C1 Springfield, MO

I'm scheduled to start C1 in Springfield on March 9. My recruiter told me today that everything is still looking good. I'll try to post every day and give an update so others will know what to expect as this journey begins. I won't be able to give any info about the hotel as I live local and will be able to sleep in my own bed every night... I hope this will be beneficial to those looking at Driver Solutions and C1 in Springfield.

If you're gonna be there with me, my name is Josh and I'll be excited to get to know you.

I'm supposed to start with USA Truck after C1 so I'll post updates about my first year with USA Truck in the Motor Carriers section after school is completed.

 

First day is over. First day went pretty smoothly.

We started at 7 AM, not 7:30 as I was told by my recruiter. Made copies and did our DOT Physical and drug screening. Then we had the usual orientation information until lunch. A couple of things you might want to keep in mind if you are coming to this school. There are no places to eat within walking distance. You'll want to either bring your own food or hitch a ride with a local student. There is a microwave and a couple vending machines.

After lunch the instructor, Mrs. Ruby, went over airbrakes with those who did not have a permit. The four of us who did have a permit went out on the yard and went over our pretrip inspection. After about 3 hours of doing this, we were bored out of our minds. lol. You can only go around a truck so many times. We did get to listen in as the yard instructors were going over various maneuvers with students. The instructor I watched was VERY patient and professional. He was teaching the students offset backing. He seemed to really be engaged and know what he was doing.

For the first day, I was pretty impressed. While the rest of the class works on getting their permits for the next two days, I'll get to be on the yard shadowing another class or going over my pretrip. I'm sure this will give me a little advantage the next couple of weeks.

The hotel, from what I hear, is what you'd expect. It's a low end hotel that makes you pay 25 cents for ice etc... The hotel staff lady that stopped by to talk during orientation seemed friendly and helpful. I get to stay at home since I only live about 10 miles from the school.

The instructor had about 25 years of experience in trucking. All of the instructors at the school have 10 years of trucking experience or more. They seem to be down to earth practical instructors. I'm looking forward to the rest of my time here.

Josh

 

Another day under my belt. The rest of the guys got to study in the classroom today to prepare for their tests tomorrow. Since I had my permit, a couple of guys and I went out on the yard for another day of pretrip. The Pretrip instructor, Reba, was great. After the eleventh time hearing the pretrip lesson, I'm just about ready to do it... lol. I do wish the school had a better plan for the guys who come to school with their permits already. It just seems like a waste of a couple of days. Notwithstanding, I feel very confident on my pretrip. I even asked the instructor if I could do a practice pretrip test with her at the end of the day when she completed the tests for the rest of the second week students. She agreed that I could do it with her after her last test was done. Unfortunately, it started raining.

I have to say that I am still impressed with all of the instructors at the school. They really take their job seriously. I was a little nervous after reading some things about other C1 schools in the country on the forums, but I have to admit that I have experienced nothing like the experiences I read about.

One thing that always grates on my nerves is students who don't seem to care or don't pay attention. I really don't wanna be driving on the road with a couple of the students I've seen. I don't think you should do this job if you're too lazy to learn. Those are probably the guys who will be on this forum in a couple of weeks whining about how much they didn't learn from C1 in Springfield. If you listen and do your homework and don't mess around you'll do well.

The facilities could be better, but hey, we're there to learn, not to be on a vacation. I do wish they had more than one bathroom...

Anyways, that's enough for tonight. I'm going to dream about everything being securely mounted on the vehicle and not being cracked broken or missing any bolts.

Josh

 

Day 3 was freezing cold. The rest of the guys were getting their CDL permits and a guy named Rick and I went to the yard to continue our pre trip. Both of us were able to take our Pretrip test right away. We both failed our pretrip tests. He had a hard time on the outside part. I aced the outside, but failed the in cab. It was the 4 point brake test that I faild. Didn't know when to have the key on or off.

After studying for a little while longer, we retook our tests and both of us passed. I didn't miss anything the second time through.

I'm getting to know a lot more about the school. The instructors really do care about doing their jobs well. I heard from guys who have been to other schools and they said this one is head and shoulders above the other ones they've been to. This school also has a pretty high student pass rate.

We did lose a couple of guys today for various reasons. We will be doing map reading and log books tomorrow and test for that on Friday morning, then we'll be on the yard starting to learn our maneuvers. Since I'm going to USA Truck, I understand that I'll be staying a couple of hours longer each day to do some additional instruction that USA requires. I heard it's a 45 degree alley dock.

I'm still excited and ready to get on the road!!!

Josh

 

Days 4 and 5 are under our belt. On Day 4 we were in the classroom again all day. We learned map reading and log books. We also had a visit from the railroad to do a railroad safety course. All in all it was a pretty good boring day.

Day 5 we started in the classroom and had our log book tests. I did really well. Some people had to redo portions of theirs. After lunch we went out on the yard. We will be on trucks for the next two weeks. After a brief overview of what we can expect. (1/2 day on road instruction and 1/2 day yard training) we got to do our first maneuver the straight line back. The instructor walked next to the truck and gave us instructions as we were doing the backing. There were nine of us that did the maneuver. I learned just as much from watching as I did from doing it myself. When it was my turn, I hopped on the truck and put the truck in gear. I got nervous and kept pressing the brake the first 1/2 time through and had to pull forward and try again. I got it right the second time. Just had to get over the nerves and get used to being behind the wheel. I pulled back forward and did it a second time. It was great to finally be behind the wheel. I'm excited to get driving every day. I logged my time, signed my instruction paper for the day and went off for the weekend. I have a lot of homework to get done so I'm gonna work on that and get to sleep. Excited to get a couple of days off.

Josh

 

Been a couple of busy days!!! We are well into our second week. We are learning our maneuvers. We have the straight line backing, the sight and blind side offset, the sight and blind side parallel park and the alley dock. We have five guys per truck so we are getting to do each maneuver every day. USA Truck has an additional course that we have to learn as well that includes drive up alley dock.

My road instructor, Dennis is great. We do 4 hours on the yard and 4 hours driving every day. Our first day driving, we bob-tailed in an industrial parkway so we can get the shifting down. The second day, Dennis took me right into Springfield. Drove the truck in heavy traffic. Most guys are getting at least an hour of on the road driving every day. I had less guys on my truck every day since one guy got sick. I've been averaging 2 hours of driving every day.

The yard had been very good. I've learned how to set myself up for the maneuvers so that I can do them right every time. I've also learned that I have a good feel for trailer control and have excelled by listening to my instructors.

This has been a fantastic experience so far. I would recommend this school to anyone who wants to learn trucking. Springfield C1 is definitely a good school. The instructors really do care about the students' success.

I have more homework tonight, so I better get on it. Tomorrow we'll be doing some yard tests. We have to pass C1's course before we can go to the DOT course. I'll try to keep up with this more. So far I've logged my first hundred miles as of today!!! I have a lot to learn still as I'm wanting to float the gears rather than double clutching. I'll get better at it. Dennis is overly encouraging and never stops teaching when we're on the road. If you get a chance to get Dennis if you come to C1 Springfield, do it! Of course, I haven't had experience with the other road instructors.

Josh

 

So... three weeks are over and they went fast. Weeks 2 and 3 were pretty much the same thing... We did yard maneuvers for half of the day and on road instruction for half of the day. I passed all the C1 tests and went to the MO DOT to test on Thursday. I passed all my skills tests and got my CDL license on Thursday. There were a few drivers that had to retake either the yard or road tests. For the most part our class did really well.

The equipment was what you'd expect from a truck driving school. We had three yard trucks that would not be safe on the road. That's why they are yard trucks. There were about 6 road trucks. The instructor to student ratio was about 5 or 6 to 1 for yard maneuvers and 3 to 1 for road trucks. Almost all students averaged 1 hour driving on the road and about 4 times per day practicing yard maneuvers. If a student needs more time, they will stay after 4 pm (the usual end time) to work with them. The day before you test at DOT, you will stay late as well practicing yard maneuvers.

My only complaint is that I did not get to drive the truck I tested in before getting to the test site. Every truck reacts a little bit different, so it took a few minutes to get used to the truck and cost me a couple points on the yard part of the test, overall, I got good scores and passed my CDL!!! Look out USA Truck cause I'm headed over to Van Buren, AR for orientation on April 6.