1st week OTR-teams driver, I still can’t do 45 degree backing.
Posted by Civil-Airline-5727@reddit | Truckers | View on Reddit | 43 comments
I can do straight back but 45 degree I can’t do it. Idk if my setup is messed up but I just can’t hack it. I feel like it’s not clicking for me.
I love driving but backing I suck at it. I have watched alot of videos but i still can’t do it. I’m thinking about throwing in the towel after home-time after I still can’t improve. Is that a valid reason to assume trucking is not for me?
scottiethegoonie@reddit
Everybody sucks at first. Takes months to get used to it. Years to be confident.
325trucking@reddit
You're 1 week in. I see guys that have been driving for years that still can't back a trailer for shit
LuisChoriz@reddit
It took me a month and I was alone. Stick to the basics of what you were taught on 45° backing. What I would add is to look at the rear driver-side tandem tire as the pivot point. Keep the tire inside the marked line(s). After that learn the position of the steering tires (if you lose the position of the tires you can reset by turning the steering wheel all the way to either side until it doesn't move and then give it 2 full turns in the opposite direction). Once you've gotten that down is a matter of pulling forward and back to get under the trailer properly to finish maneuvering in. Lastly, put your imaginary blinders on and fuck everybody they can all wait.
highwayher0@reddit
How long have you been driving in total?
Waste-Sink9846@reddit
few months only
highwayher0@reddit
Backing isn't something you gradually get better at from everyone ive talked to and those ive trained and still talk with one day it just clicks and becomes instinct. Keep practicing and get more attempts to back and it will eventually be second nature.
mindsunwound@reddit
Even then, it is highly situational, every yard is different, dicks aren't standard width apart, you may be more stressed one day...
Even guys like me who have been doing this over 20 years have days we just want to pull our hair out trying to find the right line.
Gr00veChild@reddit
I know it's a typo but thanks for the giggle 😅
OneSkepticalOwl@reddit
Stay for the jiggle
mindsunwound@reddit
Oh, oh my, lol
LongjumpingCat6642@reddit
Mr wide dick over here
mindsunwound@reddit
Hung like a tin of kippered herring.
Civil-Airline-5727@reddit (OP)
Well it’s my first month out on the road.
UOLZEPHYR@reddit
Practice is the most important thing.
Do you understand the basics od backing a tandem trailer?
Can you understand angle and spacing?
I used to teach backing - this are important things to get the feel of FIRST.
When/if youre able - find a spot of your yard that's empty and practice there (the closer you are to one side the further you are from the other)
Ok_Bug_6470@reddit
My backing still sucks. Just be careful and don’t care what anyone says or does. Everyone has problems sometimes. 5 years it’ll be by computer anyways.just practice on empty lots.
Mindes13@reddit
My backing sucked for the first 6 months. Just when I thought I got it, a bag setup would rattle me and throw it my entire confidence.
It'll come to you. Be patient. Go slow and goal.
Even the best of us have days like it's our first day behind any vehicle.
Unfair_Analysis_3734@reddit
I can nail a 45, only to learn that a majority of places I go don’t have enough forward space for you to even attempt a 45. I almost always end up struggling and getting creative with a hundred pull ups.
Defiant_Network_3069@reddit
I've been driving for 20+ years and still have those kinda days. Relax you'll get it.
Dangerous_Ad4451@reddit
Not a big deal. I believe it is what most drivers struggled with the most. I used to think that those who can do 45 degrees backing are magicians. A young mexican dude explained it to me in 3 simple steps and that was it! Before that, it was like a foreign language.
Gr00veChild@reddit
Hey you said you can do a straight back, so that's a start! And truthfully, if you're confident with that you can build off of it. There's a lot of great advice here, from much more experienced drivers. I struggled with certain backs myself, and something I did was to use more open areas to build off of that straight back. Sure you have the room to line it up and just back in, but you also have the room to practice it from a 45 with more breathing room. Watching other drivers back helps a lot too. There's also a ton of drivers/instructors that post some good instructional backing videos on YouTube etc. Some show birdseye view and/or angles which may give some direction. Most importantly though, if you enjoy the rest of the job hang in there. Try to give yourself more time than you need when parking so you don't feel rushed as that makes it worse.
starjammer69@reddit
Remember when you’re backing to pay attention to the rear tandems. All your pivot takes place there. If your focus is only on the rear of the trailer you will never get it right. Make sure you have room for the trailer swing and then just watch the tandems as you back and make adjustments according to where the tandems are.
Gonzotrucker1@reddit
Probably won’t ever get it.
RackingUpTheMiles@reddit
Find your method. There's no right way to do it. As long as you hit your spot, you're doing it right.
muck2profit@reddit
See yourself in a year from now
SweetTea3_10@reddit
If you truly cannot learn to backup then yes it is not for you as it is a required skill. But alas that is not true. I've seen some real dummies learn and you can at least write a sentence down and are looking inward, you will make it.
Parking_Exit2297@reddit
Quit being so hard on yourself, it takes time one day it’s gonna click and it’ll be like 2nd nature, won’t even think about it
Civil-Airline-5727@reddit (OP)
Yeah I got helped by my teammate. I’m very aware of not hitting anything.
Appropriate_Gur_6642@reddit
Honestly the setup and recognizing what a good setup looks like is more important than the actual backing
Gr00veChild@reddit
Yes! And it can take a bit to get the eye for it.
OnlineAgony@reddit
I'm local now but started driving OTR.Took me at least a few months to get decent at it. You'll get there, just take your time. Every back without damaging anything is a success in my book.
RoadRatzzz@reddit
You just have to keep doing it....thats how you learn. Many years ago I had trainee that would literally get out of the sleeper to back.....EVERY time. One thing you can try is to watch other drivers back and think to yourself.....why did he do that?.....what would I have done differently? Learn what you need to do to make a correction when pulling up.....good luck and hang in there.
HatedReaper@reddit
Small movements cause big changes, best advice I've ever received. Dont try to follow your trailer in when you first start. What you want to do is stop And correct as many times as you have to.
Significant-Use-5136@reddit
Make a few extra stops a day at truck stops or rest. Areas that are not busy and put in some extra time getting better at it.That's the only way it happens
Falkhorn1@reddit
Its probably gonna take another month or 2 before youre super comfortable. Even then you'll have tough backs. But dont be discouraged. Just listen to the guys and gals on here who have been doing it forever and you'll be iight.
Easyfruit123@reddit
Just keep practicing I sucked when I started find a empty lot and just practice
UOLZEPHYR@reddit
This is what id do to. Id prioritize TA or Petros for lunch and spend 10-15 minutes with the angles. Then work on getting to Loves PFJ early in the afternoon and work on the smaller truck stops. Practice is key with this
Easyfruit123@reddit
Most definitely. Couldn’t back for shit when I started my trainer told me to pull into a dirt lot rest area type thing and just taught me how the trailer worked it all made sense after that and just practiced
RealQuadMan@reddit
Make sure your axles are slid all the way back or as far back as possible. That helps. Don’t practice with them all up at the front.
homucifer666@reddit
You should practice with your axles where you're most likely to have them on a real load; whether that's back, front, or somewhere in the middle.
Getting good at something that doesn't reflect your real life day to day is a recipe for failure.
UOLZEPHYR@reddit
This one is the correct answer!!!
We ran heavy reefer 39-42k amd almost always hit 8 or 9 on tandems
RealQuadMan@reddit
Well your axles can always be slid back before backing, and they actually should be slid back going into a dock. But it’s more just for building the drivers confidence so they can understand and get a feel for how backing actually works..
And that’s also why I said as far back as possible. Which I mean as legally possible. But if it’s a trick back I find after 5 years driving I’ll hop out and slide the axles back so I get less tail swing 🤷♂️ never had a situation where I couldn’t slide my axles back before a tight backing 😂
ErnestoLaganas@reddit
Don't stress it, everyone has a job to do. Worry about your set up and not hitting anything. I've been driving for 11 years and I still forget how to back some days.
Pitiful-MobileGamer@reddit
Everybody sucks at backing when they're first starting out, because of the lack of confidence and experience; once you're off line you don't know how to regain.
Backing is just a visualization exercise, treat the tandems like a box. Watch what your tires are doing, it's going to tell you how the trailer is going to behave.