turning with 53 ft trailers

Well your off-tracking will be greater, so you basically have to compensate more.

For a left turn, don't cut your wheel until you're over halfway through the intersection... especially if there are two left turn lanes. That way, you don't cut anyone off.

If you turn left from two turn lanes, take the right hand lane of the two left turn lanes.

If you are turning right on two right turn lanes, use the left-most of the two... basically always use the turn lane closest to the center line.

If you're turning right from a single turn lane, give yourself 4-5 feet of space from the curb, but not so much as to invite an unknowing 4 wheeler to cut into there to pass you in a turn. You will need to cut a little into the far left lane of the traffic coming in on your right as you go through the turn. Unless you're trying to turn onto too narrow of a road, your off-tracking shouldn't be too great to cause you to hit anything.

WATCH YOUR MIRRORS as you complete your turns to see what your trailer is doing. If you have any doubts, STOP... GET OUT AND LOOK. Don't be too proud to check things out.

If someone is in the lane and you can't complete your turn, just stop and wait for them... they will get around you to their right. This is common practice and though you will get the occasional confused four-wheeler, you have the right of way once you get into your turn, if that makes any sense. So if any #######es behind you are honking or anything, they just need to accept that this is a part of being on the road.

Just practice... stay calm and be patient. Actually driving and doing the turns out there in the real world is the absolute best way for you to learn and soon enough, you will make it look effortless!

 

Good advice from "Smaggs" - no point confusing the issue, so run with that...

 

Use the air horn to tell people to get out of your way.

 

wow if they're not giving you experience with the longer trailers then you aren't getting your money's worth out of the school.....i'm guessing it's an abbreviated program as well? mine runs 8 weeks and they have us on the road pulling 48's and 53's giving us real world experience from the first week.....and i don't mean on the highway either but in town and downtown.....some of those turns are really tight but they're teaching us proper setup for each type of turn. we started by backing and turning pups on the yard only because they react quicker and are more difficult to back but for the road work we've pulled the bigger trailers from day one. it's not that much more diffcult than the smaller trailers you just have to go deeper on the turn before you cut back into the turn.....the advice smaggs gave you is dead on......especially the part about watching the mirrors and waiting if you have conflicting traffic that won't allow a safe turn to be made.....wait wait wait if you have to patience is your friend in a situation like that......and use ALL of your lane, right over to the white or yellow line if you have to to setup for the turn but just don't encroach into the other lane unless you just absolutely have to......using those small trailers for roadwork is shortchanging you in my opinion because they track so close to the tractor.....but if you can do it with one of those and not bump the curb then you'll be fine just adjust to the length by waiting longer and going deeper (straight ahead ) into the turn before you commit to turning.....

 

you should try the 57' trailers!

 

You've received alot of great advice. Really isn't much more to add to the subject. Keep a cool head with this, and you will do fine. Wish you luck driver.

 

"adviCe", ask for your money back asap
who teaches someone to drive a tractor trailer in this day and age with a 30' trailer?
I learned on 38' and 45' and that was possibly before you were even born?
no wonder I'm afraid to pull into a truck stop parking lot.

 

what kind of school teaches with 30 foot trailers?

its not the same at all...it doesnt take nearly as much room to turn and backing a 30 footer vs backing a 53 footer isnt the same at all......the shorter trailer turns much faster

 

when i was in Skyway trucking school, they was using those 28fter's.....maybe everyonce in awhile, u might get to practice backin on a 53'