Starting my CDL Class Tomorrow!!!
 

Well guys, i FINALLY will be starting my CDL driving class tomorrow at 7am! The class lasts 3 weeks, going from 8am to 5pm Monday thru Saturday with the exception of tomorrow starting at 7 due to tons of paperwork. By Thursday 5/7/09 i will have obtained my Class A CDL and will spend the rest of the 3 weeks driving (i assume). I am totally looking forward to this!!! My Workforce place agreed to pay 75% of the $3,500 tuition fee, so my family was only responsible for 25% of it, or about $875.

Congrats man. Be safe. There's too many steering wheel holders and not enough truck drivers out there.

wow you had to pay. well good luck. Could you have found a job that would pay for it like I did?
Well good luck.:pca1:

kick ass man! have fun. I used to have fun riding with Jason when he was driving, couldn't do it myself though, I could not stand to be in that truck that long. :D

well i actuallyapplied locally this year to be a cement truck driver, where i can get more experiance and still be in an area i know.

good luck man

X2 I cant stand riding in a truck that long.

:U: good luck, it aint being in the truck for that long that bothers me its the 55MPH all the time...that is if you have a company truck that is governed:w2:

Im still shocked they gave you a regular license....lol


Good Luck.

lol lol lol

Around here as long as you have a clean record the school bus company will hire all comers and pay for the CDL licensing.

In Illinois, don't know about all states I took my Military License in that showed the King Pin Hitch on it and all I had to do was take the written test to get my CDL.

Good luck in class and on the road.i've been there.Lil advise,watch out for ALL four wheelers.Especially the ricers.They cut me off,tailgate me,and come to an almost dead stop in front of me.Be very careful around them.:U:

Good Luck :U:

good luck and keep it safe get out there and see the open road

well had my first day today, nearly 12hrs worth of it. Started out in the classroom from 7am to 12:30 and went through about 30 chapters of info and 5 30 questions tests. After that we begun practicing our backing skills on a modified riding lawn mower with a lengthened rear frame and a makeshift 5th wheel plate with home made 15' or so flatbed trailer, after that we watched some vids on backing up and coupling/uncoulpling, and took another 30 quest. test. Then i began drilling the pre trip inspection....HOLY SHIT, for every item i look at i have to say "securely fastened, not bent cracked or broken" we can NOT say good or good enough or anything. I def. need more work on PTI! After that i went and practiced backing a trailer with a smaller daycab Sterling truck and a 20 some foot flatbed trailer.

IM POOPED!

sounds like they are pretty strict down there.... the pretrip inspection i did on my road test involved walking around the truck , and telling the examiner what i WOULD do during a normal pretrip, I just basically pointed at everything i saw and told her i would check to make sure it was good. When i did the uncouple/couple part of the road test , the examiner stayed in the truck , because it was raining a little. I passed with flying colours , and i had only spent 7 hours TOTAL in a truck my entire life....

If you can get good at backin that 20ft trailer everything else will be a snap. Them little short pup trailers are a pain in the tail end, after them everything else is a cake walk.

yeah its much easier to back a long trailer hands down, where i work most of the trailers a pup trailer (28ft) and they respond so much faster that you only have to turn the wheel a little and they will go

I agree with Uncle Bubba and stkdram55 that it will only get easier when you move up to the longer trailers.
Keep your pre trip inspection in the same order every time and you will be less likely to miss something.
:pca1:

we have an actual DOT "cheat Sheet" pre trip card we go through and read right down the lines.

You can see some info on the training at this site with some pics of the white day cab pup trucks

Northland CDL

Yea,those 28'ers can be a job backing.The 53'rs are better ounce you get the hang of it.When you study for your pretrip test,memorize the airbrake section even more.Some testers can be real strict on that part of it like mine was. If you miss even one,they will fail you automaticly. I basicly had to show and explain word for word out the handbook to the tester the air brake pressure drop tests,ect.Good luck.:sen:

we do the same with showing pressure drop with key on engine off and brakes applied, then we gotta stab the pedal and show what PSI the buzzer and light came on as well as what PSI the trailer brake and parking brake valves popped.

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just finished class today...... Had a "dress rehearsal" of the ACTUAL DOT test today, everything from PTI to skills test to driving test. Tomorrow i will be there by 5:30 AM to run through the DOT course one more time and then get tested by DOT to get my Class A! Instructors told me today i will have NO ISSUE obtaining CDL tomorrow! Also got packets to study for doubles and triples, tanker and HazMat. Took all 3, passed doubles/triples and tanker but failed HazMat. HazMat has a LOT of numbers and stuff to remember!!

Good luck!
HAZMAT can be a interesting test, just retook mine in jan. But, having it can be a big + when you go looking for work, even if you don't need it, with the new rules lots of drivers didn't qualify anymore.
As someone with 15 years heavy wrecker experience, best advice I can give is take your time, pay attention, be careful. Know when to say no, and don't be afraid to ask for a spotter when in tight areas. you'll go alot farther as a driver with a clean record, and it'll get easier.

"There's Old drivers, and Bold drivers, But very, very few Old Bold drivers"

You can go down hills too slow all your life, but you'll only go down one too fast once!

Not to hijack the thread on ya, but I just got my class A today. Pert near failed the pre-trip and when I paralell parked, I was jacked out in the middle, which cost me 10 pts, but I still passed. Watch when they ask you about road signs. I missed one completely, and the other one I just guessed at and got lucky. Biggest thing is just take your time!!!

thats my plan....slow n steady!

Good luck on your test.The others are right,take your time.I was nervous as hell the first time which is what mad me fail the first time.But i finally got it.

:U: Its not a race......Good luck :U:

Well...heres the end result of today....We also started learning to back a 53' van box trailer and shift a 10 spd trans.

Attachment 52752

Attachment 52753

congratulations :c:

So you got your permit? How much longer do you have?



I just got my Class A with Tanker endorsement last thursday. Hardest part was the skills test. Rest of it was a breeze.

congrads.:rocking:

:U: Very Cool :U:

nope its my full class A, i kept permit on to get pass vehicle and school bus endorsments if i decide to

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worked more on shifting 10 spd trans today as well as coupling and uncoupling a sleeper cab truck with a van box and no visibility. Also worked more on docking with a 48' refer and 53' van box.

Congrats. They just do the CDL's different in every state.

yup, everyone is so surprised im so good at shifting the 10 spds, i hardly ever grind, well duh, i know the RPM range of a diesel, everyone is revving em up to take off and trying to shift em like a car. THEY DONT WORK THAT WAY!!

Ive snuck some slip shifting in as well and the instructor didnt notice :D

LOL, those ten speeds are a breeze! What screws up up is going from a 10 to a 9, 13, or 18. Different shift pattern. They don't go around the world when you go to high range.

Glad to hear you can float, those clutches can wear your knees out really quick!

Congrads, and watch out for the stupid people out there......:w2:

watch out for the stupid people out there......Ditto!:U:

the clutches are hard. My left thigh was sore just from yesterday already!!

I tried using the clutch when I went for my license but missed the first three gears and started shifting without it and the examiner said that I had to use it so I missed a couple more and he told me to shift any way I could and never missed another gear the rest of the test:humm: and I agree with the truck swappin with different trans makes it hard to get used to one trans ,I own 3 trucks super 10,15 and a 8ll,the 8 ll does not like it when I jam it in low on the high side:ouch:

the transmissions were running are Rockwell 10 spds, EF 10 spds or some off brand 10 spd....all are H pattern with R on the top left then 1,2,3,4,5 - 6,7,8,9,10