Learning With A 48 Footer

Topic 1442 | Page 1

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Mark .'s Comment
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Does learning with a 45 or 48 footer make a difference in training since trailers can be 53 long? Thanks, Mark

Daniel B.'s Comment
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In my opinion it's not a significant difference. When backing. the shorter the trailer the more it reacts. It's very easy to oversteer a puppy trailer. It would make not hitting a curb much easier to do since you don't have to worry about that extra 5 feet.

Just keep in mind that you're only in school. You're learning just enough to pass the exam to get your CDL. By the time you do get the CDL you'll still be half clueless at backing and you'll still won't be very comfortable with driving. When you go out with your trainer that's when you get those skills sharpened.

Right now just try to grasp the concept of how to back. Don't worry about how long it is. There's very little difference between a 48 and a 53 when you're in a yard.

When I was in school we started with puppy trailers. The instructors told us that if we can back up one of those trailers then we can back up a 53' trailer. That short puppy trailer helped us to correct our over steering.

So my advice would be to just continue what you're doing and learn everything you can. Don't pay attention to the size of the trailer, it's really not a big deal.

CDL:

Commercial Driver's License (CDL)

A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:

  • Any combination of vehicles with a gross combined weight rating (GCWR) of 26,001 or more pounds, providing the gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of the vehicle being towed is in excess of 10,000 pounds.
  • Any single vehicle with a GVWR of 26,001 or more pounds, or any such vehicle towing another not in excess of 10,000 pounds.
  • Any vehicle, regardless of size, designed to transport 16 or more persons, including the driver.
  • Any vehicle required by federal regulations to be placarded while transporting hazardous materials.

HOS:

Hours Of Service

HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.
Old School's Comment
member avatar

Mark, there is virtually no difference in how the trailer pivots between a 48 footer and a 53 footer. The distance from the pin to the sliding tandems is basically the same. There is however more trailer extending past those tandems on the 53 footer which is where people get in trouble in tight spots because in a tight turn the back end of that trailer swings out more and will hit something if you're not careful.

This is not something that should be concerning you right now though, what Daniel said is true, you're just trying to get your CDL in school - you'll have plenty of time to get used to those trailers when you are starting on the road with a trainer.

CDL:

Commercial Driver's License (CDL)

A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:

  • Any combination of vehicles with a gross combined weight rating (GCWR) of 26,001 or more pounds, providing the gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of the vehicle being towed is in excess of 10,000 pounds.
  • Any single vehicle with a GVWR of 26,001 or more pounds, or any such vehicle towing another not in excess of 10,000 pounds.
  • Any vehicle, regardless of size, designed to transport 16 or more persons, including the driver.
  • Any vehicle required by federal regulations to be placarded while transporting hazardous materials.

Tandems:

Tandem Axles

A set of axles spaced close together, legally defined as more than 40 and less than 96 inches apart by the USDOT. Drivers tend to refer to the tandem axles on their trailer as just "tandems". You might hear a driver say, "I'm 400 pounds overweight on my tandems", referring to his trailer tandems, not his tractor tandems. Tractor tandems are generally just referred to as "drives" which is short for "drive axles".

Tandem:

Tandem Axles

A set of axles spaced close together, legally defined as more than 40 and less than 96 inches apart by the USDOT. Drivers tend to refer to the tandem axles on their trailer as just "tandems". You might hear a driver say, "I'm 400 pounds overweight on my tandems", referring to his trailer tandems, not his tractor tandems. Tractor tandems are generally just referred to as "drives" which is short for "drive axles".

HOS:

Hours Of Service

HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.
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