Sam's Truck Driving Jouney

4 Weeks ago I started the application prosses for the WIA.This morning I got the call that I was approved.Next step is to get the phisical (here in SC you have to pass the phisical before you try for your CDL perment,dont know if its that way in other states).Im going to TRI County Tec (A private school here in upstate SC).Classes start Nov 11.I have to have my CDL permint before enrollong,Its a 4 week class with 1 instructer to 3 or 4 students,95% graduate rate.

I have been studing the High Road Training program,(Im at 57% complete with a 96% score)For the last few days I've been on weight and balance, since im in a time crunch is there a specific area I need to focus on more than others.

Thanx for any help at all, also got a quesion about the WIA fell free to ask and ILL try my best at correctly answering it.

Sam you are doing great and I am glad to hear you got the WIA. I have been emailing Robert McClanahan for the past several months, was hoping to get to Ohio for the regional meeting, but couldn't. It is a great program and one of the investments of out tax dollars.

Have you gone to the ATA (American Trucking Association) website yet to show your support of the WIA? It is real important right now especially with all that those (nice word) politicians are doing in the White House right now. The trucking industry is threat of loosing that WIA funding. All students who receive it can help by showing their support. You just go to the website and click on the WIA survey logo. Their is one on the NAPFTDS as well.

You are on the right track for sure. You will do well on the test. If they have a tanker or a double at the school I would try to get at least one chance to pull one. It will give you some understanding of the difference between dry vans, flatbeds and the such.

AS for the best study of test questions on the state exams. Most of the state manuals will have a highlighted box at the end of each section as "study questions". Those questions asked are 95% of what will be on the test. Georgia has a magazine type manual now and the study questions are in a tan colored box. All of those questions where on the test that I took. Most States have a pool of 150 questions that they use for the General Knowledge part of the exam. 100 for the Air Brake System. 75 on the Combination, Tankers and Doubles and Triples. Their is a pool of 200 questions they use for the HazMat. So study the study questions in the State CDL manual as well. Read over them at this point because you have used all that you have hear. It will help to refresh your mind on the day of testing.

Good luck.

I'm wondering if I will have home work , school is from 8 am till 5 pm and a 27 mile drive in heavy traffic at that time of day. it'll probably be 6 before i got home everyday,so not much downtime.

Yes, most of the time you'll probably have at least some studying to do.

Keep in mind...in trucking you can be on duty 70 hours every 8 days. That's almost like having two full time jobs. On top of that, a lot of the things you'll have to do you won't be doing during those 70 hours. So your "official" days may add up to almost 70 hours a week, but the "unofficial" work and other stuff you'll be doing (showering, laundry, shopping for food & supplies, waiting on repairs, etc) will be on top of that. Very, very long days....one after another after another often for weeks at a time. So prepare yourself for that mentally because it's coming. And then add all of the stress, erratic sleep patterns, change of lifestyle, and time away from home & family to all that and you have one heck of a challenge that lies ahead. It's totally doable, which is a good thing because it's unavoidable, but very difficult on everyone that's new to the industry.

Typically the pre-trip inspection involves the most memorization (and is not a multiple choice test), so that's maybe a third of your study time.

If you are studying to get the permit, in particular, that's just the general knowledge test (and it's also probably best to complete the DOL guide and other tests upfront). Four weeks would be well spent on the skills practice alone.

Or CDL manual, as they call it (seems to vary state to state as for specific wording):

CDL Manuals

Sam Congratulations! If you have been working your way through the High Road Training Program progressively from the beginning without jumping around, and you are now in the weights and balance section, then that means that you have covered everything you need for the permit exam. The first six sections should have you over-prepared to pass that test. It has been the experience of many that you won't even need to crack open your state's preparatory manual, but that is your choice of course. If you want to go back and review those first six sections you shouldn't have any problem at all when it comes to test time.

Good luck, and please let us know how it turns out.

I just made my appointment for my DOT physical for next Monday 10-21-13 , then i plan in trying (corrrection ,PASSING lol) for my permit on Tuesday morning.In the High Road Training Program ,I didnt do the Transporting Passengers , Doubles And Triples,Tankers,Hazardous Materials,and i didnt get all the way through , Logbook and Weight & Balance. I Reset my score and started over and Im going to study Rules & Regulations,Driving Safely,Transporting Cargo Safely,Air Brakes,Combination Vehicles,Tankers,Hazardous Materials, Pre-Trip Inspection ,Driving Exam. Plese let me know if I am on the right path , I just want to be prepared , with no surprises. I have decided to go ahead and take the haz-mat and tanker (I havent studed eather of these at all) Each test is only $2.00 and something like 20 or 25 questions , This raisses a guestion , If i fail eather the hazmat or tanker , will that hold me back from getting my class A?

thanx for all the info you have givven me PLEASE if I need to be corrected on anything , just tell me , Im a big boy. lol

I took my tests a couple weeks ago, study The High Road Training Program and you will have no problems.

At least in my state, you have to have a background check done before taking the hazmat , the check runs about $90 and takes a little while to be completed. So I am waiting to take my hazmat when I go back in to get my actual license.

Go ahead and get the tankers and the doubles out of the way. At least that's what I did. From only working on the High Road training they were a breeze. I think I saw one or two questions on my test that had not been covered. Probably a state to state thing. But not enough that made me even think about not passing. Heck after learning what you do on hear even the ones that aren't covered turn into a common sense kind of question.

Just be sure to read the questions carefully, they try to trip you up with the wording of the questions lol.

Woody

Sam, you're on the right track - you're gonna breeze right through those tests! Woody is right about reading the questions carefully.

Thanx guys , I KNOW I am in the perfict place , back to studing , Ill keep you posted

Sam you are doing great and I am glad to hear you got the WIA. I have been emailing Robert McClanahan for the past several months, was hoping to get to Ohio for the regional meeting, but couldn't. It is a great program and one of the investments of out tax dollars.

Have you gone to the ATA (American Trucking Association) website yet to show your support of the WIA? It is real important right now especially with all that those (nice word) politicians are doing in the White House right now. The trucking industry is threat of loosing that WIA funding. All students who receive it can help by showing their support. You just go to the website and click on the WIA survey logo. Their is one on the NAPFTDS as well.

You are on the right track for sure. You will do well on the test. If they have a tanker or a double at the school I would try to get at least one chance to pull one. It will give you some understanding of the difference between dry vans, flatbeds and the such.

AS for the best study of test questions on the state exams. Most of the state manuals will have a highlighted box at the end of each section as "study questions". Those questions asked are 95% of what will be on the test. Georgia has a magazine type manual now and the study questions are in a tan colored box. All of those questions where on the test that I took. Most States have a pool of 150 questions that they use for the General Knowledge part of the exam. 100 for the Air Brake System. 75 on the Combination, Tankers and Doubles and Triples. Their is a pool of 200 questions they use for the HazMat. So study the study questions in the State CDL manual as well. Read over them at this point because you have used all that you have hear. It will help to refresh your mind on the day of testing.

Good luck.