MickyB666:
muckles:
…get the trailer pointing the right direction, you don’t have to be straight, but if the back of the trailer is lined up it makes it far easier.
I think I have been concentrating too much on the reversing part and should instead be focussing more on getting the truck/trailer into the right position before starting the reversing manoeuvre, I think I am making the reverse much more difficult than it should be by not getting into the correct position to start with.
I have noticed that once I have the trailer in a position where I can see the space I am reversing into I can quite easily manage the manoeuvre however I am finding it difficult getting into this position, I am having to take several shunts to get into a position where I have the truck/trailer lined up with the space I am reversing into and during the shunting manoeuvres I am loosing the view of the back end in the mirrors and I am having to get out and have a look to see where the back end is in relation to where I think it is and where I need it to be.
I am also guilty of not pulling far enough forwards to make a shunt count mainly because I fail to appreciate the length of the vehicle, it always feels like I have moved quite a long way forward but when I get out and have a look the back end is never as far forward as I had imagined.
Any more tips on getting into a good start position?
If for instance I need to drop a trailer off and I am driving forwards along side a line of trailers on my left hand side and spot an available space is there a marker I could use to give me a clue as to when I should swing over to the right in order to bring the truck/trailer into line leaving the back end of the trailer nicely in line with the available space - assuming that there is ample space to the right.
Sort of tough questions and something that comes with experience, if you go to a regular place you’ll pick up marker points to get into the start position, even subconsciously.
Had a few of newly qualified artic drivers working with me in the past, one used to over think about manouvering and end up tying himself in knots, then panic and then go the wrong way. I think he’s given up driving trucks and doing something else another lacked confidence, but he listened, learned and after a while he was pretty good, but mainly it was about confidence and experience.
I knew he’d sussed it when he reversed out of a race circuit paddock in the dark, during pack up time. Thing are pretty chaotic at pack up time, with trucks, people and equipment everywhere. I watched him back, but only for safety, he planned and executed the manoeuvre without having any advice from me. 
I’d find it difficult to tell you when to start a manoeuvre to get the trailer right, it’s really the type of thing that some with experience, seems pretty second nature to me now.
but when heading to the bay have a look opposite the bay and on the ground for reference points, like joins in the tarmac or concrete, or something opposite the bay.
