My Private CDL School Experience As A Veteran

Tuesday, Day 6

This morning was bright and sunny (as usual) and as roll call was finished, the instructors came out and called out who was supposed to go with them. Mr. Wayne called my name and we went out to the maroon truck to do a pre-trip inspection before we hit the road.

We went out and I watched the other students that got their turn before me. I listened to everything that the instructor told them as if he was telling me. I am soaking everything in that I can. We went over all kinds of roads. Then it was my turn. The student before me had brought the truck to the shifting range. The instructor had me take a lap on the range and then we left there for the open roads. Mr. Wayne is more quiet and does not constantly talk. He wants you to formulate your plan of action and will let you make minor mistakes so you can learn by them. I clipped a couple of corners short as I am still getting my head around the fact that there is a 53' trailer behind me. I was not as nervous today as I was yesterday; but I was still nervous. He had me take the truck back to the school. The students that were with me asked if I had driven a truck before. They thought I had driven a truck for a long time and was only here for a refresher. I told them this was my first time here in school. I guess my shifting is smoothing out although I sometimes forget what gear I am in.

The yard in the afternoon was interesting again. We watched a student that was going to get his test pre-trip his truck. He didn't miss anything according to the instructor. Apparently we are supposed to learn the pre-trip on our own. They gave us a handout with pictures and the what we are checking. The exact wording of what the state examiners are looking for is also on that sheet. Every time there is an opportunity to hear someone do a pre-trip, I try to be there to listen and watch. Repetition is a good teacher. Some students that are coming up to their test dates are sharing how they are learning all the points. One student said that he just wrote it down from memory and compared his sheet with the handout they gave us. I'm taking it all in.

The ally docks went well today. I am getting them within three and four pull ups, sometimes two. I know it is possible to do it without any pull ups, but then it is by drivers that have been doing it for a long time. I am still trying to figure out how to read the trailer. I think about it when I am in the hotel. I think about it almost all the time. There must be a key to this somewhere and I hope the light goes on soon. I want to practice the theory a lot before I test out.

Wednesday, Day 7

I got to school just in time for the roll call. I was tied up at the hotel. My wife has been staying with me at the hotel to give me healthy food to eat. She comes with me to the school on some days and is allowed to watch the goings on. She finds it almost as interesting as I do.

Right after roll call, the instructors came out one by one and called off the students' names that were to accompany them. A different instructor called my name along with a couple of others and we headed for the maroon truck. After doing the pre-trip, we headed out. One of the ladies was the first to drive. She was having trouble with some of her shifting. She has been here a lot longer than I. Eventually, the instructor told her to shift at a higher RPM. When she did that, presto! Every gear was smooth! Apparently, another instructor told her to always shift in a certain range. It was too low and she was grinding gears. Another student took over. He was going to test in a couple of days so they let him drive the test route and do all the things the examiner was going to have him do. He was driving like a pro. Of course, my opinion is probably worthless at this point. What do I know? LOL. But I listened to all the narratives he gave: the HAZMAT crossing, the up hill park, the down hill park, etc. I figured now is as good as time as any to learn this as I will eventually be asked to give the same narrative.

When he was finished, it was my turn. We drove all over the place. It felt good. He reminded me to keep an eye on the trailer and keep checking my mirrors. I drove on all kinds of roads and had to learn to judge distances for approaching intersections and traffic lights that were changing. I guess that I must have taken a curve or two too fast and the students in the back told me later that they were hanging on! I honestly do not remember going that fast and definitely did not feel it. I know exactly how it feels in a car when it is too fast on a curve or approach to another road. But, I do not know how that feels in a truck. Again, the shifting is going smoothly and I am trying not to look at the gear shifter when I shift. At the end of the ride, the instructor told me to keep an eye on my gauges and mirrors more. Nothing was mentioned about my shifting. Wow.

In the afternoon, I was fired up to try out some of my new theories on my ally docks. I kept playing it over and over in my mind and wanted to try it out at the site. Roll call was taken after lunch and I was assigned the back dock with Mr. Bill the Yard Dog.

I got out there and Mr. Bill was in the mood to teach. So I wasn't able to try my new theory. I was back to putting in the box with 4 and 5 pull ups. Well I just kept going forward and listened and implemented what Mr. Bill had to say. After awhile, someone said that Russell (the lead instructor) was on his way over to where we were. I didn't see him and I asked, "where?" Then I saw him. He was moving with a purpose. I wondered what was going on. He came up and looked in my general direction and said, "You, come with me." I turned around to see who he was pointing at. I turned back and he said, "You, Wilson. You're coming with me." I wondered if he had heard about me taking the curve too fast. I started tap dancing and he said not to worry about that. He explained that I was to be at his ally dock site from now on. He told me that I was learning fast and was always willing to learn. He wanted me over there with him. I asked him what the difference was between his dock site and the other one. He told me that the other dock site was like kindergarten. His was like college. He had all the older students at his site; the ones that were almost ready to test out. I got there and he took me through the whole process as each maneuver was executed. Showing me the different things to look for and to 'read' the trailer.

He explained to me that it is not always a 'hard right' or a 'hard left' that is going to get you into the box. One small turn of the steering wheel can move the trailer many feet at the other end. He showed me a technique of watching the landing gear and judging the angle of the trailer by that. It was fascinating. I know that every person has their own way of reading the trailer and guiding it where you want it to go. But I was just eating this up. I'm a technical kind of guy anyway. I would rather have absolutes than gray areas whenever possible. He was giving me that.

So I watched the others do it and eventually, a truck became free and I heard, "Wilson! You're up!" I got in the truck and brought it around for the setup. When the student in front of me completed their docking, I drove my truck in and set it up. I did the mandatory 'GOAL' after the first stop and checked things out. I looked at my landing gear and backed up a couple of times. I got the truck half way in the box and had to do one pull up. Then I docked it right on the money. Wow! I couldn't believe it! This is getting really good!

These are great posts "Wilson". I've been so busy lately and there is so much happening around here that I haven't been able to keep up with all the goings on lately. Very excited for you, I know you've been waiting a long time to get this started - glad to see it's going so well.

These are some pretty good posts Wilson, keep em coming. The picture of you lookin over the hood of that Freightliner is classic lol.

Thanks for the post. I am also a veteran going to a private school on my GI bill (on my 3rd week now). How many weeks does your school last? Best of luck to you and hope to hear more updates.

I just finished a private truck school in Florida using my G.I. Bill (chapter 33 i.e. post-9/11) and have a great job lined up with a big company driving over the road. I continued with my night shift job during school because I needed the money so badly. I received BAH payments from the VA in addition to my salary which relieved the money problem which was replaced with sleep. I was able to manage all that and other things. Unfortunately, myself and and another guy were persistently bullied by a couple of young guys in the class over several weeks. We both graduated and the school has great experienced instructors, but I feel that the excessive bullying tended to damper our performance. I'm glad to put that bull in the past. In one week, I am scheduled to begin orientation in the flatbed division with a large company that has a veterans honors program that let's me receive GI Bill payments from the VA in addition to my company salary. The head instructor indicated that I had the best job lined up out of anyone in the class.

I received an employability rating from the school of 80%. Does anyone know how companies view employability ratings?