CDL School and Manual Transmission Training

take the manual training. if not then when you go for your DMV road test, with an automatic, your CDL gets stamp..."automatic only"

that GRAVELY limits your work choices in the future.

you CANNOT guarantee every job you obtain will be in an automatic....

and please for God's sake, don;t believe the rhetoric that all companies are going automatic.

 

Take the test if at all possible in a manual truck at the State CDL, as previously posted by another your CDL will be stamped with a restriction against Manuals if you only test in a auto. Hiring on is bad enough without this problem you don't want.

School is just enough to learn to control that rig for the test. The real learning starts when you get out there. There is a awful lot of talk similar to a circus side show calling going on in those schools. Don't fall for it.

I kind of feel off today because people are worried that every one is going auto. Not while I am alive. Manuals have advantages as well. Remember a auto with manual mode in which you can pick and stay in gear for mountain work is very useful.

 

You need to have every skill that sets you apart from all the other drivers. But having "automatic only" on your license, you go in less prepared for any opportunity that may arise.

 

A few hours training on manual transmissions during CDL school can save you weeks of effort later trying to get an Auto-only restriction off of your license. Truthfully, chances increase everyday that you get get your license and never drive a manual truck. But why would you volunteer to lock yourself out of some jobs, maybe a dream job, at the start?

People outside of this industry see shifting a manual transmission like it's brain surgery. They can train people to shift manual trucks while you have brain surgery. It's No Big Deal. CDL school typically spend an hour or two teaching it to you. You won't be perfect, you will wind up stopping in the road because you messed up. It's still no big deal.