Keystone Diesel CDL Training Program And Starting At Roehl

Today was the most horrible day Ive had in the past 2 weeks. it really makes me wonder if im cut out for this. Ill start with the high notes i went driving today and did great with shifting except for the last one, more on that in a min. I got to drive thru some construction that was a new one for me and i did good didn't hit any cones or anything went well. i think im starting to get the hang of parallel parking the hulking things. as for the bad part i missed a shift and that started a horrible chain of events that ended with me taking out half a bush and a stop sign. so yeah im a lil upset about that now and wondering if i have what it takes to be a trucker. there wasn't any visible damage except the bush and stop sign. ill find out tomorrow if i popped the tire. so hopefully everyone had a better day than i did.

Well the second week is finally over and its been a heck of a ride lol. I learned more than i thought i could in one short week and the only casualty was that stupid stop sign. My instructor definitely had a lot more confidence in my abilities than i did today he took me on some some pretty nasty roads, lots of traffic and hills to deal with. I think im starting to get the hang of the parallel parking thing too. Unfortunatly i get to go back to class next week for endorsement training, they wouldn't let me take the tests for those when i took my permit test. So next week will be pretty uneventful.

Hello JakeBreak. Welcome to the wonderful world of commercial truck driving. I'm new to this career myself as I just finished CDL school on May 4th and I've been working since May 5th as a truck driver. Did my couple weeks of company training and will be starting my 3rd week of driving in my own company truck as a solo driver come Monday. It can get frustrating and confusing at times as well as having both good and bad days, sometimes in the same day. I read your previous post and I believe that you asked for some input on parallel parking. It's really not that difficult as long as you know the correct procedure and what moves to make when. I was feeling the same way as you in the beginning.

What some of my fellow students and I concluded was that no mater what manouvor you are attempting to do it is critical that you set up the same exact way every time you attempt the move. We had a painted box in the lot that we used to practice our parallel parking and there we're traffic cones placed at each corner. So when we would pull up to get into our starting position I would try and place the trailer tires the same distance from the cone every time. I liked to be about 9 inches away from the cone where other students would set up 14 inches from the cone. Each was correct in its own way as we figured out that it depends on who's driving. Some of us might have been putting more pressure on the steering wheel as we began to move to get that extra turning out of the truck. Others might wait a second befoe giving it that extra "tug" on the wheel. As long as you set yourself up exactly the same way each time it seemed to make it easier when trying to perfect the move. You eliminate one potential problem by setting up the same each time. I hope this is making sense to you I'm not sure how good I am at writting instructions or suggestions and getting my point across.

I found once I had my turn points set I would try and duplicate it in the exact same position each time so that if I wasn't perfectly straight at the end of the move it made it easier to figure out what I needed to do differently to get it right and make the adjustments and get it right each and every time. Just remember to completely stop the truck then turn the wheel for your next part of the move. If you try to turn as your moving you'll never get it exactly the same each and every time. Once you figure out all your "set points" the rest should come realitively easy. Then it's just as easy as setting up, stop, turn the wheel all the way to the right, as you start to move keep pulling on the wheel to get that little "extra" turn out of her until you hit your set point with the drive wheels and your trailer landing gear frame. Stop, turn it all the way to the left, stop. Get the steers straigh and back into the box, stop at your set point. Turn all the way to the left, stop. All the way to the right, stop, finish backing into the box, stop. Your pretty much done.

With some trial and error we were able to make adjustments for any of the manouvors we needed to do. Just remember that everyone has a slight variation from driver to driver so don't hesitate to try something a little different if necessary to be successful. I hope this helps you be a little less stressful next time you're on the range. I'm no expert, not by a long shot and I have a lot to learn and will probably never stop learning new things. Jut keep a positive attitude and tell yourself you can do this. If you can stay positive you'll find things will fall into place and you'll be a better driver because of it.

Thank you very much for your advice Joe. I spent some time with my uncle yesterday and i think im starting to get it. It is really hard to keep the setup the same everytime, but i think im starting to get the hang of it. I just hope i dont forget all of it while im stuck in the classroom next week. I will be trying to get more time in with my uncle next week, hes been driving for 30 years, so i think hes a pretty good person to learn from. I just need to pass the test n then ill be out in the real world and ill be able to perfect n learn the rest of my manuvers.

Well day 1 of week 3 is done. I can officially say that the classroom part is crap i go tomorrow to do my doubles triples and tank endorsments then we start studying hazmat. Today was all the doubles and tanker bookwork to prep us for the test tomorrow.

I just called Keystone today Jake. I talked to Tom. Im still on the fence about them. Pretty expensive and a 2 hour drive for me

I just called Keystone today Jake. I talked to Tom. Im still on the fence about them. Pretty expensive and a 2 hour drive for me

It is expensive but i think its one of the better schools around here i looked at 3 or 4 before i settled on this one. The part that sealed it for me was the guaranteed loan for half of the cost.

Well day 2 is done i have 2 more endorsements for my license, doubles and tanker i go in tomorrow for hazmat n fingerprinting and then we start log book classes after that. Im really gonna have to study hazmat tonight n the high road logbook is really kicking me in the pants so ill have to study that too its gonna be a late night

Passed my written hazmat test today now just waiting on the govt to pass my background check. I got to spend some time on the backing range my parallel parking skills havent improved in the truck lol. i really hope i can do this we do logs tomorrow, and friday more backing, then 4 days on the road and then test i dont see how im going to be ready.

Well logbook training is just as fun as i thought it was gonna be i think im starting to get it but its rough all those rules that you gotta know and yeah its tough. I look forward to tomorrow to getting back out on the range and trying some more parallel if i can nail that i feel ok with testing next week.