how involved is the pre-trip safety walkaround?...

i am not sure exactly what you are after but if i am correct here goes
online videos of pretrips are available on you tube
if you are getting your cdl on your own and applying to go OTR
be advised most companies will require you graduate from a school
the insurance companies are the driving force on this part
schools will also teach you proper pre trips or at least the pre trip requirements to pass
your cdl test in your state
NJ in all there wisdom doesnt even open the hood at the dmv on a pretrip
though they are strict with the verbage you use and order you go in on the pretrip

 

In TX, the PTI is covered in the written test. For your road test you will do all or part of the seven step air brake check, verbally or actually. That is all DPS requires.
Frank

 

For licensing purposes


TOUCH everything and describe it and what it does and is for. I have seen cases where it's way more than needed and the guy ##### his pants with the thoroughness and have a friend similar to you that failed his pre-trip doing that.

The reasons given, didn't point at the turn signal indicators on the dash, didn't touch the pintle hitch bolts on the bumper, didn't feel the seatbelt for fraying. Didn't speed up to 5mph and do a rapid brake check. He just pulled against them.

 

The o/p is asking about the Texas DPS road test.

 

I couldn't care if it's for the timbuktoo DPS.

Touch everything. It will depend on the whim of the examiner on a specific day/location. If they ate their wheaties in the morning or had special K. If they came to work in the morning and had a trucker cut them off or a 4wheeler.


You don't / won't know the attitude of the person watching you and deciding if you pass or fail.

 

I just passed my road test here in Washington last week. On my V.I. I touched everything I was talking about and described it and what I was testing or looking for. When I was doing the under hood and outside inspection I carried a wood handled rubber mallet that I used to touch everything I was talking about. 'See it, touch it, say it'. I practiced over and over and I scored 100%. The V.I. was the first thing we did so that set the pace for the tester.

 

When I took the test in Vermont, I memorized a list of 162 items to be either pointed to or touched, inspected and verified. Of course, that was after attending a local school.

 

His point was Texas doesn't require or do a physical pre trip for your driving test. It's only a written exam. They will check you lights, hazards, turn signals, but that's it. To the OP, there is a thread started by American Trucker that has a good list for the Pre trip. If you go through a school you will be shown what you're looking for.