So what's one your all hardest back? San Francisco is great.
Posted by decaboniized@reddit | Truckers | View on Reddit | 44 comments
145 W Jackson St, SF. Dock is off Jackson and Front St.
DirkVonDirk@reddit
I deliver tater chips, and a ton of our places there’s not enough room for you to get straight. So you have to back the trailer but end with the truck still in the 90 degree position, which is slightly annoying, cause it’s kind of counter intuitive cause usually when you back, you’re compensating to be able to be straight at the end of the back, so it throws you off. We also have side doors, so same issue but with parallel backs.
mstomm@reddit
Most of the shit stores our plant covers got handed over to local drivers in box trucks from local DCs, but we still run buildup loads or send drivers to cover when the DC is short on box truck drivers.
Nothing says fun like delivering to the old part of town with all the shitty stores designed for back in the day when the total length was the same as my trailer, and the only advice I can get from other drivers is "Don't fuck it up". I'll take runs to a snowed in bin in a shitty 12 speed CNG over that bullshit.
DirkVonDirk@reddit
Ahh see we’ll do special coverages for box trucks but I’ve never had to do say like a dollar general or gas station in the truck. We only have like 6 bins we supply under our plant and they’re all wide open and easy except one. But some of our PEC’s are just so tight when you have a line of box trucks opposite the doors. Everybody in here worried about backs, they’ll never understand worrying about tail swing in a e-van on a lot designed for box trucks lol
Dude I haven’t had to drive one of those cngs hardly at all the past 6 months. They started bringing in a ton of those biodiesels. They get y’all those yet?
mstomm@reddit
Oh yeah, they're smart enough to only send us to stores with docks (Still gotta liftgate some though).
We had a lot of old run down single route bins, but they've been ditching those small ones and combining them into actually roomy PECs. Sure beats the wiggling you gotta do at some to get in a good spot for the ramp.
I think we were part of the trial run for the biodiesels, we had some of ours converted in late '22, but just ran them on regular diesel because we didn't have a biodiesel tank at our TC yet. All the new trucks since mid '23 have been either Biodiesel or CNG, and most diesels under 500k have been converted.
DirkVonDirk@reddit
Yeah we have some krogers that have docks but you ain’t getting in them, you have to lift gate. Why do you guys have reefer trailers? Are you backhauling fresh ingredients? All our fresh is brought in by outside carrier.
mstomm@reddit
Taters! We've got a winter and summer farm we grab potatoes from.
Run up with the reefer, 2-3 PEC stops and 2-3 stores, dump the returns back at a PEC for another driver to grab on return, layover, and then head to the farm, cut in front of the other trucks (that haul to our plant and others), get loaded, cruise back to the plant, and drop it in the Common Carrier lot instead of our lot.
It's a super chill run, the stores are friendly, PECs are easy to get positioned at, and the second day is short. Two of our high seniority drivers keep them locked down, but I love when I get to fill in for them.
Sufficient_Tooth_949@reddit
Several small gas stations in beverage service
Your only getting in, and out if your a bully
You'll be sitting there all day unless you just say fck it and use your size to bully everyone
Its just a day cab and 30ft trailers but the challenge was real
TemporaryOk9310@reddit
I do beverage, ive just gotten used to being in everyones way. Fuck em. I just leave enough room that it is possible to get in and out.
danielthefox2@reddit
Either you're doing something illegal or you need a temporary police escort to shut down the intersection.
decaboniized@reddit (OP)
I don't know what you're even talking about.
danielthefox2@reddit
Where in God's name are you going to line up to back to door? 😂
decaboniized@reddit (OP)
You come from Davis Street. Turn right on Jackson. Turn right on Front right. Go up Front St then start backing. Once you've passed the crosswalk then you blindside into the dock.
Waisted-Desert@reddit
https://maps.app.goo.gl/8gbk1KQ3b9rs5KQy8
Pop open that that map. See the ramp going down on the right? You gotta back down there. The wall on the driver's side while backing down continues, the docks are at a 90° on the passenger side (on the left side from the pic view). 5 docks and 53ft trailers can only fit in 2 farthest ones due to angles. The FedEx waiting to enter is a pup trailer. That's that largest they'll allow down there anymore because too many drivers were getting stuck and freaking out.
And adding to the close quarters maneuvering is the fact that you can't see anything in your mirrors going from the sun to the dark cavern until your cab gets through the doorway.
flergityberg@reddit
Just reading this thread is giving me jitters.
americandoom@reddit
I work food service so 3/4 of my day is backing into shit spots usually off a busy street with asshole whizzing by on all sides
SovereignOfSelf7@reddit
Same with LTL P&D
decaboniized@reddit (OP)
The main thing I hate about SF. Cars see a tiny space back of the trailer they go. Like just let us back for 5 minutes and you can continue on about your day but it's too difficult for them to understand.
americandoom@reddit
All the time. I have a stop in Portland Maine I have to do an alley dock maneuver off a busy street for. Every time I’ll be almost into the spot to straighten out and someone will decide they just need to drive behind me. My favorite is when I’m setting up for one of these maneuvers and instead of giving us space they all come flying up and crowd us like they can’t see that a truck is obviously getting ready to do something
Alone_Tea7772@reddit
This small warehouse in Traverse City was one of the worst. You have to blindside back because there's a cliff on one side and there's no railing. It's meant more for box trucks because there's literally no room to even park empty trailers or manuver. The local sheriff and a wrecker would also sit there at the entrance of this place because the site would tell semis to drop trailers on the street which would cause a traffic jam. I spent an hour there and they towed 3-4 trailers.
ejperry135@reddit
Can’t remember the name of the place but it’s in downtown Philly. Had to blindside back off of a 2-lane street in bumper to bumper rush hour traffic with cars parked along the street, into an entrance where only 1 truck at a time could fit through. Once in the entrance, you have to back what felt like a quarter of a mile all the way into the dock. It didn’t take me as long as I thought it would but the 4-wheelers were extremely impatient which kept throwing me off.
Hairymike6340@reddit
There use to be an electric supply store in Uniontown Pa on main st where you had to back in between 2 buildings and it was a bear.
CakewalkNOLA@reddit
Picked up tofu in SF a few years ago. Had a W900 and a 53' trailer. Right across from the place was a sidewalk and if you got on that sidewalk at all, they called the cops. You had to back around their rig into a single dock. I thought they were exaggerating about the guy across the street calling the cops, until they showed up and ticketed the driver ahead of me. Had to inch it on to their dock Took forever
siuyu721@reddit
Why would the cop even care, I guess big cities are weird…. He just run it over to get into the dock, not like he’s parking on the curb
CakewalkNOLA@reddit
It was one of those areas where they'd built nice homes around the old businesses that refused to give up their space. I guess they were trying to get them ran out of the area for being a nuisance.
siuyu721@reddit
That cop is just being a jerk. He could have get there 5mins later and be like well he’s not parking on the sidewalk and I see nothing wrong, not much I can do about it. There’s one time I done similar in front of the sheriff station when the cop is coming out, he just wait for me to get done and even wave at me, says nothing about me using the sidewalk….
siuyu721@reddit
So what does calling the cops do? Do they really come out to ticket you? I always use the curb when I need to
louisianapelican@reddit
So they're calling the cops on the people delivering their shit? Hell no. Wouldn't go back.
decaboniized@reddit (OP)
The delivery place isn't calling. The people that live across the street are calling.
It's a daily occurrence in SF.
There's a Safeway in SF that has a restriction of 9am on weekends if you show up at 8:58am even there's an old lady that is on the phone calling the police saying we shouldn't be here. SF people are just yeah.
louisianapelican@reddit
Lol, people don't realize that all the shit they buy comes in on trucks. I'm glad my company doesn't run California .
Jimjam916@reddit
There's a Chinese market near the arts district in LA where I had to back in off a narrow street with cars parked on both sides. Luckily, the old man who ran the joint knew how to spot.
PsychologicalFood780@reddit
I do LTL in Castle Rock and Sedalia, CO. Multiple times a week I have to back down someone's driveway or pull in their driveway and turn around.
Shyjuan@reddit
when I was on the dollar general account briefly, had to do a super tight blindside 90 not into a dock or parking space, but literally towards the back cargo door of the small location, and the employees were being dicks they kept yelling that it had to be perfectly straight and aligned even though they knew I was going to be dropping a rail ramp.
louisianapelican@reddit
I've heard this is the shit you deal with on dollar accounts. Not interested.
BrodieGod@reddit
That 1 doesn’t seem as bad.
j0e_kinney@reddit
Novonesis in Milwaukee... Blind back around 2 turns, with cars parked everyfuckinwhere, then a 700 ft backup to the tanker unload ports... It's a super duper bitch in the winter when they plow the snow right into the corner of that 2nd blind turn
beavismorpheus@reddit
There's a tanker unloading on the satellite imagery of the facility on the north side. Can't you do a u turn in front of those docks?
Still, that place looks like a pain, surrounded by residential areas.
Unless you mean that building south of West Maple. That looks like something a.class b truck should be doing.
When other drivers complain about the facilities, I try to find the docks and tanks. It's like playing where's Waldo and makes me glad I didn't get sent there. They're taking one for the team.
j0e_kinney@reddit
Also, the surrounding neighborhood... I've tried every which way of getting there to see what's easiest. Coming off of Greenfield to the north, dropping south on 92nd is the only way... And there's a "no trucks" sign bigger than shit on the corner 🤣 fuck em
j0e_kinney@reddit
I wish it was that building to the north... But no, the spot I deliver to is the building south of Maple. You gotta shimmy around in that little area on the north west side of the building, basically do a u-turn all the way around the west side and I unload by the dumpster on the east side... Fun times
Pitiful-MobileGamer@reddit
Piper and York in Toronto, I was delivering to a hotel I had a 33 ft and a day cab. Because of the one ways, you have to sight side into the alleyway, then blind side alley dock into the hotel. It's a recessed dock protected with concrete bullards.
Did it weekly for four almost five years, it never was easy, you never got used to it. I almost mowed down cyclists, pedestrians and hobos on the regular.
EVOChi@reddit
Places like that should require a flagger
blessed_rising_jah@reddit
That exact Safeway always gives me anxiety. The Safeway on Monterey Blvd can be annoying too.
decaboniized@reddit (OP)
It's this one and the one that's off Mission Street after you turn off Caesar Chavez.
If the handicap and across is full I just back from the street pulling up the hill.
Gonzotrucker1@reddit
The university hospital Jackson, Mississippi
iHasPinny@reddit
My hardest was a one way street filled with parked cars, had to do a 68 point turn into another driveway just to back up between these tiny gates, was in a Truck n dog when I had to do it too, sucked ass