Just Finished Week 2 At A Privately Owned CDL School .

Hello folks ,

Crazy fun and stress all at once . First week was all class room and involved a lot of safety info . Plenty of permit prep but home study required . School required students to take General Knowledge , Combination Vehicle and Air Brakes the second Monday of class at any NH DMV to get the NH Green Permit cards so we could start the Drive Appointments this past week .

I am not sure about all states but you need to fully understand what General Knowledge means !

It is very likely you will get a question about Hazmat . Possible 'Crack the Whip' and Rearward Amplification question from Doubles and Triples . You may have to answer a School Bus question about Railroads or Passenger question about the Standee Line . General Knowledge is ALL OVER THE PLACE within that state CDL book . Just keep that in mind if you are studying Brett's or your state CDL Book . You need to know the key points of each endorsement lesson and retain , you guessed it .....a General Knowledge of that aspect of commercial driving .

Drive appointments are in 2hr blocks . Drive #1 was in the yard doing periodically alternating large loops to the left and right with occasional stopping and backing . This was a Bobtail drive shifting 2-5 or 2-6 in a 10 speed trans . Drive #2 was in a different truck ! And it was On Road in Concord NH . Let that sink in a second .... I had 2 hrs experience driving a rig with its own horsepower , gear ratio on the drive axles and transmission and the second drive appointment I was in a different truck on the streets of the NH state capitol . Needless to say its a humbling experience . Drive #2 capped out at 8th gear though and I never had to exceed 35 mph . Drive #3 took me up to 10th gear and 55 mph ! Not only was it on and off the freeway it was also in downtown Concord . Downtown ! Talk about a wake up call folks ..... if you thought you had downshifting down in the first 2 drives this is where you are proven wrong . The amount of up and down shifting was shocking . Crosswalks , merge lanes , traffic , pedestrians , parked cars , traffic signals , stop signs , delivery trucks dbl parked , lane changes , wow . The majority of Drive appt #4 is all Route 3 ( 55 mph) and Interstate 93 ( 65 and 70 mph ) . Constantly preparing downshifts and exit and on ramps . Driving Bobtail is NOT smooth by the way ; Its like trying to tame a Bull in a China Shop . I am looking forward to pulling some weight to calm things down but learned this past week that the first trailer pull is Drive # 5 on Tuesday and its also On Road . Daycab and 45' flatbed or dry van , depending on what we drive in this school is about 60' .

There is my past two weeks . 4 1/2 weeks of drive appointments , hands on yard lessons and more class time until I take my Skills and Road tests February 22 . State of NH CDL does pretrip , skills and road tests with a State Trooper . Ive heard its one of the strictest in the country .

WISH ME LUCK . I may need it .

~S~

Yeah, I've heard bad things about testing in NH. But don't be thinking about that, take it off your mind. Tell yourself you got this and aim to impress!

By the way, nice reference about bobtailing. I totally get where you're coming from. But then again, it is kinda fun!