M.T.I Springfield, IL. Started Yesterday.
Topic 1724 | Page 1
That's great news, well for you and the other guy at least. You should be able to really get the time in with only the 2 of you. Look forward to following your progress. Keep us updated, but after your homework is done....
OWI:
Operating While Intoxicated
Hey, sounds like you're off to a great start! Schneider is an excellent company. They have a ton of great opportunities and they're really good at getting new drivers up to speed. You should really like it there.
Looking forward to hearing how the schooling goes!
Well. Today was the big day for CDL permits! In the history of the school, only two people have EVER passed the CDL exam with %100 across the board. I am one of the two.
My scores:
General Knowledge: %100 Air Brakes: %100 Combination Vehicles: %100 Doubles/triples: %100 Tanker: %100
All I have left to go for would be Hazmat! However, the school doesn't offer that training. With my permit open, I can add endorsements for free. So next week I will take the Hazmat on my own time.
After the past 48 hours of cramming, I am very enthused by my performance on the tests. I am not confusing confidence with ****iness. Every CDL student is new. And I will not soon forget that.
On to the next chapter!
CDL:
Commercial Driver's License (CDL)
A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:
- Any combination of vehicles with a gross combined weight rating (GCWR) of 26,001 or more pounds, providing the gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of the vehicle being towed is in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any single vehicle with a GVWR of 26,001 or more pounds, or any such vehicle towing another not in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any vehicle, regardless of size, designed to transport 16 or more persons, including the driver.
- Any vehicle required by federal regulations to be placarded while transporting hazardous materials.
HAZMAT:
Hazardous Materials
Explosive, flammable, poisonous or otherwise potentially dangerous cargo. Large amounts of especially hazardous cargo are required to be placarded under HAZMAT regulations
Combination Vehicle:
A vehicle with two separate parts - the power unit (tractor) and the trailer. Tractor-trailers are considered combination vehicles.
Doubles:
Refers to pulling two trailers at the same time, otherwise known as "pups" or "pup trailers" because they're only about 28 feet long. However there are some states that allow doubles that are each 48 feet in length.
That's awesome man! Congrats on the incredible scores!
Now you can climb into one of those beasts and head out on the highway 
HOS:
Hours Of Service
HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.
WE ARE IN THE TRUCK!
The rest of last week was un-eventful. After breezing through the CDL written test, our instructor quickly ran out of Atlas mapping, and Log entry exercises. By friday of last week, we were sitting in the classroom watching youtube videos on run-away trucks. 
So yesterday, we began our in truck training. We were handed the key's to a new Volvo, the instructor went through the driving range with us, then decided to get out of the truck and test us on our memory of the course.
Line the tractor up with the trailer, drive down a straight, lined, path. Stop within a certain numbered box. The lower the number, the better the score.
Proceed to back the tractor/trailer in a straight line for 100 feet.
Signal, begin driving forward, make a sharp right turn. Get the trailer tandems as close to the cone as possible.
Then back the truck into the bay.
This program is set up in a way that allows even the worst drivers plenty of space for error. Luckily my partner and I seemed to catch on real quick. By our 4th time around the course, we were scoring zeros. Which is a perfect score.
They NEVER let students out on the highway/ public roads before day 3 of in truck training. Last night our instructor felt so confident in us, that he gave us the chance to take the tractor down old route 66.
This is where I am so grateful I stumbled across this forum and it's blogs. While my partner was jamming gears, grinding, and getting frustrated. I remembered reading how to properly upshift and downshift here on the forum. Rule number one, NEVER jam it into gear, let it find it's own way in to gear. My biggest concern, double clutching , ended up being quite simple.
After three hours of upshifting and down shifting, the instructor began teaching us how to quickly down shift, like when you exit the freeway. Clutch, neutral, blip throttle, clutch, lower gear, brake, repeat.
Our instructor was crazy pleased with our performance. Especially given that his last class never even made it out of the range, and had to be held back an extra two weeks. SO to him, we were a breath of fresh air.
Today we will begin dealing with traffic, as we approach down town springfield with a 70 feet tractor-trailer. Pray for us. 
CDL:
Commercial Driver's License (CDL)
A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:
- Any combination of vehicles with a gross combined weight rating (GCWR) of 26,001 or more pounds, providing the gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of the vehicle being towed is in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any single vehicle with a GVWR of 26,001 or more pounds, or any such vehicle towing another not in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any vehicle, regardless of size, designed to transport 16 or more persons, including the driver.
- Any vehicle required by federal regulations to be placarded while transporting hazardous materials.
Tandems:
Tandem Axles
A set of axles spaced close together, legally defined as more than 40 and less than 96 inches apart by the USDOT. Drivers tend to refer to the tandem axles on their trailer as just "tandems". You might hear a driver say, "I'm 400 pounds overweight on my tandems", referring to his trailer tandems, not his tractor tandems. Tractor tandems are generally just referred to as "drives" which is short for "drive axles".
Tandem:
Tandem Axles
A set of axles spaced close together, legally defined as more than 40 and less than 96 inches apart by the USDOT. Drivers tend to refer to the tandem axles on their trailer as just "tandems". You might hear a driver say, "I'm 400 pounds overweight on my tandems", referring to his trailer tandems, not his tractor tandems. Tractor tandems are generally just referred to as "drives" which is short for "drive axles".
Double Clutch:
To engage and then disengage the clutch twice for every gear change.
When double clutching you will push in the clutch, take the gearshift out of gear, release the clutch, press the clutch in again, shift the gearshift into the next gear, then release the clutch.
This is done on standard transmissions which do not have synchronizers in them, like those found in almost all Class A trucks.
Double Clutching:
To engage and then disengage the clutch twice for every gear change.
When double clutching you will push in the clutch, take the gearshift out of gear, release the clutch, press the clutch in again, shift the gearshift into the next gear, then release the clutch.
This is done on standard transmissions which do not have synchronizers in them, like those found in almost all Class A trucks.
Sounds like things are going very well for you!!!! That is awesome news!!!! You'll do fine in traffic I'm sure. Thanks for the update and good luck!!!!
Sounds great man! Glad you guys are in the trucks doin it for real. What could be cooler than learning to drive a big ole American big rig, ya know?
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Through a Schneider sponsored education, I began my CDL training yesterday. (10/21/13)
If you are interested in obtaining your CDL, at little or no cost, I would strongly consider contacting your local trade school or community college. They tend to have companies who will sponsor your education. I had the opportunity to choose from Schneider ($500 dollar tuition cost) Marvin Keller ($200 tuition cost) and U.S. Express ($100 tuition cost).
I went with Schneider. Through my school, there is no contract, no minimal length of time with the company. Tuition is paid by schneider once the schooling is done. My understanding is that this is a new attempt at recruiting through Schneider. (To qualify they look heavily at your driving record, and length of previous employment. If you do not qualify, you are asked to enter into a 6 month contract.)
Day one was filled with cramming. We crammed the first 52 pages of our booklet. That covered most general knowledge. Today, we crammed the Air Brake section, and combination vehicles. I am stunned by just how much my brain is able to retain. Tomorrow, we go and take our CDL permit tests. By Friday I should be in a truck. By the 15th of November, I will graduate with a CDL, and on the 17th I head to Schneider national.
Our class of 4 people was cut in half today. Two of the students were from Northern Europe. While fluent in Albanian, english was not a strong language. They were cut. Myself and one other remain to round out the training. So far so good!
The instructor seems to be rather excellent, and my confidence is through the roof. Of all the pre-tests, I have only missed 7 questions. (6 pre-tests)
CDL:
Commercial Driver's License (CDL)
A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:
Combination Vehicle:
A vehicle with two separate parts - the power unit (tractor) and the trailer. Tractor-trailers are considered combination vehicles.
OOS:
When a violation by either a driver or company is confirmed, an out-of-service order removes either the driver or the vehicle from the roadway until the violation is corrected.