"Hey Pete, I'm down here in FL..I'm glad to hear u r doing good with backing skills because am having hard time with the 90 degrees and my offsets r inconsistent...can u tell me what works for u because that might help me out , how u do ur 90 degrees?, and for the offsets do u pull up to boundary line, hard turn the wheel, back up till u see ur trailer V or to second landing gear? walk me thro it" -Ed T.
"Howdy Ed, I'll answer you as best I can... but I'm still learning too so my answers will be more conceptual than actual step-by-step. The improvement from my 'Day 1 disaster' to my 'Day 2 I got it' came after thinking about what happens when you turn the steering wheel... to the right: rear of the trailer moves to the left, while the front of the tractor swings around to the left. Conversely, when your turn the steering wheel to the left, the opposite happens: rear of trailer moves to the right, front of tractor swings to the right. I actually backed up luggage in my hotel room to help learn this concept. Felt like an idiot, but it helped. Whatever it takes.
With the off-set backing, yes, I begin at the forward boundary of the range. On our range there are markers on the ground that we use. When beginning the maneuver, rotate the steering wheel left or right and turn until the fender mirrors cover the marker, then turn the wheel the other way. I've backed two different trailers, the first was a belly-dump and much shorter trailer, the other was a 53' trailer. The wheel movement is two full turns initially with the longer trailer, one full turn with the belly-dump trailer. After the fender mirrors on the tractor cover the ground markers, four full turns (with the 53' trailer) in the opposite direction. That's two turns to get the wheels straight again, two more turns to turn the wheels. There is a point where the cones behind me disappear in the mirror; that's when I straighten out the wheel and continue backing. It's important to remember that you don't have to turn the wheel to turn the trailer. One of the most common mistakes rookies make, and I'm still making, is to over-steer. My instructor has completed 90º turns while touching the steering wheel half the time.
If you have created an angle with the trailer, it will continue to turn while you are backing up, with the steer wheels straight. Try to plan your move 15 feet out from the rear of the trailer. I haven't spent much time looking at my landing gear. I do look at the side of the trailer to determine when it is straight in line with the alley. Remember, when the nose of your tractor is pointing to the left, and your trailer is behind you, relatively straight, and you need to get in front of it, turn your wheel to the left to get your tractor to swing around to the right to get in front of it. When the nose of your tractor is pointing to the right, turn your wheel clockwise to the right to get the tractor to swing around to the left to get in front of your trailer. When doing the off-set, I will do my pull-ups pretty far forward, as long as I don't go out-of-bounds. Use all of the space you are given. It doesn't have to be a thing of beauty, it just has to get you your CDL.
With the 90º backing, I'm only more vague, and I'm sorry. I eyeball a point where I feel it's necessary to start turning my trailer, and because we're doing 90º backing to the driver's side only, no blind 90º backing, it's always turning the wheel to the right to get the trailer started turning to the left and towards/into the alley. I finally figured out that over-steering creates a lot of problems than seem impossible to get out of, so I try real hard not to. After my initial turn to the right to get the trailer turning left, I let go of the wheel for a minute and let the trailer back up and see where it goes. I'm looking 15 feet behind the trailer and envisioning where that trailer is going to go. The first move I will usually make with the wheel after the initial turn is to straighten the wheels, because remember, if the trailer is already at an angle, driving the tractor back with wheels straightened will continue to turn the trailer.
Those are the basic concepts that once you learn, nothing else other than practice, practice, practice, and more practice, will help. There are numerous replies in this forum where people have gone into great detail about how to back up. I've tried not to do that because (1) I'm still learning, and my left-to-right off-set backing is UGLY, and (2) I'm just not good enough to go into greater detail, and really, who can remember all those details when you're sitting in the cab and actually doing it? Just try to remember what effect your steering wheel is going to have on the tractor and trailer when you turn it. Concentrate on this... if you stop thinking and turn the wheel in the wrong direction and start moving, you will get yourself into a pickle in just a few seconds...
...I hope this helps; certainly, I couldn't have been more discouraged after my first day, but continued practice has enabled me to figure it out and given me confidence. You'll get it. Think about all of the trucks you see on the road... and the tens of thousands you don't see... no one driving those knew how to back up initially, it's not an instinct we're born with, it's something we learn, and with practice, you'll learn too. You got this; just be patient, know in advance of turning that wheel what effect it's going to have on the tractor and trailer, and it'll come to you. If you've got four hours to spend on the range, I'd only get out of that truck to take a pee break. Stay in it and utilize every minute that you've got. I show up early, do the minimum pre-trip to drive the truck before my time even starts, and usually get in and going before my scheduled time. Other guys waste their range time pre-tripping the truck before they get in... No. Practice your pre-trip before or after, but not during your range time. I have watched my instructors and ask them about the minimum, and they just want to be sure there's oil in the truck, fluid levels are o.k., and that's about it. Look around the truck for obstructions... the other day I found a bottle of diesel fuel gel someone had put on the catwalk, and put it back inside the truck, and I will do the brake check on the tractor and trailer, but all that takes about 5 mins. You've got plenty of time to practice and study the pre-trip without using your range time for it.
Good luck, and I apologize for the long-winded reply. Sad fact is, I've got nothing else to do today but help with this! Good luck, I know you'll get it and be fine. Stay in touch, I want to hear about your success!"
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