Another Student Gets a CDL...

I hear that there's lots of students learning to drive trucks everyday. I couldn't find a section called "Students Corner" or anything like that, so I thought I'd share my own experience as a student over the last 6 weeks.

I got my CDL on Friday and barely messed up backing for an almost fail. Luckily, I know I've down 45 degree angles in one shot when no one's watching, and when there's no pressure on me so I hope I do fine in the real world.

The most amazing moment for me as a student wasn't the first time I sat in the cab or when I learned to double clutch. I'll share with the best day I ever had in school (I like to write things story style)...

I first learned how to drive bobtailing on an old International 9400. It was rough and shaky, and the gears were always grinding because I thought I was a rookie. Later I found out that the school kept that as the initial learning vehicle and that it was in really bad shape. After 3 days of bobtailing around town, I showed up one day for class and the instructor told me to go to the lot behind the building and ask for Carl. Little did I know that there was a 2003 Sterling with a 53' trailer attached to it!!!!!

I was absolutely horrified. I loved driving bobtail with easy 3 point turns even in narrow roads. I was excited too as this was the next phase, but I knew that it would be a few days before they would ask me to drive.

Boy, was I wrong. After 10 minutes of driving, Carl asked me to switch seats while we were parked alongside an industrial area road.

"C'mon, you've read chapter three which gives you the theory on how to make turns and how to cut into the lane. Now, you just have to do it."

"Yeah, I understand. I need a couple of days though.", I smiled nicely.

"Listen. This is Toronto. We're booked so bad in these classes, we have to turn people away. You think they're going to allow me to drive you around for two days while everyone else that started with you is already driving today?!"

"They really are?", I asked him eagerly. "Even that little Indian guy with the long last name?"

"Even him.", he replied expressionlessly.

"OK then."

We both managed to squeeze each other across the daycab without even leaving it. I sat down and looked in my mirror.

"Holy ####." I thought to myself. I could see the end chrome strip just barely and it looked at least 4 car lengths behind me.

"Put on your turn signal and go ahead." Carl motioned to me as he was also leaning to see my mirror.

I put on my left turn signal and put it into third. "Carl, can I start on 3rd here?"

"It's advisable to make it a habit going through the gears. Pretend there's a full load in the trailer."

I put it into first. Right then I noticed that the gear shifter said "Eaton Fuller" on a brass backplate. It was identical to the International Truck, but this was a Sterling. A Ford truck with a different badge as I had read on the Internet a couple nights before.

"Hey Carl, this Eaton Fuller must be a popular transmission. It was on the other truck too." I tried to stall in conversation.

"Yes, it is. As a matter of fact, I've never driven a truck with any other tranny. I guess they're really common. Now, go ahead and get on the road." Carl said with more assertion.

I let off the clutch and began to accelerate. I saw my trailer following me. It was kind of shocking. I'd always seen 18 wheelers with trailers behind them since I was a kid. I never really thought I'd have anything to do with it. I always thought the law of physics would fail me, and I'd leave that trailer right there. Don't ask. It was just amazing. There I was driving around the industrial area.

My first right turn came and I just looked over at my mirrors behind me and took that turn.

"You realize if there was a car there on the oncoming lane, you'd have to wait for him to pass. You know you used both lanes for that right?" Carl asked me.

"Yes. We're allowed to right?" I looked over at him.

"Yes you should as a matter of fact. I'm just letting you know that once you make that left on that light, I want you to drive to the right lane and watch your trailer wheels go into the left lane." He had his focus on the oncoming traffic building up at the light.

I could see the light just turn green and I was about 5 car lengths away. For some reason I began to gas up to make the light.

"You have to make that turn on 5th, and you NEED to slow down!" Carl raised his voice but was still somewhat calm.

I shifted back down to 5th. I revved up to 18 RPM and quickly downshifted. I always grinded on downshifts at this point as I didn't never waited till it "felt" right. I went wide towards the curve and started to turn left. I could see that the trailer was wide, almost way too wide coming into the right lane.

"I was too wide eh?" I asked him as I was straightening for the road.

"Better wider than too close. You don't wanna scrape that lady in her Toyota SUV. We like our insurance rates the way they are right now at the school." Carl said as he looked straight ahead on the road. "Keep your eyes ahead of you. Watch the intersection. What's gonna happen?"

"I won't make that light." I started letting off the gas and started reaching for the brake.

"Why won't you make that light? Don't touch those brakes. Just coast."

"The pedestrian light is still on 'walk', so I can make it?!" I said with a little uncertainty.

"Yes. Gas up now, you're in the clear. OK, at the next light, take a left."

I drove through the light and looked over and began to change lanes. As I approached the light, I downshifted from 7th to 6th, and then to 5th to make that turn. I could see oncoming traffic, so I slowed down to a stop and put it into 3rd. Right then a delivery truck came and stopped for a delivery at the side of the road. I had only one lane to pull this trailer through and cars on my left hand side and a pretty large straight truck in the right lane. There was no going straight at this point, and that truck seemed like it just got there so it wasn't going to move.

"Get up, get up! Switch seats." Carl quickly exclaimed with a slight nervousness for the first time.

We quickly swapped and he carefully brought the truck through with clean and certain precision. I think if that were to happen today, I'd be able to do it with a little concentration. But that day, it would have only been miraculous if I had tried it myself.

Then, we drove to a place where everyone learns to back in a straight line. It's also an industrial area that has a small circle where rigs can do U-Turns. There was a huge pile of old snow that was there, making it even less space to do the U-turns. I saw a Freightliner FLD with a 53' trailer just making a U-Turn as we were approaching. He quickly turned the truck around and had to make a small climb on the snow pile to make his turn smooth. His trailer wheels followed on the pile, tipping it some 20 degrees or so. He did it with such speed and precision. I was sitting there in shock. As he passed me, he was an Asian guy with a cool and calm look on his face.

"You see that Lee. That's a Chinese guy with a heart of a Viking." Carl said to me with a smile on his face.

"Yeah, I know what you mean."

"That's what you have to do. Just take a deep breath and stop worrying so much. I make the calls right now, you take the actions. We cover our students. When you leave this school, then you're your own boss. Just trust me and you'll learn how to back, to U-Turn, and to make narrow turns like that one on Reiser." Carl insisted I take my time.

That day, I backed several times, learning to keep that trailer straight. After an hour or so, we drove back to the school. When I got back to school, I got into my 1996 Buick Roadmaster Station Wagon and it felt so small and easy to maneuver.

"Hah. And my wife calls my Roadmaster a tank.", I thought to myself and chuckled.

 

Hey there CB. I was thinking about going O/O as I had the funding for it. The numbers just weren't adding up and it was sensible to go with a company and get proper experience first (and maybe just sign up with this company later?!)

Things are going well indeed. Training has been good (this company is known for that here in Ontario Canada), and honestly Road Time like this has been good. I love getting all the wisdom from the Old Schoolers at the company who know all the roads, truck stops, winter stories, etc. Now, I know what a Union 76 was, what a Flying J "has become", etc. etc. Love's has good and cheap showers, etc. etc. As far as what I've driven, I had a chance at being in a new Volvo in city driving up here in Toronto, and on the highway in ol' stars and stripes country, I drive mostly Freightliner Columbia's that are a year old and are on lease with the company, and though they're automatic, I can't complain about the fairly powerless yet smooth drive that they have to offer

 

uhhum ... "I pressed down on the Diesel pedal..."