BTW nobody spotted me either because they were all at lunch.
Rocky - Another First
"Rocky" wrote in message To me backing a tanker into a dock is a big deal
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wait for it
The second time I had to back into the same dock there was no pull up
and no get out and look just like it was preformed by a Real
Professional Truck Driver.
Rocky - RPTD
A real truck driver would have used a real truck not a tonka toy.
--
For those who have trouble remembering the words for the song '99 Bottles of
Beer on the Wall', somewhere on the Internet there's a page with the
complete lyrics: all 100 verses!
Three times now but almost a not.
But at least I know how many seconds it takes to get here. :-)
Rocky
Four times now and I didn't get yelled at today well at least not yet.
Rocky - Sill in the dock
What the F is so hard about it that you would need a spotter?
It's easier anyways because a tanker is shorter. Yes, backing a 45' trailer
is easier than a 53'.
Actually, not necessarily true. Shorter trailers react
so much quicker, over-steering is a problem for drivers
who normally pull 53'. I pulled doubles for a couple
of years, and tended to over-steer the little bastards
when docking. When docking a 53' in a tight dock, it
is sometimes necessary to stretch the tandems all the
way to the rear. Remember, Rocky, you're backing
(guiding) the axles, not the rear of the trailer.
I've backed up 80' to 100' trailers before and that is easy because it
is easier to tell which way it is drifting than the 48' or 53'
trailers.
There is one more thing about the dock I backed into. It was also a
scale and you had to go back as far as possible without going off the
scale.
Rocky
Most of the time yes....but not always. I mostly pull a 45' tanker,
but the one I brought back this morning was a 53' tri-axle. It was
only partially loaded so I'm guessing I was grossing 80-82K. Normally
for the 53' we gross about 97-100K. And yes that extra 8 foot does
make a difference, mainly when cornering. As far as backing into a
dock with one that's no big deal.......no more so than any other
trailer, I do it 4-5 times a day, And I don't feel special. :o)
>
.
The problem with socialism is that eventually
you run out of other people's money."
-Margaret Thatcher
Very true, when you're talking about the little pups. There isn't that
much difference between a 48 & a 53 except in a tight corner & in that
case your tractor length has a lot to do with it. I'm no longer with
my day cab & a 53 than a large car with a 48.
As far as those 28' pups I used to pull doubles too & when you spend
30+ years pulling a big trailer those little guys can be a bitch. The
only thing worse was trying to back a little converter dolly. 10-15'
is all I could ever manage at a time without pulling up. When nobody
was watching I even tried to back up a set of doubles. Needless to say
I was glad nobody seen me as it wasn't very pretty.
Some of these doubles drivers are damn good at handling
dollies. I once witnessed a Big R driver, on a bet,
backing a set of doubles into a parking space--took him
awhile, but he got it done. Would have taken me about
six years. When I had to hook 'em up, I got my ass out
and manhandled that damn congear into position in front
of my rear pup. IOW, I recognized my limitations. :)