Question:
Late last night while cruising along the big black ribbon a voice comes over the CB and here is what he says:
"Breaker 19......Any of you experienced drivers out there answer a question for me please."
" Sure" came the reply from me and 3 other drivers.
" I am in my 3rd week of training and I still really suck at backing. How long does it take till I get good?"
Well here is the answer(s) we gave to him:
1. In 3 to 6 months, especially once you start backing at every stop, you will look back and wonder what the big deal is.
2. No matter how good you may get or how long you have been doing it you will have days when you can do a 90 blond side alley dock without trouble and other days you couldnt do a straight line back with 20 acres to play in.
3: The only thing that truly matters out here in the real world is to get it in the hole nice and straight and not have pieces of anyone's truck laying on the ground when you are done.
4: Never worry about how many pull ups or how many times you need to get out and look. Like we said just get it in there without tearing up anything.
5: If you really think your backing needs work. Then work at it. Practice backing whenever you have some open space and some free time. Be sure to work on your set ups as this will make or break any back.
Yeah we gave him a little more info than he probably was looking for, but it seemed to make him feel a little better. Especially when several of us told him of having some spot where it would take 15 minutes to get into and having to back a foot or two get out and look, pull up, back another few feet, get out and look, back another foot and get out and look, etc, until we were there.
Answer:
Thats some Ok advice. Sounds alot like what is repeatedly said here on TruckNet. So we know where at least one of you got your advice from. A better answer to how long would be, who knows. Some people get it while in driving school while others still dont have it figured out a year later. But the most important thing is to not hit anything while backing.

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There are some of those days I have to laugh at myself, I look like a rookie, , I cannot back up in a straight line for the life of me and I ran LTL peddle freight for a number of years.
Everyone has those days, no matter how much backing experience you have. Just don't hit anyone or anything. If you hit something, your still a rookie, no matter how many years you've been driving.

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If you go to the Hawk's Prairie truck stop (I-5, Lacey, WA) there is about 6" of space between the parking spaces. First time I backed in I had to pull my mirrors in to avoid taking out the other trucks mirrors. Got it in the hole the first time.
The next time, plenty of room. Trailer in spot #5, tractor in spots 6 and 7. About 200 pull-ups later, I finally got the whole thing in a single space. For a bonus, I had an audience. Got out to a round of applause, took my bow and went to dinner.
-J

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Part of the time everything works well - other times nothing goes right
Just concentrate when you are backing. Don't worry about any of the other trucks waiting to get parked. You are the one working to get parked and they will or should be professional enough to wait. Take your time, get out and look as often as you feel you have to. There' isn't a driver out there who is such an expert that they can get every back right every time.
The simple proof in that is sitting securely in a corner slot in a truck stop and watching the "ring-around-the-parking-lot" dance in search of a 'pull-through.' Also, the total disregard of some of those drivers for the safety of others should scare you to death!!!
Once you're out on your own, the first time you have to back into a slot is a challenge. Just take your time. You'll do fine as long as you remember to take it slow.I ride for those who can't! POW/MIA - You are NOT forgotten!!
Lead, Follow or get out of my way!!!

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If they're in that big of a hurry they can get out and help, otherwise they need to sit there, shut up, and wait like I did!
-J, part of the "May I help?" crowd

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That reminds me..............How you doing Bearbell? It's apparent this place is never going to change....then again; why should it? It gets the clientel it deserves.
Bette Midler

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well i'm glad this thread is here because i had the same question.
i am in my refresher course at school and after not driving for two and a half months i am seriously rusty. i can do it i just have to pull up two or three times and the serpentine is just a lost cause almost.
i feel like i don't have control of the truck to where i should. i should know how to maneuver it and know where it is going and how to get there with control.
one thing about arizona, after you start a maneuver you cannot get out of the truck on the cdl exam. it seems that a while back someone taking the cdl test got out of his truck to look, left the truck in gear and it took out a building or a car or something. the person sued the state and won. so now they made a rule that you cannot get out of the truck once you start a maneuver. great huh? sometimes when you are doing the serpentine it's just blind and you are trusting your instincts. i don't really fare well that way. i need to SEE where i am going. otherwise i'm just driving into oblivion and i can't feel responsible when i'm doing that.
it's a good thing that all of the instructors have told me that i'll never do a serpentine when i'm out on the road and probably not the parallel either. 99% of the time your doing straightline and 45. i can do the straightline no problem and the 45 as long as i can pull up a couple times.
i do wonder sometimes when it is that you feel confident and can do these maneuvers easily but i have noticed a fundamental difference in the way some people back.
there is one guy in my class who is really good and i asked him if i could ride along while he did the range. as i was in the truck i noticed that some people basically "know" what they're doing and are in control of the truck. other people like myself are doing more of a gee i hope this works thing. i usually have my head out the window and i'm like waiting to see where the butt of the truck is going instead of putting the truck where i want it. after i see where it ends up (and its always off) i pull up, try it again, nope, pull up, get straight, back it in. bimbo backing. that's me.

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LOL LOL LOL Too funny White Dog. My backing is going ok, finally had a huge success after many days of troubles. That was a breaker, in how I feel about my backing. Things have been hard, some backing I just couldnt get and needed help. Every time I see a spot to back in or pull in..I unfortunately chose the pullin. Seems evey time I have space to practice I am too tired to even shift the gear s correctly.
Wonder if you were the driver than said driving school released me too early the other day when I was missing every single gear. That a sure sign I am tired as I am slow in shifting as a rule but I dont usually miss the gears now. That did nothing to help the ole self esteem but ahh well we all have thoes kinda days.

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I'll second what UnkaD said - sometimes it goes good and sometimes it doesn't - I have done blindside 45 alley backs with one pullup, and 45 sight side with 10 pullups. As an additional challenge, almost all of our flatbeds are split-tandems, and you can't crank on those as hard as you can a regular tandem. I have found so far that the setup really is the biggest part, and that just takes practice. Sooner or later you will get the feel for what a good setup looks like in your mirrors and just how much steering wheel movement is required to get the desired trailer action. If someone else is waiting for me while I back, well, let 'em wait. Waiting for another driver is almost never fatal. If I have been at it for a few minutes, I will sometimes pause before a pullup and wave someone to pass in front of me.
Sitting and watching is also enlightening. It is always easier to see where someone else went wrong (or right) in thier backing maneuver, and you may be able to learn from them. And by all means, GET OUT AND LOOK. I couldn't care less how someone else thinks I look if I get out, get in and move 5 feet, get out, get in and move 5 feet, and so on. Who cares what another driver may think - if they want to laugh at you, let them laugh.
PP
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GEE LORI , did you finish your cosmetology courses so soon!!!
I see that pic, your looking better with every new pic!!!
I think I'm going to Cosmetology school , you can have my truck Lori. It's fueled and ready to go. You'll be hauling orange juice and milk loads around the country.
Meanwhile, I'll be chasing the girls around in cosmetology class!!!

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ok dak, i'll take the bait.
no, i didn't finish my cosmetology classes. if you're trying to make fun of me for that go right ahead. your a truck driver. tell me why that's so special.
i'm finishing my training so i will be in good standing with my student loan. that ok with you? the cosmetology school that i am looking at doesn't have a course starting until july so i'm going to drive until then. does that meet your approval? am i supposed to care?
my picture is a cartoon. i happened to like that avatar. if there is a problem with that i might suggest that you up your mental capacity a little bit and find a life that occupies your time.
do you know what i look like or something? have you ever seen me? if you want to say that i'm ugly knock yourself out. i think maybe you should see me first before you jump to conclusions tho. nevertheless rude little boys that act like twelve year olds don't really hold my interest so it doesn't really matter. thanks for playing tho. have a nice day.

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BAcking - Beat to death but here goes - again...
One thing that has helped me in those "tricky, not-too-sure-if-I can-do-this" situations is to get out and walk through what I have to do.
I started doing this early in my solo experience. I was waiting at a shipper and watched this driver doing just that. When he got back in his truck, it was zip-zing into the hole, just like magic
Also, NEVER, EVER, believe a customer when you hear the words "Oh yeah, we do it all the time with other trucks!!" Walk it out and look it over.
It takes time and every driver is always trying to save time, but once you have a clear picture of what you have to do, then it's much easier to keep your trailor out of the front of someone else's truck. I ride for those who can't! POW/MIA - You are NOT forgotten!!
Lead, Follow or get out of my way!!!

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MEEOOOWW!!
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Lori - Hate to bust the bubble on this but that is about as wrong as wrong can get!! Serpentine and parallel are used out here especially if you are in the big Metro areas and it's the only way to back down a blind alley to a (literaly) hole-in-the-wall shipper or receiver. Or to get out of the flow of traffic for a street-side unload.
Bottom line with backing though is just be slow and always get out and look if you have ANY doubt about where the "butt" of your trailor is headed. Good luck.I ride for those who can't! POW/MIA - You are NOT forgotten!!
Lead, Follow or get out of my way!!!