It'll make a veteran sweat.

 

[coachman]

I went to a store in Ky, with a 53 ft. reefer had to blind side in to a hole what a pain.

 

[patriciajnsn]

Some of these god awful places we go to r unreal u know it whoever designed the docks i bet thought im going to make this as hard as possible for trk drivers imdelivering a ld in minni nyc in westvirginia had to park in street and go check in his lot wasnt even bigenough for bobtail had to turn around and back from street into dock 90 degree well that wasnt the hard part the hardest was turning around across street took well over an hr i slid tandems all the way forward and still had alot of work getting that thing turned around thank god for a nice patient customer he blocked street for me nothing morestressful is youre already stressed and mad enough and u have impatient traffic honking one guy i said here u go u show me how its done he shut up lol
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[Mike]

Don't get mad when backing into a dock. If you do, you are much more likely to make a costly mistake. Screw all those who are impatiently waiting for you. If they are in that big of a hurry, they can get out an help

 

[Sinister]

I've hit plenty of bad docks in my time. I used to run NYC just about every week about 10 years ago. But bad loading docks aint crap.

There ya go.

Yes, those pics are the real deal.

Now if I can just get ATS to understand that...LOLOLOL....

 

[patriciajnsn]

i cant get those pics on this phone u know most my docks r harder with this company then any other and i say to myself do u think u can make this dock just alittle harder this is far too easy lol i miss the ole drop and hook days at dcs lol
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[Keendriver]

Docks? What are these "docks" you speak of? Doesn't everybody just roll in and take the trailer apart and drive the freight off?

Actually I would be lucky to hit half the docks I hit when I pulled a van.
Although I did get an 11-6 wide into a spot at the Antioch T/A the other night. With the obligatory jackass drivers parked along the curb to take up some maneuvering room.Was rather pleased with myself.

 

[Sinister]

Keen, I think these "dock" things have something to do with those trailers with those big noisy engine sounding things hanging off the front that always seem to park next to me when I want to sleep.

 

[patriciajnsn]

Docks? What are these "docks" you speak of? Doesn't everybody just roll in and take the trailer apart and drive the freight off?

Actually I would be lucky to hit half the docks I hit when I pulled a van.
Although I did get an 11-6 wide into a spot at the Antioch T/A the other night. With the obligatory jackass drivers parked along the curb to take up some maneuvering room.Was rather pleased with myself.

I hate when stupid moranic idots park in a no parking zone right by u theres a reason for no parking signs or they dont think of anyone but themselves ill knock on door one time and only 1 time ill give him 5 minutes to move and if he doesnt ill call 911 theyll make him move if hes that inconsiderate toblock u in he deserves to get woke up by the cops
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[patriciajnsn]

I was at the bp truckstop only a block from where i deliver tomorrow ucan seee cust from bp i aneded up leaing bp because i was afraid some stupid jackass would block me in and my appt is 4 am now im at the consignee
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[whispers65233]

I was at the bp truckstop only a block from where i deliver tomorrow ucan seee cust from bp i aneded up leaing bp because i was afraid some stupid jackass would block me in and my appt is 4 am now im at the consignee
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That happened to me and I had no problem banging on his door until he got up and moved that truck so I could leave.

 

[misterbreeze]

The hardest ones are the ones that are WIDE open. I need somethin to aim at. Gotta keep gettin out to see if im straight. And with 20ft long air pallets you pretty much gotta b perfect or it gets stuck. Theres one place I go to where they have 2 buildings facing each other. When there are trucks opposite of where Im goin there isnt even room to get in. But what I do is jacknife the trailer to line it up with the door, drop it, bobtail around the building, re-hook and push it in (much easier than the back and forth dance).

 

[Cerberus]

Right off hand i got a couple of places stuck in my mind that i always think of when it comes to backing up issues.

First one has to be Domino sugar in Baltimore. What a friggen nightmare that was. The issues here are the docks are really close together and the bldg and whole lot was built along time ago when trucks where smaller and one pieces. You had to back at an angle since there was so much crap and a bldg right in front of you. Couldn't straighten out til you got the trailer going in the hole. Problem there is the trucks are so close together, you don't even have an inch room for error. And the ice and snow don't help either. One little slip and the trailer will slide on ya. After about 20 minutes i got it in there. Trucks are so close you could barely open the doors a little bit to get out of vehicle. Several trucks left before me and there was a guy who just couldnt get it in there. So i unhooked my tractor and pulled out to make it easier on him. Didn't want my mirrors or the rest of my truck to be hit. I rehooked got loaded and "tried" to leave. As i was leaving and going to the scale house, my drivers side mirror fell off. (see pic) i was there for hrs waitng for road service to fix it.

Second one has to be Mac papers in Big Island Virginia. The roads itself will make a newb think twice about going there. First you went to the main lot to check in and wait. Then they called you and sent you up the hill. You drove on a road that was barely big enough for the truck and it was downhill with a sharp curve. Along this road are houses that sit right along the road. After you go down this steep hill, you have to wait for a guy to come and take a chain down for you too cross the R/R tracks. You pull in and go to the right then back up along side of a bldg you have to hug closely and on the right is pallets and a fence and you totally have no sight on the right side. Have to do it by memory of what you saw. And this is all done in the dark. You back up til you can finally see out your mirrors and there is there dock on an incline. Which you once again have to hug the drivers side so the truck will be aligned to the dock plate. The first time here, i was like, " you want me to do what?" After that it became really easy. I would go there at least once a week.

3rd place was in south carolina. Sorry don't remember the name of the place. It was a total blindside back all the way with soft mud and wooden posts on one side and tractors on the other. Place was so tight, everybody had to unhook and move when another truck came in to back up. Really was more interesting than it was hard. But i will always remember it.
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[patriciajnsn]

iman i tell some of these off the wall places we go to some have the money no reason why they cant make our job just alittle bit easier but then again they see that as then it wouldnt be challenging some places do have straight trks like the kc backing i tried for 4 hrs and hit their building and lost the trl door they have a good size warehouse i took it to thank god no cops around im friving on 70 lds locks securing ld and no trl door with flashers told jason never again will i go there
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[TJGoSurf]

I've worked DSD, imagine delivering to all these grocery stores in old towns. It's a pain with a 53' trailer. But then I would back up 20 times a day, I can back up doubles now with enough room.

 

[Mike]

Ever go to the Domino Sugar in NYC? I think it was Brooklyn. This was back in the early 90's, and I don't even know if this facility is open anymore.

There was a police impound yard next to it. While waiting on the side of the street, I heard gunfire. Looked in the mirror, and a dude had shot the lock of the gate to the impound yard to get his car out. I just slid down in the seat to remain unseen.

Upon entering the warehouse that night, I found myself figuring out how to get my truck in a tight ass spot between two other trucks, with nothing but a railroad tie keeping me from dropping off into the freaking river.

1. My first move was to get people to move their tractors. Somehow, nobody was there that owned those trucks.
2. So, I setup to back in. I setup as well as possible, and the docks were way up at the front, so a good setup wasn't very possible.
3. During what seemed like an eternity, my wife ended up getting out of the truck and walking the railroad ties (wood that was at the edge of the concrete letting you know that you were about to go into the river).
4. She proceeded to walk that area, while my steer tire rode it as well until I finally got into that hole.

What pissed me off was that most of the docks there were open, but for some reason, I could only go into that specific dock. When I got inside, I realized it was a wide open warehouse, so no reason for any of the crap I dealt with.

A digital camera back then would have been awesome. The piece of crap cabover with a 48' daycab endeed up trapped until I got unloaded. Funny enough, that jackass was one of the guys who "didn't know who's trucks were in the other docks" forcing me to back in around him. Yet, he wanted me to disconnect so he could leave. That wasn't happening. he tried to bully me into it, that made it even more comical. I was hoping he would take the issue farther.

Since he was a local, I guess he knew the peope inside, so they threatened to not load me until I moved. I told them that if I moved, it would be with the trailer as I moved myself permanently away from this location, and that I would verify that my truck was being dispatched, yet not loaded, meaning they had to pay for the truck to be there. They threatened to call my company, I offered them the number to my house (no cell phone back then). They realized it was my truck and that I wasn't moving. 30 minutes later, I was overloaded with Sugar, LOL.

I was told to not comeback. Like I needed that instruction.

First one has to be Domino sugar in Baltimore. What a friggen nightmare that was. The issues here are the docks are really close together and the bldg and whole lot was built along time ago when trucks where smaller and one pieces. You had to back at an angle since there was so much crap and a bldg right in front of you. Couldn't straighten out til you got the trailer going in the hole. Problem there is the trucks are so close together, you don't even have an inch room for error. And the ice and snow don't help either. One little slip and the trailer will slide on ya. After about 20 minutes i got it in there. Trucks are so close you could barely open the doors a little bit to get out of vehicle. Several trucks left before me and there was a guy who just couldnt get it in there. So i unhooked my tractor and pulled out to make it easier on him. Didn't want my mirrors or the rest of my truck to be hit. I rehooked got loaded and "tried" to leave. As i was leaving and going to the scale house, my drivers side mirror fell off. (see pic) i was there for hrs waitng for road service to fix it.

 

[RobW]

I used to deliver to Family Dollar. They're often real tight. There were 2 other places I've been to which were worse individually, but that series was enough to tick off just about anyone. Whoever's delivered for them in the SE and been talladega will never forget it, that's for sure. And there's a store in Panama City(or close) where they have a dedicated 45' trailer... That's tight for a company who's trying to go all 53's.

 

[Cerberus]

No UH UH, never been to that Domino. Does sound familiar though. I've been to a place in Pa like that. One side the wall and the other side a 30-40 ft drop into a river. And it was snowing at the time also. The scenary was incredible.