Yard Jockey?

[iwannadie]

Anyone here have experience backing trailers care to offer any help / insight for a would be rookie?
I will be using a yard truck not a tractor so it will be auto and I am sure a Lot easier that way.

 

[OverlandZJ]

What insight are you looking for?

Most popular screw up is typically door damage, don't get in a hurry.. secure swinging doors.

Keep your lot clean, flats can cause a down rig for half a shift or more if there's not a backup Ottawa.

Hourly or by the move?

 

[iwannadie]

Just any general backing advice really.

I am hourly with a big shipping Co. I just never backed any type of trailer and now facing full size shipping trailers in a busy yard lol.

 

[OverlandZJ]

I'm assuming they are ok with your lack of experience.. and are willing to train. I'm also assuming there will be another jockey or two.

Doesn't take much to get used to backing, just go slow.. learn to gauge distance to dock plate/trailers. Don't back blind.. know what's behind you and use the mirror/s. But I imagine early training will consist of pulling away from building for awhile.

Since your hourly I don't expect another yard monkey to not assist you.. he's getting the same pay anyway.

I always ran across face of trailers, hooked a 90* in front of door/empty slot till I saw the door/slot in drivers mirror.. then hooked a bit to actually look down the side of trailer. Backed it in.. using the painted lines to ensure I was inline and square to dock. Got me through a hundred moves or more a day. I never worried about seeing both sides of trailer.. I knew nothing was too close because I looked as I passed. (like a swinging door)

When I was promoted I hired a dude..

 

[iwannadie]

Thanks for the replies it is very helpfull.
They know I have zero experince but I guess it is just a 3 day training class(about 5 hours a day). Not sure if I am expected to just jump into after that or what ha. Being hourly is going to help for sure keeping me going safe(read: slow).

 

[Hypoid]

It has been ten days, how are things working out?

I drove backwards for seven years, there are stories... and lessons.

 

[iwannadie]

I tapped out.
The training was very much hands on and no "classroom" which I think made it difficult. The trainer expected perfection from day one which frustrated me. He wanted the trailer straight and up against a yellow line. Which is fine for the end result but it was fustrating to be trying to get the hang of it and feel like ok I'm not dead center straight but really close and be stopped half way and told to start over. I think letting me get the hang of just getting in the "bay" Then hone in the finer details would have been better than expecting perfect from thr start.
He told me I was doing well enough and was going to pass me but I would just get 3 days training then be thrown into production. He also cautioned me that if I hit anything it would be all on me and vehicle accidents they takr very serious.

I weighed my pros and cons and decided it just wasn't for me at this time. Glad I tried it and was sure I would have been capable but the lack of seat time and fear of hitting something/someone being rushed into production had me back out.

I have an even bigger respect for guys backing trailers though it is an awesome talent for sure.

 

[Hypoid]

Yup, that's a steep curve for someone who never backed a trailer before.

I got lucky, my pops had me backing a small trailer soon as I got my driver's license: He explained it to me, showed it too me, then told me to practice until I got it. He watched for five minutes and went inside. Within the hour I was backing a figure-8 around two T-Posts he set in the field. Fifteen years later I was on a two person crew working graveyards, my foreman trained me on the yard hostler. The biggest lesson I had to learn was to tune out all the stresses that had nothing to do with putting a trailer in the hole; I did have a few "incidents."

 

[Cottontail]

It is certainly harder than it looks. I worked at a auto shipper for awhile, and on a rare occasion they'd have me go move the rigs in the yard. That was trial by fire - manual transmission and the car haulers have their pivot quite far from the cab. Luckily it was a no pressure kind of thing and the yard was usually empty of people and moving vehicles so I could take a few runs at it.

Sounds like you made a good decision walking away.

 

[iwannadie]

An empty yard would have been nice. At one point I got my self pretty bound up and suddenly had other people shifting, people pulling trailers onto/off the yard and a forklift sudden all stopped waiting on me. I had no idea how to get myself out of the jam I was in and my trainer looked at me in my mirror and just shrugged. Noone else would move because I had the right of way backing up lol. Took me a few minutes to just get myself out of their way so they could just go.