Comments By Muleskinner 6

Thanks Justin but I guess this is part of the job. Feels good to relax for a while. I have driven about 1800 miles in five days.

Missi I actually have my CDL but I am out with a trainer for five weeks before I go solo, as long as I get all my computer work done and tests complete.

So I am just finishing my first week with my trainer and we have covered numerous miles. Today we were 200 miles from our final and we received a message from dispatch that our appointment time has been pushed back 48 hours.

My trainer instructed me to pull into the next TA and pull forward just passed the pumps, so I did as I was told.

He then looks at me with a huge grin and asks me "Guess what we get to do?" My first response was to get a shower to which he said no. Next response was eat to which he said no.

So at this point I was afraid to know what he had planned. He smiled again with a toothless smile and giggles like an evil schoolgirl and said the dreaded words "backing practice". I'm in no way a bad backer but honestly I need a lot of "practice" but I dread doing it in a truck stop with people watching.

Being it was only about 11 AM there were plenty of empty spots. We picked the back row and after screwing up my first three parking jobs with my trainer coaching me through them he had me pull around the row and instructed me to park between two trucks.

Oh crap what do you mean I can't park with two empty spots on the sides. He said good luck this is the real deal now. He said I was on my own for this one but he would spot me so I didn't hit anything expensive. He said if I could get it in without much trouble I could shut it down and go eat and shower.

He got out and about that time I seen three other drivers approaching and I was hoping they weren't mad. One of them had stopped his truck in the isle so I figured he was upset I was taking too long.

To my surprise they all wanted to watch and give me pointers. Next thing I knew I was on my fourth trip around the row and I had parked in about seven different spots.

One of the biggest things that helped was one of them put an orange marker about ten feet straight out from the drivers side line of the space I was attempting to get in. He said when the tandems hit that point crank the wheel and chase the trailer. To my surprise the trailer went straight in.

I was very appreciative that everyone wanted to help coach me and give me pointers. My preconceived notion that all drivers are rude and hateful was totally wrong.

Thanks guys.

My house is in the mountains near a lake with a stream running next to it. It is so quiet that you could hear crickets chirping in the distance. At night I would sleep with my window open and I would wake up if a car passed on the dirt road in front.

Then i got to school and my roommate had sleep apena and would wake up in the night gasping for air. Scared the hell out of me a few times.

I tried listening to music but found that just kept me awake. Then I discovered an app in the Google play store called white noise. I didn't like the diesel engine they offered free so I found a different one and now I sleep like a baby.

Madison I was surprised also when I started surfingTrucking Truth and I didn't find much info on Stevens Transport. I was worried that it might not be the best choice buyt so far I am happy.

I am in my final week of school here at Careers Work Wide in Keensburg Colorado (near Denver). My experience so far is very similar to yours except all the studying for the CDL test was left up to us in our free time. But thanks to the High Road program I had very high scores.

Keep up the great attitude and keep blogging how your experience at school goes. Maybe our paths will cross in the future. Good luck....

I just got my CDL in Texas. In Texas the pretrip is a WRITTEN test not a hands on practical test.

Hey Hollis are you in a school? Are you working for a company? Just curious because I will be in Dallas Saturday for orientation and a few other students said we have to take more tests when we get there even though we graduated here.

Sorry I confused my answer about the slack adjuster. You can check the front slack adjusters with the brakes set. To check the back ones you have to have the chock the tires and release the brakes. Sorry for the confusion.

Been watching videos and still don't understand a few things

1.When I start out side i check the lights for damage and proper color ( Are the lights turned on or off for this ?)

2. I says check light on the in cab part ( do i turn on lights and get out and see if they work then get back in to change lights)

3. On the brake check tug test some videos show just the bob tail tractor some show with a trailer hooked . ( does the examiner make you hook to a trailer or un couple if your coupled on pre trip part)

4. Also if your parking brake is on how do you pull on the slack adjuster to show you only have a inch of movement videos ive seen dont show this part

I am currently in school in Colorado.

First question: On our light test we check with lights off. You are checking for properly secured and mounted, not bent broken or cracked, and they are the proper color . (Amber in front and red in the back)

On your second question: We are allowed to use a helper and as we go through the light check they verify if they are working.

Third question: We release the trailer brakes but have truck parking / spring brake on and gently tug in a low gear.

If we are testing the trailer brakes and kingpin connection we set the trailer brakes and release the truck parking brake and gently tug on it in a low gear.

Fourth question: The slack adjuster is part if the service brakes therefore if the parking / spring brakes are set you can pull out the slack adjuster to check it.

It will all make sense once you get to see it in person. If you can go down to a local truckstop and ask one of the drivers if they would be willing to show you. Most of the drivers are pretty nice and helpful. Every once in a while you get the crusty ones that hate life and don't want to help out a new guy.

I wish there was a like button on your response Brett because you hit the nail on the head with your response.

Ok so I have never struggled in school in any way other than English class, I have always been able to pass multiple choice tests even if I didn't even know the subject at all. So I figured how hard can a CDL test at DMV be right? WRONG!!!!

I went to the book store and bought a study guide for about $40 and started studying. I would take the practice tests before i read each chapter and then again after I read the chapter..... Conclusion? I didn't really retain much at all and would only score in the 70's or below each time.

So then I found Trucking Truth and stayed up all hours of the night reading the forums, I think I read everything Daniel B. ever posted. One thing in the forums I kept noticing is everyone kept talking about the High Road program so I decided to take a chance and see what happens.

The one thing I liked and I think is a great idea is you read one page and then take a test, not only over that one page but over everything you had read up to that point.

Results? Well after completing about half the program I was scoring very high, mostly 100's and high 90's.

When I got to school (Careers World Wide in Keensburg Colorado) i figured we would have time in class to study and the teacher would help us in the areas we were struggling. Boy was I wrong and a few of the guys here really struggled studying on their own. A third of our class failed the first time and one guy took the test three times before he passed.

On the third day of school I was sent to the DMV in Denver and how do you think I did? Ok its obvious I have my permit but you guessed it, I got 100% on both airbrakes and combination test but I missed three on general knowledge. It's my fault because I read too much into one question and answered wrong. The other two I never seen before.

My suggestion to anyone out there considering going to a school is to take the High Road program. It is amazing and it works. I am sure if I didn't find this program I would have surely struggled.

I just wanted to say thank you to Brett and the rest of his staff here at Trucking Truth for putting together such an awesome website and the High Road program is amazing.

Thank you.

I am currently in school with Stevens but they sent me to Keensburg CO since I live in Colorado. But anyway that just did a urine test on us when we got here.