Century College (Afton, MN)

Day 1:

We were in class from 7am to 1130am, learning handbook and terminology. It is a rundown of all the general knowledge. The textbook is a manual of tractor-trailer training. There are quizzes for every chapter to make sure we understand things.

After lunch we went outside to learn shifting in the yard. Shifting 1-6, with double clutching. Learning on 6 trucks for 9 people in my class. We have all new trucks, a Volvo, Freightliner, International, and a Sterling. They're all 10 speed, but the trucks make for variety for learning purposes. We have 20 minute intervals with the students driving and trading trucks with other students during this time.

All in all, first day was a success but a lot of things to be memorizing. Homework are the chapters and learning pre-trip.

Day 2:

Classroom until 10am with quizzes and pre-trip terminology.

At 10am we went outside to learn pre-trip, inside and outside. This is probably the hardest thing to learn in my opinion. It's very thorough and something that is needed to learn for the state exam. I have been taking the pre-trip on the high road and learning the handout that was given in class. I have 18 more days to get everything down. Class ends February 4th, with the driving exam on the 5th.

With everything so far I believe Century is a great school. We have 4 instructors with 30+ years experience for each of them. They're a smart group and willing to help with everything.

I won't be updating every day but I will try to get the days down here, over time. I'm learning so much that brain is maxed out is what it feels like. We begin backing up and coupling tomorrow. Monday will be learning to leave the lot and get highway time in. It's very fast paced but it's definitely helping!

Day 3:

We learned offset backing, 90 degree docking and 100 feet straight backing. I have been struggling with the 90 degree since the start, for some reason offset was easier in my opinion. I have a lot more to learn and every day brings a new challenge.

Day 4:

We learned coupling, un-coupling and uphill and downhill park. We have been going through every day the same tasks; pre-trip, 90 degree, offset, parking and backing. This is to get it into our head for the state exam to be fully prepared. It's only day four and I have learned so much already. I'm feeling more confident every day and I'm learning to deal with the challenges!

We also had Roehl come in today, they are a company I'm interested in for over-the-road along with TMC. I'm looking at Flatbed work because I like to stay busy. Also, it adds a lot to the resume when you have load securement, heavy haul and other things. I would really love to do heavy haul because I want the challenge to learn from myself. I just want to push myself to exceed my own expectations!

Now it's the weekend, I am going to let my brain relax tonight. But, I'll be studying all weekend memorizing the pre-trip and learning backing. I just have to get these things in my head!

-Brian

Day 5:

Classroom, range driving and the first day we leave the range to get on the road. I was little nervous that day and was unsure how things were going to go. As usual it's not according to plans, and I stalled the truck four times a stop sign on my first day off the range. I was getting uncertain with things because I never stalled it before and this being the first day off the lot was a lot to take in. I managed to remain calm and just kept starting it back up and eased off the clutch to get rolling. That was my mistake I kept pushing off faster than I should have. Trucking is a big learning process of learning from mistakes and how to improve them. I only drove 20 miles but it felt longer because I was out over an hour.

Day 6:

Classroom, range driving and another round off the range. I was able to nail the 90 degree perfect three times in a row, so I am now signed off on that for our checklist. On our state exam we're tested on obstacles, pre-trip, and road test. So every day we do our tests to get more practice. When we left for the road I was doing a lot better today. I was shifting more smoothly and felt like I was a professional, there were times where there was a grind or two but I was learning to correct them. Down-shifting is a whole other ball game, getting those RPMs back up to shift into gear while paying attention is interesting.

Day7:

More classroom, range and on the road. Every day from now we'll be the same of having classroom time and range and also on the road time. I'm getting better and shifting and doing my obstacles. My offset parking is a little interesting, and learning to correct those mistakes. Road time was fun, and I'm learning those WIDE turns are very needed. The button-hook is the best turn to learn.

Day 8:

Road time was longer, it was almost two hours today and I was loving it. Going on the highway at full speeds with a 53' trailer. I definitely love trucking so far and love being able to shift this thing! I'm correcting my mistakes on down-shifting and improving every day.

Day 9:

I was able to test out of hill parking and my shifting 1-10 speeds. I was happy to get that tested out, and still need to learn how to get those RPMs for downshifting. I'm sure by day 10 I will have my offset and downshifting signed off. I know this a future job I'm going to be interested in for a long time. I know there's everyday stresses but I correct my mistakes and just continue moving forward. I've been applying to jobs every day and looking forward to get more out this week.

Brian, sounds like things are moving along real good for you - thanks for the updates other new people will enjoy getting to read them. Keep it up - you'll be getting that shiny new CDL before you know it!

Hi Brian,

I'm strongly considering Century's program, so naturally, I'm glad to see a blog about it. Thanks for the time and effort you're putting in aside from your other responsibilities to give those interested a transparent view of the school.

Thanks Old School! I should have my CDL by February 5th.

Hey Josh I would highly recommend Century, it's very professional and it is a decent pace to learn.

We've had some recruiters come from Dart, Werner, and Schneider. Tomorrow we'll have TMC showing up which is in my top three of companies I'm interested in.

Day 10:

We had a long weekend and extremely cold weather so today was no fun. We did our usual classroom and range and road driving. Today we were learning the tunnel dock. I didn't get a chance to try it as I was testing out of my offset parking all day. I've been doing repetitions of daily tasks to keep remembering how to do them for the exam.

Day 11:

It was a very cold and windy morning. There were accidents all over I-94 due to the icy conditions. Today was just interesting, I tested out of my lower gears for down-shifting, and I tested out of my 45 dock. It was another good day, and overall I'm just happy with my pace. I have high confidence in this program and in myself. Since day one I've noticed improvement every day!

I should mention we have Eaton 10 speeds at this school. It's the uniform manual transmission out there and once you learn this you can learn anything else. Alright, I have to study for my quiz tomorrow and be ready for another good day of driving!

Day 12:

It was another good day of classroom learning, and essentials. Today we were learning the tunnel dock, so I tested out of that as well. I've been trying to do more challenging things everyday so I know how to maneuver the 53' trailer better. It's interesting how tight spots can be with something that large. On the road I was shifting smoother and travelled to my first weigh station, pretty basic information they just pass you through with arrows.

Day 13:

We had nasty weather in the morning with it being super cold and windy but it warmed up to 32 by noon. Monday is supposed to be -30 and below with wind-chills. There were accidents all along 94 in front the school. So, it was a slow day at start to take it easy and with the wind blowing. I was testing on parallel parking on the range, passed that with flying colors. I've narrowed down my decision for work, so I have that being set up soon. I'm excited for my next journey after school. We have another full week of class, then a weekend and two days of classroom and our test date for DOT.

Day 14:

No school today, as it's -22F with a wind chill of -35F to -45F. It's not looking to good for tomorrow, as tonight/early morning we will be hitting -26F and wind chill around -55F. Might be cancelled, and that's a bummer. We test next week, and that just means I'll be pushing myself harder every day. Time to study my pre-trip some more!

Day 15:

With the previous day of no class due to weather we hammered hard into learning classroom time. We went on the range to practice more and had our driving time out on the road. With a class of 9 it usually works out great for driving and range time with 6 trucks. I still think this is a great program from Century College!

Day 16:

More classroom and driving time and it's just great to have the 9 hours every day to get all the practice in.

Day 17:

We had a nasty storm, so we ended up using this day to get caught up from Monday missing class time. That was trip planning and map usage, which I like reading maps. I'm ready to use maps in the real world for trip planning. Once the storm settled we just had range driving time which is backing, 90, offset, parallel, tunnel dock.

Day 18:

It was a great day, I got my Wisconsin Pre-Trip checklist. This is the final checklist so it's shortened quite a lot! I'm ready for it and I'm confident. I was also told when I test and I take my exam on Thursday, confidence is key! I'll be preparing with my final days to get all the things in line to pass my exam. Every last minute will be fixing any mistakes and making myself a better driver. I'm a few days away from testing, and we have 3 days left of class, can't wait!

Day 19:

It was another good day after a great weekend with my wife. Today I drove 2 hours on the road, some good driving today. I also did a blind 90 dock, that was fun. I also succeeded in a 180 dock park, that was really fun!

All in all it was a good day of practice. Tomorrow will be more driving and final class time with a quiz. Wednesday is our make up day to get 180 hours completed, all driving time. Just getting anxious for Thursday!