A Canadian Perspective EH!!

So I’ve decided to record this journey as I think there is a lot of need for a Canadian perspective out there… So here it is a little Canadian perspective on getting started into trucking…. So about me …at the time of this writing (Oct 2015) I’m 39 I’ll be 40 in February and while I’ve thought about trucking a couple of times in my life ….there was just never the right amount of time money or willingness to change the lifestyle I had…..Prior to this past Feb I was employed with a worldwide retailer as a manager. In my final year I ran the number 3 ranked store in the country…..I would still be there today had I not been harassed to a point of not wanting to go into work anymore….Now you know why I left….So after lots of figuring stuff out and talking about future plans etc we made a decision to pursue a professional driving career…That’s the goal but it begins with a journey….In Ontario ( and this information is all based on Ontario , Canada ( some provinces have slightly different rules check with your License issuing office for complete details). I have 1 option of schools who have authority to issue a license upon successful completion of their program and that is Humber College. Well Humber wasn’t going to work for me but there are many other private schools available anything from 10hrs of instruction to 260 ( who can learn this in 10 hrs??) Locally for me I have 2 well thought of schools within the industry Transport Training Centres Canada ( all over Canada actually and also do heavy equipment training and Crossroads Trucking…..I looked at both and finally decided to go with TTCC Barrie Campus as I could start at any time and the course is just a little more affordable…. In Ontario before you can drive anything for practice there is a series of written tests You have to have your medical completed before you can write the tests. My Dr managed to fill mine out wrong and I had to go back and get it fixed ( filled out a new form) . I wrote my tests in Barrie at the Drivetest center in south end …I say wrote but it is all done on a touchscreen computer…. Once you start your upgrade you pay and take the 3 tests . 1. A class general knowledge 2. Road signs 3. Air brake written ….Each test is 20 questions and you must answer 16 correctly in each section.. I’ve read the manuals a couple times and was feeling pretty confident…. As it turns out aced it ..I did have 2 answers wrong with the air brake section but I’ll take it….. so off to the school to register I go……. In Ontario there is a requirement to have a grade 12 or higher education and be able to prove it….I’m almost 40 its been a while since I went to school and a short while after that where I had any papers to prove it… so I could wait until I could find a copy of my transcripts or I could write the equivalency test….. I chose to do that as it would be faster….. So I wrote that ……passed it as well…Thanks to all my high school teachers I wasn’t there much, but when I was, it stuck ..lol…So next week I get my first experience with some in truck time and I’m a little nervous and a little excited at the same time…This is the first step in a journey to a new path for my life and my families life….A huge change from my previous jobs where I was dealing with the public all day ( now I’ll be dealing with the commuters who were in just as much of a hurry as they were in the store , Fun…So I’m spending all my extra time reading the text book I have which is basically a manual for all different equipment that you could encounter out in the real world….I’m not the most mechanically inclined person but the book is making it pretty simple … Now I’m going to share some insight….. Ive been reading all the negative stuff out there for the big companies like Bison, Schneider, Challenger, Etc etc etc but the reality is that as a newly licensed driver its trickier to get a great job as everyone needs that magical 2 years… Now I might have been very lucky but I appear to have a smaller company who has been around a long while who is willing to give me a shot once my training is complete we will see …..now each job or company will have its perks and bonuses that will allow you to make the right decision about where will be best for you… I don’t know where I’ll end up yet… I have not made that decision but Ive talked to drivers on both sides of the fence and I’ll eventually figure it out . So Turkey with the family tomorrow Thanksgiving and shopping for new boots and work gloves as its really Thanksgiving on Monday …but we’re just impatient this year for Turkey. Until next time ... Keep It Shiny Side Up

So, how many times can you launch your trainer through the window as you figure out how sensitive a bobtail big rig is as you’re learning air brakes. Fun game lol To answer that you will have to count fairly high and really you should focus on rolling gently into the breaks........ I’ve been driving for over 20 years, lots of different sized vehicles breaking should not be this hard……….20 minutes later confident about getting this breaking thing down… start in 2 double clutch to 3rd roll into the pedal double clutch to 4th touch the breaks and ….KISS THE WINDSHIELD……So after a number of solid stops and a few good jokes …. I feel better about it…..I did about an hour of laps around the building double clutching up and rolling into stops....not hitting the auto gate (have to be within a couple feet to activate that one) I then spent a few hours out with another student who is taking their road test tomorrow…..I feel way better about my ability to break without t******* people into the windshield…..the amount of room required to swing a 53ft trailer in the city roads is tricky….buttonhook that’s the tricky one I think I dunno though I have not yet had to do one…… My first week has not been busy as the schedual had to be light for me as some others were really finishing their time in order to test out……. I’ll find out Monday if the guy I rode along with today passed or not…. It will be a good indicator for me I think about where I am when I come to the end of my time in 6 weeks……I had a moment today where as I’m going through my ( do it in this order and say it this way ) pages and I realized the pretrip will be way less hassle then learning lines for plays…..I’ll even have visual cues for reference so that part will be easier then I initially thought…for a clue I’ll probably write it out here as well as that will help me learn it.. know that most things are very similar to the requirements for the US ...in fact i used the High Road program to start my studying but took a break before I wrote my test as there are some differences between a few things and didnt want to have multiple numbers confusing me hehe Until next time. Keep It Shiny Side Up

So week 2 of school again I have a lighter schedual as I don’t take my actual road test for another month. So this week has been all air brakes “Z” portion of the license practical testing …. knowing the air pressures and the steps to measure and be sure that the truck and trailer is safe to operate from a braking perspective…. There is a little cheat sheet in the truck with the steps but not the air pressures or the other answers so it’s really just memorizing a script and functions that’s pretty easy…..I’ve had 2 different instructors now both are amazing …. now I’ll say this I’ve read a few reviews from some malcontents and I have to say this must be down to attitude of the student…. there is an incredible amount of information you need to get and retain and they have 6 weeks or less to do it…. Do the reading, practice at home, take some pics for a visual reference and run it over in your head….. you will have to do this once you start working to be sure the truck and trailer are safe to operate so you better know it…… So bobtailing around again and much better clutch and break control I still had a couple moments of “harsher then I wanted to be” and one lock up on gravel as I stopped but all in all not bad at all. Did 3 drop and hooks managed to nail the reverse and the straight back reversing with trailer each time… Had to make a very small “S” turn adjustment on one setup to have the kingpin lined with the 5th wheel but again no big deal… .classroom sessions for the next 2 weeks and I have a confirmed date for my practical testing…..got to have a positive attitude there are so many things that can happen that will change the plan you had for your day in the real world so these little trying moments in school will help get you ready for that as well… best laid plans and all that but the reality is that you have to deal with what you’re given and HOW you deal with it will determine how happy you can be doing this out there…..so probably not going to update much for a couple weeks as classroom probably won’t be filled with too many writing moments. Until next time Keep It Shiny Side Up hehe KISSU

So 2 weeks of intense classes with a ton of reading and videos ( make sure you can stay awake) all through the class we ran a "test" log book that was audited and we were told the amount of fines we would have accumulated ( very proud to say I didn't get any fines) we had recruiters in with the sales pitches....All I will say is to be aware they are there to sell you on a job and if you listen you can get a really great idea if they are being truthful or if their eyes are so brown you wonder how they open their mouth!!! Last week was my first full week of truck training ( by that I mean actually getting out in traffic) and I can't say enough positive about the experience with the instructor I have had the pleasure of learning from.... day of bobtailing and shifting and after that in traffic in the city with the 53' trailer for hours at a time......so at the end of the week Ive been told I'll be ready without problem for my test date ( this coming friday) so Ive spent the weekend going over my pretrip speeches and such and I feel really ready.... so I'll go out this week and avoid hitting anything and continue to add to my tool box of knowledge from the instructor ( now giving me real world experience and how too not just the "do this to pass the MTO test") I've had rain and wind and night time driving as well as Friday night traffic jam idiocy( does it get old laughing at predicting what the 4 wheelers will do next??) Backing hasnt really been a problem for me at this point although I think my time as a youngster working at a marina ( back a bunch of 48ft pontoon boats all over the yard you get better at it) ( yes I know its not the same thing but bending a trailer where it needs to go remains the same actions ...setup , steering and spacial awareness) So 1 week and I'll complete the course and as long as I dont do anything very wrong I'll have my License and then the following week I'll start the interviewing process.... Again I'm hopeful to get on with my original offer company but I have a few others as a plan B and C until next time Keep It Shiney Side Up

Dee; why was Humber not going to work for you? Was it the hours, the length of training? I don't think it can be the money, because HTTC charges about the same as TTCC.

signed,

Curious in Toronto.

Humber was more money ( I'm self funding so the extra $1250.00 was a factor combined with what would have been an extra drive and time and it would have added about $3500.00 on top ) it was really the combination of everything ....That being said Humber is the ONLY school that has signing authority for your license and a great respected program as well.....if money and time were not a factor I would have chosen Humber ..... I have 2 more days and I should have my License...... 8 hours of driving time with the truck and then I test on Friday afternoon...My instructor has told me I'll be fine unless I do something dumb like run a red or block an intersection ( I haven't done those things but its his warning) I wrote all my written tests and everything pretty much 6 weeks ago ..So total time spent was also important.. Before I started I checked with a few employers and they had no real preference either way..... So all of those were part of it... I had an observer in the truck today who started his classes this week ( he has the option of observing or not) Felt good to know that the instructor felt confident in my abilities to have me show the new guy where he will be getting to once his course is complete...Really nice thing is that the instructors are giving me some real world applications as well.( Drop and hook not the way the MTO would do it but using the air system ) Pretrip that would be acceptable by an actual company not just the circle check for the MTO....That being said not everyone from my class is getting that as they're struggling with the skills to pass the test but I think they will get there.....At least the instructors think they will and TTCC will continue to help to get them a pass.

I'm Sorry for reviving this old post, but i cant seem to find any info about the TTCC Equivalency test almost anywhere. If Decanuk is still around or anyone else has some info i would appreciate it! I really want to get my AZ and going the TTCC route but i did not do well in school and the GED just got axed from Canada. I'm really wondering what the test was like? If you have to register (and pay) before taking the test and so on... Thanks!