CDL - how did you get yours?

[Lmackattack]

Family was in trucking when I was a kid. Had a taste of it early on but my dad and uncle got out in the late 80s. I went to the local DMV one day and picked up the cdl book. 2 weeks later I took and past the test. Walked out the door of the dmv and saw a trucker next to his rig. Just happed to be a R model tractor trailer end dump. I Walked up and asked if I could trade some labor for use of his truck. He called his boss and he said stop by to chat....the next 2 weeks I layed bricks and did labor work for his const company. All for free. Started to get some seat time on weekends . Was doing good. Practiced backing in his yard and rode,drove with his drivers, Then The IL licence for bribes scandal made headlines! I took the skills test the week of the headlines and failed on the pull up test, instructor said I tried to stick my head out the window? Next week tried again,failed for getting out of the truck and not chocking my wheels?

3 rd times a charm I passed. The owner gave me a job driving on weekends to relieve the other 2 guys if they needed time off..

Drove for him the rest of that year until he slowed down and he sent me to work for his buddy, still talk to those guys and thank them for taking the chance on a 20 year old kid.

[farmer52]

Where to get a cdl? dont they still sell Cracker Jack's? I got mine with a friends bus, I just memorized the book drove around a little then went to take the test and got a class B then I used a dump truck and backhoe trailer for my class A. I agree with the previous Pre Trip comment, make 100% sure you have it down do it over and over then do it again, your examiner may not have you actually do the pre trip but walk around and tell them what you would be checking for. Never forget the steering and suspension components thats when lots of people lose points, they are not in plain sight but they want to hear you say you are checking for loose, missing or broken spring hangers, springs,shocks etc. dont forget the steering box, drag link, tie rod, brake chambers, slack adjusters and shoes, and the driveline your suppoed to check your u-joints, carrier bearings and driveshaft for loose, missing, broken or damaged components. Most states allow you to take a pre trip book or help guide with you put a star on the page in areas you know you have a lot to remember. ( I used to help train on CDL at Oprlyand Hotel Transportation in Nashville TN) I wish you luck and even if you dont use it much having a CDL will be a blessing when you do need it, and most employers look at it as another qualification to add to your resume showing you took some initiative to get better prepared for what you do before they hired you.

You are correct about the pre-trip inspection. You do not actually do a pre-trip but you must walk around the truck/trailer and point to each item on the list. You need to tell the examiner what you would check during an actual PT inspection.

[Brian Blaylock]

I'll have to agree with JT mine also came out of a box of Crackerjacks

[thomastractorsvc]

I grew up driving farm and construction trucks. When I was 16 I was running a delivery truck for my dad 4 days a week in the summers when I was 16 and hauling pulp wood and potatoes during school year after school and weekends. I would sometimes drive loaded to school and when I got out in the afternoon would go and offload and reload before heading home. I hauled horses oats one winter as a side gig, my dad let me run one of the trucks for a fee and I sold oats to the horse race tracks in the southern part of the state. Was not as lucrative as i hoped so I only did for one year.

I traded in my liscense for my cdl when I was stationed at ft sill in oklahoma and the cdls were just coming out, surrendered my Maine DL and had to take the written test that was it, few years later I was transffered to recruiting in Bangor Maine and got stopped by a local city cop who followed me for about two weeks home every night in my Oklahoma taged 4x4 flatbed who told me that I had 30 days to change over to Maine plates and lisence (which I didn't because I was active duty military) so I got hasseled again and figured it would be better to comply with the local cops then escorted home every night. Then I was transfered to Maryland and changed my state of residency to michigan so I did not have to pay state taxes on my military pay and exchnged for a michigan CDL than 11 or so years later I retired from the Army and exchanged my MI CDL for a Missouri one just had to take the hazmat portion and get finger printed.

[Freightrain]

I, like Ken, went to test station that rents you a truck/trailer. Ya, hate to pay the extra $150, but better then dealing with getting someone to drive my truck home(you can't drive a commercial vehicle after test...you have to wait to you get your printed license).

I got the book spent a month or so reading through it to get ready for the written test> It was all multiple guess, though they do try to trick you with the way the question was worded. I passed, then waited a couple weeks and called for test. Tada.....I got my Class A with air/tank endorsements. When taking written, they told me to take all, as it doesn't cost anymore and you might need them. I didn't study doubles or hazmat, but missed each by ONE question each. Not bad?

After dragging my 40ft race trailer for 10 yrs, I knew I could pass the road test. Their truck was a little Binder with 466 and straight 5 spd. Very short, very easy to drive.

[Bobby Covert]

I unloaded and loaded trailers at UPS for about 71/2 years and another 73/4 years of driving a delivery truck.My Dad was killed in a truck wreck when I was 2. So I made my own way..The first thing I ever backed was a 28 foot pup. It was a nightmare for a while . I learned though and it has been almost 20 years ago now.I learned a lot by keeping my mouth shut and listening to drivers who were old enough to be my Dad. They took care of me and made me a survivor. Although I did not realize it at the time. The people who work in transportation have the biggest hearts.

[other dog]

Yep, the shorter the trailer the harder it is to back.

[rsb502]

Yep, the shorter the trailer the harder it is to back.

I second that, I had a 22' dump trailer that gave me fits to learn and everytime I hooked to the 52' long lowboy then went back to the dump I screwed up and had to learn again, funniest was when me and a buddy just dropped my lowboy and got under our dump trailers then I lead us around town when we got to the crusher he was laughing his ass off about my wide turns said I missed the curb by 30 feet on a couple. and dont get me started on 20' container chassis, what a nightmare, on a sidenote they will make a Superliner on Camelback suspension do a wheely thru an intersection (had a load of marble and fifth wheel was all the way back to clear the landing gear)

[JTFormula]

Yep, the shorter the trailer the harder it is to back.

I know that already. The 38' 2 car trailer we have at the shop I have no issues backing into driveways or putting it back in the hole behind the shop. My 8' 6' utility trailer is a bitch to back up because it jack knifes the second you turn the wheel and I can barely see it behind my truck.

[Red Rover]

I too, got my WV commercial license from a cracker jacks box in 1973 when it cost 15 bucks to acquire so I could haul coal in a B-model and 28 foot dump trailer. But in 89 when the prospect of a trucking job was all I had going for me, and without recent experience, a school was the only way I could get hired. I've always felt that from the safety aspect alone, the school was worth it. That's my 2 cents, and though I don't make my living driving a truck, I just renewed my CDL and hazmat this year and as another poster mentioned, it gives you confidence in other areas in your life and no matter what size vehicle i'm driving, I have credentials to prove that I am a professional, and with that said, I expect that when any of you see me on the road, you will respectfully get out of my way.

[vision386]

Yep, the shorter the trailer the harder it is to back.

Gotta agree with that! i once pulled a 28 foot container while i was working for Atlas van Lines,looked like a first year rookie,could'nt back that short bastard up to save my ass!..................Mark