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Ed's School Journal Male, 48 years
Introduction
Hello my name is Ed. I am retired from the Navy after 20 years, 10 years of which I served aboard two Permit class nuclear submarines as an electronics technician. After retirement I worked for Sony Technology Center in San Diego as a technician repairing color televisions and computer monitors before being laid off work. I decided to return to my home town after Sept. 11, so I packed up all my belongings in my old Toyota van (it has over 203,000 miles on it) and returned to my hometown of Elgin. The van even made it over the mountains in Colorado.
Anyway I have decided to do this trucking thing and trying out OTR for awhile once I get my Class A CDL. To my surprise I found out they offered a truck driving course at Elgin Community College. Gee they didn't have one when I first went to ECC years ago. But, as they say, things change and this time the change was good. At 48 this is a heck of a time to make a career change but hey I'm divorced now or do they call it dissolved now in the courts ... whatever. What I do know is that when I was 5 years old through 10 years old I loved to ride in my grandfather's milk truck over school vacation. Now I want to try it. I'm tired of getting laid off every 6 years working for a company.
Let
the book learnin' begin
First day of Truck Driving School...book learnin' phase at ECC (Elgin Community College). It's in room 228 of the ICT building. There are 42 students so it's pretty well packed in the room. Jerry the school director comes in and tells us about the class and that we'll need to get physicals at the Elgin Care Center before we start driving which is 5 weeks away. 25% of are total classroom grade are quizzes, the midterm is 25% and the final is 50%. He says the only other thing we need to bring besides a number 2 pencil for the quizzes is a positive attitude. We can have a maximum of 4 days of absences in the classroom and six days on the road. Our CDL road test will be Aug.28, 29, & 30 at the West Chicago CDL testing center. Jerry says the hardest thing to do is learning to back these big rigs correctly and consistently. It's really not a natural skill and has to be practiced constantly....this sounds like very good advice. Oh yeah, we will also be learning how to double clutch...no automatic transmissions here. Jerry passes out the 9 & 10 speed shifting patterns and the downshifting patterns with the advisement: 'memorize them' ..."You probably won't be needing them in the classroom, but when we start driving my trucks you sure will." I think I'll start memorizing it.
Our classroom instructor is John, he was a driver for many years doing mostly local and dedicated runs in the greater City of Chicago. He talked about driver obligations...Attitude, Approach and Appearance. He also went over vehicle inspections and driver responsibilities. Driver categories and hours of service was also covered. Then he talked about the 6 parts of a CDL class A permit. All in all it was a very informative first day.
Today John talked about air brake systems. Service, emergency, and parking brakes. It didn't make much sense at first but as the instructor talked about it and people started asking questions it gradually started to sink in. Especially when he stated that the service brakes were a positive air system and the parking/emergency brakes were negative air systems. He also talked about brake compounding, brake chamber construction, and air brake pressures. We have to know the air brakes well because braking is the most important aspect of driving a 40 ton vehicle and the CDL test hits it pretty hard. John continued talking about air brakes focusing on the brake check inspection for the state exam. This included the governor cut-in and cut-out pressures, static check, Applied check and Air brake warning light / buzzer check. The instructor talked about air brake maintenance i.e. wet tank draining and alcohol evaporator. The lesson was basically everything I wanted to know about airbrakes and more than my brain could hold.
T.G.I.T. Thank God It's Thursday. One week down Five to go. Today John talked about Air brakes...??? No wait we're done with that....Engine components. The Diesel engine a mechanical masterpiece of tractor power was covered. I was surprised to find out that that most truck diesels are only six cylinders but have a large piston displacement, they even have Turbochargers like the race cars but they use diesel fuel instead of high octane gasoline. John also talked about the different types of diesel fuel #1 and #2 and various mixes for different climate conditions. He also stated that you should never trust fuel tank gauges or run the tanks completely dry... this is so you don't pick up bottom crud and clog the system. Fuels capacities were talked about...these truck hold a lot of fuel so caution should be observed especially while refueling....No smoking near fuel tanks and always keep the fuel pump nozzle in contact with the fuel tank to avoid a static spark which could ignite the fuel. Well another day down and no class Monday on account of Memorial Day...time to hang the flag out.
Tap
into my Truck Drivin' Insanity
Had a great holiday weekend but now I’m back to class for some more book learnin’. Today John, our instructor, talked about the four positions of a tractor clutch, gee that’s two more positions than a car has. The 2 additional positions are clutch brake and friction point. Of course it also has an engaged and disengage position. The friction point is where the shifting begins while you are running down the road. John also covered the different types of differentials i.e. twin screws (pusher & pullers) and the difference between a live and dead axle.
I was a little late for class today because me and my brother Chris went to the Jerry Springer Show…No we were in the audience, NOT the guests…we just had to tap into our insanity. Besides the tickets were free. It was taped at the NBC Tower in Chicago and the show started a half hour late. It was a wives and girlfriends telling their husbands and boyfriends about living out there sexual fantasies with other men and/or women. What can I say?…..It had gratuitous female nudity from the waist up and that was worth the price of admission, which was FREE. Anyways when I got to class our first recruiter from Schneider Trucking Company was giving his sales pitch. The recruiter was Bob and he was telling the class what it was like to work for Schneider. He made it sound like a good company, it’s definitely one of the largest. I may fill out an application. Although there’s no guarantee of employment it’s kinda cool that the truck driving school director at ECC have the recruiters from trucking companies come and talk to the class.
Today the instructor talked about highway classes and weight limits. Most of this information is right out of the Illinois CDL Study Guide but we gotta know this stuff. We also watched a video about platform scales it was made by CAT computerized scales. Finally the instructor talked about truck lighting devices. Well, 2 weeks of classroom done …4 weeks to go.
Keep
on Learnin'
Started and ended the class with an open book test on the Federal Motor Carriers Safety Regulations. It was 50 questions. I think I missed one . When we finished with test we could go home, so it was kind of a short day.
A recruiter from Mansur Trucking came today. It’s a company out of Janesville, Wisconsin. The recruiters' name was Paul, he had a good sales pitch and it seemed like a good company. The company’s IRA plan seemed safer than a 401K plan, in this day and age that is important. The company uses Century Freightliners and flatbed trailers. I got an application to fill out. After the recruiter was finished the instructor lectured on Inspections….Pre-Trip, Enroute, and Post-Trip. He also went over Tire types and why you need the same type and size tire on each axle. Next he discussed the In-Cab Inspection and the Air brake testing procedures. After the lecture we watched a video on Pre-Trip Inspections.
Today John talked about the 5th wheel and the locking jaws. Then he went over the coupling/uncoupling procedures. The safe way to raise and lower the landing gear to the trailer was demonstrated. The instructor then talked about how to correctly connect and disconnect double trailers. You NEVER want to disconnect the Pintle Eye from the Pintle Hook with the Trailer connected to the Converter dolly. Also the heaviest trailer goes in the front. No Class tomorrow so it’s going to be an early week. Only 3 more weeks to go. Thinking about going to get my CDL permit next week.
Git
dat CDL !
This week we learned about safe driving. The instructor talked about the correct way to enter and leave a tractor. No jumping here, I guess it’s easy to fall out of the cabovers if you are not careful. That means using the ladder steps and handholds. Then the use of clutch while shifting was talked about along with the correct shifting procedure. We also learned about the correct speed to use in rain, snow and ice.
Another recruiter came in Wednesday. Her name was Sarah and her company was Roehl Transport Inc., it’s out of Marshfield, Wisconsin. She gave a pretty good sales pitch and passed out a neat log ruler to everyone. The company uses Freightliners and specializes in flatbed and curtain vans. She also passed out an application packet. After the recruiter left, John continued his lecture on safe driving 2. Triangle placement was talked about and the differences for placing them on a divided and undivided highway.
Woke up Thursday morning and decided to take the CDL exam in West Chicago, it’s located on Powis Rd. near Dupage Airport. I got there at 8 a.m. and told the guy behind the desk I wanted to take the whole sha-bang….General Knowledge, Airbrakes, Combo Vehicles, Tankers, Double/Triples, and Hazmat Endorsement. So I paid my $50.00 and examiner said to take computer #1 along the wall…there was no one else there so I guess I went at a good time. The great thing about the computer is that you get instantaneous feedback on your answer choice. If the screen turns green after you answer then that’s GOOD you got it right; If the screen turns red then that’s BAD you got it wrong. I started out getting green screens on the general knowledge but then I got a few red screens because I didn’t read the question correctly…Beware of the word NOT in the question. Anyways, I passed the General knowledge test with an 86%. Aced the Air brakes test. Got a 92% on Combo Vehicles. Aced the tankers test. Got a 96% on the Doubles/Triples test and finished with a 92 % on the Hazmat. Not too bad, I was just happy that I didn’t have to take a test over ‘cause you only get Three chances. So with CDL permit in hand I returned home having gotten one major obstacle out of the way…can’t wait to start driving, only 2 more weeks of classroom.
Learnin' da Logs.
Today the instructor talked about backing maneuvers: Straight back, Sight side backing and Blind side backing. The most important thing to remember here is to back very slowly. If you need to pull up.. do it… because it’s better than trying to correct a bad position and kill more cones. John also went over the different types of turns at intersections. The right turn seems to be the hardest because you don’t want to cut the corner or let a car squeeze between you and get pinched. He also talked about the modified button hook and square out turns. Left turns seem to be a little easier.
Midterm today 50 question multiple-guess. Test covered pretty much what the instructor covered. When we were finished we turned in our tests and went home. I think I did pretty good on it.
Another recruiter stopped by to give his company’s sales pitch. The company was Werner Enterprises. I can’t remember his name though. He passed out pens and log rulers, saying that we wouldn’t need the rulers with his company because Werner uses electronic Qualcomm logging. He made the company sound good for entry level drivers but the pay seems low. Of course if you go to realdrivers.com you’ll find some horror stories about this company and others. One guy was so adamant about working for them that he dedicated an internet site...it’s called WernerScrews.com. But there are some good stories about this company too. I guess you just have to weigh the good with the bad. We got our grades back from the mid-term, I did better than I thought…Didn’t miss any.
John started talking about logging procedures and Hours of service rules: i.e. 10 hr. Driving Rule, 15 hr. On-Duty Rule, Sleeper Rule, 70 hr./8 day and 60 hr./7day rules. They seem a little tricky but after asking a few questions it started to sink in. Hey only one more week to go and the only thing left to study for is the final.
Last
week of book learnin'
Last week of classroom training. Today our instructor finished up on logbook procedures, then he handed us a logbook worksheet. I thought it was a surprise quiz. We were supposed to read the driver's logs on the worksheet and answer if there was a log violation i.e. which rule was violated and how long the violation was. It was a good worksheet and helped reinforce my knowledge about log books. After this we learned about trip planning and map reading. This involved showing us how to read a truckers atlas. Then the class teamed up into 2 person groups to work on a graded project. On this project we were to plan a trip from Wisconsin to Ohio, then on to New Mexico, and finally going back to Missouri. We had to fill out our logs as if we were team drivers, and there couldn’t be any rule violations. It was a good exercise and helped me to familiarize myself with the truckers atlas. If you want to use the computer to fill out your driver's logs check out driversdailylog.com, it’s shareware and it’s FREE.
Today we finished up our trip planning/log projects then turned them into the instructor. This took about 2 hours. After this John gave a lecture on cargo handling and securing. The last lecture was on job procurement which was about getting out a good resume and securing the interview.
Last day before the final. The instructor gave the last lecture on shifting and reiterated the finer aspects of double clutching and downshifting, he also talked about progressive shifting. Then we had small review for tomorrow’s Final test. After that we watched a video on safe driving and the consequences of following to closely.
Final today 100 questions. I finished the test 2 hours after John passed them out. When I was finished I took the test down to Jerry’s office to be graded on the Scantron machine. I did pretty good on the test, it was high enough to get an A for the classroom part of school. I wonder if I made the dean’s list (LOL)…but I just don’t think there is one for Truck Driving. Next week we start the Driving part of school….that may be interesting ‘cause I’ve never driven a big truck before.
Dang
these trucks are BIG!
First day of behind the wheel training. Jerry the the department director is our instructor now. Another instructor is also here in the maneuvering yard and guess what his name is ?....Yep...Jerry so I guess all the students will call him Jerry #2. The class has been split up now, Dayshift (11:30am to 4:30 pm) and night shift (6:00pm to 11:00pm) Monday thru Thursday. I'm in the day shift with 12 other students there are 25 students on the night shift for a total of 37 students, we lost five students since the first day of class. Roll call is taken and then the 2 instructors drive the tractors with semi-trailers over to the practice yard on the outskirts of the college. They make it look easy, after years of driving I'm sure they could do it blindfolded. Jerry shows us how to check the oil levels and coolant reservoirs in both the conventionals and cabovers. He then shows us how to do the pre-trip inspections on the tractor and semi-trailer. Then he goes over the air brake checks.
After this we pair pair up and go over the pre-trip inspection ourselves. The air brake checks actually make sense now as we do the hands on inspection, i.e. why the ignition key needs to be on when you do the warning light/buzzer check when pumping down the air brakes...if the ignition isn't on you'll never see the light. We have six trucks to practice our inspections on: two '90 Freightliners model 10464 (#935Ϊ) COE, an '87 Freightliner model 1206T(#939) Conv., a '96 Freightliner FLD-112 (#42) Conv., a '97 Freightliner FLD-112 (#40) Conv. and a '93 Peterbilt Model 379 (#944). The tractors have either a 9-speed or a 10-speed except the Peterbilt it has a 13-speed. The time seemed to go quickly although it was pretty hot and muggy out. Tomorrow we start driving in the yard.
Clutch and Go
We’re all back in the yard again. Jerry has disconnected all the tractors from the trailers. After going through the Pre-trip inspections we get to go forward and backward with the tractors. Jerry #2 rides with me and Jim, another student. We practice using the clutch brake to shift into gear and then slowly engaging the clutch. This takes us to a whopping speed of 3 mph but it’s fast enough for now. Jerry #2 has us press in the clutch so we can feel he friction point of the clutch. This is the point we will be shifting at on the road. Once I get to the end of the yard it’s time to back up using the West Coast mirrors. Lucky for me there’s no trailer so it’s almost like driving your pick-up truck except you sit a lot higher. We continue doing this the rest of the day switching between six tractors.
To
Couple or Not to Couple?
Hot and humid today in the yard. We went through the pre-trip inspections again, this has become standard procedure. After the pre-trips we continue to drive the tractors forward and backward in a straight line. There’s no turning today but Jerry had me turn the FLD-112 around towards the Peterbilt 379 so we could get the Big Pete started, I think it has some kind of charging problem. The Peterbilt starts right up after the battery jump. Jerry has me back up to where I was before saying "Just don’t hit my car". I get the Freightliner backed around avoiding the car. Then it was back to forward and backward driving. Following the lunch break Jerry showed us how to couple and uncouple a tractor/semi-trailer. After the demonstration I took the next tractor over and uncoupled it, following the same procedure Jerry had shown us. When I re-coupled the trailer I thought I heard and felt the locking jaws click so I gave the tractor a forward tug check and the tractor came right out from under the trailer. Luckily the landing was still down but now I know the reason for doing the forward tug checks. You don’t want to loose a trailer. I did a second uncoupling and had a very difficult time pulling the 5th wheel release handle, so I got inside the cab, and backed up against the kingpin with the trailer spring brakes set. This helped I think because on the 4th pull of the handle the lock jaws released. I gotta get a 5th wheel puller to make it easier. We finished class early because of the 4th of July holiday. Time to hang out the flag again.
Grindin' and scratchin' gears
Well I had a great holiday barbecue at my sister’s family house and watched a nice fireworks display at the Elgin Sports Complex. Now it’s back to the asphalt truck jungle. There’s another instructor now and guess what his name is ….Yep, you guessed it…Jerry. So he gets to be Jerry #3. Does the school clone these guys? I’ll have to check with the science department. It feels like a hot one today. Jerry says we’re going to drive bobtail on the side streets around the school. My name comes up on Jerry’s driving list and I get a chance to finally take a tractor out of first gear. The truck’s we’ll be driving are the red Freightshaker FLD-112’s. Both trucks have A/C, on a day like this we’ll need it. The trucks gearbox is a 10 speed. I rode with Jerry #3. I wasn’t the greatest at shifting gears, as I soon found out. I couldn’t remember to double clutch and was grinding and scratching gears with every shift I made. Jerry #3 was very calm and patient though. I was shifting the tractor like a car which is really the wrong thing to if you want to shift smoothly. Jerry #3 wasn’t too concerned about my double clutching as long as I could get it in gear and keep the truck moving. Sometimes I would let the clutch out too fast and the truck would jerk ahead before smoothing out, sometimes times I would under rev the engine and attempt an up-shift with a grinding sound as the tranny entered the next higher gear. We went around the side streets of ECC as I got used to shifting, I even did some double clutching...it does give the left leg a workout but the shifting amazingly got smoother. Jerry #3 let me attempt a few downshifts from 5th to 4th gear. I thought I had the down shifting table memorized but actually doing it is a whole different story, the concept of clutching to neutral, releasing the clutch then revving the engine to 1000 RPM while maintain a 7 MPH ground speed was blowing my mind. I did attempt it though and was successful in getting the truck to the next lower gear. I did do some gear scratching, but Jerry #3 said it was OK he doesn’t expect students to get the hang of it right away without practice. Anyway we made it back safely to the driving yard.
Back in the yard we practiced straight line backing with the trailers attached. It is not as easy as it looks. You just have to remember to go slow and make small corrections, also sit up straight and watch both mirrors. I started out OK but as I made large corrections, the trailer started snaking itself between the cones. Once you get the trailer to far out of whack you might as well pull up and start over otherwise you’ll jackknife. I smashed a lot of cones today, but Jerry #1 helped me out while talking to me on the radio until I got the hang of it. Each truck has an FM radio, so the instructor can tell the student what he’s doing wrong or sometimes right. Towards the end of class I talked to Jerry #1 about double clutching the truck on the road today. All he quietly said was "You have to, you have to, you have to…double clutch." So I guess I’ll do some leg strengthening exercises.
Remember that shifting table?
On the road with Jerry #2 today driving the FLD-112 #40. I’m starting get used to double clutching after practicing air shifting at home. I up-shifted smoothly to 7th gear with no grinding but still engaging the clutch a little fast. Downshifting is a different story, I’m still not used to it yet. It sure isn’t like driving a car. The Today it is hot and humid. That means we’ll be drinking a lot of water but what the heck it’s summer. We are still practicing our backing techniques in the yard. I’m gradually getting better. I switch from tractor to tractor and practice backing each one with the semi-trailer. For me the conventionals seem easier to back than the cabovers. I thought it would be the opposite. The cabovers seem more sensitive to steering corrections or maybe it’s just me. School teaches the speed and Rpm way of downshifting and it works. You don’t have to do all the math calculation in your head like progressive shifting. This is how it works for a 10 speed: 4th gear 7 MPH 1000 RPM 5th gear 10 MPH 1200 RPM 6th gear 15 MPH 1200 RPM 7th gear 20 MPH 1200 RPM 8th gear 30 MPH 1200 RPM 9th gear 40 MPH 1200 RPM With this table the RPM is constant throughout, the only thing to remember is the speed change and what gear you are in. Once you get the tractor down to the correct speed, you shift to neutral watch your rpm and make sure it is close to 1200 RPM. If the rpm is to low, give it fuel to get it back up to 1200 RPM then clutch to friction point and shift. The RPM’s are critical if the tach isn’t at 1200 RPM you will just be grinding gears and you will have a very difficult time getting the tranny to go into the correct gear. Your speed is also critical.
We drove around the school some more while I practiced my downshifting. I drove for about 20 minutes and didn’t go much faster than 25 MPH on the way back to the yard but it was fast enough to get it into 8th gear. Jerry #2 is also very patient and reassuring even when you make mistakes. He says "Once you start driving more you’ll look back at your struggling days and laugh". Maybe so but I’m not at that point yet. It seems to be taking all my concentration just bobtailing a Freightliner tractor around the college.
Turning Invisible Trailers
I went out again in the Freightliner FLD-112 #40. I seem to be getting better at downshifting. Sometimes I can downshift smoothly into 4th gear and sometimes I scratch it a little. The tractors on the road are still in bobtail mode. Of course it’s hot and humid out today but the A/C in the cab works fine. Still driving around the school. No highway driving yet but that’s coming, probably next week. Jerry #2 is my instructor today and he wants us to start taking corners like we have an invisible trailer behind us. He says it’ll make it easier when we actually hook a real trailer behind us. So I’m taking my right hand turns much wider doing a modified button hook.
We are still straight backing in the yard. I’m getting better and more consistent. I don’t smash many orange cones anymore. I sure wouldn’t want to be reincarnated as a truck driving school yard cone. The trick for me while straight backing is correcting the drift as soon as you see it and making subtle corrections. If you jack the trailer to much you’ll be snaking the trailer all the way down the yard. Make sure you use both mirrors, not the convex mirrors but the big square mirrors so you notice the drift in time.
Big
Pete Returns
A new road instructor showed up today. I didn’t get his name but he brought out the Peterbilt 379. It got resurrected… not sure what was wrong with it, probably the alternator. Seems to be running fine though because the new instructor is going to use it on the road today. Jerry #1 showed us how to hook up a Fruehauf hydraulic gravel hauler. The hook up is different from a van because the 5th wheel has to be pinned on each side so it doesn’t tilt.
I rode with Jerry #2 on the road today. He’s still as calm as ever on the road. I seem to be double clutching pretty well. I’ve noticed that it takes a gentile hand to shift these big trucks, if you double clutch correctly the tranny will smoothly click into gear, if you try to force the gearshift you’ll only succeed in grinding gears. We’re still bobtailing around the campus but turning as if we have a trailer behind the tractor.
Jerry #1 has changed the yard course a little. The orange cones now define a curved path. It looks simple until you try backing a trailer around it. Now we have to back the trailer where we want it to go. Again, like straight backing you want to avoid radical jacking maneuvers or you will squish a few orange cones. I smashed a few cones but gradually got the hang of it without smashing any cones.
Time
to drive a cabover
I rode with Jerry #3 today in the Freightliner cabover #935. This truck has a nine speed so the down shifting table is a little different. I drove first and shifted the 9 speed fairly well for the first time. The gearshift is a lot shorter and kinda like the control stick of an F-16. It seems wider inside and the driver sits a little higher than the FLD-112’s. As I was driving around the school I saw an FLD-112 with a semi-trailer behind it coming towards us as I was turning. The student inside was waving us down so we stopped. Jerry #2 was inside and he told us to go back and hook up a trailer. I guess our radio wasn’t working because Jerry #1 couldn’t get in contact with us. The instructor had me pull over and Tony the other student drove the tractor back and hooked up the trailer. When Tony was finished driving I got my turn with the semi-trailer. Now I know why we practiced turning so wide while bobtailing. The streets we are driving on are narrow and you have to drive the tractor all the way over to the left side when making a right hand turn just so the trailer tandems will clear the right corner without hitting it. It’s a strange feeling watching the right convex mirror to see the trailer clear the corner when the tractor is going straight. I drove around the campus a few times and then it was time to go back to the yard for the next group. I was able to get the truck into 7th gear down Spartan drive before down shifting and turning into the truck yard.
Back at the yard I continued practicing my backing skills around the curve with all four tractor trailers. Getting better but practice makes perfect.
What's up alley dock?
Jerry has changed the yard course today. Now we have to back the trailer from a 30 degree alley dock. We help him set up the road cones and he positions the tractor-trailers. Two trucks on each side in the middle of the yard and one truck at each end of the yard for a total of four trucks to practice our backing skills. The middle trucks are fairly close to one another and so have to take turns. I start with the faded orange White/GMC with the Volvo grill. I was able to back the trailer straight into the dock without smashing any cones the first 2 times but I think it was only luck because on the third time I really smashed a few cones. This gonna take some practice time to back this way consistently. The ‘87 conventional Freightliner #939 seems a little easier to back but not much.
After the 30 minute break I continued backing the rest of the day. I didn’t get out on the road today but I know I will tomorrow. Jerry keeps a good record of who drives on the road. Haven’t gone out twice in one day though.
Wagon
Train Ho!
Drove with Jerry #2 in the Freightliner (#42). We drove around the campus again, I’m starting to get used to driving with a big trailer behind me. I scratched a few gears while upshifting and missed third going through an intersection but was able to downshift to 2nd gear and walk the gears up to 6th gear. John our classroom instructor showed up today, rumor has it that he is not as patient in the cab as he was in the classroom.
Jerry #1 has us unhook the trailers in the center of the yard today. After we unhook the trailers Jerry has us practice going around the trailers, just like Indians surrounding a wagon train. The only stipulation being that we can’t pass each other and we can’t go higher than 4th gear. We are supposed to practice our down shifts from 4th to third gear. So we drive in a counter-clockwise circle like Indy 500 race drivers keeping a safe interval between each other. My double clutching and shifting ability is getting faster and smoother. This little wagon train seems to be helping. The tractors we are using are all 9 speed Freightliners. The shifting table we were given in class the first day really does work and it’s no longer a foreign concept..
I got
10 forward gears and a Georgia overdrive.
Gonna get pretty hot today, looks like it might rain. One of the students that rode with John yesterday was complaining about his acerbic driving instruction. Don’t know much details about the ride but that’s his story to tell, luckily I wasn’t there. The other student that rode with John didn’t even show up at the yard today. I get to drive on the road today first thing. The truck is the 10 speed FLD-112. Tony drives first while I sit in the sleeper. Jerry #2 is the instructor and me and him swap Vietnam / Cold war stories while Tony drives us around the campus. I can definitely see improvements in every student’s driving that I ride with. After a few times around campus, Jerry has Tony take the rig down South St. to Randall Rd. There are cars all around us now. After going north on Randall we turn right on Weld Rd. and return to ECC, pulling over on Berkley Dr. Now it’s my turn to drive. Again we drive around campus while I practice my turns and up shifting / down shifting finesse. Jerry #2 has me turn onto South St. and asks me "Are you ready to go out on the road ?" I say yes and away we go, quickly shifting up to 7th gear. I can’t quite get it up to 4th when I make my turns, I can just barely get it into 3rd gear before it’s time to put both hands on the wheel. Jerry has me turn north onto Randall Rd. I almost start turning to early and then remember that I have a 45 ft. trailer behind me. I make it around the corner fine watching the right convex mirror mounted on the front of the truck. Now it’s time to up shift all the way to 8th gear. Jerry has me go a little farther past Weld Rd. The speed limit is 50 MPH and my shifting arm is shaking from either adrenaline or to much coffee this morning. I get the rig smoothly into 9th and we’re cruisin’ at 45 MPH @ 1500 RPM. Now it’s just a matter of keeping the truck centered in the lane and being aware of possible hazards. I start to slow for the stoplight at Big Timber Rd. I try a down shift to 7th then to 6th then to 4th after slowing to 7 MPH. Jerry has me stop though because the arrow light is about to go yellow. I turn right onto Big Timber up shifting to 8th gear. Then I start down shifting for the turn onto N. McLean getting it into 4th. There is another semi ahead of us and Jerry says "Just turn like him" pointing to the semi ahead. So I follow the semi, turning wide again so the trailer clears the corner. I upshift to 6th then to 7th double clutching all the way. My left leg is definitely getting a work out. The tree limbs are hanging low on McLean so I’m doing a little tree trimin’ with the trailer. Now it’s time to return to the truck yard, I’m starting to feel a little more comfortable driving these trucks, still have more to learn though.
Meanwhile back at Truck Driving Trailer Roundup Ranch the rest of the students are practicing there downshifting. Still using 3 tractors for this. I rest for 15 minute after driving on the road and then it’s back to down shifting practice. It still hasn’t rained yet but definitely getting hotter. The digital thermometer inside my van reads 106 degrees outside. The temperature inside the van is 120 degrees. Jerry lets us off a little early today which is a welcome relief from the heat.
Cruisin’ to the Truckstop
Started to rain just before class started but then suddenly stopped and the skies gradually cleared. Today we are still practicing our angle dock backing at 30 degrees. Sometimes I can put the trailer in the first time and sometimes I have to do one or two pull-ups. It’s hard to visualize exactly where the rear of the trailer is at until you get it right up to the entrance cones, by that time it is to late if the trailer isn’t aligned right to the first docking cones. Of course you can force it in with an ugly jacking maneuver but you’re gonna kill a few cones. I’ve tried that but never was successful at it. So I guess I’ll just keep practicing and backing it in slowly.
Out on the road today in the FLD-112 #42 with Jerry #2. Me and Larry are the students today. Larry gets the keys and we are off. Larry wanted to some more shifting practice around campus but Jerry #2 talks him into going, saying "You’re ready". We go down South St. to Randall Rd. north to I-20 west. Once on 20 Larry seems to be really excited as he gets the truck In 10th gear saying "This is what I’ve been waiting for!". The truck is at about 50 MPH as we cruise through Pingree Grove. Jerry #2 tells Larry to down shift to 9th gear before entering the corners because there are some tight turns here. We arrive at the Arrowhead truck stop and turn around in the back parking lot, then it’s my turn to drive us back to the college. I seem to be shifting smoother. Jerry has me downshift to 9th gear for the corners. I do it at about 45 MPH vice 40 MPH according to our shifting table and it goes into 9th gear amazingly but then Jerry #2 said it would saying "Just give it a little more RPM’s before downshifting". The high range isn’t that critical in downshifting but the low range sure is. I get the truck up to 55 MPH and hold her there all the way on I-20 staying in the right lane. I turn off onto McLean which is a little tricky because of an off ramp merge, luckily my side doesn’t have to yield but some cars still ignore the yield sign. We make it back to the truck yard safe and sound. Jerry # 2 says we’re doing good with our shifting saying "Maybe we’ll drive around Elgin next time."
ECC
Alumni Instructor
Nice cool day out on the truck yard. Great day to be driving. Today Jerry #1 has us backing at a 45 degree angle for alley docking and the truck is closer to the opening of the dock. I thought I was starting to get backing maneuvers down cold but today proved me wrong. I was smashing cones left and right. Wanted to keep practicing more but didn’t get to much truck time, hopefully I’ll get more time tomorrow.
After the break it’s time to go out on the road again. Larry and me are riding together again in the Freightliner cabover #935. We are driving with a new instructor that we haven’t driven with before, his name is Mark. Larry says I can drive first since he drove first yesterday. So I’m behind the big wheel and we’re off and rollin’. I’m starting to amaze myself with my shifting. Larry says "Ed you’re driving smooth". My down shifts are even smoother, I didn’t even scratch a gear. After turning onto South street and upshifting to 7th gear, the instructor comments "You’re shifting really well". With that vote of confidence I smoothly downshift from 7th gear to 6th to 5th to 4th to 3rd before stopping at the light on Randall Rd. The shifting Gods are with me today! It turns out that Mark is an ECC Truck Driving School graduate from a few years ago and drives for a local company. Like the other driving instructors he is very calm and patient. After a left hand turn on Randall we head on out on I-20 west to the Hampshire truck stop. It’s a little windy today and the 48 ’trailer I’m pulling is light so I can feel it buffeting on the road a little. I find lane centering is not as easy as a conventional because it looks like you’re in the oncoming lane with a cabover. I was hugging the white line on my right when I looked into my mirrors. I centered myself with my mirrors then made an imaginary mark on the dashboard and lined up the yellow centerline with it. This seemed to work OK as I periodically checked the mirrors. When I got close to the truck stop turn off I down shifted from 10th gear to 7th to 5th but didn’t get it into 3rd until I got around the corner, so basically I coasted around it, I guess the shifting gods left me for a moment but they returned again when I got the truck into third and parked it in back of the truck stop. Then it was Larry’s turn to drive us back. He drove well too, I think this school will make us truck drivers yet. By the time we got back it was time to go home, time seemed to go fast out on the road today.
On
the Road Again
Me and Leonard are driving today with Jerry #3 in the FLD-112 #42. I’m driving first, so I start the truck, put on my seat belt and we’re rolling down Spartan Drive getting the truck up to 7th. I practice my down shifts before reaching the stop sign. Jerry says I don’t have to do multiple down shifts but I don’t mind the practice. I’ve noticed that watching the tachometer is more important than listening to the engine on the FLD-112 because you can’t hear the engine RPM like a cabover. Up shifts are done at 1600 RPM and down shifts are done at 1200 RPM. We proceed to South St. and turn west heading towards Randall Rd. where we make a right turn. Jerry #3 let’s me make a right on red if I have enough room. Now we’re headed north on Randall Rd. We go down to the Panasonic plant and turn right on Fox Lane. I get the truck into 5th gear and turn. Unfortunately I turned to soon and saw in my mirror that I had clipped the curb with the trailer tandems. This would be an automatic failure on the state exam. I’ve got to be more careful next time. I upshift to 8th gear on Fox Ln. which is narrow and curvy, so I monitor my mirrors to make sure the trailer doesn’t cross the yellow line. We make a left on Holmes Rd. until we make a right on Sleepy Hollow Rd. then left to Davis Rd. I get the truck up to 8th gear then Jerry #3 tells me to down shift to 7th gear for the hill. I also slow the truck down with the air brakes then Jerry turns on the Jake Brake to slow us down a little more until we’re at the stoplight on Rt. 31 (State St.). We make a right onto State St. and I up shift to 6th gear after the trailer comes around, as I upshift to 7th gear the shifter went right into 9th lugging the engine so I down shifted to 8th gear. We proceeded down State St. which is a kinda narrow road and Jerry tells me to keep an eye on the trailer as we round the curves by the Wing St. intersection. I’m starting to feel a little more relaxed but still concentrating ‘cause I don’t want to forget what gear I’m in. If you brain fart, you make mistakes. We continue on to route 20 but I can see a police car blocking State St. just after the Rt.20 on-ramp. As I get the truck to the on-ramp it is apparent there is an accident. Jerry has me get on the on-ramp and we proceed west on Rt. 20. The traffic going east on Rt. 20, the side the accident is on is backed up for about a mile. Jerry says go ahead and look but I’m to busy merging into traffic. I found out the next day that 3 cars were involved and one car rolled over, luckily no one was seriously injured. I up shifted to 10th gear now going 55 MPH. We get to the Randall Rd. off-ramp and I turn off on the ramp downshifting to 9th gear then to 7th rounding the curve and watching the trailer tandems. I reach the stoplight at Randall Rd., which has just turned red, Jerry says it’s Leonard’s turn to drive so I set the air brakes and now he gets to ride in the hot seat. Leonard takes the same driving path as me. On State Street Jerry #3 says he has noticed a marked improvement in both our driving abilities compared to the first day. He says by next week when he drives with us he should be able to sit with his feet on the dash board. We drive by the previous accident scene, the traffic has cleared up quite a bit. When we’re back at the yard the students are now practicing the 90 degree sight side backing maneuver. There is only enough room for two tractor -trailers to do it at he same time. It’s almost time for class to end and I try it once in #939 and miss the cones completely parking the trailer to the left of the road cones. Oh well…hopefully I’ll be able to get a lot more practice tomorrow doing the 90 degree back up.
It’s not truck drivin’. It’s NASCAR.
Today Jerry #1 wants us to go around in a counter-clockwise circle again and practice our upshifting and downshifting in these three tractors. We get to go up to 5th gear then slow down and downshift to 4th gear. Here we go round in circles. I climb into #937 and go. I feel pretty confident in shifting a 9-speed. I can shift it up / down smoothly. The rules for driving are the same no passing and signal when you pull over to switch drivers. I drive around and around for ten laps, then Dominic takes his turn. Another student signals us for his turn so I pull over. I kinda wish we could do this with the 10 speed Freightliners but they are both on the road today, I can’t seem to shift a 10 speed as smoothly as I can a 9 speed. I have a tendency to over rev the 10 speed, but I can still use the practice in the 9 speeds. Once I accidentally down shifted into 3rd without the clutch and the tranny didn’t even grind a gear. I find another tractor #939 vacated by another student and keep on practicing my shifting. Iupshift into 5th then down shift to 4th then to 3rd and even to 2nd gear if I’m slow enough. If I miss 4th gear, I’ll wait for my speed to drop to 7 Mph and then down shift to 3rd gear. It starts to sprinkle again so I turn on the wipers.
One of the students gets really close to Jerry’s car and he sees it, so Jerry chimes in over the radio " Do not aim for the green object in the yard". The student gets the message and drives much farther away from the car next lap. The rain finally stops and the skies begin to clear. I wish I could get out on the road today but there’s only two instructors so I’m not going out today… Waaaah! Hopefully I’ll get out first trip Monday. I keep practicing my 9 speed shifting finesse until it’s time to park the tractor and go home for the week.
Truckin’ thru Elgin "The City to Watch"
It’s cloudy and raining lightly this morning. It soon clears up just before we start driving but it is still hot and humid. Hallelujah!, Jerry #1 says I get to drive this morning with Jerry #3 and Ken another student. Ken and me do the pre-trip inspection and everything is good to go. Ken is driving first then Jerry #3 shows up and we start rolling. Jerry #3 says we’re going to drive through Elgin. When Ken is finished driving through Elgin Jerry #3 has him pull off on Fleetwood Dr. then it’s my turn.
The Peterbilt is out and is making a turn behind me a block away. I fasten my seat belt, signal and pull away from the curb before the Peterbilt completes the turn. I turn onto Berkley then go north on Second St. down to South St. then go west on South St. Shifting feels good and I’m not over revving the engine. At the stoplight on Randall Rd. I turn right. There’s a stoplight flashing red so traffic is a little backed up, I see the Peterbilt turning onto Randall from Weld St. I go down Randall Rd. to the stoplight for the Rt. 20 on-ramp going east. The traffic is backed up here but I find and opening and turn onto the ramp up shifting to 8th then 9th gear. Once on Rt. 20 I upshift to 10th gear and we’re cruisin’ at 55 MPH in the right lane. This Freightliner runs pretty good and shifts well. It’s the red Freightliner FLD-112 #42. At Shales Parkway I make a left turn after waiting for the oncoming traffic to clear up. I upshift to 9th gear and cruise up to the stoplight at Chicago St. (Rt.19) and downshift to 6th gear and stop. I make a left turn on Chicago St. and pass Elgin High school. I’m hoping the stop light has a green arrow at Liberty St. because there is a hill there. When I see the light it has the green arrow. I have to make a left turn on Liberty St. but I can’t make it on the green light in time because traffic is backed up past the turn lane. I downshift to 4th gear just as the light turns yellow and have to stop at the top of the hill. Now comes the tricky part. Jerry #3 tells me when the arrow turns green "Just slowly release the clutch until you feel the friction point, take your foot off the brake while fully releasing the clutch and then give it fuel". I do it, hoping it works and it does. I think Ken the other student was holding his breath because he did the same run as me but was lucky enough to have the green arrow and did not have to stop on the hill. We go down Liberty St. past Ellis Jr. High School. to Villa St. where I make a tight right turn, I have to watch the trailer tandems because there is a light pole very close to the curb. I do a button hook turn and clear it .
We go down Villa St. Ken and Jerry talk about the old fast food restaurants that used to be here on Villa, Yankee Doodle and Prince Castle, but they’re long gone now. Villa St. turns into Dundee Ave. now and I make a left on Kimball St. We go over the Fox river bridge just as the light turns red There are train tracks just after the light and then the train crossing arm comes down, then it goes up again (No train?). The light turns green. There is another light just 70’ past the tracks and luckily it is green also, so I make a right hand turn onto State St. (Rt. 31) Upshifting to 9th gear at 35 MPH. We go down to Judson College and turn left on Davis Rd. this road has a double S-curve which is tricky, the road engineers must have made this part of the intersection after lunch. Davis Rd. has a hill and I upshift to 8th gear, the engine lugs a little going up hill …I probably should have left it in 7th gear. I go through the industrial park to N. McLean Blvd. where I turn left. We proceed down N. McLean past Big Timber Rd. and go all the way to the McLean and Wing St. intersection. where I make a right on to McLean Blvd. I don’t go far enough out before I turn and the trailer tandems hit the apron. Now it’s back to the college. I go down McLean to Fleetwood Dr. and turn right. Then it’s down Fleetwood Dr. to Second St. where I make a left. Second St. has an S curve just before Spartan Dr. I stop at the sign to turn left on Spartan but didn’t have the tractor far enough to the left and when I make the left turn I see the trailer tandems kiss the curb. Oh well at least I didn’t go over the curb. I turn into the truck yard and swing the truck around the lot for the next student. It was a pretty good ride through Elgin and it lasted about an hour.
Back at the yard we’re doing the 90 degree dock backing. This is good because I need the practice. I haven’t done it perfect yet. The best so far is one pull up. Today would be no different. I keep smashing cones if I force it in. I just can’t seem to time the turn right. I either overshoot it or undershoot it and have to make radical corrections which make it worse. I just gotta keep practicing till I get it right.
Same road trip, different day
Beautiful clear day but it will be hot out in the truck yard. The class is practicing 90 degree backing again. I pre-trip #939 and then start backing practice. I still can’t back it in without a pull up. I try it 3 more times…unsuccessfully, then take a rest for while. When tractor #935 is open I try a couple back ups with it but I am unsuccessful in doing it in one attempt without a pull up. We break for half an hour. After the break I try backing again in Tractor #938 and low and behold I back the trailer in one shot. I try it again to see if it was just luck and I back the trailer in with one try again. I was going to try it one more time when I hear the radio crackle with Jerry’s voice saying "Ed it’s your turn out on the road".
It’s me and Leonard again and we’re driving with Jerry #2. Leonard gets in and drives first. The path is very similar to the path we took with Jerry #3 on the 24 of July. It’s good practice and Jerry #2 says we are really improving our downshifting skills. I drive us back to the yard and park the tractor trailer next to its brother # 40. I’m ready to practice my 90 degree backing but it’s time to go home. Time just flies out on the road.
Farmland Romp
Another clear and sunny day here in America’s heartland. It’s gonna be hot. I spent the most of the morning chasing down a part for my van. The power steering belt broke because the bearing froze up on the idler wheel. The parts dept. at a local dealership wanted $176.00 for an idler wheel but I wasn’t going to pay that, not in today’s economy. Luckily I found a bearing ($15.00) and had it pressed in at Napa Auto ($15.00) in South Elgin. Total cost of repair $30.00, Money saved $146.00, pride in repairing it myself …….Priceless. Now my van doesn’t steer like a truck.
Now back to truck drivin’ training. Me and Jim get to drive first thing this morning with Jerry #3. It’s the red Freightliner #40. Jim drives first. His course is basically the same course I drove yesterday. When Jim is almost done Jerry #3 asks if I want to drive through the city of Elgin again or opt for a country drive. I go for the country drive, so Jim pulls off on Randall Rd. and I get into the drivers seat. I’m heading south towards St. Charles township. We’re cruisin’ 55 MPH and I concentrate on keeping the trailer centered around the curves, Don’t wanna scare any four wheelers next to me. When I get to Rt. 64 Jerry says " You can turn here or keep going straight. I go straight until I hit Rt. 38. I stop at the red light in the right turn lane but my trailer is to close to the right hand curb. When the turn arrow is green I pull out but turn right a little to soon just in time to see the trailer tandems kiss the curb. I gotta remember that trailer. Anyway I up shift smoothly to 10th gear and I’m cruisin’ 55 MPH again through the farmlands of Illinois. You know I’d forgotten how beautifully green the cornfields are. It’s a great day to be on the road driving, the view from the truck is fantastic. As I approach the stop sign at Rt. 47 I practice my down shifts. I went through every gear from 10th down to 4th gear before stopping, that table Jerry #1 told us to memorize really does work. If you’re at the right speed and RPM the gear shift goes right into the next gear without grinding, of course you have to double clutch, get your RPM up, and smoothly release clutch for final engagement. I turn right on Rt.47 going north, watching my trailer, the tandems are 3 ft. away from the curb, no car can squeeze through here. As the trailer rounds the corner I straighten up the tractor and up shift, watching my RPM’s and up shifting at 1600 RPM (this truck is easy to over rev). At the 4 way stop on Rt. 64, Jerry has me pull into the gas station / convenience store just past the stop sign on the right. I make the turn and pull in by the white and blue gas covers on the ground. Jerry gets a sody pop and I get a Gatorade…truck driving makes ya thirsty. There’s enough room in the gas station lot to turn the truck around and leave the same way we came in. I didn’t think we would make it but Jerry said it was no sweat. I turned hard left making sure the tandems on the trailer were rollin’ and the trailer came around …no problem. I up shifted to 4th gear and made the right turn onto Rt. 47. Once the trailer straightened out I up shifted through the gears to 10th gear and we were cruisin’ again. At the next intersection I downshifted to 4th gear and made a right turn onto Rt. 20. It seems the more I drive the more comfortable I feel driving these rigs….but you must always remember you are towing a 48 ft. trailer behind you. I turn off on McLean and downshift through the gears to 5th gear. From McLean Blvd. I turn right onto Fleetwood Dr. It’s back to the truck yard now.
In the yard the students are practicing the front crossover. It’s a fairly easy maneuver, the cones simulate two docks next to each other. The object is to pull the trailer out of one dock and position the tractor / trailer so all you have to do is back into the adjacent dock. I practice this maneuver in a cabover for the rest of the day. I don’t seem to have any problems with it and it’s easier than 90 degree backing.
When I got home this afternoon there was a story on the news about a tractor / trailer that was hauling a whole dry van of pizza dough somewhere in Wisconsin. Apparently the dough had started to rise because of the heat outside (95 degrees). The pizza dough squeezed itself out of the door cracks in back of the trailer and chunks half the size of a car fell onto the roadway for thirty-five miles before the driver of the truck realized what was happening. The motorists on that highway must have thought the Pillsbury doughboy took a dump on the road. Normally in Wisconsin most truck accidents are beer truck rollovers. Those accidents are easy to spot though, the people in the vicinity running towards the accident are carrying a bag of pretzels and a package of bratwursts.
Semi-trailer……..1; Port-A -Potty……..0
Starting a whole new month of driver training, a cold front came in last night so the weather is a little cooler out but it’s still clear and sunny. Me and William get to drive this morning with Jerry #2 in the FLD-112 #42. I get to drive first. Once the radio is installed and the pre-trip done Jerry hops in the cab and we’re rollin’. Jerry asks us where we want to drive and William says he wants to drive in the city so Jerry has me drive a course like the one I drove 24 July. As I was driving down Randall Rd. Jerry says he doesn’t want to go through yellow lights. No sooner than he said this when the light at Big Timber Rd. turned from green to yellow. The tractor was about 100 ft. away from the light so I hit the brakes Hard. The tractor shuddered as it came to a stop at the white line. Afterwards Jerry said the shudder was from the ABS brakes and that the trailer didn’t have ABS and moved to the right slightly. There was a faint smell of burning rubber from the wheels. I think Jerry probably wished he hadn’t said to stop on yellow lights because we were traveling at least 45 MPH but it was good experience for me on emergency braking. ABS brakes are great on a tractor but the trailer needs to have them too. My up shifting and downshifting is getting a lot smoother and faster. I down shifted a few times without even looking at the tach and there was no grinding. When I made turns I kept chanting my trainee mantra in my head "YOU HAVE A 48 FOOT TRAILER BEHIND YOU" , "YOU HAVE A 48 FOOT TRAILER BEHIND YOU". When my turn driving was finished I pulled the truck over on Berkley St. and it was William’s turn to drive. When William was done with the same course we pulled into the truck yard. Jerry #2 said that I did excellent and to just keep doing what I’m doing on the road and I shouldn’t have any problems on the Secretary Of State CDL exam.
Meanwhile back in the truck yard the students are practicing the reverse crossover. The reverse crossover is similar to the forward crossover except you pull out of the dock straight and back the trailer over to the adjacent dock. So you have to jack and chase the trailer. Again slight steering maneuvers are needed to do it correctly. Jerry #1 is sitting down and watching the trucks while giving instruction when it is needed. He doesn’t look to happy. I notice that the port -a potty is at the corner of the yard instead of 25 ft. from the corner where it was originally. There is only a dirt square in the grass where it was. I heard Jerry talking to William about it. Apparently one of the students doing the reverse crossover went a little to far with the trailer rear end and snagged the port-a-potty with the trailer ICC bar. He dragged the port-a-potty halfway across the parking before he realized what had happened. The students in the other trucks told him to stop when they saw what was happening. Luckily the Port-a-potty had been pumped that morning, otherwise it would have been a stinky situation. I had a good laugh over that one but I kinda felt bad for the student, needless to say he didn’t go out on the road that day. I guess you could say his day sorta went down the crapper.
Should be an interesting month for me because my two sons from San Diego are staying with me for 3 weeks….I wonder what they will say when they find out I’m training to get my "A" CDL?
Have Peterbilt, Will Travel
New week of driving and the weather is finally getting a little cooler. Today in the yard Jerry #1is having the students doing a 45 degree dock back up with right turn setup. There are only two tractor trailers in the yard now. It’s kinda like musical chairs with tractors. Each student takes turns practicing the setup and back up maneuver without colliding with one another. I got a chance to practice it about 3 times. I couldn’t do it without doing at least one pull up and it got a little frustrating…..some days you can do it perfectly the first time and other days you can’t get it right the first time no matter what you do. Anyway after the break it was mine and Dave’s turn to go out on the road.
The instructor is Deano and he likes to drive the Peterbilt. I haven’t driven the Peterbilt 379 on the road yet and I get to drive it first. The nose of the Peterbilt is long and intimidating. You really have to watch the front of this tractor because if you turn to late you will find the front steering tires going up over the curb. I get the Pete out of the parking lot OK but when I turn onto Spartan Dr. I don’t turn soon enough because I’m worried about the trailer tandems not clearing the curb behind me just as the left steering tire rides over the curb in front of me. We head off the campus the usual way and I drive to Randall Rd. and make a left turn heading south. I up shift to 8th gear and we’re cruisin’ at 55 MPH. We drive west on Rt. 64 to Rt. 47 and go south through the small town of Elburn. Deano the instructor is pretty calm throughout the trip. Outside of Elburn I make a left turn on, I think, Keslinger Rd. I down shift to 4th gear but I’m going to fast. I manage to get it in gear with some grinding and a lurch. After I complete the turn Deano calmly asks "What did you do wrong there?" I knew I was going to fast and told him. He said "Yep you were doing about 18 MPH". Ouch to fast for a smooth down shift. I up shift to 8th gear and we’re cruisin’ again. This Peterbilt has a 475 HP Caterpillar engine so it has power to spare, especially going up hill. You can really keep your foot in it without having to down shift. I’m getting better at watching the curbs as the trailer tandems rounds them, I don’t hit any today at least not with the trailer. Throughout the trip Deano asks me about road signs that we passed, I’m so busy driving that I can’t remember what they said and have to guess. One sign said Flag man ahead and the other was a weight restriction sign on Randall Rd. Deano says when you start driving you have to always read those signs because the ticket fines can be quite large and the company you’re driving for probably won’t reimburse you. We make it in to West Chicago and Deano has me park the rig on an industrial side street so we can swap drivers, now it’s Dave’s turn to drive. Deano has him take Rt. 64 to Rt. 59 north, then Rt. 20 west back to college truck yard. It was a good trip out through the countryside of the prairie state. My ride lasted about an hour as did Dave’s and we get back to the yard a minute before quitting time.
DJ and the Bear
It’s nice and clear today. Jerry #1 has us do 45 degree backing today left hand set up. We are using two cabovers in the yard #936 and #937. It’s just like yesterday the two tractor trailers going around like musical chairs and backing into the opposite cone dock, only this time we turn counter-clockwise. I don’t get to do this maneuver because I’m going out on the road in the black bear (Peterbilt 379) with DJ. I haven’t ridden with DJ yet because he normally rides with the night class. DJ seems more nervous than me, I guess because he hasn’t driven with any of us day students yet. In the cab after I start the engine, DJ says "When I tell you to stop…STOP". OK, but we haven’t even started moving. I smoothly shift up to 3rd gear and leave the parking lot and I hear DJ say to the other student "Alright this guy can shift". He seems to have calmed down a bit. At the stop sign I ask DJ if I can start out in 3rd like yesterday and he says OK. We travel north on Randall Rd. to Fox Ln. and make a right. I like up shifting the Peterbilt it’s very smooth. DJ says my downshifts could be smoother. We get onto Holmes Rd. and stop at the light on McLean Blvd. DJ pulls the parking brake knobs and has me put the tractor in neutral. He has me rev the engine smoothly up to 1200 RPM then says "This is where you want to downshift at, you don’t need to go past 1200 RPM and wait for the tach to come down". Once the light turns green I up shift to 5th gear and then downshift back to 4th gear to practice it. I still can’t get it smooth enough so DJ has me pull over and we swap seats so he can show me how smooth this tractor can downshift. I understand what he’s saying I just have to practice it….it does work though, when done right you can’t even hear the downshift. We swap seats again and I’m off. My 90 degree right turns are good so far I don’t hit a curb and don’t leave enough space for a car to sneak through on the right. I turn right onto Rt. 31 and then make a right onto Big Timber Rd. As we approach Randall Rd. again I downshift from 6th to 5th gear smoothly using DJ’s technique, I mean you can’t even hear it. Then down shift to 4th gear then 3rd gear both shifts are smooth as silk. DJ chimes in "See…see what I mean all those down shifts were good". We stop at the light on Randall Rd. and I set the parking brake…now it’s the other student’s turn to drive us back to the truck yard.
In the truck yard the students are practicing there backing techniques. I take a try and have to do a pull up but get it in the second time. I continue practicing 5 more times but only get the trailer in twice without a pullup. I’m starting to convince myself that backing is an Art and not a Skill.
Drivin’ to St. Charles
Today in the yard Jerry #1 shows us how to do the driver’s side parallel park and then talks a couple of students through it. When I attempt it I manage to get it in the first try but then screw it up on the second and third attempts. It doesn’t take much of a jacking angle to get it in , you only need to move the trailer over 4 feet before you start chasing it with the tractor.
On the road today with Mark, the instructor, and Dominic, another student. I drive first and we head south on Randall Rd. after making a left turn from South St. I make the turn OK but then Mark reminds me of the fact that on the state test I should be in the left lane after completing the turn and then signal to right and maneuver into the right lane. When I reach Hopps Rd. I make a left turn and continue down Hopps before making a right on S. McLean Blvd. We proceed down S. McLean until making a right on Rt. 31 I’m driving the cabover #935 today and sometimes have a problem with lane centering. This fact is evident while going down hill after making a downshift into 7th gear. I concentrate on making a good downshift and end up trimming a few trees because I’m on the shoulder of the road. I gotta remember to use that dashboard gauge for lane centering and not my normal sense of position that I use when driving a conventional. We take Rt. 31 to Rt. 64 (a.k.a. Main St.) and make a left through the middle of St. Charles. The corner is fairly tight but I make it around without the trailer tandems hitting any cars at the stop light. We continue down to Kirk Rd. where I make a right turn. I drive us down to DuKane Dr. and make a right, this is also a tight turn and you have to go into the oncoming turn lane just to make it around the corner. I heard this same corner may be part of the road coarse for the state test. Mark has me pull over on DuKane Dr. and then it’s Dominic’s turn to drive us back to the truck yard.
Back at the yard I manage to get in one more shot at driver’s side parallel parking before calling it a day.
Onward and Upward
Today at the truck driving corral, Jerry #1 has set up the cones for blind side parallel parking. This maneuver is a little more difficult than yesterdays yard training. What makes it difficult is that you have to use your right side mirror instead of looking out the left window. When it’s my turn I manage to get the trailer in but nick the front cone with the drive wheels of the tractor. The next try though I get it in just fine. We are using 3 trucks out in the yard today, so I get a little more practice in before the break.
After the break it’s mine and Stephanie’s turn to drive with Jerry #2. I offer Stephanie the chance to drive first if she wants to but she tells me to go first because she’s got a headache. So I get in, put on the seatbelt, start the truck, Jerry gets in and we’re rolling. It’s going to be a short ride today. Jerry has me take the same path I’ve taken before on Fox Ln. It’s a pretty good course through an industrial complex and it has lots of curves and a fairly steep downgrade. Today though instead of going down the grade I go up it because Jerry has me turn right onto N. McLean then left at Big Timber Rd. Once I’m back on Davis Rd. and up the hill Jerry has me pull over so Stephanie can drive us back to the school. Jerry #2 says we are both doing good out on the road and to keep doing what we are doing. Then he asks how we are doing at backing. I tell him "I’m doing OK but I’m still not very consistent … sometimes I can get it in the dock the first try and sometimes not". Then he says, " Well that’s normal I’ve been driving for fifteen years and every once in a while I can’t get her into the dock the first time." I just hope I can back it in the first try at the Secretary of State’s yard.
SOS
Today Jerry #1 has the yard set up for the SOS test. No, not Save Our Ship but the Secretary of State test. This test consist of a 100 ft. backing lane with four yellow lines at the end, a 45 degree dock backing and a right hand turn. This setup is very similar to the maneuvering yard at the Secretary of States office. The straight backing consists of going through the cones forward and stopping the nose of the tractor within the yellow lines (about 3 ft. wide). Then pulling the trailer completely out of the cones and backing completely out of the cones without crossing the lines or knocking over cones. After this you pull completely out of the backing lane and do a left hand setup for a 45 degree dock backup. There are 5 yellow lines at the end of the backup and you have to get the end of the trailer within the first 4 yellow lines. Once you complete this it’s time for the final maneuver which is a right hand turn. The right turn signal should be on before you start the turn, and the right trailer tandems have to be within the first 3 yellow lines simulating a corner. Of course the tractor/trailer has to be within all yellow lines and cones. And that’s all there is to it. My first try I complete the backup and right turn fine but my dock backing merits a pull up. On my second attempt I go through all maneuvers perfectly and try to get one more turn in before it’s my turn to drive on the road.
On the road it’s me, Mike, and Mark the instructor. The route is pretty much the same the same as the 7th of August. Mike drives first through St. Charles and then pulls over on DuKane Dr. for me to drive us back to the ECC truck yard. The route back is Rt. 64 east to Kirk Rd. (Rt.25 ) north to Rt. 20 east. The on ramp from Grace St. to Rt. 20 is very short and you have to up shift quickly to get up to highway speed. The truck we’re driving today is a cabover (#935). The ride is pretty much uneventful although at the school there is an S curve on Second St. that stops at Spartan Dr. I don’t go far enough to the left and bump the curb with the trailer tandems. In the yard I have enough time to get one more try on the SOS course, luckily I complete the course without knocking over any cones.
Drivin’ Through Elburn
It was a torrential down pour today. I haven’t seen so much rain since I’ve been back to Illinois. The truck yard had at least 2 inches in some spots. The students not out on the road are doing the SOS test in the yard and getting soaked in the process. I try the course while it is pouring and have to do a pull up on the dock backup but finish the rest of the course fine. Everybody else is in the trailer staying out of the rain, so I call on the cab radio for another victim. It’s really pouring when I get out of the cab and I get soaked. I manage to get 2 more tries in and complete the course both times without knocking over any cones. The storm finally subsides and it’s my turn to get out on the road.
Today I’m drivin’ with Jim (student) and Dino the instructor. The truck is the red Freightliner FLD-112. I drive first and cruise down Randall Rd. towards St. Charles. The rain has stopped but it’s still cloudy and windy. From Randall Rd. we go west on Rt. 38 to Rt. 47 south. Up ahead is the city of Elburn so I down shift from 10th to 8th gear then to 7th gear. The speed limit is now 25 MPH and the police may be out looking for speeders. Dino tells me to turn left on North St. in Elburn, I miss the downshift to 4th gear and start coasting around the corner but manage to get the tranny in to 3rd gear halfway into the turn and slow down enough to watch my trailer round the corner. The street is kinda narrow here. Dino has me make a left on Dempsey Dr. which turns into Hicks Dr. where I pull over so Jim can drive us back to the school for his turn. It’s starting to sprinkle as we head back to Elgin. Jim’s driving has really improved since his first day ofschool, like me he was grinding gears like crazy… now the shifts are much smoother. Except for one person every student has improved his driving skills significantly. The ride back is uneventful and then we’re back in the yard where the other students are practicing their SOS skills.
I try to get a turn in but Frenchy, another student, is hogging the trucks again. I guess he figures if he does it over and over again his skills will improve. Unfortunately it is to the detriment of the other students in the yard and he is not really improving. It’s good to just watch other students so you can see what they are doing wrong or right and use this observation to improve your skills. Frenchy does not want to do this… he would rather get in the truck and do 4 or 5 pull ups just to get the trailer into the dock and this takes up time for the other students. I manage to get 3 attempts in and complete 3 tries. The first and third try I do well but on the second I have to do one pull up.
Pay Up Sucker
Still practicing the SOS course today. Jerry #1 is moving his 45 ft. office trailer today and he’s upgrading his office to a 53 ft. trailer, on the truck yard. Too bad it isn’t a reefer trailer, that would really keep it cool in the summer heat. I manage to get 2 tries in, then Jerry #1 approaches me about my school bill. He says I need to get it straightened out before I go to the states examiner. I’m still waiting for the check to come in from the Montgomery GI bill. I’m not sure why it isn’t here yet, so I go to the school’s veterans affair counselor to find out if he has submitted the paper work I turned in. He said it was submitted back in June and says I should have received a check by now. I ask if there is anything I need to do and he says no but luckily gives me a phone number I can call. I call the next morning and talk to a guy named Ron and he says the check was cut the 17th of July and sent to my old address. I panic as I see visions of my ex-wife blowing the check for my schooling in Las Vegas but Ron tells me to relax because the Post Office sent the check back and the VA placed it in an impound account. He says he needs my new address so he can mail me the check. I gladly give my address to him and he says it should be processed by 21 August and then gives me another number to call to certify for the month of July. I end up paying the rest of my obligation with money from my savings account after I talked to the VA counselor. My account now has less than $200.00 but the school has it’s money. I hope that VA check comes soon. I have to wait 2 weeks for the check I wrote to clear the bank before the school gives me my grades. The paper I submitted to the VA counselor had my new address on it. If any one out there is applying for school benefits you still need to call the people at the GI Bill VA office to make sure they have your correct address. That important number is 1-888-442-4551 Mon.- Fri. 7am to 5pm CST. I wasted about an hour of drive time correcting this problem.
Meanwhile when I get back to the truck yard Frenchy is in a truck doing the SOS. I show Jerry #1 my fully paid receipt and that my account is squared away for taking the CDL test next week. When I turn around and head toward the group of students waiting, Frenchy is getting into another truck. I think the rest of the students are hoping he’ll tire himself out. I get 3 more tries in that afternoon and do not get out on the road today. Jerry #1 leaves early for a meeting and Jerry #2 takes over until class is over.
Grindin’ Gears with Frenchy
I get to drive on the road today first thing this morning. The road instructor is Jerry #2 who already has the keys but who is tutoring about five students in the yard on the 45 degree angle dock. I get the keys and do the pre-trip along with installing the radio in the cab. When I complete the pre-trip Jerry #2 is still doing back up tutoring. So I wait and observe for another 10 minutes, then Jerry #2 gets his hammer to check the tires on my truck. I walk back to the truck and look behind me….Frenchy is riding with me today. I motion for him to drive first and I sit in the sleeper. He is reluctant at first but has no choice. Right off the bat he grinds the gears hard…I don’t think he even double clutches yet. The truck jumps and lurches with every shift he makes. Jerry #2 is earning his pay today. We take the same course as before…Randall Rd. to Fox Ln. then to Holmes Rd. to Davis Rd. Frenchy makes a few fairly smooth upshifts towards the end of his run but his downshifts are terrible. I think truck driving nirvana for Frenchy is going straight down the road in high gear. Finally he is back on Fox Ln. where he pulls over so I can get my chance to drive. Jerry # 2 has me go south on Rt. 31 through South Elgin. The road is fairly narrow in South Elgin and the tree branches are getting a little trim. We continue to McLean Blvd. where I make a right turn. There’s a street sweeper here and it is kicking up a lot of dust because of the gravel pit. I continue through the cloud of dust until we reach Spartan Dr. Jerry #2 wanted to turn here but has me continue onto Fleetwood Dr. because of the number of cars trying to turn onto Spartan.
I park the rig in the truck yard and of course Frenchy gets out of the truck and quickly walks to the maneuvering yard to cut in line. I walk back to the yard with Jerry #2 and he says, "Just keep doing what you are doing and you will have no problem passing the state exam….I don’t know what he is doing" as he points to Frenchy. As I wait for my turn I hear another student jokingly chime in about Frenchy, "I thought that guy was a terrorist the first day of school" Then he says " One day we’re going to see a picture of a tanker plowed into a nuclear power plant in the newspaper and his picture is going to be next to it as the driver". One never knows these days. They say hindsight is 20/20 but sometimes foresight can be too.
I keep practicing the SOS course. Again I can’t get the trailer in the first time when doing the alley dock backing. The straight line backing and right turn I can do consistently. We break early today because it’s Thursday.
No Road Test Today
We were supposed to start our road tests today but Jerry #1 had some sort of school meeting to go to. So we have the whole day to practice the SOS yard test. Jerry #2 is watching the yard and Mark is out on the road today with the 2 students. Frenchy is back to his old tricks again cutting in line for a truck. I let it slide and just concentrate on my turn when a truck is available. My practice goes about the same as last week. My weakest area seems to be the dock backing, sometimes I can get it in and sometimes I have to do a pull up. On one turn I missed the dock back completely and missed it again after the pullup so I just continued on to the final right turn test.
I didn’t get a chance to go out on the road today but was able to get 7 tries in on the SOS course. Jerry #2 says we should definitely start the Road Test with Jerry #1 tomorrow.
Let the Road Tests Begin
Jerry #1 will start the road tests today. He will be the only one evaluating us in the red FLD-112. He is going to start in alphabetical order and says he my get to myself and/or Dominic today. Jerry #2 is watching the yard today. I continue practicing the SOS yard test in both the cabover and conventional Freightliners, while wait for my name to be called for the road test. Jerry #2 tells me to standby for my road test when Leonard comes back from his road test.
Finally it’s my turn, Jerry #1 is in the passenger seat. I get in and put on my seatbelt. Jerry tells me to take the truck to the stop sign and make a right on Spartan Dr. I make the turn fine and up shift to 6th gear , then Jerry tells me to make a right on Second St. I haven’t been this way before and want to down shift to 5th gear but Jerry tells me to up shift to 7th gear and give it some fuel to get the truck up the hill without lugging. There’s a stop sign ahead and I down shift to 6th gear for it. There is a bend in the road ahead before the stop sign and just before the sign I hear Jerry say "Watch the curb". I look into the right mirror to see the trailer tandems go over the curb. Darn I didn’t want to do that. I continue down Second St. up shifting to 7th gear then 8th gear. Jerry tells me to go to the end of Second St. and make a left on Weld Rd. Once on Weld Rd. I upshift to 9th gear and continue to Randall Rd and stop at the light. I ask Jerry if I should continue straight through the light and get on the Rt. 20 on-ramp, he says yes. I round the ramp curve and up shift to 10th gear. We’re doing about 55 MPH on Rt.20. Jerry tells me to get off at the McLean off ramp. I downshift on the ramp to 9th gear then to 5th gear and stop at the light. Jerry tells me to make a right on McLean Blvd. I’m carefully watching the trailer tandems around all curves and corners I make now. Luckily I haven’t hit any curbs since Second St. Jerry has me make a right onto Fleetwood Dr. The corner is a little tight but I clear it well. I up shift to 8th gear until I get close to my next turn then down shift to 5th gear and stop at the sign. I make a left turn onto Second St. and continue down to Spartan Dr. and make a left. This turn is tricky but I am ready for the S curve and set the truck up well without hitting the curb. Jerry has me return to the yard. The road test is complete. Jerry tells me my stops could be a little smoother and gives me a road test grade of 90. I am a little disappointed at the grade but say OK and get out of the truck.
Back in the yard I get 2 more tries at the SOS test before it’s time to go home. Tomorrow our SOS yard skills will be graded.
Let the SOS tests begin
Today Jerry #2 is in the yard monitoring the Secretary of State test. This test is also given in alphabetical order. Jerry #1 is in the FLD-112 Freightliner completing the road tests. The SOS test goes relatively fast and then it’s my turn. I get the cabover which for some reason is harder to back for me. I complete the forward stop and straight backing perfectly. Jerry #2 gives me the signal to go on to the alley dock. I set the rig up for the alley dock, hoping that I can do it without a pullup. To my surprise, I get the truck lined up almost perfectly and back the trailer in between the cones. We’re supposed to get the trailer back to the third line but I get it to the second. I honk the horn and Jerry #2 checks the trailer in the dock and signals me to continue to the right turn. I turn on the right turn signal and make the turn perfectly, getting the trailer tandems around the cone. My test is complete and Jerry #2 says I did excellent but he took one point off for not getting the trailer back to the third yellow line. I get a 99 and feel pretty good.
The other students also did well, there were about 4 or 5 that missed the alley dock. The guy I thought would really do well, because he drove a straight truck for 8 years., completely blew the backup even with a pullup. Frenchy, the guy we all thought would blow it, did the SOS yard test perfectly and received a 100 grade. Gee I didn’t see that one coming, I guess all the yard practice finally paid off for him. I heard he even got an 86 on the road test…he must have really improved his shifting skills since a week ago.
In the afternoon all the tests are complete. Jerry #2 asked another student if he wanted to go out on the road since there was about 1 hour of classroom time. The student declined so I quickly volunteered. I was the only student and got to drive the red FLD-112 out to the Hampshire truck stop and back again. It was a nice ride on Rt.20. Jerry #2 pointed to a yard, near the truck stop, that had a tanker with a crushed cab. It had rolled over on I-90 coming off a ramp. The driver wasn’t hurt but you couldn’t tell what kind of tractor it was. You really do need to watch a tractor-trailer’s speed around corners or it might roll on you.
Just Practice
Today is just yard practice there is no road driving today. Jerry #1 says Mark the other instructor may show up for the road driving today. The students have time to relax and practice the SOS test today. I start with the cabover and complete the first practice without any problems. Some student haven’t showed up today so there are about 7 students sharing 2 tractors for the yard practice. As I wait for another turn I hear Jerry say that he had a complaint from some irate driver say his truck was driving 45 MPH in a 55 MPH zone. The driver in that truck was me driving yesterday and I happened to be going around a corner that was marked by a yellow sign for 45 MPH. Jerry said not to worry about it though it happens sometimes. I was driving safely the irate driver wasn’t.
I get 4 more chances before class ends. I alternate between the cabover and the FLD-112. I have to do one pull up with the cabover but manage to get the trailer in for the alley dock. It looks like it is going to rain soon, luckily the day ends early.
Hey, remember the Jerry Springer Show episode I went to the 29th of May. Well it shows tomorrow…it’s titled "Heartless Secrets". You might see me in the audience wearing an O.D. tee-shirt chanting "Jerry, Jerry" with the rest of the idiots in the audience. That Jerry Springer Show is a Hoot!
One more for the Road
It’s SOS practice again. I get in one attempt apiece in the FLD-112 and cabover. My backing is improving I don’t even have to do a pull up any more when I do the alley dock. Jerry asks me if I have a preference in trucks when I go on the road today. I tell him it doesn’t matter as long as I get out.
I get the cabover and go out with Mark (Instructor) and Jim, another student. Jim drives first then it’s my turn. The route is just around the school streets, just like when we started out with the trailer on the back. It’s not a very fast drive but it’s good right hand turn practice. I come close to kissing a curb on the corner of Fleetwood Dr. and Second St., while making a right hand turn, but am able to hold the tractor out a little longer and miss the curb. The drive time is short so everyone gets out today for our final time. When I finish my turn, we head back to the truck yard. The rest of the students are either diligently practicing the SOS pattern or patiently waiting for their turn. I get 2 more attempts at the SOS and complete both times without hitting any cones or taking a pull up. I feel pretty confident and go home. One more day of training left.
Last day of training
Jerry #1 tells us that we will only have 2 hours in the yard today and won’t be going out on the road so the trucks can be prepared for the Secretary of State’s test. The night class will also have only 2 hours to practice because the trucks have to driven to the examiner in West Chicago. There is the cabover and conventional Freightliner being used for the SOS test and a cabover and FLD-112 pulled to the side of Jerry’s office trailer so Jerry #1 can prepare them. I help remove a mud flap from a trailer to be use to replace the torn mud flap on the truck that is going down to the states examiner.
I get 2 tries in on the conventional and cabover when I do the SOS practice. I complete both times without hitting any cones or doing a pull up in the alley dock. After 2 hours I decide to go home, there are other students still here, but I feel pretty confident. Tomorrow is the big day…I think I’m ready unless I do some stupid mistake or get over confident. Hopefully I’ll get that CDL "A" tomorrow. Jerry #1 says some of us will get our licenses tomorrow. The way the test is given, the examiners will run all students through each section before starting another section. If an examinee fails he or she has to wait until all the other examinees have been through that section before he or she can do that section over again. If you fail a section 3 times that’s it you are done and cannot take the test again for at least 30 days and unfortunately not in an ECC truck. It’s kinda like baseball or the criminal justice system…3 strikes and your out!
It ain’t over till it’s over.
Woke up early today, about 6 am, so I would make it to the West Chicago Testing Facility early. It’s about a 19 mile drive. I make it to St. Charles around 7:15 am and stop and get a coffee at a strip mall. When I arrive at the Testing Facility at 7:45 am there is already a line of ECC students waiting for the doors to open. I am about the 10th person in line with my permit in hand. After filling out the forms at the counter I take a seat in the lobby and wait for my name to be called for the Pre Trip Inspection. There are still a few stragglers still coming in. I try to review the pre trip inspection before it’s my turn. Finally my name is called. The examiner is a tall older gentleman. We walk out to one of the FLD-112’s and he points to the rear tandems and has me tell him about the tandems. I start with the wheels telling him about wheel size and tire types being the same on one axle. Then I tell him about loose lug nuts and rust spots on the wheel. I also tell him that the wheel hubs should not be leaking oil. After this I tell him about the brake chambers and slack adjusters not having more than one inch of free play. The examiner says, "Get into the truck and show me the brake checks." I get in, the tractor is running so I do the air brake cut-in and cut-out checks. Then I put the tractor in gear, turn off the engine and the do the air brake static and applied checks. After this I turn the ignition on then do the air brake Warning light/buzzer check, it comes on at about 60 psi and continue pumping down the brakes until the Tractor Protection Valve and Tractor Parking brake buttons pop out at about 20 psi. The examiner says, "OK you pass, Go ahead and start up the tractor." I relax a little bit, thinking ‘one test down two more to go’.
I go back and wait in the lobby. There are a few people who have failed the pre trip inspection and look a little dejected because they know that everyone else has to take the pre trip inspection before they can do it again. Thirty minutes later another older gentleman calls my name for the yard skills test. I think his name is Vern, he’s short with a white beard and ball cap. He sorta looks like Grumpy in Disney’s Snow White. I’ve heard about this guy so I’m a little nervous. I get in the cab and Vern has me turn off the engine so he can tell me what to on the straight backing. After the explanation I start the test. I keep the tractor in first gear all the way to the stopping point. I make the stop at the second line and Vern lets me get out of the cab to look. You can’t stick your head out the window when you make the stop. I get back in and pull the tractor-trailer up to the fence to start the straight backing at Vern’s signal. I make it all the way back without smashing a cone and then the examiner has me pull forward again to start the alley dock maneuver. I pull through the backing cones, make a left turn bringing the truck around until the nose of the tractor is on the large cone. Vern has me turn off the engine so he can explain the alley dock maneuver. I’m a little worried about this maneuver because there is little room for error. There is a fence with concrete blocks on the driver’s blind side. I back the rig slowly and to my amazement, get the trailer lined up straight into the dock without nailing any cones or doing a pull up. Vern is sitting on a concrete block by the fence with his arms crossed. I get out of the truck to inspect the trailer back. The back is between the first and second line. I get back into the cab and back it about a foot and then sound my horn for Vern to inspect the docked trailer. He then has me turn off the engine again to explain the right hand turn. I wait for his signal, thinking that this will be the easy part of the test. I start the maneuver keeping the rig as close to the left before starting the right turn. I activate the right turn signal and commence the turn watching my right hand convex mirrors. I try to get the trailer tandems as close the right turning cone as possible. I should have just concentrated on just clearing it because I got the trailer tandems so close that they just kissed it…Dang I was so close. Vern opens the passenger door and says "You hit the cone…you Failed." Now ‘I’ get to be the dejected one because I have to wait for everyone else to take the skills test before I can take it again. Looks like a long lunch for me. If I had just kept the tractor as close to the cones on the left as possible and not have worried about getting less points deducted on the right turn I would have been out on the road by now.
It’s about 3 p.m. when my name is called and guess who the examiner is? Yep, you guessed it’s Vern. If you fail any portion of the yard skills you have to do the whole test over again. I get another red FLD-112 to take the test in. I do the backing maneuver and alley dock without any pull ups. I could have gotten the back of the trailer closer, it was just passed the first line. I start the right turn again watching the right hand convex mirrors. This time I didn’t quite go into the turn deep enough and ended up holding the tractor out past the last outside cone. The good thing was that I didn’t hit any cones. The bad thing was that my Tractor tandems went over the line just passed the last outside cone. On the State test your rear tandems cannot cross this line but the examiners were allowing the steering tire to cross it. Vern comes over to the driver’s side and says to me, "Your rear tandems went over the outside line… you failed." Strike Two…one more and I’m done for. Now, I’ve got more waiting time ahead and the examiners are slowing down. At 4 p.m. I begin to realize that my final yard test will not happen today and leave for home. On the way back I contemplate my mistakes today and wonder what the heck went wrong …I know I can do better this. Well, no sense beat’n myself up, besides I think I here Old No. 7 calling.
If you think I’m happy you’re Right
Woke up at 8 am with a bad headache and debated whether or not to go back and take the driving exam. I eventually got my act together and arrived at the examiner site around 9:30 am. Students were already taking the exams. Some were still doing the maneuvering yard and others were taking the road test. There was one guy back from yesterday who already got his CDL. I guess he just wanted to talk to Jerry or see how many of us were left. Some students in the maneuvering yard were going into meltdown mode. They were actually getting worse, which was sad to watch because they did well on the course at school. A few even failed the test on the third try and that was it, for them. I was on my third try on the maneuvering yard and guess who I got …you guessed it Vern again, only this time I got a cabover to drive. Well, the worse I could do was fail again. But to my surprise when I made the right hand turn the trailer tandems cleared it with ease. The next thing I know Vern is in the passenger seat and says, "Let’s go for a ride". When I was finished with the road test I thought I had done pretty well. I didn’t hit a curb with the tandems and didn’t have any safety violations, but I could tell from the look on Vern’s face that it wasn’t going to be good. The only thing out of his mouth was " You drive slower than my grandmother….You failed". I guess I didn’t accelerate fast enough for him.
My next attempt at the road test was at around 2 pm with the same gentleman that gave me the pretrip test. This time I got to drive the FLD-112. Traffic was starting to get a little heavy and I was getting a little anxious to get the test over with. I stopped the truck at the stop sign before turning onto the road. There were 2 trucks that were, what seemed, to me 2 football field lengths away, so I pulled out onto the road quickly upshifting from 1st gear to 4th gear. The next thing I hear is the examiner say, " Turn left here, back to the exam center, you just pulled out in front of those trucks". OK, now I have 2 strikes again.
I get my 3rd and final attempt around 3 pm with a younger gentleman who signed me in yesterday at the counter. We take the cabover again. I start off pretty good getting up to speed well on the road. The examiner started asking me questions about why I wanted to be a trucker and what I did for a career before starting this one. So I answered his questions the best I could under the circumstances and began to relax a little bit, knowing that if I failed this road test I wouldn’t be getting a CDL in a while. My downshifts were a little sloppy but I managed to get the rig in gear. At one point a compact car did a U-turn right in front of me as I was making a right turn…They didn’t even see me until I was right on them, the girl in the passenger seat looked like her eyes were gonna pop out but I had the truck under control. The examiner just made the Holy Trinity cross with his right hand and said "You gotta watch these 4 wheelers every second".
We finally headed back to the exam center and the examiner had me park the rig next to another ECC truck. He then says the words I’ve been waiting to hear…"You Passed, come on in and we’ll issue you your CDL". YES… I give the thumbs up to another student and go in to get my license. The license looks almost the same except for the CDL in white letters against a blue background above my head, they didn’t even have to take a new picture. I go outside the exam center and Jerry #1 and #2 are sitting in lawn chairs. I show them my license and shake their hands, while joking about the J.D. I drank the night before….they just laughed. I still see other students struggling in the maneuvering yard…well no sense for me standing around with my license in my hand…so I decide to go home even without waiting for 30 minutes like we were told.
Now that it’s all over I have to find a job, I’ll probably have to do OTR to get the experience and am kinda leaning towards driving a "pumpkin" since the company is in the Midwest. Would I recommend ECC as a good truck driving school… Definitely… but you get what you put into it. You will learn the basics there and enough knowledge to pass the Illinois CDL Exam. The trucks are also in good condition and pretty reliable. If you live within a 50 mile radius and want to get your "A" class you should go to this school.
Well that’s my story and I’m stickin’ to it. I hope anybody reading this got something out of it and that it wasn’t too boring. Maybe you’ll see me out on the road drivin’ one of those big orange things…Just be careful out there and drive safely.
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