I Got my CDL just to move my family across 4 states - I have questions

That's a very easy trip , 80,76,25
But there's a Heck of a lot more to driving an 18. ( semi )
Theory and reality are worlds apart when it comes to trucking. I don't want to scare you or imply your not astute enough to handle this but, without proper training your could kill your family or someone else's.
What you should do since its darn near a year away is take a job as a driver.
Schneider has a very short traing period and you'd be out on your own in a mater of weeks.

 

You're way over prepared. Which is better than most 'students' coming out of these schools.

Good Luck! There are always trade offs, but I consider heat to be a mild deterrent compared to natural disasters like hurricanes, tornadoes and 20' snow drifts.

 

Some idiot cuts you off and you'll probably over react and jackknife that truck. And in the process you take out a family of five in a mini van on vacation.

You'll come around a corner and all of a sudden traffic has come to almost a complete stop and you won't have the experience to know how to get that rig slowed up enough without losing control or the correct evasive action to take if you can't. BAM! You've just plowed into several cars filled with peoples loved ones.
Some die some are now vegetables and a couple are now quadriplegics.
You and your family servive and now have to live with what you did for the rest of your lives.

 

OMG, Ah, ya... All you have to do is pay attention to avoid that.

 

Again theory and reality are worlds apart in trucking , I really can't say it enough.
Learning how to operate a semi is one thing.
Knowing and understanding how to operate it without killing someone is something else and only comes from seat time.

 

Wrong.

 

We can agree to disagree on that point.

 

It just looks like he's thinking ahead, which is key in any situation but ULTRA important when driving a truck.

Seriously, I think if they could disable cell phones while driving, serious accidents would go way down, until they found some other means of distracting themselves. I don't care who you are, driving can get downright boring at times and a true professional is able to manage that boredom with a minimum of distraction.