CRST - From Bus Ticket Email To Fully Employed(Hopefully)

Still happily following, Optical~!!

Man, y'all KEEP that cold weather out of Ohio, haha! It's chilly enough here... but low 40's aren't 'TOO' bad ~!!

Ha! I'll try to keep it here...supposed to break and start to warm up tomorrow. Going to hit mid 30's then warm up to mid 60's by the weekend.

And thank you.

So today was the first day out on the truck yard. Went through pre-trip for the first time today. I was a bit intimidated by it at first, but once I saw it in action, it's not TOO bad. Just going to need to get it down and commit it to.muscle memory. Also found out I'm going in for my permit test tomorrow morning. Still pretty confident in it, but nervous. Going to do a bit more studying tonight and hopefully get it down tonight before tomorrow. Weather's starting to break. Started off at around 8degrees this morning but got up to about 35 and sitting in the mid to high 20's now. So it's bearable. Excited to get through this test and get to doing some hands on stuff soon. Not much else to say right now...so time to study and hopefully one shot these tests tomorrow.

How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time! That’s the same way to learn the pre-trip. Break each area of the truck down into smaller portions.

In my state (Ohio) there are four ‘action’ parts of the engine compartment: alternator, water pump, air compressor, and power steering pump. Three (in most cases) are gear driven and one is belt driven. There are four sections: brakes, tires, steering, and suspension. Each have a specific number of parts. Brakes, tires, and suspension repeat themselves (with minor variations) over the steer axle, the drive axle(s) and the trailer axles.

The coupling system ‘tells’ a story involving the apron, the king pin, the locking jaws, the platform, the mounting bolts, the truck frame, and the skid plate. Learn the story.

The landing gear has its story as does the tandem system.

Perhaps most important of all is the in-cab and the air loss test. Practice this until you can do it backwards and forwards and be prepared and be ready to react when something unexpected happens during your test (what are you gonna do if the alarm buzzer begins sounding while you have your foot on the service brake for one minute as you test the system to ensure that you do not lose anymore than 4 psi?).

It can seem overwhelming, but once you break each component down, it will work. Be sure to practice it ‘out loud’ since you’ll be conducting the pre-trip verbally to the examiner. If you don’t have a lot of experience speaking publicly this can be a roadblock that will need to be overcome.

Who are your instructors there?

Who are your instructors there?

Uh I've met Joe(hilarious guy) so far...and another Toph, who was pointed out to me but I haven't officially met yet...and Tony? I think? Also there's Wayne? I believe...who's the yard manager.

I've only met Joe so far though. Tomorrow we go back out kn the yard. Today is classroom and I go for my CLP.

I had a Brian, Louisa, and Eli.

Wayne was there, too.

Still happily following, Optical~!!

Man, y'all KEEP that cold weather out of Ohio, haha! It's chilly enough here... but low 40's aren't 'TOO' bad ~!!

Ha! I'll try to keep it here...supposed to break and start to warm up tomorrow. Going to hit mid 30's then warm up to mid 60's by the weekend.

And thank you.

LoL.. You're welcome, and thank YOU~!! Stay warm, and focused~!!

This is a bit late compared to when I've been posting, but...today was actually pretty eventful. Woke up 430am like I have been, laid in bed for a bit and got up and moving around 5am. Headed out at 620am to catch the morning bus at 630. I leave to take my permit test at 830 so I'm a little nervous and running through random questions in my head and going over the material. Get to the classroom and realize I haven't eaten yet. So me and a few classmates hit the Cafe next door for some breakfast. Had a breakfast sandwich and it was really good. Head out to the permit test at 830am for the hour and half long ride to the DMV. Caught a little nap on the way and did some light studying as well. The 2 others that came did their tests ahead of me. One of them passed the other failed their combination test. So it's my turn, I sit down at the computer and start going through the questions. General Knowledge test...passed. Whew! Alright 2 more to go...start on Air Brakes....passed. Alright....alright....we got this. Start Combination....3 questions in a row missed....slow down...you know this....take it slower....and....passed! I passed all three, General Knowledge, Air Brakes, and Combination in my first go. CLP acquired! Stoked as ALL get out now. Time for the hour and a half ride back to the school. Get back, only to be told...going to leave again to get my drug test. So...back to the doctors it is. Get that done and come BACK to the school...finally I can relax a bit. Honestly not much happened after that.

So, I got my permit and 1-shot the tests. MASSIVE weight off my shoulders. I'm the only one in my dorm to have my permit and now it's time to get behind that wheel and start practicing. This is all coming together and I'm SO stoked about it.

Also, my Mom sent me a carhart jacket...no more freezing in the cold! Yay!

I had a Brian, Louisa, and Eli.

Wayne was there, too.

Brian...real tall? Slicked back hair?

The other 2 I don't know...the only ones on staff I've met are Brian, Athena, Joe, Tim(only been there about 10months), and Bob(I think his name is Bob, old guy with a little dog).

Apologies for the lack ofnpost from yesterday. Was kind of....ok was really beat. Yesterday we started doing straight lane backing using only right hand and left mirror. I picked it up pretty quick and nailed it down before lunch. Wasn't too eventful outside of that. Today we did some more straight lane backing. Only today we were limited to left hand, right mirror. I had some trouble with it today, but by end of day I was nailing it down and sliding that trailer right between the cones. Tomorrow is more straight lane backing and Monday is when the REAL fun starts. That's when we get to go out and do on the road training and start learning off-set backing. As for now....need to read this book and finish my oysters and crackers before bed.

Be safe.