Doubles drivers: Have you ever had to backup? What to look out for?
Posted by LyubviMashina93@reddit | Truckers | View on Reddit | 38 comments
Got my doubles endorsement... My only concern is backing up. I can think of tons of times where I need to backup just a smidge.
Do you ever have problems navigating crowded truck stops when fueling up?
Basically are there any daily occurrences to look out for?
Or is it only really a problem when there's a rare issue like a road suddenly closed?
Just want to be aware of what to look out for.
Seebs9@reddit
Backing up doubles is difficult. It’s usually easier to break down the set in those cases.
You can probably maneuver a crowded truck stop easier with doubles than a 53, they turn very easily.
You really shouldn’t run into a situation where you need to back up.
King_of_Being_Basic@reddit
Unless you've got a turnpike 😅 i only usually see them on the canada side, but there are double 53 footers. I hate fuelling up in moosejaw at the flying j because there are alwaaaayyyyys doubles there taking up all the space
SuperReleasio64@reddit
I have found out the hard way that if the pup trailer has the stupid dolly stops to prevent jack knifing then you will pinch and cut the air hoses when you turn sharp.
thatguywithatoaster@reddit
Yep. When my guys ran doubles I made sure everyone had a spare set of hoses with them for exactly this reason
PlsCheckThisBush@reddit
Backing up in truck stops sucks because of unknown variables. If you’re pulling 2 trailers of the same length it’s not hard at all. Get your trucks straight and look at how the trailers line up. That’s center, remember that for when you’re backing into a spot.
Put yourself in the first trailer and pretend it’s the prime mover. Now you use very small movements on the first trailer to get the second to start moving. Don’t overdo it or you’ll lose it and have to restart. If you see the second moving start to swing back and “catch” it with the first. Practice makes perfect, find a nice open lot and fuck around with it. Just remember a small bump can upset your line and throw the whole thing out the window so practice a bunch.
Triples? Good luck, there’s too many variables. Your best bet is to pull super far forward straight and try to straight line it.
lleu81@reddit
If you have to back more than half a trailer length, just break and rebuild the set. The great thing about running doubles is they actually are easier to pull because you have more maneuverability, and most truck stops give you a pass if you park somewhere you shouldn’t.
odinskriver39@reddit
If you're new to doubles ( and 28' ) then, if you can, practice backing one thing at a time. First just one trailer, then one with a congear/dolly on the back. Get good at that second step. Will save you time hooking, breaking. spotting ( even if it's not company policy). Then you're ready for trying to back a set.
As others have said here. Don't put yourself in a position where you have to back up more than a few feet and start with a straight set up.
pervyjeffo@reddit
I run B trains, they're really not that difficult to back up once you get used to it. Just like anything else with trucking, it takes experience to get good at it.
Emotional-Salad-5092@reddit
I saw a super trucker back doubled up a gnat’s ass
Main_Section_1641@reddit
Yea we all know a super trucker like that
Main_Section_1641@reddit
In the dark….on the Oklahoma pass…..during the blizzard of ‘83….blind in one eye
Cool_Thanks_4934@reddit
A wrecker backed my truck and trailer into A dock. Cool to watch! Very impressive. The truck in front of me at the receivers gate backed up and hit me. He was pissed because they didn’t have A dock door ready. Antifreeze all over the place.
Farmhand30-06@reddit
It's pretty hard to do, but not impossible. I got pretty good at backing my rear box into the empty yard. If I can't line it up good on the first shot and get it going it the right direction I give up and just drop it.
Largofarburn@reddit
If you need to back any significant distance you’ve already fucked up. If you’re going somewhere new and it looks like it might be tight park and put your 4 ways on and go walk the yard to see.
I just don’t usually go to truck stops with a set. Rest areas are almost always pull through parking.
I’m coming up on 7 years and have never needed to break a set down to turn around and at most have needed to back maybe 20 feet.
Just be smart about it and planning ahead will save you so much headache.
DrSideShowbob@reddit
A old company i worked for had me get my doubles as a backup driver for a old head that was having health issues. Half way into training the guy he left. This set of doubles was the only one company had. Nobody else knew what to do.
I watched so many videos of people breaking them down and setting them up. I think it was UPS or fed Ex that had some really good videos to watch.
Other than the length it pulled fine. Little wiggly. I thankfully never had to reverse. I did try all the time in our yard just goofing around. I could really only go a few feet before it went to shit.
Hanox13@reddit
SMALL MOVEMENTS… everyone wants to crank their wheels to catch their trailers.
Turn the steering wheel in the direction you want the BACK trailer to go (for Super Bees).
Ornery_Ads@reddit
Unless it's a B-train, backing up doubles for more than like 2' consistents of disassembling them and doing it one at a time.
SashaDabinsky@reddit
I've only tried backing them a handful of feet because they start to go all wacky after more than that, at least for me. Maneuvering around a yard or truck stop is usually easier than a 53' trailer because they follow each other better due to the dolly in the middle.
When I lived in Oregon I drove for FSA for a while and pulled triples many times; I was paranoid about ever getting into a place where I had to drop 2 trailers to find a way out.
Resident-Sherbert-89@reddit
paying attention and set up will prevent having to back. i can't think of a single time i would have to back up a set. i would rather just wait. most big carriers don't even allow backing a set.
highlyelevated_207@reddit
Backing doubles suck, just practice as much as you can at your barn
DrillTheThirdHole@reddit
i drive a very long set of doubles or triples, belly dump trains. on-road i'm 115 feet long in a 45 footer with a pup on a long dolly, and offroad i'm over 170 feet with the same combination, but two pups.
in a case like mine (big if, its a highly specialized use case), all this advice about "yeah just back it carefully goes out the fucking window. you get maybe 30 feet if you're straight backing. if you're ever, EVER unsure about where you're going, immediately pull the fuck over and figure it out, don't keep trundling into the unknown with a giant roadblock on wheels.
Cardinal_350@reddit
It can be done. I worked at Con Way back in the day and there were guys that could back their set into a dock. I couldn't. But there's guys out there that absolutely can
TripleTrucker@reddit
Seen them but I’ve also waited while they maneuvered back and forth and back and forth, etc… seemed to me most times the set could’ve been split and backed in one at a time in less time and less inconvenience for other guys around them
Unique-Ad-2544@reddit
Don't listen to anyone here giving you tips on how to back up doubles. Bottom line, do not ever back up doubles it's a losing proposition. I have been doing doubles for years and would sooner break down the set than to ever back up with them. You have to know where your going at all times google maps is your best friend when your pulling doubles.
CraayyZ556@reddit
I've never had any problems navigating anywhere really. If you're pulling doubles, don't put yourself in a position you can't easily turn around and get out of.
Remember that a set can turn sharper than a van, you don't have much swing with a set allowing you to hook around, but if you ever have to back. You can only realistically back up about 20 ft (assuming you were already straight to begin with) before the set starts to twist and turn, don't push it further or you will snap airlines, etc. and wait for a tow/repair.
Other than that, not much really to it. A set is much more pleasant to drive in windy conditions vs a 53 ft van. You will have a bit of wiggle to the wagon but that's normal, you will get use to it doing it's own thing back there.
Ever since I learned how to hook my sets by hooking the dolly to the lead and backing it under the rear trailer (We call that cowboying) I much prefer sets. Only major downside I personally have had is hooking in the rain, or a blizzard and the #1 worst is dealing with icey roads or snow with a set. That can get really scary especially if you're light.
Robjla@reddit
I drove doubles out of Brooklyn, New York for years doubles are more maneuverable than a 53 foot and you can back a set at least 5 feet or more straight enough to correct a mistake you made or dodge an obstruction. With enough practice, you could back that into a door.
DenseCommunication82@reddit
Been pulling doubles "wiggle wagons" for a couple years now. Don't think about backing. If you find yourself in a situation like I did, just break the set down, turn everything around, and re-hook.
SaltHandle3748@reddit
Just practice whenever you get a chance. It’ll take time, I drive tankers, so how I learned, if it’s straight back, make sure you can see the front side of the trailer on both mirrors. If you start seeing one side more than the other, that means you’re turning more into that side, and the more you do that, the more it’ll mess up. It’s weird, but if you practice it often, one day it’ll just click.
SuperReleasio64@reddit
I've backed doubles quite a bit but it's only usually a couple of feet. Sometimes I don't line up with the gate buzzers at my job and I gotta back up to get the cab closer. I need an extending pointer.
tidyshark12@reddit
What to look out for: anywhere you might have to backup LaughingOutLoud also, pull-through spots at truck stops are a godsend.
If you get into a position where you cant go forward, you can back up maybe 10 feet, at most, before the dolly starts turning on you. So, if you still can't get out of a spot, you'll need to break the set and rehook.
jmzstl@reddit
That's pretty much the only time I've ever actually felt like I had to back a set of doubles. Pulled up to a fuel pump, realized the pump was broken, truck ahead of me was too close for me to wiggle through. Didn't even have enough room to break the set and sneak through with one trailer at a time. I backed up maybe 50 feet to get out of the fuel island and flip a u-turn, which was only possible because I had pulled in perfectly straight.
There were a few other times where I backed it short distances because I was lazy, not because I had no other way out.
jmzstl@reddit
It's generally not recommended, and even against policy for most doubles companies. That dolly will get away from you very quicky, and it's very easy to pinch the trailers together.
>Do you ever have problems navigating crowded truck stops when fueling up?
That's pretty much the only time I've ever actually felt like I had to back a set of doubles. Pulled up to a fuel pump, realized the pump was broken, truck ahead of me was too close for me to wiggle through. Didn't even have enough room to break the set and sneak through with one trailer at a time. I backed up maybe 50 feet to get out of the fuel island and flip a u-turn, which was only possible because I had pulled in perfectly straight.
There were a few other times where I backed it short distances because I was lazy, not because I had no other way out.
Princetrix@reddit
Yes I had to deliver lumber in the downtown area and would have to back up in extremely tight job sites.
It just takes practice. Pulling up resets the dolly between the doubles. You don’t want to back at an aggressive angle as on my trailer it would actually cause damage.
itsaheem@reddit
watch the back set of axles. swing in towards your target as much as you can to get the back axles as close as you can before you start backing. as you start backing up, watch and visualise the axles going where you need them to go, exactly like they would if you were just backing a single trailer. don't cross yourself up too much. stop and go forward a bit to correct if you need. it gets intuitive after a while. if you can't handle it then yeah find some space where you can split the trailers and put on the dock one by one but it's a fuck load more work
itsaheem@reddit
oh, and pay extra extra attention when hooking up the back trailer of a double - cos it's the one you'll drop if you ever drop one. get your head in there and look to make sure pin is across and always do a little tug test 👌
BobcatBob26@reddit
Ive been doing doubles for 8.5 years, have not had to back up more than a few feet yet. Just plan ahead as much as possible and make sure you can go forward, while something unforseen may happen if you follow that rule you should be ok.
Truck stops are annoying because unless there are pull through spots open ( at night there won't be) you'll mostly have to stop by the fuel island or off to the side somewhere.
Intrepid_War9720@reddit
Backing with doubles is pretty much asking for jackknife so most drivers will just unhook the rear trailer when they absolutely have to back up somewhere tight
PartyEntrepreneur175@reddit
Look ahead plan ahead will keep you out of most problems. I can usually back up about 50’ without problems. More than that can be an issue.