Henderson Hardknocks....The Joys Of A New Life!
Topic 8454 | Page 1
Great stuff! Keep us posted on your journey!
What did Joyce and Lester say to you? Because I am exactly where you were. I am discouraged to the point of dropping out of CDL school and accepting my fate with my current (safe) job. My husband was really hoping that I would take to driving so that he would have a permanent team partner. So, I would be letting him down if I don't make it.
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.
What did Joyce and Lester say to you? Because I am exactly where you were. I am discouraged to the point of dropping out of CDL school and accepting my fate with my current (safe) job. My husband was really hoping that I would take to driving so that he would have a permanent team partner. So, I would be letting him down if I don't make it.
Monica, there are many discussions here about how to back your trailer up, I'm not going to repeat them. However, it is one of the rites of passage for a potential driver to get to the edge of sanity trying to back into the "tiny" pocket between the coness/barrels/trailers. Do not throw in the towel!
By the time you complete your school, you'll know enough to get past the CDL examiner. Learning about and visualizing how the rear tandems go comes with experience. And you'll get that experience driving (and backing) with your mentor driver.
Focus on what you need to do, just get the trailer between the cones, and take your time. In my opinion, based on three months of solo driving, "real life" situations are easier.
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".
Kara, good luck on Friday. Do not give up, take a step back and breath, relax and you'll get it. I'm testing tomorrow morning May 4th. last week I felt exactly as you do, just didn't feel comfortable about it. Kept practicing and practicing and by the time I left Friday night I have no dought I will pass the test tomorrow. There's good days and bad days in school. Remember you have only been in the truck a very short time so I'm sure you're doing better than you think. You can and will do it, it's all about having a positive attitude.
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My wife became employed with Henderson Trucking back in February. I just relocated months before that and got a chance to ride with her before coming to Henderson. Now mind you I have been in the medical field since 1992 and after awhile you get burned out. So being with my wife and getting a feeling for the open road I decided it was time that I take that life changing step and go for my CDL. Arrived at the motel in Ofallon IL on March 29th 2015 and was scared to leave what was all familiar to me behind. Started class on March 30th and our class turned out to be a rather small class. That following Tuesday we all loaded up in the Expedition and headed for the unknown destination of the Illinois DMV. Nervous and afraid and lack of sleep I thought I got this for the permit....ugh I got the general knowledge portion but next came combination....such the evil I failed my permit and immediately broke down in tears of complete disappointment right in front of all my classmates. So it was truly a struggle knowing I would be leaving the DMV without a CDL permit and I immediately requested we that failed take it immediately the next day which I passed and was so happy to be onto the next step.
Moving out to the range that following Monday was such a pivotal point in my life. Watching my wife drive she made it seem so easy oh boy was I wrong...looks are deceiving. I thought it was going to be a piece of cake but it is so mentally exhausting. Second week into the range things started to look up but I still wasn't getting the whole mechanics of how to back up this huge tractor trailer into a little 24 ft box. By Thursday I was so frustrated that I walked away from the training truck wondering if I made the right decision. My instructors pulled me to the side and it was that very moment that it all clicked for me. Joyce and Lester are amazing instructors and what they did for me that day will always be a very bold memory. From that point on it was starting to take shape of me understanding the truck and honestly being humble to this big rig. That Sunday was road time and we were heading out to drop trailers and little did I know how natural it was for me to drive in such a majestic vehicle. My instructor was so impressed and it was just a blessing to know that I have crossed more hurdles than I ever thought possible. So that brings me to this last week of every day out on the range practicing our skills.
This next Friday on the 8th of May I will be heading to the DMV to hopefully get that piece of plastic that I have truly worked so hard to get. It hasn't been all cherries and sunshine for me, there has been a lot of hurdles that I have had to jump just to get where I am today. The distance and time I have had to spend away from wife it hasn't been easy but I know the end reward will make me forget about the long 6 weeks I wasn't able to be with my wife......I will be back next week to let everyone know how it went for me....Have a great weekend and for all you truckers be safe out there on them open roads....Until we meet again
CDL:
Commercial Driver's License (CDL)
A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:
SAP:
Substance Abuse Professional
The Substance Abuse Professional (SAP) is a person who evaluates employees who have violated a DOT drug and alcohol program regulation and makes recommendations concerning education, treatment, follow-up testing, and aftercare.
Dm:
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.DMV:
Department of Motor Vehicles, Bureau of Motor Vehicles
The state agency that handles everything related to your driver's licences, including testing, issuance, transfers, and revocation.
OWI:
Operating While Intoxicated