ERICK BACKING A 90-DEGREE ALLEY BACK WITH A SPREAD-AXLE FLATBED

ERICK BACKING AN ALLEY BACK WITH A SPREAD-AXLE TRAILER demonstrates techniques and a formula for backing a spread axle trailer in a 90 degree alley back. Alley backing is one of the maneuvers one must show a proficient skill level in to obtain a commercial driver's license (CDL). Erick's preferred formula: a) setup with the bumper at the starter cone and b) truck and trailer roughly 2 ft. out from the alignment cones; c) steer tires one turn to the right; d) back the left mudflap to the center of the trailer landing gear; e) turn tires straight; f) slowly back while watching the trailer tires track around a visualized semi-circle to within 2 feet inside the 90 front cone; g) gauge when truck/trailer bend becomes too much and trailer turns too fast to cone; at which time, h) start walking (left/straight, left/straight, left/straight) to maintain the bend that keeps the trailer in the desired semi-circle. These formula steps are merely guidelines to assist new drivers in learning to read the bend amd the trailer tracking pattern to within 2 feet of the 90 front cone. Some setup with the TIRE (instead of the bumper) on the start cone and some like 3 or 4 feet out from the alignment cones. Some turn 1 1/2 turns right, instead of 1 turn. Some back the left mudflap to the off landing gear foot. The point is that all these formula steps are variables based on the deriver's preference and judgment call. Some drivers prefer to come into the cone hot; then jacknife into the lane as do most tandem axle backers. Because the axles in a tandem are close together, they track behind each other and can be backed straighter and jacknifed easier than with a spread axle. Experienced tandem axle drivers sometimes prefer this "come in hot/jacknife style," which there is really nothing wrong with, except that with a spread axle, to jacknife into the lane, the driver has to slide the front axle, because the 10 feet between the axles does not allow the axle tires to readily track behind each other. All the setup steps are variables, depending, primarily, on the driver's experience and preferences. All-in-all, there are three primary steps to your ultimate goal of getting the truck and trailer ligned up in the lane. 1) Track the rear axles to within two feet inside the front cone. 2) Get the trailer ligned up in the lane. 3) Get the truck ligned up in the lane with the trailer. Do these steps in THAT ORDER. Don't worry about the trailer or the truck, until you've gotten the rear trailer axle tracking around that cone. Then don't worry about the truck, until you've gotten the trailer ligned up in the lane. Then worry about the truck. The truck is nothing more than a swivel tool for maneuvering the trailer. Learn to drive the trailer, not the truck.