ROAD TEST

I wouldn't think grinding gears would flunk you. I think if you pass a righteous cdl test, you'll be okay on a company test. How'd you do in school?

 

That would depend on how often you grind gears.Most testers understand you might be a little nervous at the start but if you grind them on a consistant basis you'll proabaly fail.Missing gears and not being able to find another(coasting or free wheeling)will most definitly earn a failing grade.If you are grinding them and a mechanical problem has been ruled out then you need to see what you are doing wrong.It could be your not watching your RPM's and your speed at the time of the shift when your looking to upshift or downshift.Another thing is finding out what motor you have in the tractor.Cat,cummins,detroit all shift at different RPM bands and that by itself can trip you up if you haven't had recent experience with a diffrent motor.Last thing I can think of that can effect shifting is whether your loaded or empty or climbing a grade or going down a grade.All will have an effect on how fast or how slow you shift.You'll learn it with practice and repetition.I still grind them every now and then when I not paying attention.Good luck.

 

I was much more interested in how the new hire handled the truck over-all. How was his use of mirrors, turn signals etc. How was his backing. Did he obey traffic rules and regs. Did he use common sense.

Most of us grind gears once in a while. When someone is under the pressure of a road test, driving a truck they have never driven before, being graded by a person they never met before, they are likely to grind gears.

 

I conducted about 50 road test / student trips for my employer. Only 10% of job applicants drive as though they were born to be truck drivers. Companies must hire from the rest of the driver pool who have to cope with it every day. If there is one job opening and twenty applicants, you can be sure the grinders from the bottom 20% will have to look elsewhere. The applicants I recommended to my boss would be driving the same equipment that I drove. In other words, when the newbie came in from a run, I may be the next driver on that truck. Therefore, I would not hire anyone who damages equipment or who cannot recognize a defect and report it.

 

Per the test, I wouldn't know, the last time I took the road test, it was in an automatic : ) That isn't to say that I can't shift up and down all day long without grinding - I don't really know anyone that has been driving long enough that needs the tachometer to tell them when to up or down shift - the sound of the engine is enough for me.