Simulation for CDL prep

I have zero experience with operating a commercial vehicle. There are only so many discussions and videos I can watch as it pertains to things like entering & exiting 'tight' areas and types of backing. It gives me a general idea of what to do, but without actually sitting behind a wheel, there's no way to even get a gist of the process and geometry of what's going on from the drivers' viewpoint.

Short of going to a training school of some sort, I (and probably most) have no way to dip myself into that experience short of going to a school which entails days, if not weeks, of time and several thousand dollars. The only thing I can come up with is something like "American Truck Simulator" which would at least get me on the path of wrapping my head around how it'll all work. Anybody else delve into this?

I'm not saying or implying that a simulator will replace any sort of real-world training, but surly it'll help with getting familiarity with approaches, set ups, and the effect of steering actions. It certainly doesn't supply any sort of feedback. I used flight sim for years, and though I don't consider it training as such, I did pick up lots of useful info such as the purpose of some procedures, weight & fuel planning, instrument navigation, and stuff like that.

I know that some will berate on and on about "it's not real, get real training" and "that's not how it's done". Understandable. I intend to get training. Actually have to, but I'd prefer to use any advantage I can get. I've got a couple of months before I'm open to get a CDL, so that gives me time. I can do exam prep through apps and whatnot, and for under $200, I can get the simulator and a wheel & pedal set.

Any thoughts/input/options for this noob?

 

Ha! Done did that yesterday. Can't afford any of that L3 stuff. Been through heaps and heaps of reviews and such on the PC style simulators, but nobody was an actual driver. Most were also geared towards how it looks and the options (graphics, addons, etc.) in the software. Was just hoping to get some real-world thoughts on it here, particularly if someone had actually used any of them and if they were useful at all.