Century College, MN

Hey,I just finished the 20 day course there,it was fun and sometimes frustrating,but never boring.The Instructors every one of them are pros.and they are there to help you. different and also very much the same techniques of testing me when I was behind the wheel,what I am saying is they are the pros. so don`t talk just listen, and do what they say.
p.s.did any body else have a hollywood star for there examiner? no wonder i was a bundle of nerves!

1st test was a not an option, failure was the test! 2nd test will not fail,, will not fail will not fail

 

I looked into the Class B course because I couldn't afford nearly $4K for tuition and a month off of work for the Class A course, but while meeting with the school they mentioned that they have a federal grant to help military veterans (like me) that covers the entire tuition. I was wowed, and I enrolled immediately. The next available class didn't start for a month, so I had lots of time to mark things off of the pre-class checklist:

• DMV Record for previous 5 years
• Reading assessment (waived with college degree)
• CDL Permit -- make sure you take all the endorsement knowledge tests that you'd like before converting your test-receipt into a permit, or MN will require you to retake all previous tests to add an endorsement later.
• DOT Physical -- With Century College's referral, a nationally-registered local physician did this for $54. My clinic had quoted me $300.
• Drug Screening -- The same clinic provided this for $44. B.Y.O.U.

And then there was the long wait until....


Day 1

Today we met some of our instructors, met each other (there are ten of us in our cycle), covered course rules, expectations and guidelines, and we received our textbooks. We dove into those right away as we followed some Power Point presentations, then we watched some safety videos, and we finished by a (quick?) walk-through of what our pre-trip inspections will be like. The virtual inspection took about an hour, but will reportedly get faster as we progress. It was scary to quit my job - even though it was a crummy job - but now that class has started I am sure that I made the right choice.

 

Day 2

Today was about shifting. We spent half of the morning in the classroom studying the drivetrain and different shifting patterns, then it was out to the trucks for the rest of the day. We started by practicing the pre-trip inspection, then climbed into the trucks and drove our instructors around the course. Brave souls. Double clutching is not easy! Especially not while keeping the tires of a 53' trailer on track. Our trucks use the Rockwell 10-Speed pattern, and we took them up to sixth and back down for 20 minutes at time, with ten minute breaks between. I was surprised at the amount of drive time that I got today. Now I get the weekend to forget all my training.

 

Day 3

Today was about backing. After a couple hours of classroom discussion, we hit the range for pre-trip inspection practice and hours of backing: 100' straight, 90* sighted-side alley docks, offset left and offset right. Oh, and of course more laps around the course to practice shifting up and back down. Double clutching is not the easiest thing that I've ever done, but I've almost got those gears worn smooth.

 

Day 4

We learned to couple and uncouple today. Of course this started in the classroom, but moved quickly out to the range, where we tried out our new skill and practiced, practiced, practiced backing and shifting. There were fewer cone casualties today, but those little orange devils are still in the most inconvenient places.

 

Day 5

The classroom part of our day covered technology used in trucking, and then Hours Of Service and paper-logging. I thought I was really starting to get the hang of this, and then we hit the road. Yep, we went out on the real road with real cars that were really frustrated with my shabby shifting and I was really stressed out. Still, the instructor helped me to keep all the tires on the road, and he kept me out of trouble. I was relieved when we finally made it back to the safety of our range to practice tight turns and backing. I can't believe how worn-out I feel from today, and I have a brand new appreciation for how skilled professional truck drivers really are.

 

Day 6

More classroom instruction in the morning, followed by our first quiz. Then out to the range for pre-trips and backing practice before we hit the road. My route took me to Wisconsin and back, so I had to hit the scales. I was happy to see the green arrow on the bypass lane, yay! When we got back to school, there was a recruiter there waiting to make a presentation. It was pretty interesting, and I hear that we'll see a few more recruiters before we graduate.

 

Day 7

Again, the day started with some brief classroom time, then we hit the range and then the road. I hear it will pretty much be like this for the rest of the course, and thank goodness -- my shifting needs some serious practice! TGIF; I need some time to decompress after white-knuckling it around Woodbury all afternoon.