Keystone Diesel CDL Training Program And Starting At Roehl

Well today was kind of a pretest day. We went on the road so the instructor could see what we need to work on out there and i dont think i did too bad i made some noob mistakes like cutting corners and i kept forgetting about the dang splitter. But it was also my first time pulling a 53 ft trailer and i didnt hit anything so that makes it a good day. We also took a mini test on trip planning and it was rough because im still learning thier way of trip planning. In the sim lab i did better they simulated a couple of construction zones and the only thing i got in trouble for was cutting a corner too close and forgetting to use my turn signal. One of the other guys got popped for speeding, it was actually kinda funny.

Well done! I don't know if my school uses a simulator. Never thought to ask. The process you're describing reminds me a lot of Driver's Ed. when I was a kid, only we didn't split bookwork with driving back then. At least you have been driving on the road before and don't have to wonder if the semi you just pulled in front of is going to squish you! (That day's trip was cut short for me.) Does this mean I should review the regular driver's manual for oh, I don't know, road signs, traffic signals, and knowing where the turn signal is?

Renae (Angel)

Following! I'm looking more for training in the midwest, but did request info from Roehl...they almost sound too good to be true???

Hey Jake break I notice it says ButlerPa under your picture I grew up in butler small world

Hey Jake break I notice it says ButlerPa under your picture I grew up in butler small world

Lol thats the first time ive heard of anyone actually admitting they were from butler lol. I like it there i just want to get out and see the country before i have to settle down there.

Following! I'm looking more for training in the midwest, but did request info from Roehl...they almost sound too good to be true???

I thought so too, but i did my research and found a couple drivers to talk to and they all said they liked the company. They had only been there for 3-7 yrs but that was good enough for me. Now that im actually at the terminal and have met a few instructors im pretty impressed none have been here less than 10 yrs and the longest that i have met was 25. The biggest thing that i liked was how much they preach safety, and the instuctors follow it too even in the shuttle vans.

Todays update is a short one we didnt do much today we drove a new set of roads this morning and did sort of a pretest on the ones drove yesterday. I almost had a heart attack because i took a turn too wide and thought i was going to put the truck in a ditch so yeah i have alot to learn about pulling a 53ft trailer. Im going to say that if the company you want to work for has a cdl training program you should probably go for that over a private school. I really think i would have been better off going to the roehl school instead of doing it this way because there is just so much that the regular schools dont teach you. Like trip planning and useing an atlas and pulling longer trailers. The whole time i was in school the longest that i actually pulled thru town was 37 or 38 ft. Now i have to be proficient at pulling a 53 and maybe its just me being hard on myself but i think i should be doing better.

We did some more driving today. I learned to slide the tandems and then we had to watch a bunch of videos in class. Today was kind of a boring day nothing too unusual happened. But as i keep hearing a boring day is a good one ao im gonna be happy with that.

Well i an officially a roehl employee now. I made it thru the orientation and i was kind of suprised at how much it was like an extension of the schooling i went thru to get my cdl. I learned some stuff, mainly because my school touched on the basics of the atlas and stuff, but this was way more in depth and i learned how they want me to do it. I get to get up really early tomorrow and my class is driving to gary in. to meet our trainers. I am really excited to get the long journey started.

Congratulationsman now the fun really begin s

Best of luck to you JakeBreak, hope you get a great trainer. I'll be following along to hear of your journey.

Well i met my trainer. I think me and him are gonna get along fine. We have similar intrests and he said he is gonna teach me to run hard which is what i want to do so yeah. We start off tomorrow morning at 5am with a delivery to chicago then we pick up somewhere outside of chicago and head to georgia so its gonna be a long fun day.