Millis Transfer training school

Yesterday's class was exactly as I posted earlier. We got to the garage before the mechanics showed up, and the instructor went through a full pre-trip with us. And he moves FAST. In Ohio, the pre-trip is timed. You only have 30 minutes. That might seem like a lot of time, but it isn't. He did the whole thing in 20. Watching him go through it was extremely helpful because there are steps you can skip to save yourself some time, and it will be acceptable by an examiner. Not only does our instructor teach here, but he used to train the state examiners. That's a huge bonus for us. Off to the yard....we split up into 2 trucks. Bill put my two classmates in a truck to work on straight-line backing. He put me in another truck to learn drop and hook. He helped me through one, and left me to my own devices to practice while he worked with the other guys on backing. For each attempt, I had to make a successful hook, connect the air and electric, check the kingpin lock, and raise the landing gear. Once completed, lower the landing gear, disconnect air and electric, release the kingpin safety, and pull away. Then, drive away from the trailer, circle the lot, come back and repeat the cycle. My first attempt was a little clumsy but he walked me through it. After that I did 6 more, nailed all of them on the first attempt. What a confidence booster! We switched trucks and I started my straight-line backing. It took a few attempts to get a successful back, had to pull forward and start over 4 or 5 times until I got a feel for the trailer's reaction. Did about 10 or so successful backs in a row then got moved to the other truck which now had the trailer attached and we did the Millis 500 again with the trailer. I am feeling so much more confident and comfortable than I did the last time behind the wheel. This has been a lot of fun and I'm really enjoying it.

 

I will be doing my test in Wisconsin, screw Ohio. I'm not worried about going on the road, I'm hungry for it. Can't wait for tomorrow to get back in the truck, and can't wait till Thursday to hit the road

 

And then there were 2....I just got a text from one of my classmates. She isn't coming back. It's a shame, she's such a sweet person. She'll be missed

 

Talked to her today after school. She said she had some stuff going on at home that needed taking care of. She also said that she was going to reschedule and come back. Not sure if I believe it based on the manner in which she left.

 

If I said today was eventful, I'd be understanding it. Started normal. Went to the garage and I did my first attempt at a pre-trip. I missed some things but Bill was very encouraging and was very happy with how I did on my first try. We headed to the lot and the entire day was spent practicing 2 specific maneuvers. Sight-side parallel parking and alley docking. I will definitely need more practice on the parallel parking but didn't do too bad on the alley dock. I'll probably burn through a couple of the allotted pull-ups when I get tested but overall I feel pretty good about it. Bill never loses patience or gets frustrated if he knows you are doing your best, and applying the advice he gives you. Can't say enough good stuff about him. At the end of the day I saw something in my roomate's eyes that made me wonder if he was going to stay. When we got back to the hotel, he told me he was going back home. Not gonna lie, it broke my heart a little. He's a really nice guy and he was doing great at the end of the day. I understand his reasons, but I am now all alone in this class. There are several large upsides to this situation. I am now completely one-on-one with Bill. I now have a hotel room to myself. And, I will probably inherit his driver trainer, which is awesome. I've already met him, and he is super nice. AND....he has a stick truck which means I won't have to worry about either waiting for a trainer with a stick or getting a trainer that has an auto. At Millis, you will test on the truck that your driver trainer has. If I test on an auto I will have that unwanted restriction on my license. No thanks. Happy to drive an auto after I get my CDL, just not before. I can't feel good about any of those things right now. My classmates are gone and I am going to miss them both. This feels unbelievably surreal. That's it for today, I'll check back in tomorrow

 

Verified! I have my driver trainer lined up, I'm a happy camper.