Disappointed with CDL school

On average your typical day out over the road is going to consist of roughly 600 miles of driving in a forward direction and 100 feet of driving in reverse. Therefore the schools and insurance companies want you to spend a little more time training in a forward motion. The insurance companies are the ones that dictate to the companies and schools how many hours of completed training they want you to have completed. Usually in total its around 160 hours I believe.

I wouldn't stress too much about not getting enough practice time. The schools main purpose is not to turn out professional drivers but to give you just enough training for you to be able to pass your DOT test and get your license. Basically they help you obtain your license and prepare you to go with a trainer of your chosen company. Your real training is going to come when you are with your trainer of the road in the real world. You will probably learn more on day one with your trainer than the entire time you were in school! So once again, don't sweat the backing, and don't be so hard on yourself! You're a brand new driver and of course you are going to have difficulties backing a 53' trailer. With that being said, when you are with your trainer this will be the time to practice and if you are still not comfortable then you need to let your trainer know and then they can maybe set aside some time for just backing practice.

I can understand your frustration and I think a lot of it comes from your expectations of what you think the school should be teaching you. I think that's a common misconception in general among the new drivers. I believe a lot of people think they are signing up more for an IT school or some kind of trade school when in reality its more of a preparation type deal then an actual training and graduate situation. (hope that makes sense) I can definitely sense it when you see and hear so many newbies asking so many questions about schools and such, like they are expecting a quality education in these CDL mills. I often tell them not to over think the school selection process, that as long as their not going to "Billy Bob's Back Yard, Back up School" that most are all pretty comparable and to just make sure that they are an accredited school.

 

40+ years of driving and I still have trouble putting it in the hole some days.
Take your time and watch how your trailer responds to your moves. Get out and look.
You'll get it.

 

One day after you've been driving for a while you will realize that you have become a lot more comfortable and a lot more adept at backing. You won't even realize it at first but then it will hit you that you can back into docks with a lot more confidence. Backing between cones or some painted lines in a parking lot like happens at most schools can only take you so far anyway. It is putting it in practice in the real world where your skills will exponentially increase.

However, there will be days when you just won't be able to back worth a ####. Theses days aren't frequent, but they happen to everyone.

Also, do yourself a favor when you are out driving on the real world. Ignore the ########s that like to comment on the CB while you are backing and never feel "hurried" to get it in within a specified time. If you need to pull upo 5 times to get it in, then do it. You are responsible for the truck. Better to pull up 5 times and get it in right then trying to make a bad situation worse and hit something (or someone).

And whether those supertruckers on the CB want to admit it or not, they have bad backing days too.

 

The best thing you can do is drop those words. Replace them with "I will be good enough!"

It only takes the minimum to pass the state test. After that you will have a trainer to watch you, help you, back for many weeks.

After that, you will have all the time to practice, in docks, truck stops, etc... at the speed you feel comfortable with. Getting out and looking to see where you are at as many times as you feel comfortable with.

Mikeeee

 

You know what helped me a ton, while learning to back up?

Now this is going to sound like a joke, but I am 100% serious, I swear.

Get a toy tractor trailer, and use it to practice your moves when you are not in school. Put 2 books on the floor, representing 2 trucks you need to back between. don't touch anything but the cab, and push the truck back, and move the nose around to get the trailer between the books. It's not playing with a truck, but rather studying the way the truck moves. Later on, when you are in the real truck, visualize in your head your being in a helicopter over top of the truck, watching. Then you will know which way the nose has to turn, and how much.

Here is another thing that a lot of drivers don't seem to understand. Take the toy truck, and jack the cab just a small amount. Then push the tractor straight back. What happens? The trailer continues to jack harder and harder, even though the cab is going straight back. Studying this concept will help you avoid "Over Steering" later on. It is something that takes time to get used to doing, but you can use a toy truck to demonstrate to concept to yourself.

This might sound crazy, but it's exactly what I did 25 years ago.

Oh, and by the way.....25 years later, I still suck at backing up. I just know how to do it poorly without hitting anything. I also don't let anything or anyone rush me when I am doing it.

 

Also, you won't be graded or paid for backing in the real world. So all you need to do is not hit stuff and get the dock plate in the trailer, it doesnt have to be perfection.

And one tip be mindful of the tandems position, a 48' trailer with the tandems fully forward and a 53' trailer with the tandems all the way back will have a drastically different pivot, and will respond very differently.

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