Passing the pre-trip exam

Man that is tough... SORRY!!! I take mine tomorrow as long as the weather here will clear up by 1pm.

study back up and go at it again don't let it beat you...good luck david!

 

You would be dead wrong. I take stuff like this very seriously. I would be one of the few who is actually out there in the cold, in the rain, making sure things are as they should be. I don't want to be the one in the news who killed someone because I was negligent. However, I do have a sense of humor about these things as well, and saying properly mounted AND SECURE just seems funny to me and far too gung ho. If it's properly mounted.... then it is secure.

 

In my opinion you should have passed. Assuming the truck stall is why you failed. The serviced brake did its job. Don't let the power tripping examiners get to you.

 

clutch control is not part of a pre trip. it is part of the overall exam. I cant help you control pedals over these interwebs, nor can anyone else. i hate to be this guy but if your failure had blocked traffic get out the way i have a short 840 minutes a day cant deal with you. ***edit thanks to Danvitt .****

 

What state you in??? You will get them next time and if not there are other chances took me 7 times to pass mine. Only difference is I blamed myself and not the examiner.

 

You could not more wrong, A broken alternator bracket can leave a alternator that could weigh close to 70 lbs rolling like a bowling ball down the freeway lanes, because some driver did think it was important you just killed a family of 4 potentially.

A pre trip before you move the truck is the most important inspection of the trip. Not loose,properly secured, brackets not bent cracked or broken seems pretty important to me, But what do I know. I have the authorization form the state of California to test student for there final exam, and I would fail you for any signs of lack of control, a dead engine because a driver does not know how to use the clutch, you bet, so is touching a curb or traffic cone. There is no minor point to inspecting a truck.

Like how times have the drivers on here grabbed on to the pittman arn and given it a good shake, because it looks big and solids, but if you dont tap that shaft with a ballpen hammer you will not know if that shaft is crack till it breaks, it may take 3 million miles, but some where skipping thinks will catch up. And I teach using my mistakes to keep you the stident alive and well, and this means checking aternator brackets.

 

I basically agree with you on all points. However you got examiners out there that want to be, and enjoy being pricks just because their life sux for whatever reason. So if I say the alternator is properly mounted and the belt looks good. Then move on.. They say WAIT A FREAKING MINUTE! YOU DIDn't say the brackets were not bent, you didn't mention no cracks, and you didn't say it wasn't broken, you didn't say if it was loose or not, and you didn't mention if it was secure, YOU FAIL!!... FAIL, FAIL, FAIL, ...... HAHHA HAAHAAHAA!!!

I'd be like, "yea I did say that. I said it was properly mounted." That means it cant be properly mounted if its bent, broken, cracked, loose, has parts hanging off it, or unsecured. I mean really why don't we just add in the torque settings too. I mean if the bolts are not torqued to 55 ft lbs it could be a potential safety hazard. So why aren't we walking around the truck with a torque wrench too? In fact I bet there is a bunch of things that could fall off and kill people. We might as well check all that stuff too. The answer to why we don't is we have to be somewhat reasonable. All this jargon and buzzwords they want to add is BS.

What I'd rather see, instead of forcing people to waste time memorizing the exact order to say this stuff. Is why do you check the pitman arm? Understanding that might entice people to actually not skip and check it. I know all drivers don't know the answer. I've read post here where they can't even change a lightbulb.

Army of Darkness quote:

Ash, "Klaatu Barada N... Necktie... Neckturn... Nickel... It's an "N" word, it's definitely an "N" word! Klaatu... Barada... N...
[coughs] "
Ash, "[pause] Okay then... that's it!"


Wiseman, "When you removed the book from the cradle, did you speak the words? "

Ash, "Yeah, basically."


Wiseman, "Did you speak the exact words?"

Ash: Look, maybe I didn't say every single little tiny syllable, no. But basically I said them, yeah.

 

There maybe some pricks, The examiners test sheet only has boxes, you get it checked off if you mention it. For example you could say I check the engine accessories which include the comparessor, Alternator, turbo charger,etc... are properly mounted and secure and functioning properly, also the the fasteners are tight, brackets are not bent cracked or broken. Only point is things can be grouped but have to be mentioned to be checked off.

I have an examiners certificate from CA DMV. There is no a lot of leway given to the examiner as far as what you have to cover, I beleive putting a student at easy gives them a better chance at passing. But the test has to adminastered by the numbers or you can lose your examiners cert.

To me its about safety first, If I believe your competent, and just nervous I will try to get you to relax, but you still have to pass. The test is suppose give an indication if you have a general idea of what to check, what is safe or not. dont forget this is a minimum test not a master mechanic test.

You mention you think there are lots of stuff that can fall off, your right there is and it is your job as a driver to make sure that all that stuff is secure and not going to fall off. I dont want to have a check list like aviation does.

 

I see so many new CDL students make fun of the "Properly Mounted & Secure" aspect of pretrip, but they truly underestimate its importance.
Case in point: A few years ago, I was assigned a replacement truck that had just come out of the shop for several issues, one of which was replacement of an outer segment of a 3-piece bumper (Kenworth 3 piece bumper, pass side 1/3 segment had been bent by another driver).
The truck was a good ways from the shop, near the back of the lot. What no one realized was the mechanic hung the bumper on the brackets, inserted mounting bolts, but was called away & distracted before he put the nuts on. Another mechanic, seeing the new bumper piece "on", drove the truck to the back parking lot, thinking it was "done".

On my pre-trip, I popped the hood and visually scanned all areas, and noticed the missing nuts. Without doubt, that heavy 2' x 1' steel bumper segment would have surely "unmounted itself" while I was bouncing down the highway. Unlikely it would have gave any advance warning, and surely was in a position to fall off directly in front of my right steer tire. I doubt the after-effects would have been pretty.

Anyhow, a good pre-trip avoided that potential disaster, key category/words being "(Not)Properly Mounted & Secure".
In telling some new trainees of this experience, some even had the nerve to say "You gotta be kidding... WHO checks for bumper bolts on a pre-trip?".
Answer: You can bet your tail that I DO,, especially knowing/seeing that part had been replaced on the truck.

So the "properly mounted & secure", for any and all parts, is no joking matter.

 

Actually I know I am in the minority on this, but the people at the CDL yard where I took my test, were very very nice. Now don't get me wrong they weren't cutting anyone any breaks, but they were nice about everything. In fact the man who I took my bus test with was nice, the man who I took my Class A test with was also nice told me about the convenient store he owned when we were driving down the road on my road test.

Now me I failed my bus test the first time screwed up the air break portion on my bus test. Did fine on the tractor trailer, but screwed up the bus test for got to test the air break leakage.
The pre trip I think is the hardest part of that whole test.