Starting soon.

Good Luck! I start Sunday at DS in Little Rock I am also going on with PAM.

 

Expect the school to teach you nothing of what you need to know while on the road. They ONLY are there to get you your CDL, nothing more, nothing less.

Practice, practice, practice. That goes for Pre-trip and backing. Do as much of both as humanly possible.

Learn everything you can about logs. Even if they don't do anything in the class, go online, use this forum and research as much as possible. Prepare yourself for what your trainer is going to ask of you.

It's a long, hard journey, but with preparation, you'll do just fine. Know that there is no perfect mix. You might get a horrible trainer or the truck breaks down. Nothing can prepare you for those things, but knowing that that can occur will help you when it does. Keep calm, do what the trainer says (as long as it's reasonable) and just perform at your highest ability. I never ask of any of my guys to do more than they can handle. They rarely drive over 6 hours the first 3-4 days. I gradually get them to a 10 hour driving day. By the end of 2 weeks, they're driving a minimum of 8 hours a day.

My last bit of advice, pack light, but pack all of your essentials. 2 weeks worth of clothes should be enough. Bring an extra few pairs of socks and underwear. And definitely bring something that'll keep you busy during down time. Books, mp3 player, etc.

Hope this helps and good luck out there.

 

Thank you for the advice! I hope to start training here pretty soon if all goes well.

 

Pre-trip in the morning at lunch and at the end of the day..You have all the time and control over that aspect.The backing will be ruff because they may have a large class 5 or more to a truck.If that is the case watch what your classmates are doing esp what they do wrong.Always try to go last..Driving you will not get right away..but within 10-20 min of clutching you should be ok..not good but ok..This class is just to pass a CDL test nothing more but they may teach you more..Good luck

 

djtrype,

I've read several of your posts and see you're a trainer for PAM. Do the trucks have outlets for a laptop, or would a converter be required (are they allowed)? Are cells allowed (I'm sure not while driving), you indicated bringing an MP3 player. Do the trucks have a port to plug them in, or can you use a FM transmitter to run one? I maybe starting out of Ft. Worth shortly and you seem to be the one that can provide some really good info.

 

Trucks with APUs have an outlet below the bottom bunk in the sleeper. It only works while running the APU though. I have 2 inverters with me that I use to charge my laptop, aircard and for my TV. We can only have inverters that plug into 12V outlets (cigarette plug ins).

Absolutely bring a cell phone with you. I don't allow any of my guys to talk while driving for 1-2 weeks unless it's an emergency. But you may need it, so bring it.

Some of the trucks have a radio with an Auxiliary plug in, some don't. It just depends. Some even still have tape players. I carry both a 3.5mm adapter and tape adapter with me just in case.

 

Thanks for the response. Pending my background check (which should be fine), it appears I will be starting training on Monday.