Hello fellow truckers,
I have just passed my class I (February 2022), after having my class II for nearly 20 years.
I managed to get a job with a well-known parcel delivery company doing some night trunking, despite only having had my licence for 4 weeks. I went out with one of their drivers on the first night just to watch, and then my turn came on the 2nd night with the company driver as my buddy.
The first part of the evening was fine – A roads and motorways, and town driving to a regional hub. Then I had to manoeuvre into a bay which is where it all went wrong. I got my set up position wrong and could not reverse onto the bay, so my buddy took over and parked it. I then lost all my confidence and couldn’t park in either of the other 2 destinations. Obviously I can park and manoeuvre the Arctic – I did it flawlessly during my test. But in the middle of a busy yard I didn’t have the time to ‘practice’.
I’m not in any way faulting the training I received at the driving school. The training was to pass the test – not to learn to drive. So the only manoeuvring I learned was the dogleg in the yard into the cones, which has no relation to the real world.
So my question to you is this. How should I get the experience of manoeuvring and parking into/onto bays. I looked at trying to find some shunting training, but there’s nothing along the south coast and I could see. The other option I have considered is going back to the driving school and getting them to put together half day training session devoted purely to manoeuvring.
I only been doing this for 6 months so take from it what you need.
Firstly your driving buddy ( who I’m sure is not a qualified trainer and was sent out with you because their was no one else) made two mistakes. Firstly, they didn’t discuss where you intended to put the lorry and let you do it regardless. Secondly, should have made you do it again.
Everyone panics about it being busy, everyone forgets practice is the best form of training. Nearly had two shutters come to blows when I first started. First one kicked off because I was taking to long. Second one arrived, asked what was going on then promptly told first shunter to get back in his [zb]ing cab and let me get on with it. Doesn’t happen every where.
There is no quick miracle on this I am afraid. Its an on the job baptism of fire, sorry.
Try and learn from ever reverse though, that’s the key. Position, taking enough length, gentle turns on the wheel where possible. It took me while to figure a few things out. Your lorry is a temperamental thing. How many axles are down, amount of pallets, dry or wet surface, concrete or dirt will all effect how quickly the trailer turns. Experience let you see things quicker.
Two chestnuts I was given,
There is such a things as trailer-bite. That’s the trailer equivalent of clutch-bite. It takes time to learn and no one can do it for you.
Reversing is like playing golf. At the moment you got your bag and sticks and are out there whacking away. With time and practice your handicap will fall and you will be able to take the correct club and put the ball on the green no bother. But be warned even Tiger Woods lands in the water, then the bunker and then out of bounds every now and again. Somedays no matter how good you are you still miss the bay 3 times.
Thanks Jand. You are quite right, my buddy was only a driver not an instructor, and with hindsight yes he could have been more help… Obviously this was the first time I’d reversed a heavy lorry, and it certainly handled differently to the nearly empty one I had used during training. I think this may have helped with my ‘discomfort’.
Thanks for the info about trailer bite – this is not something I’d heard of.
I love the golf analogy – I’m relatively new to golf as well and generally manage to hit one straight down the range to 10 slices lol.
You just have to practice. I am also relatively new to Class 1 work. The weekend work I am currently doing there is no-one there to sit in the cab and advise. I just have to crack on as best I can. I’m getting more confident with where and how to fit the trailer in awkward places and getting them in in a quicker time on each occasion. Day one was hellish, but it is getting better.
You’ll get there, when the trailer isn’t going where you want, just draw it forward, take a breath, stay calm, get out of the cab, check around you, get your bearings again and climb in and have another go, no-one will give you grief, more likely, they’ll help you out, is what I’ve found.
Hi
U just need to practice reversing, when i was first time with my mate and i told him i have never tried to reverse a lorry after i has been passeed my test, he told me i just need to take good time and just calm down and try to reverse it for minimum 10 mins. I got it on bay in 6/7 mins. He told me it’s normal. After couple of months now i am quite good.
So i think u need good time to reverse every time in first months time.
When I first started the highly experienced driver I went out with for two nights taught me more than I ever learnt during training as training isnt there to teach you to back on a bay.
Small movements of the wheel. Little corrections. As soon as you realise you’ve ■■■■■■ it - stop and pull forward. Assess the surroundings - can you pull well away so you have a better view? If in doubt STOP and get out and look. My mentor said blatantly ignore everyone - even those trying to “help”. Unless you know and trust them it’s your licence not theirs. If they’re giving you stick, just blank them. Remember, they can’t help being thick c s!!
I’ve had my class 1 for 13 years. I do ad hoc so am regularly rusty on the reverse…
Don’t panic, take your time and you’ll get there!! [emoji108][emoji108]
I got sent here on my first or second day in an artic google.com/maps/@53.7225646 … 312!8i6656
It took me a good 15 minutes to get it in with traffic queuing on both sides, I just ignored everyone and got it in eventually. Went back about 3 weeks later and got it in using just 2 shunts, week after straight in no shunts, so as you can see it eventually sinks in, just keep at it and take your time, reversing as slowly as the truck will possibly go.
I know it doesn’t help the reversing exactly but if it’s somewhere new try and Google map it first. Look at the ebtrance/ bays, look for turning tyres marks. Any forward planning you can do to think your angles through will help.
I know it doesn’t teach you reversing but it does start to get you driving brain engaged.
I passed not long before xmas and have been learning since then. Having no mentor at work to help me as I was the only arctic driver until a couple of weeks ago I found vloggers to be quite helpful as some of them explained how to position correctly and make life easier from the initial setup. I still get things wrong sometimes but most times I get straight in as I google any new place the night before to ensure I can approach it on my good side and scout the area immediately outside. Google maps is currently my best mate because of the street view/satellite view facility, it makes things less daunting when I know what I am heading into.
The only other thing that has made a difference for me has been asking the yard boys how other people get in/out. They can usually give me an idea of what other people do and will often point out the line they take to back in. The odd forklift guy has looked blank and said “they reverse in” but most seem happy to help and share their knowledge. Some will even watch you in if you ask
I am by no means an expert but in the months I have been doing it I am definitely improving. I take my time and move slowly regardless of traffic waiting. It’s easier to correct line mistakes at a lower speed than if you are rushing.
As other people are saying, it really is all about practise.
I passed my test in February and start my first Class 1 job tomorrow. I failed one assessment on the reversing exercise (only just and the fact that I came close was more luck than judgment) and then I went for another one and was struggling with the reverse again. (Everything else was OK). I got really lucky - the assessor agreed to give me an hour or two of training / practice in the yard and by the end of it I’d improved considerably. I still have a long way to go, but with care and patience I should be OK.
From my own experience and conversations I’ve had with other new passes, it has brought home to me how you’re trained by most companies to pass the test, not actually how to reverse. My advice to anyone paying for their own training would be to ask about the opportunity to pay for an extra couple of hours, specifically to work on different types of reverses. You may get through your test but getting your first Class 1 job is hard and those few hours could make all the difference when you start going for job assessments.
Feeling slightly daunted about tomorrow, but with care and patience hopefully I’ll be OK!
FatLarry68:
I passed my test in February and start my first Class 1 job tomorrow. I failed one assessment on the reversing exercise (only just and the fact that I came close was more luck than judgment) and then I went for another one and was struggling with the reverse again. (Everything else was OK). I got really lucky - the assessor agreed to give me an hour or two of training / practice in the yard and by the end of it I’d improved considerably. I still have a long way to go, but with care and patience I should be OK.
From my own experience and conversations I’ve had with other new passes, it has brought home to me how you’re trained by most companies to pass the test, not actually how to reverse. My advice to anyone paying for their own training would be to ask about the opportunity to pay for an extra couple of hours, specifically to work on different types of reverses. You may get through your test but getting your first Class 1 job is hard and those few hours could make all the difference when you start going for job assessments.
Feeling slightly daunted about tomorrow, but with care and patience hopefully I’ll be OK!
Take your time and do not be rushed. If you’re not sure, ask how the regular drivers get in.
Anything is better than a prang.
My reversing gets rusty as I only do ad hoc stuff. Used to worry but now I think ■■■■ em it’ll be in when it’s in!![emoji1787]
When I was instructing I used to take the trainees to industrial estates where many of the units were empty but accessible to do some real life reverses
I would be so cheeky as to ask a few places if we could use their receiving dock
