Tommorow is finally the big day

Well guys I've been doing the weekend cdl program at local trucking school for almost 4 months and finally I test tommorow I'm confident in pre trip and driving a little afraid if I get parallel I'd rather get alley dock any tips to get some sleep tonight?

 

It's morning. Night is long gone. Get a breakfast and hop to it.

If you think you will sleep now, ha... it's normal not to sleep in trucking. You will find the culture with dispatch discourages anything resembling sleep. /sarcasm.

Good luck with that test. Thats not going to be half the trouble you might run into in some of the shippers and recievers you will find later in your trucking time.

 

Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win.

Sun Tzu

 

Go for it! Say your prayers. Sleep well, get up refreshed. Take your time, be cautious, better to double check something, get out and look than to hit something. You can do it

 

I've been praying alot I've seen alot of people say they passed or failed I'm just amazed how close yet how far I am from actually being a cdl holder it's amazing ready to hit the road

 

My best advice is take it slow if you try to rush it wont end well and use all your get outside and look even when you dont think that you need them study and review what you can tonight and in the morning so its fresh but I'm sure you are ready just dont overthink it

 

Have a glass of milk, brush your teeth and get to bed at a reasonable hour. Leave the phone where it can't temp you.

Take a shower in the morning and wear clean clothes that tell the tester you're not some schmuk. Be confident.

Take your time, be clear with your tester what you're doing and/or why your doing it. Don't be afraid to stop immediately if you think you screwed up something during the pre-trip, then ask the tester if you can repeat.

Best of luck to you.

 

Don't stress, don't overthink. You know what needs to be done. You've done it dozens of times. Good night's rest and just take it easy. Its no different than another day in school.

When you stress, you make it harder. I actually swan-dived out of the cab being in a rush to check the 5th wheel when I did my test. Only bruised my ego thankfully.

 

I have said many times in the past school teaches just enough to get a Class A (Cdl etc) In Maryland we had a powerful school that taught us parralel park and so on, several things not required in the tests then in those days. Then once instructors saw that we all learned the exercise, whatever it might be, then we had a game.

Instructor docks in one move in about around 25 seconds. I could dock in one move sloppy in about 50 seconds. Some did faster and others not so fast. That sense of competition really got us going. By the end of that third month we were barrel racing. 4 in a diamond, first around forward fastest time then anyone could try it backwards.

We sure threw them old trucks around. One day we were all on the dock and our top instructor his rig got away from him on gravel trailer first sideways and he spun the wheel into it and it dragged the tractor along. He slammed sideways into our dock. We all jumped back thinking we were dead in that big boom.

He yelled, whats matta! I aint hit *&^% yet.. get back up here.. lol. (*He really just sort of gently got into the dock wall. The fenders kept his axles and suspension from getting damaged.)

To this day one of two instructors would be in my passenger seat yelling in my ear if there was a problem. One good one, a rather short one with a big mouth he did alot of teaching. But ####### did he have a mouth and a language to match.

The state testor was a nice 60 something, anemic, tired with that clipboard. Bored as all get out slouched into that pass seat during my test. My driving test was in Glen Burnie in the tops of their construction season so it was one giant offset wall hell for me. I started shaking when on way back and flubbed a gear pulling from light, it was - 2 points out of 100 so... eh.

What I did not know I would learn on my own over the first 5 years or so. Sometimes with a DOT man on my fuel tanks, don't you know when this does this it means it's OOS? What are you trying to do? Cheat me? Here a ticket. SIgn it. Pay us. And then take me to brake school or whatever as if i was some sort of 6 year old who has not yet mastered short pullups for bathroom or something. Humiliating. But those were the lessons that was needed.

SOmetimes you get into trouble and don't know how to fix it. One time getting out of Baltimore at a light at green I take off in low range empty, she didnt move. ?

Looked all over found that the rear tire hooked the hydrant at my curb (The slope of the pavement eased the trailer downwards until it snagged the hydrant.) hum how do I get off this #### thing? Backing up? Er no. Pull forward? Eh... unhook and side hook? Are you crazy (4 lane by 4 lane major intersection...) hm... I know!! ADD low gear and PULL.

She came off there alright.

To this day the shop boss did not really understand why he had to replaced a punched tire, a dented old style 5 spoke wheel and rim and so on. Baltimore fixed the hydrant. (It was the wet type. The threads failed partially on that side cap and bolt.

Lessons outside of school paid for in preventable accidents for me.

 

Well I'll be darned I sure appreciate the kind words yall I got about 5 hours left here at work "factory" and hopefully I can put this career behind me soon and get out there with yall I'd love to hear how yall prepared the day before your test howd yall feel?howd yall feel when you passed/failed?