Who said

I remember in the old days drivers connecting the trailer to the tow bracket on the front bumper and steering the a frame trailer forwards into a tight bay.
Maybe pre power steering days?..or do they still do that now ?

Quite right Ledwidge, it’s a basic skill.
The oracle, who spent five minutes in the industry, before being drummed out, carries on as if he is the only person in the UK who can do it.
@carryfast ,the video I linked has four articulation points. You obviously don’t understand what an A B triple is.

Yes, power steering was a game changer because of the ability to easily make small and frequent corrections. I have nothing but admiration for the old boys who used to trunk the A roads with an 8 legger and drag and I fully understand why they used the the nose hitch to put the drag where they needed to.

But, with the light touch of power, that went right out of the window in my opinion. This is because nosing in all but a flat trailer with a flat load on (and most of those were not) you can’t see where you are going. At best you can only see down the left hand side of the trailer, and then only fleetingly.

When I introduced drawbars to the fleet at Toray I told the blokes how I got my head round it. I imagined myself sitting, not behind the wheel in the cab, but over the right hand front corner of the trailer, exactly where I would be if it was a rigid. Then I would know exactly what to do to make it go backwards to the right, for instance. Turn the steering wheels underneath me to the right obviously. Then think how do I make this, as a trailer, do that? Push the towing eye to the right. How to do that ? Now, back in the cab, turn the arse of the wagon to the right. But gently, always gently, little by little, and use your mirrors, both, frequently. Non of this old fashioned hanging out of the cab nonsense.

Now for an A-train. Same again, start off with the rear trailer and think how to make it go where you want it to go, once you have done that, work out how to make that happen. Then do it, bringing your mind forward to the necessary action in the cab to make it all happen.

Unfortunately, when the first 3 drawbar outfits arrived at Toray I was off on holiday. I told my deputy to park them in the yard and arranged cover for the work with local hauliers. Then a mate of mine in the FTA who was the TM of a local firm with regular night trunks to London with drawbars and demounts, just like our setup, agreed that my 3 drivers would spend the week on nights with 3 of his but I insisted they must be reversing not nosing.

When I got back to work and the drivers had had one week with an ‘expert’ and then one week on their own, asked my deputy how things went. She said 2 were fine but the 3rd trailer has been parked at Hyde the whole time because the driver simply could not get the hang of it. I chatted to him and asked how he went on the night runs, ok he said but the bloke I was with always nosed it under. :rage:

He got it eventually but was never fully at ease. The other 2 were naturals, one bloke was so confident that he would reverse in blind side sometimes when he didn’t need to, just because he could. :joy:

PS. I don’t think B-doubles were invented when I was in Oz so have never had the pleasure. :wink:
PPS @carryfast How did you manage to do 4 posts in a row? :open_mouth:

You clearly don’t understand the difference between A and B.An A triple has 5 points of articulation four of which are drawbar bogies/dollies which don’t steer anything like a fifth wheel type B coupling.Similar applies in the case of an A double which will be much more difficult to reverse than a B double or even triple.
Now let’s see your evidence of anyone reversing an ‘A Triple’ more than a few yards if that.
As for my contribution to the industry you protest laughably too much.

I clearly described reversing the two points of articulation of an A frame rigid and.How do you make it 3 ?.
An A double artic has 3 points.It’s an artic pulling an A frame drawbar trailer.

Surely 7? 5th wheel, nose 1, dolly 1, nose 2, dolly 2, nose 3, dolly 3.

I tried to edit that out, you’re right, I was not counting the semi plus 2 but semi plus 3.

I protest? Really? When?
I don’t think you spent long enough in the industry to make any contribution of significance.
You’ve never seen a real road train, but you keep educating me, who has spent half my life driving them. :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

I’m sure that anyone who is proficient with any type of A frame trailer drawbar outfit and artics can get their head around the challenge of the combination of both.
It’s precisely because of that proficiency that I know an A double artic outfit will be a lot more difficult to reverse than a B triple let alone B double.
An A triple not a chance.Just as I showed in the posted video but which you’re blaming on the driver as usual when it doesn’t fit your narrative.
All I’m seeing in your case is someone who might know a thing or two about B coupled outfits but obviously not A trains.

Blind side under a demount box while drinking a coffee making sure not to spill it.Although I found it moot when just need to concentrate on both sides equally in the mirrors to watch the changing alignments between the trailer and prime mover which provides the position of the drawbar bogie steering.The reverse slalom on the move taught that best of all.
For SDUs information around 50% failed the UPS training and assessment.

Congratulations Carryfast, you can reverse a truck and dog, you deserve a gold star.
I’ve seen blokes make a bigger hash of reversing a truck and dog, than the triple in your video. So according to your extrapolation, reversing a truck and dog is impossible.
Take a good look at yourself, you might stop making a fool of yourself.

The truth is you’ve seen no one able to reverse an A triple further than shown in the video.

Stop making a goose of yourself Carryfast. The truth is I’ve done it. How do you think you through load sheep, from a shed?

Define done it ?.You’re saying you reversed an A triple across a yard to a shed.Rght ?.
Rather than drop the second and third trailers together, load the first trailer, then drop that, then through load the second and third trailers.

Where did I say I’d done that? I’ve never carted sheep
I have reversed three fridge vans and three fuel tanks, not at the same time.
It’s amazing that you so conclusively and quickly failed with a single trailer, yet without even seeing a road train in the flesh, you claim expertise.
Like I said, don’t judge other’s abilities on your own inability.

You seem to have problems understanding the difference between passed and failed.I passed the UPS drawbar assessment not failed it.I then spent almost two pleasurable years doing a Feltham-Luton-Dewsbury-Luton-Feltham trunk with them.
Because I passed it I know that you have never reversed an A triple any further than shown in the video I posted.
You said you’ve done it followed by the sheep carting story regarding through loading and A triple.Whereas I’d have got it loaded and on my way while you were sitting in the yard wondering why you couldn’t reverse two A frame dollies and trailers across a yard let alone via the fifth point of articulation of a semi trailer and tractor unit.

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No, l have no problems understanding that firstly you failed to complete an apprenticeship then failed in this industry.
Congratulations, you passed a basic, reversing skill test. Next you’ll be bragging that you can breathe in your sleep.
You wouldn’t have got it loaded at all, you’d be whinging about a sore back ant being used as a human forklift.
Enjoy your fantasies, I’m over you. There are plenty of blokes on here with whom l can have mature conversations, you’re not one of them. You’re a waste of time and space.

This guy looks like he’s doing alright?

That ain’t an A triple it’s not even the same thing as an A double.