The wait is finally over.......

Day 2 @ Charlotte Truck DriverTraining School

Today we did the Pre-Trip inspection from 7:30am-8:30am and our instructor informed us that everyday we will do this so that we can learn and retain it. Also everyday we fill out our log book just as if we were already working for a company with paper logs lol.


(Off duty) midnight-7:30am, 12:30pm-1pm,6pm-midnight
(Onduty not driving) 7:30am-12:30pm, 1pm-6pm
(Remarks) 7:30am-8:30am Pre-Trip inspection, 12:30pm-1pm lunch, 6pm logged off


We received some grades from activities and tests that we took yesterday and I was a little upset that I got all A's and one B. I missed a question on the test in regards to drivers being required to log vacation time and I missed it. Of course I'm going to continue to study but I seriously thought that if you were away from your “job” that you did not have to log it. Today we went over scenarios in which it gave us the synopsis of 12 days and we had to fill out logs for each day as well as a monthly summary sheet. Example:
DAY 4- Do a PTI in Jackson, MS at 5:30am. Begin driving at 6am. Unload in Birmingham,AL at 9am. Begin driving again at 10am. Take a 1 hour break in Atlanta, GA at 1pm. Begin driving again at 2pm. DVIR in Charlotte, NC at 7pm. Log off duty at 7:30pm and go home


Most students struggled with calculating the monthly summary sheet properly and I was no exception at first but our instructor did a great job of getting us all squared away and now we all are thorough on logging and completing the monthly summary sheet. We watched several videos on hours of service and the changes that are to come in the next months. We had a recruiter come in from Covenant lmao. If you want to run solo it's 19 cent per mile for the first 3 months. Nothing spectacular with the company but I applied anyway due to me being in the WIA program and having a required amount of applications that I must complete while in school. Another decent day of schooling. I'm going to continue studying my Federal Motor Carrier safety regulations pocketbook and continue studying for my CDL permit. ps sorry for my post format yesterday as I use open office to type up my post and it did not format correctly as I copied it to ttr. Thanks

 

Day 3 @ Charlotte Truck DriverTraining School

Today we did Pre-Trip inspection from 7:30am-8:30am as usual and a recruiter came in today from Roehl. I like the fact that they have 3 phases to your training before they let you loose solo. Of course I applied for them as I have the intentions on applying for every company that comes to our school and completing all applications that our school has on paper. Surprisingly my instructor called my name to be the first to learn how to uncouple and couple, pull forward in 1[SUP]st [/SUP]gear with clutch only, and reverse with clutch only. It was easier than I expected but it did take me a while to get used to not having to worry about stalling when releasing the clutch completely. It is not a manual class c vehicle and I had to get all of that out of my mind. Piece of cake now lol. Many students struggled coupling and uncoupling and as the instructor put it “let's see how high yall can get the tires off the ground”. They were just yanking their foot off the clutch instead of taking it off smoothly. After about 5 hours of coupling and uncoupling, we went back into the classroom and watched a video on haz-mat and on CAT scales. Then we did review sheets on haz-mat, coupling and uncoupling, and NC legal weight. Although I think it's now higher. Please correct me:
12,000 on steers
34,000 on drive axles
34,000 on tandems
All in all it was another decent day

 

Day 4 @ Charlotte Truck Driver Training School
Today was spent with most guys getting their drug test, more classroom activities, and testing. A recruiter from McElroy came in today and I would have applied but the minimum age is 24. Today we went over air brakes and trip planning. Next week we will spend all week in the field backing our tractor trailers of course trying to perfect offset, 90 degree, and straight backing. Lol I have to fill out my log for this weekend off duty, study for my permit, and practice backing on my Scania driving simulator. I'm very satisfied with the first week of school and I'm looking forward to resting a little this weekend

 

(Day 5) Today was very interesting especially after having a long 3 day weekend off for which of course I logged off duty for 3/15-3/17. As usual we started the day at 7:30am with a pre-trip inspection until 8:30am. There is so much to cover on the pre-trip inspection that I'm going to hold off on trying to get that right until after I get my permit this week. I still haven't decided if I'm going to get my permit on Thursday or Friday. If I go Thursday, I can log my time at DMV for my permit as class time or I can go Friday on my day off. I received my medical card today which expires on March 4, 2015. I got calls today from several recruiters in regards to my applications and the one that shocked me was a call from a recruiter from CR England which stated that my misdemeanor domestic violence conviction must be 10 years old before they'll even look at me. That's absolutely hilarious and I just laughed to myself as I've just been applying to many companies and the last company that I thought would tell me that would be them. Anyway today was a very cold, windy, and rainy day in Charlotte, NC. I guess the perfect conditions to start learning how to back a big rig. The instructor felt confident with me backing after I got used to the old Mack tractor that we were using to back a flatbed. I received a 93.75 for my backing "skills" today. I have a lot to improve though. 2 major things were using two hands to steer and not just focusing on my driver side mirror although I kept the trailer inline lol. On my second attempt I did run into the barrels in the rear as I misjudged the brake pedal and I stalled out then rolled right into the barrels. On this old Mack the slightest touch to the brake pedal without touching the clutch will stall you. Also a couple of times I stalled out while parking thinking that I had the tractor in neutral when I was actually in third gear. I'm used to how in a manual car you can only wiggle the shifter when it is in neutral, but in this Mack the shifter can be wiggled while you're actually in gear. All in all today was a great learning experience and I'm looking forward to improving tomorrow

 

(Day 6) Today was a very sunny and temperate day here in Charlotte, NC. Like always, we did pre-trip inspection from7:30am-8:30am then we had a U.S. Express recruiter come in and talk to us. The recruiter was very old and dull, but also thorough and seemed honest. Of course I applied as I'm just looking to line up as many opportunities as possible. The rest of the morning we did straight backing and it all finally clicked for me as both times I lined the trailer up within the barrels and cones. After lunch we were moved over to do offset backing left and right. I struggled going to the right offset but I got the trailer in after about 6 pull-ups lol. Going to the left was easier and I only had to pull up twice to get the trailer in on that side. I scored a 95 today on my backing so it was a pretty decent day. My practice test for the CDL permit was also scored today and I would have gotten my permit if it were the real thing. Out of 100 general knowledge questions, I missed 11. I didn't miss any from air brakes or combination. Of course I'm going to continue studying. Again today was a good day and I'm looking forward to improving upon my backing tomorrow.