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

Best of luck on your career Stone! now keep us posted how you're rookie year goes with the encounters, problems and amazing experiences

Well here we are!

School is done!

I took my CDL test yesterday:

I did my skills test with ease. My straight back was perfect, my parallel parking was perfect even though I had to use 2 attempts and got my alley dock on 2 attempts. She said when I got my dock and parallel parking done that I couldn't get much better lol My pretrip was flawless.

My road test was awesome! I did everything good except 1 thing... I got 7 audible grinds... I was allowed 4. So that failed my road test. I'm only annoyed because the trucks we use all shift different and I don't have experience in the truck that I used. I find that in every truck I drove I had to get used to how it shifts but I tried my best.

I know the next test will be good because I'll practice in that truck and be used to it.

Other than that I'm happy and things are well. I have to push back my Prime date to start working but it's manageable.

I hope everyone else is doing well!!!

Thanks Mario!

I definitely will. I'll start a new thread and let you all know what it is so you can follow.

Dear ChickieMonster,

Thanks for answering my question regarding whether or not reefers are so noisy that they interfere with sleeping.

You wrote:

They can be very noisy! It was tough to adjust to for me but they aren't too bad now. Most of the time they run on a cycle setting just like a home refrigerator but sometimes they are set to run continuous

The noise takes a little adjusting to but it's not bad at all. The last few trailers I've had I haven't been able to hear the reefer over my APU running.

That's encouraging, that you're often not able to hear the reefer over your own APU! My recruiter said that sometimes the most distracting thing is that when the reefer unit turns on you can feel it wiggle/jolt the cab a bit.

Can you feel when the reefer unit comes on?

When parking, could you detach the reefer trailer from the tractor, and park with a 5+` space between the two?

My recruiter said the reefer unit has its own (8-cylinder!?) diesel engine. Does that power an electric generator, which in turn runs an electric motor on the reefer?

Do you sometimes get reefers that make odd sounds, like buzzing or rattling? (Sounds indicating something's not operating smoothly.)

Thanks!

~Joe

Reefer:

A refrigerated trailer.

APU:

Auxiliary Power Unit

On tractor trailers, and APU is a small diesel engine that powers a heat and air conditioning unit while charging the truck's main batteries at the same time. This allows the driver to remain comfortable in the cab and have access to electric power without running the main truck engine.

Having an APU helps save money in fuel costs and saves wear and tear on the main engine, though they tend to be expensive to install and maintain. Therefore only a very small percentage of the trucks on the road today come equipped with an APU.

You can sometimes feel the reefer kick on. Since I have an APU the cab is constantly jiggling from the vibration. You get used to it pretty quick.

As far as how the reefer runs, I'm not 100% sure. I think it's just the Diesel engine attached to the trailer.

You won't be able to disconnect and pull away from the trailer in most places because you will have your truck sticking out in the aisle at the truck stops. I also don't know how the company would view this.

Like I said, you will adjust to the noise pretty quick. If you still have trouble, buy some decent earplugs and sleep with those in.

Reefer:

A refrigerated trailer.

HOS:

Hours Of Service

HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.

APU:

Auxiliary Power Unit

On tractor trailers, and APU is a small diesel engine that powers a heat and air conditioning unit while charging the truck's main batteries at the same time. This allows the driver to remain comfortable in the cab and have access to electric power without running the main truck engine.

Having an APU helps save money in fuel costs and saves wear and tear on the main engine, though they tend to be expensive to install and maintain. Therefore only a very small percentage of the trucks on the road today come equipped with an APU.

"I know the next test will be good because I'll practice in that truck and be used to it."

Hey Stone, I believe you're right. You've got this. It's great to hear you were doing so well on your testing. Bummer on the gear shifts though, but you don't want to go into this with too big a head either. LOL.

We're rooting for you and hope to see and hear more from you on TT and maybe at a rest area some day, who knows?

Joe Liking wrote:

That's encouraging, that you're often not able to hear the reefer over your own APU! My recruiter said that sometimes the most distracting thing is that when the reefer unit turns on you can feel it wiggle/jolt the cab a bit.

Yes. However, if it's a well maintained or newer unit, you barely feel it.

Joe asks a lot of questions (it's OK, I like answering them)

Can you feel when the reefer unit comes on?

Yes, but again not so much. Depending on the outside temperature and what you are hauling (Ice Cream at -20f), the unit may run continuously. Ear plugs really help when sleeping. Joe wants to make life easier for himself:

When parking, could you detach the reefer trailer from the tractor, and park with a 5+` space between the two?

Chickie teed this one up for you...especially a no-no at a truck stop. You'd be an easy target for wood-be fender and bumper assassins trolling the truck stops.

Joe continues, (its ok I don't get paid by the word, I don't get paid at all):

My recruiter said the reefer unit has its own (8-cylinder!?) diesel engine. Does that power an electric generator, which in turn runs an electric motor on the reefer?

So it's not an eight cylinder, but a four, and yes it's diesel. There is a fuel tank under the reefer frame, behind the landing gear, with a fill neck on the driver's side of the trailer. It's basically a very large refrigeration unit with a primary power source driving an electric generator that in-turn powers a compressor and a series of blower units in the nose of the trailer and several more mounted below the roof. The units I run are three zone, meaning there are up to three separate temperature settings and thermostats. The zones are separated/isolated by two pairs of movable thermal insulated bulkheads. There is a pulley system to enable raising and lowering. When in the lowered position they can be secured (tied-up) using the logistics tracks embedded along the interior sides and velcro closures. I could go on...but I don't want to bore you (unless you want me to) . Joe meets his daily question quota:

Do you sometimes get reefers that make odd sounds, like buzzing or rattling? (Sounds indicating something's not operating smoothly.)

I've had some loud ones, usually older, approaching their overhaul hours. So immediately before it kicks on a buzzer will alarm of the pending power up. They actually make more "unusual" sounds inside than they do outside. I spend a lot of time inside the trailer during the unloading process (over-seeing, not unloading), so I hear the fans kicking on and off, creaking and crackling (like a furnace when the ducts are heating up). So if there is a problem an alarm(s) will occur, not an audible one, but a numeric one found on the control panel and also if equipped, on the remote gauge visible in the driver's side mirror (the color will change from either white or green to amber). When this happens I clear the alarms, sometimes requires resetting/restarting the unit. If the alarm reoccurs, the Walmart shop is called for instructions.

Here are a couple of images of ThermoKing reefers equipped on Walmart trailers, one older, the other brand new found on an Xtra short term rental unit. You can check out my profile for additional reefer photos. Happy to answer additional questions.

Bulkhead:

A strong wall-like structure placed at the front of a flatbed trailer (or on the rear of the tractor) used to protect the driver against shifting cargo during a front-end collision. May also refer to any separator within a dry or liquid trailer (also called a baffle for liquid trailers) used to partition the load.

Reefer:

A refrigerated trailer.

APU:

Auxiliary Power Unit

On tractor trailers, and APU is a small diesel engine that powers a heat and air conditioning unit while charging the truck's main batteries at the same time. This allows the driver to remain comfortable in the cab and have access to electric power without running the main truck engine.

Having an APU helps save money in fuel costs and saves wear and tear on the main engine, though they tend to be expensive to install and maintain. Therefore only a very small percentage of the trucks on the road today come equipped with an APU.

Dear G-Town,

Thanks for your detailed (and humorous!) answers to my questions. Sorry I'm so slow responding. (I usually peruse the forum from my iPad, and it's a pain to type on that. I usually wait until I'm on my desktop (iMac) to type up responses.)

So an alarm buzzes before the reefer units power up? Is that just on some models or on all? Could that wake you up?

Best wishes,

Joe

Hey Stone,

You alive & kicking?

How's your Prime training coming along? I'm trying to get into Prime's CDL school for their flatbed division (today's the deadline for my desison because the background checks they perfomed to OK me run shortly! They OKed me about a month ago for their CDL school for their reefer division).

Will your flatbed tractor have an APU?

I imagine it will be a mid-roof & not a full height cab? Will it be a "lightweight" like they use to pull most reefers, where, apparently, the sleeper attachment is only about 4 feet deep, with no room for extra cabinets or a refrigerator.

Will there be room for a refrigerator/microwave in your truck, or will they have to remove the passenger seat to fit that in?

Hope you're well.

Joe

CDL:

Commercial Driver's License (CDL)

A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:

• Any combination of vehicles with a gross combined weight rating (GCWR) of 26,001 or more pounds, providing the gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of the vehicle being towed is in excess of 10,000 pounds.
• Any single vehicle with a GVWR of 26,001 or more pounds, or any such vehicle towing another not in excess of 10,000 pounds.
• Any vehicle, regardless of size, designed to transport 16 or more persons, including the driver.
• Any vehicle required by federal regulations to be placarded while transporting hazardous materials.

Reefer:

A refrigerated trailer.

APU:

Auxiliary Power Unit

On tractor trailers, and APU is a small diesel engine that powers a heat and air conditioning unit while charging the truck's main batteries at the same time. This allows the driver to remain comfortable in the cab and have access to electric power without running the main truck engine.

Having an APU helps save money in fuel costs and saves wear and tear on the main engine, though they tend to be expensive to install and maintain. Therefore only a very small percentage of the trucks on the road today come equipped with an APU.

Joe after a long hiatus replies:

Dear G-Town,

Thanks for your detailed (and humorous!) answers to my questions. Sorry I'm so slow responding. (I usually peruse the forum from my iPad, and it's a pain to type on that. I usually wait until I'm on my desktop (iMac) to type up responses.)

So an alarm buzzes before the reefer units power up? Is that just on some models or on all? Could that wake you up?

Best wishes,

Joe

You're welcome Joe. The buzzer I referenced, signaling the pending start-up, is faint and barely audible. It's primary function is a warning to mechanics while servicing the unit.

Like I said, earplugs, the expandable foam type block out much of the sound.