I'm a Truck Driver

Well, I am back home for the weekend. Been gone from home for 9 days. Have completed 7 days of school and have 30 more to go. Whew, what a great 7 days it has been. The morning of the first day of class (May 1) was mostly introduction and letting us know the rules of the game. Then in the afternoon we got a lecture about pre-trip inspections. This a very large part needed to get our CDL license. So very important to pay attention. I found that paying attention was no problem at all. Very interesting stuff. The instructors are great! Both have been truck drivers for years and have been teaching for several years. Anyway, I went home from class pretty darn tired.

Then on Friday we had our first test. I believe I scored 100% on that. The rest of the day we spent listening to a lecture about the proper way to back up a tractor/trailer. It sounded pretty easy to me because I learned how to back trailers up in the past. But, some of the students are going to have problems because they have never done it before. Now we are being asked to do this in a great big truck, backing up a 48' trailer. Not easy at all. We ended the day knowing there was a ton of stuff to read and memorize over the weekend. I was going to go home, but there was just too much to work on, so decided to stay in Ashland City. We also went home with the knowledge that on Monday we would get into the trucks and actually move them. Boy, do these guys move fast!!

May 5: Got to class and we were tested on some of the primary regulations we need to know about when we get out on the road. Was an easy test. Then we went back to learning how to back up a truck. All of us were getting pretty antsy about what we were going to do later in the day. I believe we were all nervous. I sure was. Did not sleep well Sunday night. Anyway, we were not in the classroom very long before we were instructed to head over to the truck yard. Our classroom setting is located on White Bridge Road and the truck yard is on Cockrill Bend Road. About 3 miles away. We ate lunch over there and after lunch we all headed over toward two Internationals attached to trailers. Great looking old trucks. They are only used at the very beginning of the class to teach us how to back up. If we are going to damage a truck it is better to damage an old truck. Anyway, we all got a turn to back the truck up 200 feet and then go forward 200 ft. We were not allowed to use the fuel pedal. Just put it into reverse, let up on the clutch, and go backwards and forwards. I thought it was great. Was not nearly as difficult as I thought it would be. Once again I went home that afternoon pretty darn tired, and feeling good about what I had done for the day.

May 6. Had a short lecture on pre-trip inspections and then headed back out to the truck yard. Spent most of the morning and all of the afternoon going backward and forward. This time cones were put out for us to try to back between. I did not have much trouble doing that.

May 7. Began learning how to fill out a logbook today. This is a book all trucker drivers have to keep on a daily basis and it has to be done as long as the person has a CDL. They have to account for every minute of every day, including days off. We were told we are going to start doing a logbook while at school so we can get the hang of it. That should be fun. We were going to stay in the classroom all day because we heard the weather was going to turn bad. But, it was so nice out the instructor asked if we wanted to go out to the truck yard. I bet you can't guess what we wanted to do. DRIVE THOSE TRUCKS. LOL!!! So, we headed out to the truck yard and continued with the backward and forward routine. Now, some of the students are still having a lot of difficulty backing the rig up. If they can't back the rig up in a straight line they will never be able to pass that portion of the driving test. We are going to have to be able to back a truck and trailer up in a straight line for 300 feet. We will have only a 12 foot wide path to follow. Then, we are going to have to parallel park, do a 90 degree back up and possibly do a serpentine. That is like backing up in a snaky path. So, we must get the straight line back right. Well, me and couple others were doing really well with the backing maneuver, so one of the instructors decided it was time to give us more of a challenge. He had us pull up to one cone, almost touching it. Then he put a cone in back of the trailer with only about 8 feet of clearance. He told us to back the rig up, going around that cone, without hitting it. The first guy did it real well, only having to pull up a few times to get around. When it came my turn I put them all to shame. LOL!!! I was able to get around that cone and did not have to pull up. The guys mouths dropped. I told them I had learned how to back up trailers, but I guess they did not believe me. Anyway, they do now. It was fun. The backing was not so hard, but just wait until we start having to shift these things. I have a feeling that part will not be so easy for me to do. There is a lot of coordination to it. We will see.

May 8: It rained today and we stayed in the classroom all day. We talked more about the logbooks and got to do an exercise on that. Then in the afternoon we got a lecture on the proper way to shift from gear to gear. We start doing this in the truck on Monday.

May 9: Once again we stayed in the classroom. More logbook work and more information about shifting. Our instructors have given us a sheet of paper that has the shift pattern we will be using in the truck. They want us to sit down in a chair, put a pen or something that we can use to simulate a shift handle, push down our left foot as if we are pushing a clutch pedal, and practice shifting. They say if we do this for 15 minutes a day this will give us muscle memory for when we actually start working in the truck and should make it easier to learn how to shift the truck. I believe them. We practiced a little while in the classroom and it is not real easy. Eventually we will be shifting without having to think about it. Right now we are thinking too much.

I think this is a great school. And the students, 7 others, are really great. We have one man who is from the middle east, another from Romania, and another from Poland. Then there is one other lady in the class. It is nice to not be the only woman in the class. We are all getting along well and having a lot of fun learning together.

The trucks we are driving are: One 1995 Peterbilt. This truck is the road truck and will be the one we go out on the highways in. Then there are two 2007 Volvo's, two 1983 Internationals and 1 2000 something Freightliner. There are several trailers, all 48' long. We will be using the Volvo's to do the backing tests in. We get to use them as soon as we prove we won't destroy them. LOL!!!
1995 Pete. This is our road truck. We are being taught how to shift gears and drive on the open road in this truck.









This is the Freightliner. It was generously donated to the school by Western Express. It has a Super 10 transmission and we will get an opportunity to drive it at the end of school.








This truck is one of the old Internationals. The school uses these at the beginning of our backing lessons. They are old and leak a lot, but they are reliable and are great teachers for the extreme newbie.


This is one of the new Volvo's. It will be used when we are not so disastrous with the clutch and when the more complicated backing maneuvers are being taught.












I must say that I have really been having a blast in this school. It is so much fun. I am really glad I am doing this. We will see how next week goes.