Do anyone have any tips on setting up for this type of back?? i was at Cargill in Harrisonburg/Mt. Crawford, VA off I-81 last night and i caught complete HELLLLLL trying to backup in this tight ass place!! Any tips???

 

I try never to have to do a 90 degree, if I can possibly do a 45 degree, but if I must.... here's what I do.

Lets' say you have a row of trucks in the dock to your left, and a row of trucks or parked cars on your right. Divide the space between them as if it were a 3 lane road. You'll need the better part of the two right lanes for your cab and front of trailer to swing out, and the better part of the left lane for your trailer swing behind your tandems to TRY and get straight between the two trucks without being close enough to hit either one's front bumper in case you overswing or your right rear corner is too far over.

Allow as much extra room as you can in lane one (the left one) and still have enough to clear the opposite row of vehicles. A little extra room there is also desired for pull ups.

So, like you're straddling the lane marker between left and middle lanes, with at least the distance of your trailer swing between your left side and the row of trucks on your left. Stop when your front tandem axle is directly in front of the lights on the corner of the truck you are going "around." No matter how tight you jack, it will probably move backwards and over as you go around.

Now, turn your steers all the way to the right BEFORE you start backing. As you start, watch how close your cab comes to the truck outside your left window. You may be too close and have to countersteer a little. Also, watch your rear trailer corner to make sure it doesn't swing into the front fender of the truck.

Start backing and watch that corner AND the row of trucks out your right window. If all is well, before you get to THEM, you will be able to start turning OUT of your jack, (which brings your cab closer to them very quickly) and see your trailer start sliding towards the hole with about 1 foot or two clearance of the fender of the truck you are going around.

If you have set up far enough out, and start turning OUT of the jack BEFORE you really think you need to, you should reach a point of equilibrium where the trailer can start going back towards and into the hole and yet stay parallel to the side of that truck.

It is desirable to have it going straight into the hole BEFORE your DOT bar is even with the front of the two trucks you are splitting. If you are cutting the corner too close to the sight side fender. Pull forward a little and left turn to move over. If you are over far enough but the trailer is over swinging toward the sight side truck, pull forward a little and left turn to LESSEN the angle of your trailer swing.

Somewhere in here would be a great time to G.O.A.L the far side of your trailer, but if you set up right, and are far enough OUT of the hole before going into it, and within a foot and 1/2 of the fender you are going around, you SHOULD not hit the farside truck.

Don't forget to keep looking out your right window every few seconds to make sure your cab doesn't swing into a truck! And if all goes well, as you swing around to the right.... make SURE to not let your cab take you over into the front of the blind side truck!

Once you start into the hole, there should be enough room for you to do a pullup if necessary to adjust the angle and distance from the sight side truck.

Don't worry about hitting the dock perfect on the first try. Just make sure the sight side of your trailer is parralelling the truck you went around. About halfway back into the hole, you can always pull forward a little to straighten out or equalize the distance on both sides of you.

Remember that the amount of trailer swing (dependant on how far up your tandems are) will dictate how far IN FRONT of the hole you need to be when you get straight. And try to have it straight and not swinging BEFORE you cross the line of the two bumpers you are splitting.

More or less, you need the LEFT lane I mentioned earlier to "set" the back of your trailer without hitting something... and you need enough room in the two right lanes for the length of your trailer and cab.

If your tandems are not too far forward, you can be swinging a little as you go around the fender, but it is always best to "set" it between the trucks before you back between them.

If anyone has any corrections, PLEASE do. Like I said, I don't do too many of these.

 

I do 1 every night and could show you or talk you thur one in person but trying to write it? Not gonna happen, best thing is to another driver you trust show you how to set up and watch you in

 

Look for an oppurtunity to practice . . it should resemble a narrow two lane road and a perpendicular one lane driveway . . a "T" . . a place with nothing to hit and little, if any traffic. Then, practice, practice, practice. Once you have a sense for it, you'll see that the same principals are going to apply, every time. By all means, don't ever hesitate to get out and look.

I don't care (and neither should you) if you shut down the whole operation while you park. Think COSTCO. If you can't park at a COSTCO DC, then perhaps you should go back to nuclear physiobiwuddyfux. On the other hand, a lot of "our customers" that see hundreds of trucks a day deserve to be shutdown if their lots are so poorly designed that a geometric theorist can't squeeze their azz in.

That said, the goal is to NOT hit anything. If your CB is on, turn it off. If you need help, look for a truck with an awake (portable) driver. If you don't have one, get a handheld (portable) CB to offer the person who will assist you. Then turn your CB back on.

Practice, practice, practice. Away from any and all distractions, practice.

 

well since that happen friday and i havent been to work since, i work on a wal-mart account for the good ol' pumpkin, so i'm thinking at one of my stops if i have a enough room i'm going to work on the 90 degree back.. Schools are a bunch of BS!!! i wasn't taught this maneuver at my first school nor at Schneider's STA!! (supposedly they WERE the best). And at my first job i never had a reason to do a ninety degree back... but i appreciate you guys help.. ANY MORE OPINIONS???

 

please excuse the amateurishness of my paint skills, i really do suck at it.

it represents what golfhobo explained. the red line is the line you follow to set yourself up. it's a form of a question mark. by doing this it sets the trailer to automatically go into the hole, and allows you to be jacked to where you can see it.

when you do this, start by following a parallel line to the building, staying somewhat close to the fronts of the other trailers if you need the room on the opposite side to swing the cab around. if not, then i usually stay @ 3' away.

if it helps, when you get your dock, stop and survey the dock. if there are no lines, imagine a line out from the right side dock bumper and lay down a glove at the front of where your trailer will end up. this will give you something to guide off of. then slowly start to aim for the glove with your tires. get out and check as much as you need too.

hth

edit do the opposite to set yourself up to blind side.

 

backing up

this is the best youtube video i can find that illustrates it, only from the blindside view.

 

No offense, Vavega, but I don't think that is exactly what I was trying to describe. That looks more like a setup for a 45 degree. But then, I don't know that I can picture a situation where one couldn't set up for a 45 degree, and would NEED a 90 degree.

In my discussion, your whole truck is straight and perpendicular to the hole. (and not so close on the left side.) You can see everything to your left just by looking out your window or in your left mirror.

Maybe my explanation was faulty and I shouldn't have posted it.

 

HUH? just leave plenty of room for tractor to swing. dont hit anything. get out and look. when you catch hell turn off the cb, get er done. if they got no sense of humor too bad.

 

Scuze me for trying to help a new driver out. I should've just said "swing 'er around and stick 'er in the hole!" :roll2: