One thing that I have found that works well for me, and I taught others to do this:
When you first enter the area where you are going to have to back in the trailer....go very slow and scan the entire area. Get a good sense of the surroundings...especially where you are going back in. Then when you are assigned a door or a spot, be sure that you run down the front of the trailers/trucks as close as is safe, but not too close, then when you pass the spot...right about the time that your right shoulder is just past the spot, turn your wheels sharply to the right and run to the right until you are angeled well then turn your wheels hard to the left and just go a about ten or 12 feet, then STOP. Before you begin to move in reverse, do TWO things: 1, roll your window down and look back at where you WANT that trailer to end up. Don't just look at it. SEE it. You want to "VISUALIZE" in your mind the path that the trailer is going to track right into the spot where you want it. 2. Again, before you start moving in reverse, turn your wheel back to the right a turn or two then start moving backwards. Look out the window and see where the tandems are tracking. Adjust as necessary. Use ONE hand on the steering wheel....its hard to look back with both hands on the wheel. You will have to turn the steering wheel back to the left to make the corrections, but the trailer should track better and your corrections smaller.
If you get nervous....just stop and take a breath....or several as needed. Always do your "setups" at IDLE speed, and always do your backing at IDLE speed. You should never touch the accelerator when backing. Try on your own when you have some spare time to back into spots between trailers that are farther apart than one slot. Or take and put some full soda cans on the ground 15 feet apart....use 6 of them, and make a slot them back in between them. If you run over one, the only penalty is that you have to buy another soda. Keep in mind....you will be in the real world so if you have to do 5 or 6 pull-ups, so what...? We all have to do it occasionally....even drivers with many years of experience. You just gotta do what you gotta do.
But I think that if you work on "visualizing" what you want to accomplish, you will find it getting easier and easier. I still use the technique, because it works, and some of the loading racks that us tanker guys have to back into are a little trickier than backing to a dock..... Just take your time and practice whenever you have some time to do it. You'll make it happen.
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