So I went to a kind of “try out” day. Got to drive a bunch of vehicles including a Lada on tracks!!!
Anyway, part of it was having a crack in an artic driving round some cones etc. All top notch fun but the “instructor” gave me some stick and like a muppet I forgot to question why. Heres what happened.
You had to do a T turn. So you drive across the top of the T then reverse it round the corner onto the tail of the T then drive off the way you came in. Now I’d already done some slow turns and figured out the clutch was pretty agressive (auto). So when I stopped ready to do the reverse, I put it in crawler-reverse gear and it was much easier to make the truck move slowly enough for me to make it (mostly!!!) go where I wanted it to go without dancing around like a learner with no clutch control.
When I’d done it and went to pull away, I put it in D because going forward round a corner wasnt so stressful. Bit of a harsh bite from the clutch at first but no drama off we went down to drive aruond more cones. Anyways thats when the instructor bloke asked me if I’d used crawler to do the reverse (and the shunt, i used crawler-drive to do that) I said yes thinking I was on to a smart thing and he goes “you shouldnt do that, only use crawler when your fully loaded”. Then I was busy snaking through cones and wotnot and then off to go drive the Lada on tracks and I totally forgot to ask him “why?”.
So… why was using crawler when I wanted to go really slow wrong?
The unit was an old XF105 auto the trailer was empty.
In my opinion you was probably right to use crawler when reversing, whether or not it was necessary when going round the cones depends on the speed you could achieve.
To say you should only use crawler when fully loaded is nonsense in my opinion, it’s the speed and level of control needed that dictates whether or not crawler is appropriate.
Having said that, I can only say what I would do in the real world I don’t know what’s expected on a test.
The instructor speaks from his sphincter. A lot of self appointed experts do.
Agree totally with the comments above. Just to add that use, or not, of crawler for the reverse exercise on test is irrelevant. But the examiner is looking for control which IMO is easier for a novice in crawler.
Pete 
I’m not even sure why they fit a standard reverse to a MAN, I’ve never used it! 
The crawler is more than enough, and the standard reverse is nothing, nothing, nothing, then off like a bloody rocket! 
Obviously speed varies truck to truck, but if I found the crawler quick enough, that’s what I’d use!
I think it’s misleading to refer to a “crawler gear” on an Arsetronic type transmission, as it is no such thing. A “crawler” gear is a very low (lower than you’d need for normal driving) gear used to get (and keep!) a very heavy load moving on a steep hill. The idea being you can keep the clutch fully engaged (no slipping) even at ridiculously low speeds. The “Manouvering” position on an Arsetronic gearbox uses the same gear ratio as normal Drive/Reverse but makes more use of slipping the clutch to keep the speed down (it also caps the revs and prevents shifting to higher ratios, again keeping the speed down).
I can see why someone would consider it “incorrect” to use the M position for a straightforward “three point turn” style manoeuvre, but by the same token I would say he was wrong to state it was only for use when heavily loaded - It is intended for fine, low-speed control regardless of weight.
There, that should set the purists going…
Ah, well it had a picture of a tortoise above the button and so I figured that was crawler. So maneuvering mode it was, it made it a ■■■■ site easier than when I was using the regular D mode to lurch through the cones! Nothing-nothing-nothing-zoom!
It’s only the second time I’ve “driven” a lorry, the previous time being at another of these kind of “drive all the things” days.
Seeing as though you completed the maneuver without incident, I would say you did it right, the whole point is being in control and that’s the only constant, the speed that you are in control is one that you feel comfortable with. That’s it, no ifs, ands or buts.
Agree with NMM’s first post, instructor had his orifices arse about face.
Try reversing under even an empty trailer with arsetronic in normal R setting, see how far you can shift the king pin back.
I do use normal reverse gear for a long reverse across our yard, but it’s difficult to say the least to try and reverse it with any precision that way into a parking slot, well it is for me, maybe our hero instructor can.
Thanks everyone, much appreciated!
About to post off my D2&D4 forms so that I can start driving, not “driving”
Sounds like numptie, why wouldn’t you use crawler when doing a reverse manoeuvre, it’s not like one of those stunt men throw it in things??
New Actros seems to decide what rate it’d like you to reverse at. One minute you could be overtaken by a snail, the next, Lewis Hamilton couldn’t keep up. It enables and disables crawler gears by sending you a message on the dash, which is about as much use as a chocolate fire guard if your head is hanging out of the window
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PaulNowak:
New Actros seems to decide what rate it’d like you to reverse at. One minute you could be overtaken by a snail, the next, Lewis Hamilton couldn’t keep up. It enables and disables crawler gears by sending you a message on the dash, which is about as much use as a chocolate fire guard if your head is hanging out of the window
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Good grief, that sounds awful.
To the O.P.
Given it was a DAF, the book says for those auto boxes summat about avoiding “unnecessary” use of crawler, as when in this mode the clutch is in slip-mode and overheating/damage can occur. So if the instructor was also the owner of the vehicle he`d be worried about the vehicle.
This is the point where sentences containing the words: DAF, auto, fit for purpose, crap, etc, etc, tend to occur…
Excuse me, gotta climb off my hobby horse and find my anti blood pressure pills.