Prime PSD Training, From A Trainer's Perspective.
Topic 25397 | Page 24
Old School advised: "You need to be committed to this if you're going to go through school. Wait until you are ready."
Craig, that's really sound advice. A friend of mine went through Schneider training (they are partnered with a local technical school) and got his CDL through that school and then went to Schneider Training Academy. He quit after 7 months and was billed by Schneider over $2,000 for his training, based on a contract he signed.
Make sure you are committed and/or can afford the consequences.
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.
Old School advised: "You need to be committed to this if you're going to go through school. Wait until you are ready."
Craig, that's really sound advice. A friend of mine went through Schneider training (they are partnered with a local technical school) and got his CDL through that school and then went to Schneider Training Academy. He quit after 7 months and was billed by Schneider over $2,000 for his training, based on a contract he signed.
Make sure you are committed and/or can afford the consequences.
Why did he quit? Where did he go work when he quit?
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.
Craig, many of the larger companies are already fully auto or becoming so. Anyone who tests on an auto will have the restriction. However, taking the exam later on a manual to lift the restriction would be no big deal because by that time the driver would have down the backing, turning, and handling of surroundings. To only have to concentrate on the shifting that test would be a breeze.
Craig, many of the larger companies are already fully auto or becoming so. Anyone who tests on an auto will have the restriction. However, taking the exam later on a manual to lift the restriction would be no big deal because by that time the driver would have down the backing, turning, and handling of surroundings. To only have to concentrate on the shifting that test would be a breeze.
Yeah that is a good point. How would one re test would the company do that?
One local trucking school was telling me they teach double clutching as a selling point but is that still. Necessary in the manual trucks in todays day and age?
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.
Craig, many of the larger companies are already fully auto or becoming so. Anyone who tests on an auto will have the restriction. However, taking the exam later on a manual to lift the restriction would be no big deal because by that time the driver would have down the backing, turning, and handling of surroundings. To only have to concentrate on the shifting that test would be a breeze.
Yeah that is a good point. How would one re test would the company do that?
One local trucking school was telling me they teach double clutching as a selling point but is that still. Necessary in the manual trucks in todays day and age?
Yep. Double clutching is the proper way to shift a manual transmission truck. Unlike manual transmission cars trucks do not have built in syncronizers.. you the driver are the syncronizer.
More experienced drivers will float the gears but thats an advanced technique.
Float The Gears:
An expression used to describe someone who is shifting gears without using the clutch at all. Drivers are taught to "Double Clutch" or press and release the clutch twice for each gear shift. If you're floating gears it means you're simply shifting without using the clutch at all.
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.
When my first truck went mother-in-law, I was at the OC near St. Louis. Schneider said I was getting a loner truck, but I had to take a rental car back to Green Bay. I asked my DBL why I couldn't get a truck down where I was and pull a load up to Green Bay, since I was going there anyway. Sounded like a sensible, efficient idea to me, right? The DBL said they only had a manual available at St. Louis. I told her I trained on a manual and it wouldn't be a problem for me to drive the manual. She said they couldn't let me drive a manual unless I re-certified for manual, since my broken truck was Auto. I thought that was crazy, but what did I know. (I really, really wanted to drive a manual. It broke my heart.) But if Schneider ever put my derriere in a manual again, they would bring me in to a training center and re-certify me for manual. Guess how long they trained me to drive an Auto? 30 minutes, no joke.
When my first truck went mother-in-law, I was at the OC near St. Louis. Schneider said I was getting a loner truck, but I had to take a rental car back to Green Bay. I asked my DBL why I couldn't get a truck down where I was and pull a load up to Green Bay, since I was going there anyway. Sounded like a sensible, efficient idea to me, right? The DBL said they only had a manual available at St. Louis. I told her I trained on a manual and it wouldn't be a problem for me to drive the manual. She said they couldn't let me drive a manual unless I re-certified for manual, since my broken truck was Auto. I thought that was crazy, but what did I know. (I really, really wanted to drive a manual. It broke my heart.) But if Schneider ever put my derriere in a manual again, they would bring me in to a training center and re-certify me for manual. Guess how long they trained me to drive an Auto? 30 minutes, no joke.
What do you mean train you to drive an auto? I don't really understand the double clutching aspect. Either way, it sounds like I need to learn it but most of these trucks are autos now a days.
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.
Lake Station Flying J approx 2200hrs
In my sleep I thought i heard a female voice. I passed it off as a dream, or maybe my student was talking on speakerphone. The last i knew, he was up on the top bunk sleeping too. Either way, it wasn't enough to really rouse me out of sleep.
Student: "Hey Rich?"
Turtle: "Mmph"
Student: "Hey Rich, you up? Some lady just came into the door asking for gas money."
Turtle: "Yeah that'll happen. Sometimes beggars, crackheads, or lizards will knock on your door. Don't sweat it."
Student: "No I mean she really opened up the door, got up on the first step, poked her head in, said she was pregnant and asked for money! I told her no and she left."
Yup, that's a first for me. My doors are usually locked, but I forgot last night. The audacity and stupidity it must take to open someone's door astounds me. What if I swung a tire thumper before asking? What if I had a protective dog in the cab with me?
There's an important lesson for both myself and my student. Lock your doors!
DAC:
Drive-A-Check Report
A truck drivers DAC report will contain detailed information about their job history of the last 10 years as a CDL driver (as required by the DOT).
It may also contain your criminal history, drug test results, DOT infractions and accident history. The program is strictly voluntary from a company standpoint, but most of the medium-to-large carriers will participate.
Most trucking companies use DAC reports as part of their hiring and background check process. It is extremely important that drivers verify that the information contained in it is correct, and have it fixed if it's not.
Honestly, another part of your training that they will always keep with them and not necessarily a bad thing.
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Yeah maybe you could be right. I already got the DOT Medical and the Permit though....
CDL:
Commercial Driver's License (CDL)
A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:
DOT:
Department Of Transportation
A department of the federal executive branch responsible for the national highways and for railroad and airline safety. It also manages Amtrak, the national railroad system, and the Coast Guard.
State and Federal DOT Officers are responsible for commercial vehicle enforcement. "The truck police" you could call them.