NTI Bangor, Maine... My CDL Class A Journey

Hey Rich!

It's just a Florida reunion I guess hahaha I love the heat, although I can weather the cold alright lol

This site is great for knowledge and I'll put this out there again: the High Road training has put me ahead of the game and now that I'm in class I see that the time and work I put in has paid off. I've only got to study my endorsements and brush up on the core material and that takes a lot of stress off.

I hope your schooling will go well and good luck to you as well with that.

Thanks for following!

Day 4 (2 days ago)

We started the combination and tanker section of the course. We watched a video on combination vehicles then read the CDL manual portion of combination vehicles. We discussed the video as a class. We also discussed some things in detail and cleared up any questions we might have.

The instructor used some props that include the tractor/trailer knobs ( yellow diamond and red octagon shaped), brakes and glad hands to visually show the parts and explain the function and purpose. The combination section has been the hardest for me to grasp so far.

We then switched to tankers. We watched a video followed by the section in the CDL manual. Again we discussed and cleared any questions we had. We did 5 tests in combination vehicles and 4 in tankers. Did awesome with tankers only missing 1 or 2 each test on tankers and at my best I got only 1 wrong in combo vehicles and at my worst missed 7 :/

I like the tests because I go back and specifically study what I got wrong. I have my gf read allowed each question of all the tests ( she doesn't like it very much because there's almost 600 questions in total for all the quizzes put together lol) I consistently get all the ones I got right correct so I'm just focusing on the ones I got wrong, regional study the sections and review the next day.

Bad news... I had an DUI 8 years ago and found that it will effect my qualifications for some companies. Good news... I'm actively researching companies and found a lot I qualify for.

Other good news: this coming week we take a trip to the truck yard!!! So excited, one step closers to the trucks!!!! :) We will be putting our knowledge to the test on the trucks, not driving, but reviewing and testing everything we learned so far.

This has been a very good week so far and looking forward to Monday! At the conclusion of next week we will be done getting ready for the permit test and we will be going to take the actual test and get in the trucks the week after next!

I'll be back Monday!

Day 5 - 8

I've decided to combine most of this post because the first 2 days was reviewing everything as a class with some interactive class testing which was great. We are all doing well, some better than others but we are trying to help each other succeed which is the best thing about our class.

Wednesday we did the full hazmat section all day, doing the same routines as mentioned before in my other posts. Hazmat is VERY dry and I would recommend reading it to get an idea of it if you decide to go to any sort of trying, that goes for the whole book. Hazmat was the only section I did not read but wish I had because it was a little difficult to get into the groove of that section.

Today was a great day! We went over hazmat in the morning. We then focused on log book training and routing and map reading. The log book was pretty simple, we reviewed the whole 60/70 regulations in and out. We then had to plan a simulated route from our location to Yuma, Arizona. I managed pretty good and figured up the actual mileage. Very important stuff.

Since this was our last week, last day today, in classroom before we start in the truck yard Monday we took a final test... I did the best in the class!!!

WOOOOHOOOO!!!!! It's good to see my progress! We had 80 questions over the various chapters in the book and I only missed 3!

We ordered pizza and closed out our day and now Monday is the big day for 2 reasons... my permit test is at 9:00 and I'm nervous about it even though I'm doing well. I tend to have a bit of a blank out when I test but I'm going to go in confident. Also Monday we hit the road in the trucks! I can't believe it's finally here!

All in all a very good week and it ended well and now it's time to move from the classroom and into the truck yard and trucks to put our learning to the test and to learn more.

I'll be back next week with updates, have a good weekend!

Sounds like you're havin fun and doing well Stone. Good luck Monday! You got this, no problem!

I gotta review the HAZMAT eventually, haven't even touched that section yet or my head will explode. you sem to be doing great and there's no better reward than pizza and having you're hard work pay off by getting that permit. Best of luck!!

Thanks guys! I'm having a blast and I can't wait for Monday lol

Definitely review it, you don't have to remember everything. My biggest suggestion is to not worry about all 31 placards, and really focus on safety and regulations, for example like knowing that you cannot park with 300 feet of any flame with combustible loads, knowing that the shippers are responsible for all proper safety regulations with loads and giving you the proper paperwork and placards, knowing what you need from the shippers for paperwork (missing paperwork is bad juju), knowing what and how to load various hazardous loads, etc.

From experience, just going in with some knowledge is better than none so don't drain yourself trying to get everything memorized. No matter what route you choose to do just knowing the basics of your sections will lighten your workload in any training. But if it comes naturally to you soak up the knowledge. Airbrakes just seemed to click with me and I've got that section memorized front to back, hazmat not so much lol Doubles and triples I have a hard time with when it comes to the Airbrakes which is weird since I do so well with just the airbrake section. I get confused mostly with stuff like what happens when you cross airlines, what's the effects on the trailers, how does it effect the tractor etc. But once I'm in the yard and experiment and see it hands on and visually instead of reading it I know I'll get it.

So I'm curious... what are you two leaning towards doing? Are you considering attending a school or applying to a company to get training through them, or do you have any other ideas on ways you might get the ball rolling and obtaining your CDL?

I'm still debating whether to go private or company-sponsored school, but I'm leaning towards company sponsored.

Saving up-front money for a private school, along with the loss of income while attending school is daunting. I also have 2 employees who currently depend on me as well. Finally, contractual obligations this summer prevent me from taking too much time away from my present job.

So I can't make much of a move until late October at the earliest. By that time I'll hopefully be ready financially to jump all in.

Company school just seems the right fit for me so far. The 1 year commitment doesn't concern me at all, and I'd much prefer to stay with 1 company as long as possible anyway.

Making the switch to truck driving will actually be a drop in income for me, but for various reasons, it will still be the right choice for my future. The hardest part will be the first few months. I have a lot riding on this, so I'm taking little baby steps all along the way lol. Soaking up knowledge as I go.

Yea that is a lot to balance. That is one of my biggest hurdles right now is trying to keep living on bare minimum right now. I work weekends and it's just enough to to get by. Plus the amount I paid out of pocket was a lot of work. It's all about what your willing to do and what works best and this just happened to be right for me. Glad to see that you've been mapping it out because if anyone just jumps into things like this a lot is bound to go wrong.

Day 9 (Yesterday)

I had my permit test at 9:00 and aced it! Got my permit with doubles & triples, tanker and hazmat.

The rest of the day was spent at the truck yard practicing straight backing and drop & hook.

Had a great day!

Congratz on getting the permit and so many endorsements, all your hard work is going to pay off soon!!

to answer your previous question, I am just studying from this site, stalking, a few threads, and saving money at the moment, I am very deep south of Florida so not a lot of trucking jobs or schools here, planning on moving with some old family i have in NC in a few months and maybe go to school there my chances might be higher.