Profile For Jimbo

I'm glad my thread was able to help you!

Firstly, keep reminding yourself in your head what year you're in. During my test, I would say what gear I was in to myself as a reminder and that caused me to never get lost.

I don't know how your truck operates but try to memorize what speed you're at in the gears. For example, on my 10 speed I know that 15mph is 6th gear. So if I get slightly lower than 15mph I know to put it into 5th gear.

But the #1 rule to prevent coasting because of a failed shift is to put it back in the gear that you took it out of. The first second you realize you failed to upshift put it back in the gear you took it out of to prevent a failed exam because you coasted too much.

If you tried to upshift and failed but you forgot what gear you took it out of then make your best educated decision. But honestly, practice is also what perfects this skill.

Great advice....especially the part of putting it back into the gear you just came out of. I'll be honest...I was so busy watching traffic today that I never really got the opportunity to really watch my road speed and the gear I was in. I was keeping my eyes on the road and the tach most of the time. I'll be sure to try that tomorrow....thanks Daniel!

Well....I'm starting week 4 of CDL school this week. The first two were dedicated to CDL permit testing. Thanks to this site, I was well prepared and ahead of the curve. With that being said I decided to take ALL the endorsement tests while I was at DMV including New York's Metal Coils endorsement test. Passed them all with flying colors.

The last week or so have been a mix of classroom and yard time. Main focus was on drop/hook, straight line backing, and pre-trip. All fairly basic but like everything else, practice makes perfect. Pre-trip was made alot easier thanks to Daniel B's Pre-Trip inspection thread from awhile back. Gave me some easy terminology to put together which helped with flow and much easier to memorize.

Today was my first road ride. Nervous? Me? Hell yeah I was. You'd think at 54 and having gone around the block a few times I would have been cool as can be. Anyway...it went pretty good for the first one. Granted, I missed some gears a couple times. More due to my lack of timing between the foot and the hand, but nailed quite a few...both up and down. Turns went good too. Considering I was in downtown Buffalo...once I got the feel it was much easier.

I do have one question....what tips can you veteran guys/gals give me on what to do in the event I miss a gear. There was one moment where I had a daydreaming pedestrian cross the street directly in front of me...never even looked up. I had to slow quicly...and once I slowed I completely lost track of what damn gear I was in! Needless to say...recovery was not easy. Sooo...any advice would be greatly appreciated!

I agree.....that pay is pathetic. You could definitely flip burgers and make more than what you're showing. There's plenty of companies out there hiring at a much higher per mile rate than that.

I am starting school in Indianapolis on Monday 12th of January, I will be posting daily updates.

First full day completed. I have no experience of any other trucking schools so I have nothing to compare Celadon with, I have however heard some horror stories about other schools. After my first day here I have to say I am very impressed, the facility is spotless, the people are awesome and the accommodation is first class. Celadon provides FREE accommodation ( the dorms are awesome ) FREE meals 3 times a day, and they even pay for your leaners permit and for your test. If you are looking for a trucking school and a company to work for then from what I am experiencing so far I would say Celadon is the place.

Nice Ian...glad you like it. I'm in week three of a local school here in Buffalo,NY. Soak it up...and don't be afraid to ask questions. Good luck man..

Daniel....that had to be quite the Christmas gift huh? Congrats and enjoy the new job!

Congrats man.....we all make mistakes at some point in our lives. Looks like you got that second chance that alot of people don't get. Good luck!

Great job! I feel your pain on the temperature thing. The bulk of my outdoor time was in January and February. Our instructors set up a straight truck outside and kept it running for us to jump into and get warm. Good luck to you sir I'm sure you'll do great!

Heavy...I've got till around March 5th before I'm done so I'll be dealing with the rest of the winter! You're over this way enough so I know you can feel my pain...lol Thanks man...

How old is old? I'm 48 and I am betting I'll be one of the oldest taking the course.

Like Old School...I'm 53 also...not far away from 54 actually

CDL permit in hand. Spent a little over an hour at the dmv yesterday. Passed Gen. Knowledge, Air Brakes, Combination. Had one wrong answer on the Combination section. Decided to take the Hazmat, Doubles/Triples, and Tanker endorsement tests while I was there. One wrong answer on the Tanker test but aced everything else.

Decided to take the Metal Coils endorsement test on Monday while the rest of the class is taking their permit tests. ( Friday was a day off so I went over on my own). May not ever do flatbed BUT...you never know.

We are supposed to start spending more time in the yard this coming week. All we've done out there so far is some drop/hook practice. Moving along just fine though. Would be nice if the temperature would go up about 10 degrees or so...lol

Well its been two weeks already since I started school. So far it's been a great experience. With the exception of a couple hours in the yard doing drop and hook drills, most of the time has been spent in the classroom. CDL Manual and videos. Loooong days in class then home to eat, read, and sleep.

I'm in a small class of guys and guess what...I'm the old man of the group! Go figure. Good thing is, the other guys are serious minded about the program and learning the ropes which makes for a MUCH better time of it. And getting a jump start here on TT with the testing,etc, has been a huge help.

Tomorrow I'm heading to the DMV to take the permit test tomorrow and I'm going to go after all the endorsements (doubles/triples, tanker, hazmat) with the exception of metal coils.

Best wishes to everyone on here for a happy and healty...and PROSPEROUS 2015!

Way to go MG! Keep up the great work!!

Here's another point that seems to have been bypassed: once upon a time, and not all that long ago either, corporations didn't just amass huge piles of liquid wealth and sit on it. Profits were re-invested back into the company, or shared out among the workers in the form of profit-sharing or annual bonuses, often to the tune of thousands of dollars per employee. Somewhere along about the mid to late 70s, however, somebody got the bright idea that, hey, why should we give our money to the little people when we can just keep it for ourselves? And just like that, profit sharing and bonuses began to go the way of the dinosaur. Now, the only way you're going to get in on any of that is either A) work for a small family-run business or for yourself, or B) somehow find yourself among the top-level executives of a major Fortune 500 company.

There was a time in this country when corporations recognized the fact that without their workforce, not only would they have no product to sell, but also no customers to sell their product to, and they compensated their workers accordingly. This was also the time when our economy was at its strongest and most sustainable. This is not a coincidence or an accident.

Fatsquatch.....I couldn't have said it better myself. You nailed it.

Greed....it's at the root of just about everything going on in this crazy world. You have those that are willing to work for a fair wage. You have those that want to sit on their ass and collect free stuff that we all basically pay for, and you have those who are positioned to make millions in the executive board rooms. And of course you have those who get elected to represent us....well...I wont even go there. It's all about balance. And in this day and age you won't find much of that.

If the trucking industry is ever going to change it's going to take one of two things. Trucking companies are going to get to the point that the empty seats kill their profits, bonuses for execs dwindle, and they become desperate to do whatever it takes to fill those seats; OR; truck drivers are going to have to find a way to unite to push for changes.

At this point...neither of the two items look like they'll ever happen.

Thanks everyone. I'll keep you all posted and I know where to come with questions.

Jimbo,

Good luck! I live in southern NY and just got my class A. My biggest advice would be to be patient with yourself. Having a few years of class B experience, I went in to school thinking I would have an advantage. To some degree, I did. However, it took a lot of practice to get used to the non-sychronized transmission (10 speed Eaton). But just keep practicing and be kind to yourself if you don't get certain things at first. And as the other folks here said, listen to your instructors. I also took the initiative to ask as many questions in order to clarify what I needed to do to get it down right. Before you know it your license will say class A!

All the best, Harish

Thanks Harish...great advice

Thanks everyone. I'll keep you all posted and I know where to come with questions.

Are you doing the private school or company sponsored school and which one....

Scott...I'm going to a private school. 10wk program. Today was alot of paperwork to start. Then started reviewing the cdl manual. Instructor is excellent. First written test is Wednesday. But thanks to the High Road I'm way ahead of the curve. Working on the memorizing the pre-trip info now. Will be ready to test for my permit the Monday after New Years. Long but good day.

Thanks everyone. I'll keep you all posted and I know where to come with questions.

You are going to make dumb looking mistakes for years and years to come every now and then, and someone is always going to be watching when you do so you got to make the best of it. I still look dumb backing sometimes and that is after a year of practice backing into places ten times a day sometimes.

At a receiver one time the gate guard told me to back up to the parking lot until he was ready to let me in. I was still in training so what should have been a simple maneuver I instead had to get out and contemplate for a few minutes before trying. During that time the guard gets out and starts throwing his hands up in frustration at me with a wtf look on his face. I just went and explained to him I was still new and if he did not want to lose his fence around the parking lot he was going to have to wait.

He started laughing and said Okay No Problem Then. Afterwards though when I was finally heading for the dock unload all the yard workers were gathered around to watch the show. It took me a couple tries but I finally got it pretty good and they all started clapping.

If you show them you can keep cool while they are laughing then they will give you a lot of respect as a rookie. If you lose it then that is just going to encourage them to laugh even more.

Great story..and I agree. If you don't learn to laugh at yourself a little you're in for a loooong ride. Hey...we all gotta start somewhere. Soak it all up and shoot for the best.

You're right Old School....I've been reading away. Definitely have a good start at the text book end thanks to the program.

Thanks to both of you for the well wishes. Looking forward to learning this trade....

Well...the big day has arrived. I officially start a 10 week CDL program with a local school. It's kinda funny, I'm 53 and have been through a variety of challenges throughout the years...but I'm as nervous as a kid getting ready for his first date! lol

Anyway...I'll try to hop on here and update what goes on, etc. for anyone that might be considering a career or who is signed up for training in the near future.

Just spent a couple days in NYC...drove through NJ to head back home. Insane....that's the only way I can describe it. And that was in an SUV! lol