Continental Truck Driving School In Lancaster Tx

I have discovered that my husband and I were the best in the class at it.

Nice!!! It's great to take a competitive approach to learning this stuff too. Look at it like a sport. The instructors love to see people who really want to be great at trucking.

WOW! They REALLY cram that stuff in !! Man, I'm REALLY starting to appreciate doing the High Road CDL Training Program at home!

Oh you ain't kiddin. Wait til you get to school and see that everyone is all stressed out, studying with bloodshot eyes, and exhausted from it all. You're going to watching TV and eating Cheetos with a big, orange smile on your face!!!

I have discovered that my husband and I were the best in the class at it.

Nice!!! It's great to take a competitive approach to learning this stuff too. Look at it like a sport. The instructors love to see people who really want to be great at trucking.

WOW! They REALLY cram that stuff in !! Man, I'm REALLY starting to appreciate doing the High Road CDL Training Program at home!

Oh you ain't kiddin. Wait til you get to school and see that everyone is all stressed out, studying with bloodshot eyes, and exhausted from it all. You're going to watching TV and eating Cheetos with a big, orange smile on your face!!!

Good news for today! It seems that Tim and I are still the top dogs for parallel parking. Unfortunately that means that since we didn't need to practice we sat on the sidelines all day (except for our 15 minute run each this morning). Today was insanely long and hot and humid. Did I mention long?! Jeez.

On my early morning run with the truck, I had a horrible start to my day. I was already nervous and slightly uncomfortable about hopping in the truck without reviewing my notes to make sure I had the order of operations down. I slid into the truck (it rained this morning and the ground of course has oil all over it) and into the seat. Which promptly sat me in the floor, since the person before me was tiny and petite. I adjusted my seat and peeled my boobs off the steering wheel. I finally got everything all adjusted and put my foot on the pain of a clutch to shift it into gear.

The oil and the water played a dirty trick on me. My foot slid off the top of the clutch and right behind it. Which means the clutch popped right back up into start position. Slamming it's steely goodness into the back of my ankle. The pain was surprising.

I released a few words that made me glad my teacher wasn't standing too close to the truck. I tried to pull my foot out from behind the clutch pedal and it took my shoe off. At this point I was at the end of my temper and I reached down to grab my shoe.

I attempted to put it on and lo and behold, I smacked my face on the steering wheel. Frustrated I chunked my shoe out the window of the truck.

Of course, no one outside of the truck could figure out what I was doing. The teacher walked up trying to tell me I needed my shoe to drive. Legally I would imagine so, but at this point I was still in pain and mad at my shoe and that hateful clutch.

I hopped out of the truck cussing and mumbling under my breath, until I could cool off. While I was cooling off I watched my husband have the best run he has ever done. He backed perfectly three times and paralleled almost perfectly twice.

During the time I explained to the teacher what had happened, turned out he had a bad day. The teacher needed some good news and Tim's run helped cheer him up. Then I got back in the truck and nailed it. This time, without the truck deciding to assault me.

Good news for today! It seems that Tim and I are still the top dogs for parallel parking. Unfortunately that means that since we didn't need to practice we sat on the sidelines all day (except for our 15 minute run each this morning). Today was insanely long and hot and humid. Did I mention long?! Jeez.

Hey thats awesome, any advice on suggestions for those of us that will be having to complete the same challenge?

Good news for today! It seems that Tim and I are still the top dogs for parallel parking. Unfortunately that means that since we didn't need to practice we sat on the sidelines all day (except for our 15 minute run each this morning). Today was insanely long and hot and humid. Did I mention long?! Jeez.

Hey thats awesome, any advice on suggestions for those of us that will be having to complete the same challenge?

Hrm. I guess the suggestion would be, to make sure that your teacher shows you exactly what a straight trailer looks like before you start moving. Make sure you have your seat adjusted so that you can comfortably get the clutch all the way to the floor.

Then remember that you don't have to hold that clutch down the whole time you are moving. Just put it to the point that you have the slack out (I don't really know how to explain that).

Those are my best pointers. Just remember to ask your teacher all the questions that you can think of. Even if it seems stupid. Also, don't pay attention to your class mates if they get tired of you going over the same thing, again. Do it until you feel comfortable.

As far as today....

I was supposed to only be practicing the basic moving forward on this little square track. Well the teachers decided to step up the game. They split my husband and I apart. Put us in separate trucks. He was driving a 48 footer and I had a 53 footer.

Tim got to drive first from what I heard. He only made it up to ninth gear. I told my teacher that I had to beat him on that. I worked hard and made it to tenth (btw, we insist on doing it without grinding gears). The teachers then stepped it up again. We drove straight off the practice line and onto the highway. Oh my Lord I was scared. Terrified actually. But I did it. And so did Tim. We both did really well.

Then we each drove back from Waxahachie to Lancaster. He made it back sooner but I had to make a pit stop because one of the guys couldn't hold his bladder anymore. Silly guys with weak bladders. Lol

All in all, I feel better about this whole thing now. I feel great. I am sure with a little more practice we will ace that test August 21st.

All right. This is the lovely Friday. I started my day off, certain I could do anything I needed to in this truck. I was proven wrong within an hour of starting my ay.

I got put back in the hateful, evil truck for backing, parallel, and coupling and uncoupling. After two turns of doing the backing, my leg was exhausted. Completely and utterly exhausted.

My third turn, I couldn't get the darn thing to go far enough down to pull the truck out of neutral! My leg started shaking and just wouldn't go any further down, no matter how hard I tried. The teacher said I was doing it was wrong. Try again.

I tried again, and again, and again. One of the other students came up to see what was going on. He saw I was doing it right. Told the teacher so. The teacher said I still didn't have it done right. So I tried some more. My husband hopped up there and saw how hard I was trying and told the teacher that I was trying. The teacher finally listened. He told me to turn the truck off and try to put it in gear.

I tried for about five minutes to get that thing in gear. It still wouldn't get up there. Then he told me to hold the clutch down, put the gear shift as close to second gear as I could get, and then start the truck. That FINALLY got the darn thing in gear.

So I started to pull up to get myself to the other end of the course. I struggled to clutch brake when I got to the far side. I finally got it stopped, just in time (the brake is REALLY hard to push as well, not only is the first half squishy but then you have to push pretty hard to get it actually stop the truck).

I fought with it to get it back out of gear and then had another fight to get it into reverse. I started my backing and was doing fine until I got ready to stop. I had to stand on the clutch and the brake to bring it to a stop. Since I was using the steering wheel as leverage, I pulled my truck out of my spot and ran over the line. I got the truck stopped inches before I rolled back into the dirt (about four feet from the first tree).

I gave up for a few hours to rest my leg. Everyone looked at me like I was the weakest person there because I was the only one the truck beat. But I also noticed that a lot of the guys were hiding limps. Sitting in the trailer (the only place with AC) I was peeking out of the windows and could see them come out of the truck, limping.

Later after my leg rested, I was the fourth one to try the coupling and uncoupling. I lowered the landing gear, without getting winded like the guys. I pulled the release lever out, disconnected the glad hands and the electric connection. Next I hopped up in the truck (released my parking brake) and MADE that (insert cuss word here) move. Unfortunately it was hard to stay enough on the clutch so it wouldn't die while I pulled out from under it. Which means I just hopped out without pausing to make sure the trailer didn't fall.

I pulled forward the 200 feet and then backed the trailer right under it. It was a little rough on the reconnect. Again, because I was fighting with that clutch. Then I fought that clutch again and made that truck do the pull test. I took it out of gear and put on my tractor brakes.

I got down out of the truck (used all three points) and reconnected my glad hands and electric line. I crawled under to make sure that the king pin was securely attached. (little shiny bar was across it) I walked on and lowered the landing gears. It was beautiful.

Today I ran my practice course very well. I was feeling pretty good.

Our teacher got wind that there were some openings in the testing schedule and rushed us over ot fill them in. I knew that one other student was going to test. Once we got there, he convinced one tester to take another student.

Unfortunately... It was me. They put me in a truck I didn't know and I bombed horribly. Not only did I mess up on brake test (I thought that the ignition acc was on, but this truck had a different stop point. I didn't have it turned all the way) but I couldn't seem to get it and keep it going. The clutch was different than the one I was in. The brakes were different. The gear shifter pattern was spaced further apart. I wish I would have had a chance to play with it a little before being tested in it. I know I could have passed it if I had been able to move the truck around a little before the test.

I walked out of there crying because not only did I fail, but it was an epic fail. I got stuck on the highway, unable to even pull off to the side of the road since I couldn't keep the truck alive. Which means the dps had to come get us. Before that happened, the tester got out of the truck in a huff. She was so mad that she didn't get out of the truck right. She fell (not surprisingly since there was a ditch right next to me, no shoulder) and tore her knee up, tore her pants and worst of all, broke her phone which she was on.

I just hope wednesday I have a different tester. That one is pretty angry.

After the test, I drove again and did just fine in the right truck. Completed all the turns and didn't hit a curb or a line.

Hey, ya know what? That's going to make for a really fun story to tell people for years to come! You're going to be talking to drivers for years and they'll all have great stories to tell - and now so do you! And that's all it is - a story about something that happened one time - and nothing more. Don't sweat it for a moment. In the grand scheme of things it doesn't mean a thing. You walked out of there no different than if you hadn't taken the test at all so just pretend it never happened and look forward to getting more practice in and passing the test the next time. Simple as that.

Seriously, learning to drive truck is a very difficult and humbling endeavor. We all did a lot of things we'd rather never tell anyone about. So don't think that other people are having an easy time of it and things are going rough for you. Baloney. You can be certain that there are 10 times worse stories than yours!

Trucking is a roller coaster ride. You're going to have a lot of ups and downs. That situation is a great example of it. Some days are like a dream, some are a nightmare. But the people who are cut out for this industry, the ones who last for years and truly enjoy their careers are able to put that stuff behind em, forget all about it, and look ahead to good times around the next curve.

I always say "I never look back. I live now and I move forward". That's all you have to do. You'll wake up to a new day with new challenges and plenty of wonderful times to look forward to. Put that test out of your mind completely like it never happened, focus on what's in front of you right now today, and look forward to the challenges and good times that lie ahead.

And smile a lot! You're getting to learn to drive a big rig. How cool is that, right??? Have fun and be confident. This is all just part of the learning curve and you'll be a licensed driver before you know it.

Hey, ya know what? That's going to make for a really fun story to tell people for years to come! You're going to be talking to drivers for years and they'll all have great stories to tell - and now so do you! And that's all it is - a story about something that happened one time - and nothing more. Don't sweat it for a moment. In the grand scheme of things it doesn't mean a thing. You walked out of there no different than if you hadn't taken the test at all so just pretend it never happened and look forward to getting more practice in and passing the test the next time. Simple as that.

Seriously, learning to drive truck is a very difficult and humbling endeavor. We all did a lot of things we'd rather never tell anyone about. So don't think that other people are having an easy time of it and things are going rough for you. Baloney. You can be certain that there are 10 times worse stories than yours!

Trucking is a roller coaster ride. You're going to have a lot of ups and downs. That situation is a great example of it. Some days are like a dream, some are a nightmare. But the people who are cut out for this industry, the ones who last for years and truly enjoy their careers are able to put that stuff behind em, forget all about it, and look ahead to good times around the next curve.

I always say "I never look back. I live now and I move forward". That's all you have to do. You'll wake up to a new day with new challenges and plenty of wonderful times to look forward to. Put that test out of your mind completely like it never happened, focus on what's in front of you right now today, and look forward to the challenges and good times that lie ahead.

And smile a lot! You're getting to learn to drive a big rig. How cool is that, right??? Have fun and be confident. This is all just part of the learning curve and you'll be a licensed driver before you know it.

I don't look back, but I do learn from my mistakes. I also revel in my accomplishments. I look at it this way, I made it out of the dmv parking lot, around the first turn and then got stuck. Which means next time, those should be a cinch. Lol! I even remembered my brake test after my brain froze up.

I am looking forward to meeting all the new people. I'm terrified of everything that could go wrong (and there are a lot of things that could go wrong. But I think I will be good.

On to todays fun and games...

I have a stomach flu. Fever, nausea, vomiting, achy body.

I did run some practice courses today and did pretty good up until the nausea made parallel parking a torture. I didn't get to go until well after all the other guys went (there is one that is really bad at it and he makes me seasick on his parallel parking normally)

I feel fairly confident about tomorrow's test. I am praying that we can make it.

Welcome aboard Mistelle and thanks for all that info!

I guess it's after the fact now, but life sure would have been 1000 times easier on you guys if you had gone through our High Road CDL Training Program before heading off to CRST. You would have been able to learn all of those materials from the comfort of your own home and had your permit in hand right away, basically allowing you to sleep through the entire first week while everyone else is trying to cram those materials down their throat day and night. But for anyone else reading this, make sure you go through our program before you start your official CDL training wherever that may be.

ABSOLUTELY! I can second that as I am proof that it works. It is a huge advantage to go to school with this knowledge because there is one less thing to add to the already stressful curriculum, plus, you look real smart.

And today... My husband passed his test today with a 92. I'm so proud of him. He learned from my mistakes and passed. He looks so much less stressed now.

I failed. I keep stalling out and I just found out that I am supposed to push the gas down as I release the clutch. I thought you released the clutch, waited for the engine to start moving and then pushed the gas. I am supposed to retest tomorrow. If I fail, I don't know what we will do. We won't have the money to pay for me to retest, I won't have a home, and we aren't sure what to do with my husband passing then. I'm scared.

I know I can pass this test. I drive just fine otherwise. I just get scared and forget everything I know. I'm going to try again tomorrow. I hope I can do it.