What Can I Expect In Trucking School And What Can I Expect On The Road????????
Topic 2689 | Page 1
Josh, when I went to school a while back I logged every day and made it sort of into a diary. This should keep you busy and you'll get a ton of knowledge from my experiences when I was learning the ropes. So check it out:
Daniel B.'s Central Refrigerated Trucking Diary
You have a lot of time on your hands before school. The best thing you can do for yourself is to study as much as possible. I urge you to read every article on this link if you want to know what life is like on the road.
Check out our Truckers Career Guide. This is a step by step process guides you to what you need to do next. It tells you everything you need to consider and important questions you should ask yourself.
Last but definitely not least is our High Road Training Program. This is pretty much a prerequisite if you want to head into this industry on the right foot. It teaches you all you need to know and will make passing that permit test a piece of cake!
Sorry forgot to link. Have to deal with my delivery in a hurry. 
High Road Training Program
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.
my name is josh and im looking to start a career in trucking i will be attending in march 2014 and im trying to learn as much as possible before schooling begins what can i expect in school and what can i expect on the road how is the lifestyle??? i just want to see everyone's opinion about life as a trucker any feedback would be great.
Josh,
I haul cars and have trained two new drivers to do the same for our company. One drive who had experience, but not with hauling cars and one who just graduated from trucking school. The guy who went to school is still riding with me and not ready to go one his own, but he has a great attitude and works hard. Both critical traits for this kind of work. When he started training it was clear that he lacked practical experience with some very basic skills. My advice to you is to remember that you need to suck in as much information and experience as you can while in school. It's very expensive and if you do the minimum required you will get out of it the minimum required. They will get you your CDL , but it's up to you to pull from it anything more that you want. Make sure you learn some critical basics like down shifting/catching gears, how to properly ride your Jake-Break, testing your connection to the fifth-wheel, and how to identify and inspect things that make safe operations possible. Learn logs inside out and be familiar with how log book violations effect your record and how they tie in with the FMCSA. My trainee could only drive a 10 speed and I had to give him some instruction on using a 13 speed. He also needed training on down shift and being able to pull through the scales smoothly. He knew nothing about what to expect when getting a red light at the scales, getting his logs inspected, and/or getting a truck inspected. Although it's no big deal if your checking your gear like you should, it can be nerve racking the first time some one who can pull you off the road is digging through your log book and asking you questions about the truck. Most of these guys have been good guys from my experience. Good luck Josh.
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.
CSA:
Compliance, Safety, Accountability (CSA)
The CSA is a Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) initiative to improve large truck and bus safety and ultimately reduce crashes, injuries, and fatalities that are related to commercial motor vehicle
FMCSA:
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
The FMCSA was established within the Department of Transportation on January 1, 2000. Their primary mission is to prevent commercial motor vehicle-related fatalities and injuries.
What Does The FMCSA Do?
- Commercial Drivers' Licenses
- Data and Analysis
- Regulatory Compliance and Enforcement
- Research and Technology
- Safety Assistance
- Support and Information Sharing
Fm:
Dispatcher, Fleet Manager, Driver Manager
The primary person a driver communicates with at his/her company. A dispatcher can play many roles, depending on the company's structure. Dispatchers may assign freight, file requests for home time, relay messages between the driver and management, inform customer service of any delays, change appointment times, and report information to the load planners.
As usual, great advice from Daniel...and Bill....we are so glad to have you in the group !! I think you are our only parking lot !! Driving those are not a job for the light hearted...so much responsibility !!!
HOS:
Hours Of Service
HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.
Thank you very much daniel b and bill a parking lot for all of the advice i have been doing a few tests so far on this website the first one was 84 the second was around the 60's but i will be studying before school to make sure i know everything i need to know im glad to see many people on this website that are willing to give others advice thank you all for welcoming me to the website
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my name is josh and im looking to start a career in trucking i will be attending in march 2014 and im trying to learn as much as possible before schooling begins what can i expect in school and what can i expect on the road how is the lifestyle??? i just want to see everyone's opinion about life as a trucker any feedback would be great.