Thanks Crimedoc....I just know that when I was researching before I came it would have nice to get some of the "inside" story.
Day 14: 15 Nov 2013 Today we returned to the parking lot to practice our turns. I drove out of the yard this time and it was all good. I am extremely confident I have the pre-trip, in cab, and brake checks down now. I drove back down the freeway to the shopping center we use without an issue. All shifts were smooth, vehicle was centered, and was able to overtake our fellow student driver truck on the interstate. I got back into the parking lot that gave me trouble a few days ago and was much more confident and had a far better understanding of what needed to be done. Other then a few minor hiccups and a couple curb checks in tight turns my day was without issue and a nice confidence builder to use moving forward. Tomorrow we will head back into the city and into the mountains next week weather permitting. In the backing yard today we received a period of instruction on alley docking. I am not going to try and attempt to explain the steps because the instruction used alot of visual aids to bring it all together. I will say that the instruction was thorough and well thought out. Just like everything else I have learned at this school so far by simply applying the steps they provided I was able to successfully make the maneuver on my second try. Tomorrow we will be continuing to hone these skills all afternoon.
Day 17: 18 Nov 2013 Well I didn't provide an update on Saturday because as soon as I got home I hit the laundromat and then into studying the blue book. Just to recap on Saturday we to an industrial area full of delivery bays and docks to get some more practice on turns and to get some exposure to those types of areas. It was a good drive. Today we headed out toward the city again with the instructions that today was to be focused on tightening up all of the basic skills from last week as well and ensure that our situational awareness was on point. We headed back out to the city and did a large loop that included some city, residential, rural, and business areas. The drive today wasn't flawless but it was certainly the best day that I have had so far. The ability to manipulate the transmission and the gears without having to actually take time to think about it frees up alot of time and attention to focus on all of the moving parts in the outside world. Also, as I continue to develop more confidence in the vehicle and its limits cornering is becoming a lot more comfortable as well. I drove it back to the yard today and ended without incident and a good feeling about where I stand. In the afternoon we spent time in the backing lanes working on our alley docks again. Honestly, I wish I had another day to fine tune the maneuver. I have the technique down and the corrections are starting to make more sense to me now but there is more work to be done. Unfortunately, this is the last day for practice as tomorrow we move onto parallel parking and a mountain drive. I was scheduled today for my final test at noon on Thursday with the Brian, the Director of Education, he is a good guy as well as former Marine so I am confident that my test will be smooth as I feel very prepared. Gonna relax for the rest of the night as all of the homework is done and nothing to worry about.
Thanks agreentrucker86....I hope it will indeed be useful to someone down the road. Day 18: 19 Nov 2013 Today was another good day on the road. We headed down towards the "mountains" for our drive time today. I won't say we got sky high but we were able to atleast get a chance to get some rolling hills and a few grades to see what it was like. I have no doubt under a load it will be a whole different world but again still useful to have atleast seen it. No dramas or excitement to report as the drive was pretty smooth overall. Back in the yard it was more alley docking and more choice words as it had a few challenging moments. I have the theory and the movements down just need a few more reps to fine tune it into a smooth operation. Unfortunately not gonna have time for that as tomorrow is our last day on the road and the afternoon we will work on parallel parking in preparation for our final test on Thursday. True to form the forecast is calling for snow on Wed night and Thursday I just hope that it is not enough to affect my test time as I don't want to have to re-schedule my flight on Sat and miss the start of orientation in Dallas on Sunday. We will have to wait and see I guess. There was a new class that came to the yard today and it was huge...had to be in excess of 20-25 people. I am glad that our class was so small so that we were able to maximize all of the drive time we could.
Day 19: 20 Nov 2013 Well ####....it's about to get real up here real quick. Today was our last day on the road and in the yard before our test tomorrow. We showed up in the morning as usual and while we were pre-tripping our truck getting ready to head out a couple of the instructors came over to look at one of the seals behind the right rear drives that apparently started leaking yesterday. Well we were told to switch trucks to another one. I know this shouldn't really be a problem but that was the only truck we had driven on the road and everyone was adjusted to the clutch and the new transmission in it because it was pretty tight. We made our way over to the back up truck and soon realized why it was the back up truck. I volunteered to take it out first today and see how it went. It was not as tight as our normal truck and 3d gear was a bit rough but all in all it was fine. It still had a clutch, brake, steering wheel, and accelerator just like they all do. The drive was fine and there were no issues. The only time I got hung up was on a tight right turn where I had to use some of the left turn lane and came bumper to bumper with a Z71 he quickly realized that one of us had to back up and it wasn't gonna be me. Other then that it was all smooth sailing. In the backing yard today we did a basic parallel parking maneuver that only really consisted of two movement. Not a big deal at all and I understand why they only needed a half a day to teach it. Tomorrow is showtime. My test is scheduled for noon. I will report to the classroom at 7 first in order to do my final written exam prior to heading to the yard. Naturally we have about a 90% chance of receiving our first snowfall tonight/tomorrow so that should be interesting. We are only expecting 2-4 inches so I don't anticipate that it will be a significant issue at all. My confidence is high as I have put in the time already in preparation to ensure that I can be as stress free as possible tomorrow. I have never had a problem with tests and don't expect that to change now. I will let you know when I pass.
Day 20: 21 Nov 2013 (Gameday!) Well what a day...first of all I will say that I did pass and get my CDL. It was a bit of an adventure to get there. We woke up in the morning to find a couple of inches of snow on the ground, as was expected. What wasn't exactly expected was that it would still be snowing and the roads would not be cleared. The first guys set to test at 7 went to the yard while the rest of us went to the classroom to complete our written tests. I won't discuss the content of test to maintain the integrity but I will say that it was easier then the permit test and I was done in about 15 minutes. Shortly after returning to the house the guys that went to the yard returned and told us they had cancelled the road tests for the day due to weather. This was extremely frustrating news to say the least. I understand the need for safety but I also thought about how it would adversely affect my travel plans so I started thinking of the alternatives. Well, we were told to check in periodically throughout the day in case of a change. I returned to check in at 11 for my test at 12 and was told that the afternoon tests were a go. I reported to the yard. Again, I won't discuss the details of the test but I will say it was a standardized 3 part test (pre-trip, backing, and road test). I was able to successfully navigate all phases. Saying I am happy is an understatement. After receiving my certificate we called down to Stevens and informed them of our travel plans to arrive on Saturday for orientation and were provided with an orientation schedule and packing list. All that is left to do is to go to the DMV tomorrow in the morning at get my CDL issued and move on to orientation on the weekend. I hope you have all enjoyed the updates. Feel free to contact me with any questions you may have.
