Words Of Encouragement For Backing Struggles

If any of you follow my videos. You would have seen my student Maria who got her CDL in December and upgraded to her own truck around March. She was terrified to go solo

Yesterday she sent me a pic of a difficult backing maneuver she did on the first try. In just a few months she has gained so much confidence.

Currently I have a woman in team training who had no backing with her previous team trainer. I was her CDL instructor so I agreed to take her teaming to finish her miles. Today she did a very hard back and got so excited when she did it all alone.

One of the greatest privileges of training is to see the excitement on ones face when the backing clicks!

You can do it too!

Is her previous trainer still "training" students?

Is her previous trainer still "training" students?

No.

If any of you follow my videos. You would have seen my student Maria who got her CDL in December and upgraded to her own truck around March. She was terrified to go solo

Yesterday she sent me a pic of a difficult backing maneuver she did on the first try. In just a few months she has gained so much confidence.

Currently I have a woman in team training who had no backing with her previous team trainer. I was her CDL instructor so I agreed to take her teaming to finish her miles. Today she did a very hard back and got so excited when she did it all alone.

One of the greatest privileges of training is to see the excitement on ones face when the backing clicks!

You can do it too!

I remember Maria, awwhhh! Say hi, from me .. and KUDOS! Great job, Kearsey. The excitement AND the tears, Yes .. you, Cassie ! LoLoL ....

I'm surprised you didn't scare her off at Boston Market!!! You've come a LONG WAY, .... Rainy!

Proud of you, gal. And of course, all YOUR gals! NaeNae, you're a force, your OWN self, too~!

Keep on keeping on !

~ Anne ~

ps: Good, on your answer to the PackRat also. ;) ~

I struggled really hard with backing myself. I was also really nervous about going solo when that time came. I found myself having to back into docks and telling the shipper or receiver that I didn't know if I could do it. They would just look at me and say, "What are you going to do then?" I would take a deep breath and respond, "I will get the trailer in a dock door, but just bear with me while I struggle before figuring it out."

Fast forward roughly a year and I have a harder time backing into a dock with no trailers around and plenty of room. In all seriousness, the trailers help with reference points while backing. At least they help me. So, all of this is to say that backing is a pain in the butt and there are good days, while also bad days. After a few months of doing it day after day, improvement will come.

I just wanted to share a rookie perspective on the subject.

That is awesome Rainy. You are a rare breed in our world these days. Thank you for do what you do, it makes us all safer.

Backing is always a love hate relationship. For anyone reading this, here is a valuable bit of future information.

No matter how much experience you get, there will always be some days you struggle with backing. It’s just a fact of life. I do okay, but sometimes espically at the end of a long day I still struggle. Anytime I can do a pull thru I look at it as a blessing.

Fast forward roughly a year and I have a harder time backing into a dock with no trailers around and plenty of room. In all seriousness, the trailers help with reference points while backing. At least they help me. So, all of this is to say that backing is a pain in the butt and there are good days, while also bad days. After a few months of doing it day after day, improvement will come.

I just wanted to share a rookie perspective on the subject.

From one rookie to another, true words right there, Ryan. I've been solo about 5 months now. Most weeks I go all week with almost no pull-ups at all. But every now and then I have a day or two where I'm just not as sharp. Usually when the yard is busy and I rush things just a little bit. Trailers help to provide reference points. Without them backing becomes harder. For me, it's because I think "look at all that open space." I just don't set up right from the start. I've developed a process whereby I approach the dock lane I want to be in the same way I do if there are trailers in nearby lanes; I pull up to the lane, shimmy and shake my way to my setup, then concentrate on the driver side line (if not an offset) as I start my initial backing approach getting those tandems to track where I want them to go. Also, anytime I get a chance to set-up for a straight-line back, I'm all over it!

Take care!

Good stuff. I can tell you get a lot of gratification from your job! Congrats to Maria!

If any of you follow my videos. You would have seen my student Maria who got her CDL in December and upgraded to her own truck around March. She was terrified to go solo

Yesterday she sent me a pic of a difficult backing maneuver she did on the first try. In just a few months she has gained so much confidence.

Currently I have a woman in team training who had no backing with her previous team trainer. I was her CDL instructor so I agreed to take her teaming to finish her miles. Today she did a very hard back and got so excited when she did it all alone.

One of the greatest privileges of training is to see the excitement on ones face when the backing clicks!

You can do it too!