Michigan CDL Test, Pull Up's, Goals, How Many And Any Help?

Ditto here; that was then. The "now"...I'll defer to the Instructor. So,...do all of the academies do the carrousel?

It does sound as if Don attends Swift's Academy, he'll be covered.

Thanks for updating me!

The most current Michigan CDL manual states straight line, right and left offsets, and a site side 90 degree alley dock, for required skills tests. My tester told me he follows the excersises in the manual. I'm practicing these moves. Not sure about the road test yet, but I should be ok as long as I keep both hands on the wheel and stop at the white lines. Right turns kinda suck with this mh, but probably no different than a tractor/trailer. My pre trip is pretty good, but I do keep forgetting 2-3 random items. Thanks for the help.

Update, took my first Class A skills test. I ace'd the pre trip/air brake tests. Even the tester was impressed. My off road tasks were straight line, one offset right, and the alley dock. Straight line has never been an issue before....lol. I had to pull through the cones to the edge of the boundaries and back up. What I didn't realize was that the boundary cones were not lined up with the alley cones and I inherently steering towards the center of the cones while going forward. I did not notice this until starting my back up and my rig was jacked, then I panicked and had to do a few pull ups and crossed the side boundaries.......etc. I completed that, then completed the offset, but the alley dock got me due to not having enough pull-ups(points) left. The tester suggested a shorter trailer next time and I agree. No big deal, I'll try it again. Thanks for all the help.

That's too bad...every failure gets you closer to success if you stay with it.

A shorter trailer? Interesting. Not sure if I buy that as "the solution".

If you plan on operating shorter pup sized trailers, perhaps. But most of the trailers run by the TL carriers are 53'. I've been under a 48' trailer thrice in five years. Didn't notice a huge difference. Set-up was easier, but backing it up, not much different.

Short "pup" trailers respond very quickly...you'll be "jacked" in no time; blink of an eye. Ask the drivers on the forum running pups and TFE containers. They'll tell you the same thing.

Less input and watch how the tandems track before applying any adjustments. Resist the overriding temptation to apply extreme steering input until you see how it tracks. Once I figured out "more is too much" and "less is just right", backing became less burdensome and actually enjoyable.

Practice...just keep practicing and you'll "get it".

Good luck.

I agree with G town. I don't understand why tester would suggest a shorter trailer for you. Sure it's shorter and you can turn it alot sharper however that's also a curse. I have been running a pup trailer for 7 months now and have gotten to the point it doesn't get away from me like it used to. The only experience I have with longer trailers is the month of school in a 53, and one day I got sent a 36(?). The pup trailers are nice for city driving but backing takes a bit to get accustomed to. I think at this point you would be doing more harm than good. You would need to relearn your reference points you currently use with the alley dock. When I first started with the PUP I couldn't back the dang thing straight at all. You seriously lose it very quickly. There are still days when I need to bump a dock that I end up backing in a small S as I try to "catch" the trailer. I'm guilty of still over steering but I've gotten better. It's not as bad as a boat trailer but it's the same idea.

I agree, I'm not even sure if I could back up a shorter trailer. Like I said in my first post, I'm not a trucker, I'm just a drag racer trying to get somewhat legal in a HUGE gray area of DOT rules. I won't be using anything different than my truck conversion motorhome and 38' gooseneck trailer, almost 72' The problem is not really the trailer as much as the 310" wb motorhome and the 6' of overhang on the trailer. I find I have to be quite parallel when entering the cones and it's very tough to chase the trailer with the motorhome in 70' of space. I think I can do it, however I really would like to pass my next test in case I fail the road test. I would hate to have to go into the road test blind.

I'd suggest getting some cones and finding an empty parking lot. Experiment with where trailer tires are in relation to the first cone when you begin to do the alley dock. Also find a reference point on your trailer while looking in your mirror that tells you when you need to turn to get back under the trailer. On the bright side Seem like you won't hardly ever use that backing exercise in the situation you plan on using it for.

I hear ya. I've spent about 10 hours practicing with cones. My biggest problem is the initial setup after driving past the cones. I've found the most success by being about 12' in front of the cones and about 14' past them. I can cut it hard right, back up until a spot on the front of my trailer, then cut it hard left. This gets the trailer pretty close to parallel to the cones. The problem is that it doesn't leave me much room for correction if I'm not centered in the cones. I'm not saying there isn't a better way, but I haven't found one. I have found if I get much more than 12' in front of the cones, I cross the 70' boundary line with the frontend when I'm chasing the trailer.

This is what I'm dealing with.