NC Truck Driver Training School

If I hooked up a trailer to a pickup and played around with that, would that offer any backing help whatsoever? Obviously it's not the same thing, but would I gain any benefit at all? Does any of that skill carry over to backing a tractor trailer? Or am I better off just not messing with it?

Haya, Derrick;

I've been following as well; wife of a 20yr / 50 y/o driver, haha! You are amazing with your details, I gotta say. Takes me back to 2003 when my guy had to get that 160 certificate, too...LoL.

I used to pull boat props and underwater shafting (zincs & shafts, actually) behind a 3/4 ton Chevy, 3 on the tree, with a 28' trailer toting the goods. General Propeller/Miami Propeller and Sea Ray Boats, in Florida.

Under 26,000K, so no CDL necessary. Fun times, though !!!! Very dissimilar to 18 wheelers, however.. at least IMHO.

When I went driving with my guy, back in 2015 pulling tanks, nothing related (much) to what I'd learned. Not 'MUCH' is key. Directionally, sure....hands on the bottom of my wheel, watch your wagon, etc.... turn 'into' the problem, sure. The short wheelbase is SOOOOO different. I've even pulled a 48' Wellcraft behind the bossman's van back in the day.. still, different. I'll let the 'vets' of TT expound, but again, this is MY experience. It almost made me feel 'over confident,' TBH...thinking I 'knew' something. Overall....IMHO I don't 'think' so.. but I'm not a driver yet again these days; maybe the pro's will say otherwise.

YOUR DIARY IS AMAZING; I'll always be following & recommending it, for sure! And hilariously .. I didn't answer your question, whatsoever. Apologies; just relatable info..from my POV~!

On a final note, if you go to WalMart and buy a die cast (1/16"?) rig ... THAT helps. Just my two cents. Many trainers (Past, present, and future) still suggest this. Erroll V. has mentioned this in many posts, as well.

Best wishes; excellent reading!

Anne

Thank you for the kind words! I actually have a couple of old die cast trucks packed away from when I was a kid. Guess I have an excuse to tell the wife that I have to play with trucks now! :)

Another observation I should have posted involves the difference with the trailers. The trailer towed with a pickup will be amuch shorter length, so a much faster, snappier reaction while backing. A 53' standard CMV trailer will react much more slowly, and is more forgiving during movements.

Remember that when driving, especially in reverse, you are actually driving the trailer, not the truck.

Day 7 - Friday, September 17, 2021

All classroom tonight (as is every Friday). Tonight we went over defensive driving techniques and watched some videos on the Smith System. Interesting stuff. Not really much more to say about tonight!

Day 8 - Saturday, September 18, 2021

Started the day driving with the instructor today. I felt I did a LOT better today and the instructor agreed. I was shifting a lot smoother and didn't miss many gears. What helped a lot I think was I finally found that sweet spot on the clutch. You really don't have to push the clutch very far. I was definitely pushing it in too far last week. Once I got comfortable with the clutch, shifting got a lot easier. Still some work and practice to do though, but I feel better about it.

Drove around for about and hour and 15 minutes or so. Through town, back country roads and the highway. Practiced some downshifting and started on some skip shifting as well.

I'm still pretty nervous driving around. I keep hoping that will fade so it will be a little more comfortable and enjoyable. Just focused on not killing myself or anyone else at the moment! I know I need to relax more, but that easier said than done! Have to remind myself that this is only the 2nd day of actual driving.

When we got back to the yard, it was back to the practice stations the rest of the day. I started out at the backing station again. Still struggling like crazy with that. I know what to do, but no matter what I do my brain and my body aren't working together to keep that trailer straight. Took me forever to get it backed in. When I tried my 2nd time, I went right in with no problems or even a pull up. What??? Then my 3rd time, it was back to having trouble. But only had to pull up a couple of times. Hopefully this whole thing will "click" soon. I'm getting discouraged by this backing stuff. It seems so simple and I get the concept of what I'm supposed to do, it's just putting it into action that's the problem.

Next I did some coupling. That's pretty easy I think. I just have to remember all the steps that they want us to do and in the proper order for the test. But I'm not worried about that one at all.

Went on the obstacle course for a few rounds. Not really any issues there. I'm getting better and better at that. For the testing, we have to complete the course in 5 minutes. So I need to work on that and start timing myself to see where I'm at. Obviously without hitting anything either!

That was about it for today, back at it bright and early tomorrow!

Day 9 - Sunday, September 19, 2021

Today just sucked. No other way to put it. It was insanely hot outside. Our Sunday's are on the yard all day, 8am-7pm. Just rotating the stations all day, obstacle course, backing, coupling and pre-trip. Everyone was exhausted after a couple of hours because it was just so hot. A few just decided to go home early and use up their hours (we're allowed to miss 39 hours total). I stuck it out all day. I believe we ended the day with 5 or 6 students (out of 10) left.

Not much to add. I'm getting better at each thing. It was just hard to keep my head in it today because I was just too hot and too tired. Was more than ready to call it a day and go home.

Thanks again for following along. We'll see what next weekend holds!

Day 10 - Friday, September 24, 2021

We started Friday evening with a visit from a recruiter with Howard Transportation . She gave us their company pitch and answered any questions we had. I know it's her job to make it sound like a great place, but it really did sound like a decent company. Based in Mississippi, but they have a terminal a few miles down the road from the school.

After that, we spend the remainder of the evening discussing pickup and delivery, shippers and receivers, proper paperwork, etc. Interesting stuff, but nothing exciting.

Day 11 - Saturday, September 25, 2021

Road driving day! Started the day driving first in my group with the instructor. Had a different road instructor today than I've had the other times. Nothing wrong with that, different teaching methods, different personality, etc. You never know what style of teaching you'll "click" with, so it's good to not always have the same instructor I think.

I drove for an hour and 15 minutes or so again. Nothing new really, still just getting used to the truck. Working on upshifting, downshifting and skip shifting mostly. Also tried to make sure I got more right turns to practice. I drove all over the place... In towns, in the country, small 2 lane roads and 4 lane highways. Getting exposed to lots of different things which is good. I just wish I could drive longer. Seems like that hour-hour and a half just flys by too fast!

I felt I drove well. Shifting is coming along fine. Just overall starting to feel a little more relaxed and not quite as nervous. Don't get me wrong though, I'm not getting so relaxed that I'm getting complacent! I'm on my toes the entire time for sure.

Things I need to work on... Making sure I watch the tach on every shift and holding the rev on the downsift through the entire shift (which I have questions about actually). Obviously I need to work on everything, these were just the things pointed out to me.

After driving, it was back to the yard for the station work again for the rest of the day. I helped another student with her pre-trip for a while, which in turn made for good practice for myself. I feel comfortable with the pre-trip. I'm not anticipating any issues there, just lots of memorization.

Next I went to the backing station. Still just straight line at this time. But I'm getting a lot better at it finally. I can get it in without struggling too much now. Still need to work on getting it in the hole more straight though. I keep getting crooked right towards the end of the back. But it's coming along. My brain and body are starting to actually work together instead of fighting each other!

Finished the day driving around the obstable course a few times. We started timing each other since we'll have 5 minutes to complete the course on our test. I've been between 3:30-4:00, so I think I'll be ok there. Still not hitting anything or having to reposition any, so I'm getting better and better at the obstacle course.

Back at it tommorrow!

Day 12 - Sunday, September 26, 2021

Same Sunday schedule as usual, all day outside on the yard. Thankfully it wasn't quite as hot as it has been. Still hot, but not as miserable as the last couple of weekends.

More of the same for me today. Started with some pre-trip stuff. Then drove the obstacle course. Only part of the obstacle course that is kicking my butt is on one of the 90 degree right turns where you have to get your trailer tire to go over a 12 inch (I think?) painted spot. I'll try to explain... So right at the 90 degree turn, there is a tire laying on the corner of the ground to simulate a curb. There is a painted yellow stripe about halfway around the tire on the ground, sticking out about 12 inches. Your goal is to get your trailer tire to go through that yellow paint without hitting the tire. The idea is getting as close to the "curb" without hitting it. If you don't hit the paint, you lose points on the test. I don't think I've hit the paint yet. I miss it by an inch almost every time it seems! It's kind of an ongoing joke now about how I can possibly keep getting so close and not hitting it. Guess I'll get it eventually!

I then did some more backing. That's still coming along. I want to say I'm getting the hang of it, but next week I wouldn't be surprised if I can't even come close. So I'm just going to stay with... I'm improving.

Worked on the coupling station more today. Not hard to do, but for our test we have to complete a set of specific steps in a certain order to couple and uncouple within 10 minutes. I can do all the steps no problem, just need to work on memorizing every little step they want us to do and the order and make sure I do it quickly. I'll get there.

We went back in the classroom for the last hour or two of the day. Which was a welcome change to just get off the yard for a change. We had to finish up some more of the classwork that we didn't get to on Friday and we also had our first written test. I think I did fine on it, nothing hard.

Also, the class size is now down to 8 students. We started with 11 signed up, but 1 hasn't been at all. So it's really been 10. One guy didn't show up at all last weekend and then again this weekend. That puts him over the 39 hour limit, so he's out. Another lady has had to drop out due to her work schedule. Hopefully everyone else can stick around! But I get the feeling we'll be losing a couple of more before it's all said and done. Either by their own choice or by the school's choice!

More next week! Thanks for reading my babbling!

I have a question regarding downshifting. Should I ask here or would it be better to start a new post?

I have a question regarding downshifting. Should I ask here or would it be better to start a new post?

Right here is fine. It's your training diary after all. Training = Learning.