Can New Truck Drivers Get Home Every Night?

It's kinda like if you lived in an apartment and wanted to know what it was like living in a house. You could go knocking on doors asking people if you can live there for a few days to see what it's like, but you're going to get some baaaaaad responses

Man, do you have a way with words..

Hah good input, I guess a truck driver's truck definitely is like a home and it would be weird for a stranger to ask to hang out for a few days...

I have decided to go for the private school for many of the reasons you all gave. I have spoken with the program coordinators at the school and they told me it is 2 weeks of classroom work preparing for the Knowledge Test (plus all endorsements, ALL of which I intend to get), and then it is 4 weeks of driving skills in the yard, 1 instructor, 1 student, 1 truck. I will be heading over there tomorrow to take a look at the facility and try to talk to some current students and instructors. I probably won't start class until late April.

One further question I have is because I have almost 2 months, should I take the Knowledge Test (and all Endorsement tests) BEFORE I go to the school? They told me it would not matter if I already have my permit or not because they will not cut the cost or let me skip the first 2 weeks of classes (not that I would skip, but the cost reduction would be nice). I know being overprepared is a good idea, which I intend to be, but should I actually take the Knowledge Test before starting classes, or do it with all my classmates?

Thanks again!

should I take the Knowledge Test (and all Endorsement tests) BEFORE I go to the school?

Absolutely. They can't let you skip the classroom portion because it's mandated by the states and by the trucking companies that hire their students. The schooling has to be a certain number of hours and part of that has to be classroom time.

But our High Road Training Program has the CDL manual built right in and will teach you everything you need to pass the permit exam and all of the endorsement exams. On top of that, it has the logbook and weight & balance sections we built ourselves because the schools don't teach it well at all.

You'll know more after completing our program than the school is going to teach you those two weeks. In fact, you'll know the materials well enough that you could be teaching those two weeks.

Believe me, tons of people come through here and complete our program before they start their schooling and everyone is just thrilled they did it. It put them light years ahead of everyone else in the class.

Thanks Brett. You definitely are a huge help going through this process.

I've started the High Road Training Program and it is great so far. I have a quick question though. Going through the safety sections I have come to realize I know NOTHING about how a vehicle is put together or operates. I am not a car person so I don't know anything about cars either. I think I know more about Chinese history and religion than I do about cars and trucks.

When the names of components in the steering system and suspension system are mentioned I have absolutely no idea what they are, where they are, what they look like, and so on.

I am assuming that I will be taught this stuff at school when I physically get to see a truck.

Should I be worried? Should I delve into wikipedia, CDL manual, and so on to familiarize myself with the innards of a truck?

Thanks yet again.

Use this link here. Pre-Trip Study Guide

It will get you ready for the pretrip inspection part of the testing.

Thinkstoomuch, that is all stuff you will be shown in school. In our school, when we prepared and then tested for the pre trip, we were required to touch or almost touch by pointing to all the items we were inspecting. Make sure you have gloves with you, and dont wear good clothes. You will come into contact with oil, dirt and grease. When I was doing my test for pre trip, I ducked between the drives and the cab to point to the slack adjuster on the drive breaks, and brushed my shoulder and back against the apron of the trailer. Guess what, fifth wheel grease on your back is not very attractive. I was wearing a new sweater. I did rub gojo into it and washed it. It is now my work sweater. But you will get literal hands on,and what all those parts do, and why they are important.

When the names of components in the steering system and suspension system are mentioned I have absolutely no idea what they are, where they are, what they look like, and so on.

I am assuming that I will be taught this stuff at school when I physically get to see a truck.

Should I be worried?

Nope!

They'll definitely teach you that at school. Follow that link that Guyjax put up there for ya - there's a ton of great stuff in that pre-trip inspection guide, especially the flash cards. They're a great study aid.

Been going through the High Road Training Series past few days. Super job on creating and compiling this resource Brett. It really does a good job of helping me actually absorb the information and think about it. I've never been one for pure memorization, I believe that all rules and regulations have a REASON behind them and the to the point explanations in your training materials give those reasons. Helps me a lot.

Exceptionally good job on the layout of the guide. Walls of text always put me to sleep. I love the diagrams and little question mark buttons.

I've gotten through the first three sections so far and a few practice tests and I feel like I can easily pass the written exam.

Hey, that's awesome to hear! Glad you're diggin it.

And you're right about having an understanding of something versus just plain memorization. If you can understand why something is a law, or a requirement, or a spec then it's a lot easier to remember the specifics and be able to tie everything together.

Keep at it! It's a great program. When you show up for school you're going to be amazed at how far ahead of everyone you'll be. And don't skip the "Logbook" and "Weight & Balance" sections. Those aren't part of the CDL manual. We built those sections ourselves because the schools don't cover them well at all.

Hey Thinks too much Dave,

I'm just catching up on all the posts and I ran across this thread.

Just so you know, yes, you can do a ride along. I did one last October. It was the first time I had ever been in the cab of a truck. Let me explain...

I was doing research into this field, getting pre-hire letters, and interviewing possible companies to work for. I contacted the local recruiter for Schneider and scheduled a meeting with him and a tour of the terminal. When I was there, we discussed some opportunities available to me when I was ready to go to work, and he mentioned a dedicated route for a WalMart DC that was fairly close to me. When I mentioned that I might be interested in it, he asked if I would like to do a "ride along"? I said yeah! and he scheduled it for the following week. I simply contacted the FM and arrived at the DC and the FM printed some insurance papers, charged the driver 25 dollars to be billed to his account for a one day insurance policy, that the company would reimburse him for immediatly, so he wouldn't have to pay for it, and I didn't have to pay for it either. Then we went on a two stop route and were back at the DC after about 200 miles. It wasn't a long time, but it was enough for me to pick that driver's brain for several hours, and it seemed to be something they did on a regular basis.

So I don't know if it's only the local routes that will do that, but it is definitely available if you want to get a taste of this industry.

So if you really want to do a "ride-along" and I highly sugest it, ask around, it can be done and was well worth my time.

Julia