Since the time you took your first Driver’s Ed. class you, like many of your classmates, probably found that parking is no piece of cake — especially when it came to parallel parking. There’s no secret behind it, parking a large vehicle versus a small car is completely different. It takes practice.
Find a Wide Open Space
Don’t even try to park your commercial truck rental in between two cars. For your first time parking a large vehicle, do not try to slide in between two closely parked cars, even if it looks wide enough. That puts you at higher risk for an accidental car swipe.
Check Your Surroundings
You must check all of your mirrors. Make sure that they are properly adjusted to make for more precise decision making. Don’t forget to check your rearview mirror along with your side mirrors. Another tip is to make sure to look out the windows on all sides of the cab for any blind spots the mirrors may not hold.
Move Slowly and Brake Early
With large vehicles, the weight is increased which requires you to brake sooner rather than later. You will have to apply more pressure to the brakes than otherwise necessary. Take your time while parking and you will lower the chance of accidentally damaging nearby cars. Try not to over shoot or under shoot your turn.
Wide Turns
Making wide turns will help if you pick a spot that is wide open. Imagine you are pulling into a spot on the left. Slightly veer right, to give you more of an angle, before turning left. Crank your wheel all the way to the left and slowly precede forward.
The front of the truck might go over the lines. This is okay if there are no cars in that parking spot. Once your truck is back between the lines you can rotate your steering wheel to the right until it is centered. At that point you can proceed to move forward. Now, that you are all straightened out you can put the truck into park.
The next time you rent a work truck you have the proper techniques to park with ease.
