Comments By December Hopeful

Week two and I fully understand the frustration many people feel. I also understand the complaints about the junky trucks some schools use. But look at the bright side; if you can master backing, shifting, blind side, sight side, straight line, offset, parallel and anything else the throw at you, in these trucks, you'll really like the tight steering and plush accommodations in your own big rig. For my experience, the worst trucks are only used on the range (backing/parking only).

Thanks again Brett. Especially for making this site free. :)

Oh happy day! I need two more practice days for road portion of CDL testing at school in Ohio, and hope to get it done on Friday with my CDL in my hot little hand!

Also agree with you about the helpfulness of a free trucking site for kicking around questions, answers and ideas about the business. Thanks to Brett for keeping it real. Peace and Safe Travels, All.

Do not wear slippers. Unsafe. Work boots is the way to go.

Your work boots -- what brand, if I may ask? I tried a Walmart version of weatherproofed steel-toe and it hurt my feet. I took them back after one day, and they were okay with it. I know I'm gonna need to spend at least $100 instead of $40.

Also, I do have several cowgirl boots saved on my wish list with Amazon dot com. Working boots, not dancing or fancy. And I also have several regular work boots for women saved on my wish list.

I also found this website the first week of training at truck school in Columbus, Ohio. My nerves are still on edge as the training is taking me longer than I initially anticipated. I've had to reschedule testing twice and the whole thing is draining my funds. I pray the Lord allows me to get it right this upcoming week, because I really need to earn a living and provide for my family. The website has been very educational and it's nice getting to "talk to" others on the boards or just read their discussions back and forth. I like the CDL Diaries. Thanks for a place to gather while we take this step into a new career.

Over age 50 here, as well. Our age bracket has wisdom on our side for the most part. I think a lot of employers are "Boomers" and they see value in themselves and others with experience in other customer service oriented careers as being a huge plus to them in many ways. I've had no discouraging words from any staff or trainers at the truck school I am attending in Columbus, Ohio. I wish you all the best in whatever you decide. If you do go for it, please, let us know. We all need friendly peers and we like the fellowship here on Trucking Truth.

Very Happy Thanksgiving to everyone here on the website. This has been a very helpful site for me, and also feels like a support system for a lady late in life trying trucking again after not completing testing in 2007. I'm waiting for first week in December to return to truck school and practice skills for road test some more hours and hope to have that CDL in my hot little hand at end of the week. Thank you for all the great articles, the encouragement to do this no matter what fears may come and go. God bless everybody on the road, be safe and have fun in life!

I so need to pass this skills test.......I need to get a job!

Hey Spirit...Hope you have passed backing skills or soon will. Don't know your time-frame. Let us hear back from you, okay? My second attempt at Backing Nov 14th. Passed Backing Skills Test but FAILED ROAD. (Serious Sad Face!) One problem on the road after another and it all just made me more nervous and there was something wrong with the truck. It would not properly build speed! Later I compared notes with another tester. Some of the same problems with truck and we determined we had same truck for the tests. Paying a small fortune to pass, not to fail. I have to borrow money now or can't go back next week. Snow and colder temps are on the way and my two cats need to be inside YESTERDAY! If I can't get the money, I have to wait till December. Not a pleasant plan. Lord willing, something will come through by Tuesday. Watching cable reruns of LAW AND ORDER. Good distraction. That and computer SCRABBLE. Everybody be safe. God's best blessings upon you and yours for Thanksgiving, everyone.

Not a guy, not former military, no farm-equipment/trailer or boat history here with me. So all the jargon goes RIGHT OVER MY HEAD. But love your diary entries and look forward to seeing if you guys last six months or a year together over the road. Somebody yesterday at truck school asked me if my daughter would train to team with me. WE WOULD KILL EACH OTHER! was my immediate response. LOL!

Seriously, though. I do wish you both well in this endeavor. Just wondering how your wives and families are going to be with you two guys gone so much?

First off, this is a very helpful sight! When my partner decided to get her CDL's I started researching and found you. you've been a HUGE help and I thank you! We have used your High Road study guides and tests a lot. My partner is attending Roadmaster in W. Memphis,Ar now. We talk each day. At the end of week 1 she has her permit and is doing well. She has bragged daily about the great instructors and says its a great school! They go above and beyond to help all they can. She was recruited by Jeremiah Espinoza out of the Orlando location. He is a different story. That man lied several times while trying to get her to go to Roadmaster. He lied about upfront cost, starting dates and more. Since my partner was working, I myself spoke with him several times. We have had a very rough summer money wise and were honest with him about needing to know about every penny she would need. He said he had the upfront cost down to $80. The second day she was there, she was told $160. She had a total of $155 to her name. $80 for school and the rest for food. He told her to keep $30 and give the rest to the school. Have $30 for food for 3 week!?!?!? There is at least one other student there who has made the same complaint. So far, this is a great school. Great instructors and people. Just beware of the recruiters!!! I sure wish I would have recorded those calls! He even said he'd send her a $20 Walmart card to help her with food. This is not about that but the lies!!

Just finished Roadmaster in West Memphis myself, Oct. 14. They are a great school. It is really fast paced. I took a 50 hr. refresher course. I can tell you they put a lot of information in 3 weeks! They instructors are the best! They take you out on the road to learn shifting, they stop the truck and help you every step of the way if you are having problems. I was in the truck with some people who could not shift gears at all, then within 30 minutes they were shifting like pros!! No lie!! If you are serious and don't want to play around, go there. The pretrip for Arkansas made me feel like I could almost be a mechanic. They have 118 point inspection! The pretrip takes 45 minutes to complete. I can't praise them enough! I learned more in 50 hours than I learned in my first 8 week truck driving school. Tell your friend to listen and learn all she can while she is there. The only problem I saw was that they need more instructors because they have so many students. Good luck to you!

Roadmaster recruiter, Jason, out of Tampa, Florida, has done nothing but help me get into the school in Columbus, Ohio. He was upfront about everything, never lied or exaggerated about a single thing to my knowledge. Always returned calls and emails promptly, even during the training. I would not be at the school were it not for his prompts and encouragement to get all my necessary paperwork together quickly so I could make it in before the snows started to hit here. We did get flurries this week, though!

Roadmaster does need to hire more road instructors, no lie. They need to manage the students' training hours better, and teaching backing skills with more fluid motion so you don't get so tired out mentally and physically. You start and stop and start and stop and calculate and examine so much with the current method, then they tell you that YOU are OVER-THINKING it and just need to KNOW HOW the truck and trailer work together!

I'm sorry, but that's just not helping keep students from exhaustion and frustration in these backing maneuvers! The other thing that has happened to me and some fellow students in my class and the class prior to my first week, is that we are not getting enough driving time during extra few days of additional training to re-test. I got zero hours last week on driving time and FAILED THE ROAD TEST THIS WEEK. I knew Thursday that my ROAD TEST WOULD END THAT WAY, because I got maybe 45 minutes at the end of the day on Thursday. BY THEN, ALL SKILLS WERE EXTREMELY POOR on the road. Shifting, trailer tracking, etc. And, I was extremely nervous both on Thursday and on Friday, TEST DAY.

All that being said, I would recommend the school because they do have really good instructors who CARE ABOUT STUDENTS. They took time and had patience with everyone, no matter how good, bad or indifferent the students may have been in skill and attitude. But if YOU HAVE A HARD HEADED ATTITUDE about THEM TEACHING YOU, you aren't going to LEARN, AS IS YOUR CHOICE! We've got men who just can't handle authority of other men if they do one thing to OFFEND THEM. Hey, if you get OFFENDED NOW, you sure as shining WON'T BE ABLE TO HOLD A JOB in ANY COMPANY LATER!

Way to go Andrea! I passed all of mine last Wednesday after being encouraged to toss in my chips and quit on 2 occasions. I went to a company school and you get 1 chance to pass the test if you are from out of state. Silly me I was determined to test regardless of the outcome as the world would not come to an end if I failed, but I would never be able to live with myself if I had to continually as myself "what if?". I passed which surprised the heck out of the instructors, but not me, my classmates, or my friends and family. I do believe in this industry a woman has to be twice as good to be seen as equal to a man. I am not saying that because I passed I am a rock star driver, far from it. There are still issues with downshifting from 10th to the low side of the transmission when coming to a stop. With a little more training and time it will get better, I'm sure. Have you decided who you are going to drive for?

Congrats to all of you ladies too and to Trish who will be joining us shortly good luck. I decided to work for USExpress and start my orientation next week and then will be training on the route I will be handling once I go solo. I'm so excited!

US Express came out to our CDL school and gave their pitch. They have a fine fleet, and good reputation. Some of the guys in my class are going with them. Look forward to your documenting some of your time with the trainer, Andrea B. I've read some of the "diary" entries on the boards, and they are really interesting. One guy's dad is planning to join him later after he gets his own CDL, and go as a team. Wow. Now that is going to be fun to read about in a few months!

Thanks for the prayers, Jolie. I'd also like to pray for Regina S. who needs to make a very important decision to either give it a go for truck training or move onto another endeavor.

My thought is, you will always wonder if you never try it. Yes, you want to gather as much info as you can before you make that leap. The instructors at Roadmaster are clear in their attitude: If you can be taught, they will teach you. If you know it all and won't listen to them, you're not going very far. I'm here to say, from what I've seen, that's true. We have men from other countries in our school as students. Quite honestly, some of them are really not getting it very quickly because they get offended and can't handle the authority of other men. Not true for all, but some.

Looking forward to other comments on this thread. Everybody be safe. God's Hand of Blessings on you all. Thanksgiving is soon upon us.