Comments By JT

Day 11: Today we spent the morning practicing our off set backing. I did much better with it. We are beginning to prepare for our tests next week. After lunch I spent the afternoon on the road with one of the instructors who will be one of two testing us next week. She told me that I would have passed the test and that I shouldn't have any problem passing the road exam next week. Now if I can just nail the backing I've got my CDL. I'm feeling pretty confident but not too over confident. I have to be humble and just take my time and do it the way they trained us. Tomorrow we will be doing mock pre trips to see how prepared we are for the real thing. I also got an approval from Stevens today. I was excited. I think I have narrowed my list from three to two, Schneider and Stevens. I'll probably decide by the end of the week or first of next week. Until tomorrow, have a good night all.

Good deal! Nice progress on your part. In the alley dock, be careful of the “snake of death” trap. (If that’s the correct phrasing). Basically what happens is that you get in a bind & have to pull up. Most trainers says turn into the the problem. In the alley dock, this is suicide. I got into this back & forth slow death by pointing out.

The examiner got in the truck & showed me the correct pull up. Instead of pulling forward where the space is limited, you pull towards your starting point but instead of heading towards your set up point, you go to the upper right corner of that. Now it turns into an almost straight line until you swing into the box.

I was fortunate not to get another alley dock on my next two tries. Good luck going forward!!

Thanks Splitter. I know what you mean. I have been caught in that back and forth slow death more than once.

Day 11: Today we spent the morning practicing our off set backing. I did much better with it. We are beginning to prepare for our tests next week. After lunch I spent the afternoon on the road with one of the instructors who will be one of two testing us next week. She told me that I would have passed the test and that I shouldn't have any problem passing the road exam next week. Now if I can just nail the backing I've got my CDL. I'm feeling pretty confident but not too over confident. I have to be humble and just take my time and do it the way they trained us. Tomorrow we will be doing mock pre trips to see how prepared we are for the real thing. I also got an approval from Stevens today. I was excited. I think I have narrowed my list from three to two, Schneider and Stevens. I'll probably decide by the end of the week or first of next week. Until tomorrow, have a good night all.

Day 10: I started working on the alley dock. I did better than I thought I would. It still wasn't pretty though but with step by step instructions from one of the instructors I got better as the day went on. We begin testing next Monday so the rest of the week will be spent preparing for that. I'm anxious to get done so I can start with my career as a truck driver.

Day 9: Today was pretty uneventful for me. Some started working on the 90 degree and others of us went on the road. I didn't make it behind the wheel due to time but I did ride with a different trainer I hadn't ridden with yet so it was good to get different insight from another trainer on shifting, downshifting, stopping and turning so it was most definitely a learning experience. Two recruiters came and talked to us today. Schneider and McElroy. I really liked what Schneider has to offer. I've narrowed my list down to them, Werner and Stevens. I already have a pre-hire from Stevens. They're all good companies so I don't think I can go wrong with any of them. I assume those who didn't work on the 90 today will begin tomorrow. I'm really nervous about doing the alley dock backing. I'll just have to breathe and take it slow and steady. I'm confident I'll get it though.

My keep up the good work and withat positive attitude it’ll all click into place. Stay safe and keep your eyes and ears open!

Thanks Squirrelly.

Day 8: We spent all day on pre trip and off set backing. I feel good about the pre trip. The off set backing is another animal all together. I can get it in the box but not consistently. Too many pull ups right now. Next week we start on the 90. I'm feeling confident I'll get it. It's just going to take practice. We're off till Monday. Y'all have a good weekend.

I’m curious if they teach the same reference points as Prime. It’s depends on the trainer but it’s mostly like this. On the offset, you set up between the cones. Turn the wheel opposite of where you want to go. Some say a full 2 revolutions, others use 2.5 revolution turn on the wheel.

Here’s where it varies also. Depending on how far you turned the wheel? That determines if you look for the opposite leg of your landing gear in your mirror. I used the 1.5 so my reference point was the middle of the landing gear. Then looking at where the tandems split the 1st white line of the lane your aim for & counter steering to ease the trailer in the hole.

Do they teach these references there?

Hey Splitter...Some of what you said is the same except for the number of revolutions and reference points. We are taught to turn the wheel opposite all the way at the start which is between the cones. Then roll back 6-8 ft then cut the other way to get the tractor and trailer in a straight line. The truck is then at an angle to the entrance of the lane. That's where we pick up our reference point. It's the first cone on the left of the lane ( if we're offsetting right to left) which should be in view and in line with the left rear corner of the trailer. Then straight back until just before the rear of the trailer gets to the entrance of the box then cut hard left then immediately hard right to get back under the trailer and if you time it right you should be entering the box in the lane then just a straight back to the stopping point. It's all in the timing.

I guess it goes back to the old saying, there’s many ways to skin a cat! It’s amazing that all these techniques work with the proper execution. And we wreck our brains trying to get it right to pass the test. Then we get out into the real world & it’s a whole different beast all together. It’s ok to kill a cone, it’s rubber & bounces back. A dent on another driver’s rig doesn’t bounce back as easily. Hope you knock it out the park. Take you time & remember to breathe.

Thanks Splitter. Execution is what it boils down to. I tend to over think it. Therefore I'm not consistent with it. Hopefully come test time I can just relax and do it. I'm confident I can.

I'm not familiar with SAPA. Can you tell me a little about what it is? Thanks.

SAPA is the customer we serve on a dedicated account at Knight Transportation. They are a worldwide producer of aluminum extrusions. Knight has a flat-bed division dedicated to a SAPA plant in Delhi, Louisiana delivering these goods all across the country, but primarily East of the Rockies.

Ok. Thanks for the info Old School. I've got a couple other things I'm looking at right now. I still have two weeks of school left but I will for sure keep this one in mind when it comes to decision time which will have to be soon. I'm going to need a job ASAP when I'm all done with school. I appreciate you reaching out to me. That means a lot. You take care and be safe and I'll let you know what direction I go in. Thanks again.

Day 8: We spent all day on pre trip and off set backing. I feel good about the pre trip. The off set backing is another animal all together. I can get it in the box but not consistently. Too many pull ups right now. Next week we start on the 90. I'm feeling confident I'll get it. It's just going to take practice. We're off till Monday. Y'all have a good weekend.

I’m curious if they teach the same reference points as Prime. It’s depends on the trainer but it’s mostly like this. On the offset, you set up between the cones. Turn the wheel opposite of where you want to go. Some say a full 2 revolutions, others use 2.5 revolution turn on the wheel.

Here’s where it varies also. Depending on how far you turned the wheel? That determines if you look for the opposite leg of your landing gear in your mirror. I used the 1.5 so my reference point was the middle of the landing gear. Then looking at where the tandems split the 1st white line of the lane your aim for & counter steering to ease the trailer in the hole.

Do they teach these references there?

Hey Splitter...Some of what you said is the same except for the number of revolutions and reference points. We are taught to turn the wheel opposite all the way at the start which is between the cones. Then roll back 6-8 ft then cut the other way to get the tractor and trailer in a straight line. The truck is then at an angle to the entrance of the lane. That's where we pick up our reference point. It's the first cone on the left of the lane ( if we're offsetting right to left) which should be in view and in line with the left rear corner of the trailer. Then straight back until just before the rear of the trailer gets to the entrance of the box then cut hard left then immediately hard right to get back under the trailer and if you time it right you should be entering the box in the lane then just a straight back to the stopping point. It's all in the timing.

Hey JT, I'm curious... do you live in Louisiana? If so, I could probably get you hooked up with a really nice flat-bed gig on this dedicated SAPA account I'm working on. They have been hiring new drivers lately. If you're interested let me know.

Hey Old School...Yes I live in Louisiana. I'm not familiar with SAPA. Can you tell me a little about what it is? Thanks.

Day 8: We spent all day on pre trip and off set backing. I feel good about the pre trip. The off set backing is another animal all together. I can get it in the box but not consistently. Too many pull ups right now. Next week we start on the 90. I'm feeling confident I'll get it. It's just going to take practice. We're off till Monday. Y'all have a good weekend.

Good to see things are going well for you Squirrelly. Keep at it.