Preface to thread: When I use the word “wheelbase” in this thread, I am referring to the distance from the rear drive axle to the front tandem axle.
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The other day I was at a receiver to make a delivery that was a live unload. I had to back into a unloading dock. The back was an alleydock type of back. I think that the type of back I had to do is called a 45 degree back. The drawing below is a drawing of the situation I was in when I was making the delivery that I am discussing in this thread.
My truck is the yellow tractor-trailer. I was backing into the loading dock where the two stars are in the drawing.
I set up for the back with my tandems slid all the way forward. But before I started moving the truck in reverse, I walked to the back of the trailer. I opened up my trailer doors. Then I pulled the button to slide the tandems. When I walked from my tractor to the rear of the trailer, I wanted to handle both opening the trailer doors and pulling the tandem slide button at the same time, so I only would need to walk from my tractor to the rear of the trailer one time. The driver in the truck parked just to the right of the loading dock I was going to back into got out of his truck and suggested that I wait until I backed in to the parking spot to slide my tandems to the rear. He said that it is easier to back with the tandems slid forward because it’s easier to get the trailer lined up with the loading dock with the tandems slid forward. He said that I am making the trailer longer when I back by sliding the tandems to the rear.
I know that sliding the tandems to the rear makes a longer wheelbase. Therefore, a driver has to turn the steering wheel farther when alleydock backing with the tandems all the way to the rear than if the tandems are all the way forward. But so what? The trailer is 53′ long no matter where the tandems are. Furthermore, the entire tractor-trailer is going to be approximately 73 feet long (might be a few inches shorter or long depending on where the 5th wheel is) no matter where the tandems are.
Assuming that the other driver is correct, let me ask the following question: Other than having to turn the steering wheel a little bit farther if the tandems are all the way to the rear, why is it easier to line up a trailer with a parking spot when you are alleydock backing (like in the drawing in the photograph above) with the tandems all the way forward than if the tandems are all the way to the rear?
