I'm struggling with shifting, currently with a trainer.

It would have been more rushed and more crowded at a for-profit school. "Grass is always greener..."

 

You got this! give it a little more time.

 

Agreed.

Since he is now back at square one, he should now take your usual suggestion of finding a company that will hire first, then go their recommended route for CDL, rather than throwing feathers to the wind & wasting time & money. Whether company approved school with possible reimbursement or in house program.

You always lay it out there & explain much better than I do.

 

The school only has enough time to barely teach the basics of the manual transmission shifting skills. It takes about 6 months of driving the truck to get really good at the shifting.

 

My main instructor at my CDL comm college was the exact opposite -- he was extremely patient.

I think he understood the inherent wisdom/insight of that in the above post.

Thus -- I think you simply got paired up with a lousy CDL instructor.

Try again -- somewhere else.

-- L

 

That's what I do not understand.

The Community College courses are typically the longest hour requirement classes.

Plenty of time & no reason for rush.

 

I attended a 210 hour course a few years ago. I don't think we even left the yard for the first four days, so for them to throw you out in traffic and then say you don't have what it takes seems odd to me. It definitely doesn't sound like a very good program.

 

The auto restriction you have no idea in future if you need it who knows maybe you will break into oil field or road construction most those trucks are not autos most can't afford or don't want them because the parts are double the price on an auto and most companies rather but a new one then deal with it. I never struggled in my cdl test because I come from a farming background and you will be surprised how many farmers become truckers.

Now I can safely say that the very best drivers in companies can make terrible trainers yes they can work the company runs well but training someone in general takes patience. I used work for a company that would ask you before you became a trainer and if the first words out your mouth was money they deny you and anytime in the future. Money is nice and yes you would make money but if that's all they care about that's where any integrity dies.

 

you would think the first week would be just driving around the lot lol. but instead on my 3rd day i'm made to go on a fast road goin 65+ and told to up the speed in a vehicle I have never driven in and told that i'm an unsafe driver, that I was driving off the road etc. trying to shift clutch and look at the road in a matter of days is bull. And yes they are 160 hr program and the manual class is 9 weeks.

 

you would think 3 days would be to soon for a 9 week class but....