Blind Siding It...
Topic 3193 | Page 1
Well it's certainly more difficult and dangerous to do a blind-side back but there will be times there is no choice whatsoever. A lot also depends on the severity of the angle you're coming in at. Coming in on just a slight blind-side angle is certainly no big deal. Having to crank it around a 90 degree bend is obviously a different story altogether.
In the end you want to come up with the safest strategy for getting it backed in. It doesn't matter how long it takes to get it in there as long as you do so safely. There were a lot of times I chose a strategy that would probably take longer but gave me the best view of everything and therefore seemed like the safest approach - the approach I was most comfortable with.
Finally, everyone has their strengths and weaknesses so you want to play to your strengths and stick with techniques you're most comfortable doing.
HOS:
Hours Of Service
HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.
Well it's certainly more difficult and dangerous to do a blind-side back but there will be times there is no choice whatsoever.
It might just be my imagination, but I could swear I saw or read about remote control mirrors that adjusted out enough to allow the driver to see the trailer in the passenger mirror while doing the "blind side" back-up tango . . . now I don't drink or smoke dope so that's not where I got this impression . . . Is there such a thing or am I gonna get rich creating them? (I thought of it first!!)
Jopa
Well it's certainly more difficult and dangerous to do a blind-side back but there will be times there is no choice whatsoever.
It might just be my imagination, but I could swear I saw or read about remote control mirrors that adjusted out enough to allow the driver to see the trailer in the passenger mirror while doing the "blind side" back-up tango . . . now I don't drink or smoke dope so that's not where I got this impression . . . Is there such a thing or am I gonna get rich creating them? (I thought of it first!!)
Jopa
When I blindside back, I'm constantly adjsting the mirrors.
I drive an old International that has a perfect view out the passenger side sleeper window so I can get a good look when having to blind side jack knife. Saves me a whole lot of time and stress for a dedicated route like mine that has up to ten stops a day.
Dedicated Route:
A driver or carrier who transports cargo between regular, prescribed routes. Normally it means a driver will be dedicated to working for one particular customer like Walmart or Home Depot and they will only haul freight for that customer. You'll often hear drivers say something like, "I'm on the Walmart dedicated account."
Justin - that's awesome. I never had a sleeper with a passenger side window. That would surely be helpful.
Jopa, they do make power mirrors that are adjustable but the angles still don't allow for what you would call a safe, reliable view. It certainly helps if it's a shallow angle, but if you have to jack it around there pretty hard the mirror isn't going to adjust well enough to work for ya. Blind-side backing can be a somewhat tedious process.
There is a company (can't remember which one) that puts cameras on that side of the truck specifically for blindside backing.
I used the remote adustment for the passenger mirror last week at the oil well, worked great until it maxed out, also had a front and back spotter,, about wore my neck out trying to watch everything at once, but got it done
The trick to all backing is to have a G,O,A,L. Get Out And Look...
The trick to all backing is to have a G,O,A,L. Get Out And Look...
off course, that's lesson #1, then use anything else that you can, I was backing off from a wooden deck into 6" deep mud, had the drive interlock on plus ATC on, trying not to run over the water manifold system or knock the steps off of the control trailer. the spotters had 2 ways that they were able to comunicate to me on my scanner, see Photos
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Safe Driving Tips
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I've come to notice that blind siding comes easier to me, in some situations, than drivers side, do to the fact I can see where my drive tandems & truck are in absurdly tight spots. It does play allot off of good trlr positioning initially though. I'm in a FL casscadia evo & the mirrors are crap in comparison to what I was in prior, a Volvo 670 imo. Im still a noob, but think the dreaded blind side should be looked at as a viable option, however necessary or not, than be avoided at all costs, as how I was taught. Any opinions?
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".