Why When I Back.

Ducky, it's more a problem of your eyeballs and judging distance. In this case, as others point out, the error is in your favor (not to crash).

Even in my personal pickup, looking out the back window & over the tailgate often it still seems I'm too close.

After a while you'll get used to it and then you'll be able to get closer before you chicken out.

I think for the most part it's been said here already, just GOAL and don't care. You'll get better with more practice. If you get a load like my current one you can always spend your time doing some backing practice to help improve yourself quicker. I will say this, my worst backing experience so far as far as crookedness was at a receiver that had just built there new warehouse. No lines on the ground yet so literally all I had was the door behind me to try and gauge if I was straight or not. Just meant I had to do a few extra goals to get it in there right for them. I still suck at backing, but I am getting better with every day I do it. It's all about practice and thinking through what you are doing and why you are doing it.

Thanks for the reply’s. I just figured after 2-1/2 years of doing this I would not be thinking I’m 3 feet away when in reality I’m 15 feet away. I really don’t back up to much. Once a day maybe. In flatbed you back in a year what a dock bumper backs in a month probably. I’ve never practiced anything since I been out but next time I’m at the truck stop backing up to a curb I’m going to pull forward and back up a few times to get a sense of what the heck’s going on with this. In cdl school you had to back within so many feet on the 90. Then I would be maybe a few feet away everytime and sometimes perfect. Now it seems I can’t get within 10 feet of something. It might be my mirrors. The mirrors on this 2019 international have been completely redesigned and I don’t think for the better.

I do that all the time.

Without a truck next to me for reference I'll stop where I think I just barely have enough room to open the doors before backing to a dock....and I'll actually have like 20+ feet.

I'd rather be stopping to soon than to late...

Not worried about it.

I literally did it 5 minutes ago. Backed into my spot at flying j and looked to my left and right saw one truck 6 ft ahead of the prime truck next to me. I looked good but had an itchy feeling got out and looked and noticed my bumper is lower than im used to and if i would have gotten even with prime i would have hit the curb. I also goaled about 7 times at our terminal in trenton ohio but for another reason. Right next door is a firing range and every gunshot i heard i freaked out thinking i was hitting something. So i would take a peek even though i knew i was fine.

Great golfers still use range finders. Expert contractors still use tape measures. Truckers use GOALs.

Great analogy!

I just pulled out from the dock about 6 feet to shut my doors. Was 15 feet away.

I just pulled out from the dock about 6 feet to shut my doors. Was 15 feet away.

I wish I could say I have never done that!

I just pulled out from the dock about 6 feet to shut my doors. Was 15 feet away.

Did that the other day, in front of the dock guy who just told me to open doors and bump the dock. Well, I had to pull out past the trucks on both sides of me to swing doors. I pulled so far forward he started waving at me to stop.