Comments By John G.

Good morning,

I am applying for JB Hunt Intermodal and the lady is asking me for paperwork from my previous employer.

The only thing is my previous employer is an owner operator, and he never drug tested me. She is asking for paperwork for a DOT drug test

I told her I didn't get one from him and she said she will note it.

Any ideas?

Thanks,

John

Thank yall for the responses..

Took the test this morning... And passed!

The feedback I got this time was I turned too wide (lol) and to look side to side more. My instructor and the examininer also told me you turn into the lane you come from. Eg. If you make a right from the right lane, go into the right lane

My buddy, a truck driver, told me "if your problem is hitting curbs, don't hit the ****ing curbs"

I took his advice and took em extra wide. It's what I would have to do with a 53'

I erred on the side of caution and avoided an automatic fail.. At least I got the license

Gonna wait out my contract or till I get fired from my current job, then start applying at companies

Dunno if I have any advice for new people, but for me, I was most surprised that the turns were what I had the most trouble with.

Parallel and backing was easy. I am also guessing drivers do it different from the manual. I've been watching truckers make turns ever since I failed, and some go way out, then turn, and other drivers dork the curb

My advice is know all 3 parts-pre trip, backing and how to drive. Also, if you're not experienced, wait on learning manual and focus on road rules- retest in manual.

I went to a fly by night school that taught me pretrip and backing well. I had 3 hours of private driving practice, but I spent the majority of those learning to shift-not on road skills. In retrospect, I would have asked them to teach me the road skills in an auto. There's no way I would've known this beforehand

To adapt to missing the first try, I got a practice session with a buddy/customer. He is a truck driver I've sold tires to. We got to do some fatass turns with a 53'.

Then I hired another CDL company- one that parks 3 trucks outside the DMV- to take me through the course and use their truck for my second road test.

This guy knew exactly what they look for and prepared me on the exact route. I wondered if the DMV lady was thinking "this **** again". If youre in DFW, I can give you his info.

So... Thats my story. I followed a JB Hunt truck for a portion of the test, and he modeled some of the turns for me. Thought that was funny- like copying answers from the guy in front of you.

Gonna earn my stripes with a first time job, then I want my to do heavy loads

Thank you. Got more practice from buddy's truck. He coached me a lot too.

Question- if there is a situation where traffic isn't clear, do I just wait, even if I sit through a green light?

I blocked traffic a couple times in my friends (cars were lining up behind) and one car even drove in front of me to make a right while I was at the stop sign

Even though I feel uncomfortable, I would rather let the examiner know to make the next move, I must wait until it is safe to do so. I just feel uncomfortable waiting, as I am an aggressive driver when I'm in a car or pickup

Hay John G., (Juany)

From the looks of your videos, it seems you've got the concept!

Good luck on your CDL test, let us know.

~ Anne ~

ps: Not sure what Davy referred to, re: Shoulder...sorry!

Thank yall so much for the responses. I went out and practiced with my truck and boat over the weekend. It doesn't look like I will be using a t680, instead a small daycab truck

Gonna go with the button hook and hug the lane Next to me, before making turn

What do yall mean by shoulder? I read that I can turn when it clears

Here are videos from my practice. I know they are different animals, but my boat and truck combo is about 10 ft shorter than the daycab/28ft trailer

Gas turns

https://youtu.be/bMAwM5rv8wg

https://youtu.be/L15n501qPyY

https://youtu.be/W-eVa148WBI

Other turns

https://youtu.be/cFktLyzX_fg https://youtu.be/6RcRVIrfDnU

Hey all,

I passed pretrip and backing, failed my road test, because I hit the curb on the right by the gas station. It's a right turn from the right lane only onto a 2 lane road.

I was wondering if someone could be kind enough to mark up the photo with the proper maneuver to make the turn. I was going to rent a daycab with 28ft trailer from a CDL school or my buddy offered me to use his truck and trailer. Only thing is its a T680 with a 53ft trailer which may make it harder. What do you think?

This is the location https://goo.gl/maps/XMPuQ6LgyfwWNE2e8

There is a little back story here. I was driving a manual truck, and I used all 3 of my private instruction time learning to shift. Basically the whole road test, I was focused on shifting proper, avoiding rolling back, and not stalling- I was paying secondary attention to the road.

I am going to take my next test in an auto so I can focus purely on the drive. I will prob buy a manual bobtail and be able to shift perfectly after driving it by myself for a weekend, then test again and get the restriction removed. I was kinda bummed, because I contacted my school to reschedule a drive, and they never got back with me. Fortunately, I found another company that teaches on the exact route and rents their truck.

Thanks,

John