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Tomorrow's the big day...

E

Electra_Glide

Senior Member
Joined
Aug 25, 2004
Messages
273
Location
Western Pennsylvania
...my class A CDL test is scheduled for 10:15 tomorrow morning.

So if you're in Bulter, PA around 10:30 tomorrow morning, an you see an '85 Kenworth pulling a flatbed, get the heck out of the way...:eek:

Wish me luck!

Joe

blah, blah, blah...secure, no visible damage, no missing nuts...blah, blah, blah...
 
xkvator

xkvator

Senior Member
Joined
Apr 9, 2005
Messages
258
Location
pa.
Joe...give us some details...it's been over 30 yrs. since i took that...i can't remember stuff from last week!

not to hijack...but i was up in Butler 2 weeks ago...and i saw LEO's pulling over landscapers/small excavators...must be checking since the chipper accident...
are you north hills guys seeing more of that?
 
N

norrodbh

Well-Known Member
Joined
Mar 7, 2005
Messages
50
Location
SWestern PA
xkvator said:
Joe...give us some details...it's been over 30 yrs. since i took that...i can't remember stuff from last week!

not to hijack...but i was up in Butler 2 weeks ago...and i saw LEO's pulling over landscapers/small excavators...must be checking since the chipper accident...
are you north hills guys seeing more of that?
Click to expand...

I try to stay out of the North Hills area.

Robinson Twp guys leave us alone, I did have Moon Twp stop me once just to look me over. Ohio Twp stopped me on Neville Island and harrased me. Asking me where I was working. Where I was dumping my debris. How long I was going to be running back and forth Grand Ave. A punk with a badge is what he was. But I just kept quiet, and answered his questions. He got bored and went looking for someone else to poke with a stick.

I catch the I-79 weigh station in Bridgeville a lot, and the agents there usually just glance at the trailer hitch-up and wave my on through.
 
W

will_gurt

Charter Member
Joined
Nov 30, 2003
Messages
163
Location
southwestern ,PA
Occupation
operator in extended holding pattern
First, good luck tomorrow on your test.

I've been looked at by more than one LEO in the north hills since the chipper wreck. Mainly checking amounts of hold down chains and methods used. And to see the hitch area.
 
J

Jeff D.

Senior Member
Joined
Nov 9, 2005
Messages
1,280
Location
MN.
Good luck Joe:thumbsup

Don't do what I did on my first road test. Ie. think you've got it in 2nd at a busy intersection, and when you finally get you're break in traffic, you find out the hard way it's actually in reverse.:eek:

Dang sloppy shifters in them cab overs!!:bouncegri
 
F

Ford LT-9000

Banned
Joined
Nov 17, 2005
Messages
1,484
Location
B.C. Canada
Occupation
Rolling around in the dirt
When the instructor gets into the cab ask him to put his seat belt on. I know on CDL tests I think its a demerit or a instant fail. Its been awhile since I got my CDL. Hopping the curb and knocking over street signs is a fail. The instructors here knock off points for ever blown shift you make.

When I did my road test I was sweating like a frigging pig my shirt was soaking wet and it felt like I jumped in a pool in my jeans.

Good Luck :bouncegri
 
E

Electra_Glide

Senior Member
Joined
Aug 25, 2004
Messages
273
Location
Western Pennsylvania
Jeff D. said:
How did it go Joe?
Click to expand...
Woohooo!!! I passed...:drinkup :thumbsup :Cowboy

Don't do what I did on my first road test. Ie. think you've got it in 2nd at a busy intersection, and when you finally get you're break in traffic, you find out the hard way it's actually in reverse.
Click to expand...
Well, only made a few "big"" mistakes:

Forgot to turn the key to the "on" position after shutting off the engine to perform the air brake test. He let me slide when I explained what happened, and corrected it when the low-air indicator didn't come on.

Performed the simulated emergency stop, and forgot to mention setting out my triangles, and then tried to take off in 7th gear and stalled the truck.

There's one greater than 90 degree left turn on the course, and I had to stop in the middle of the intersection and back up to keep the tractor from hitting the curb.

Guess it could have been much worse...

Joe
 
Dozerboy

Dozerboy

Senior Member
Joined
Jan 18, 2006
Messages
2,232
Location
TX
Occupation
Operator
Congrats, I don't remember anything about triangles in mine. I also hit a curb thanks to my instructor. He told me to "turn left no right" I had plenty of time, but I was so nervous I went the wrong way. I had to pull out on to a hwy with heavy traffic and a 55mph speed limit from a stop sign. I went as wide as I could as fast as I could, I told him I was going hit the curb and he told me to just go. I just got my outside dual up on the curb a little he didn't take off any points and that was my only mistake.
 
sbrem

sbrem

Well-Known Member
Joined
Mar 25, 2006
Messages
128
Location
Guilford Vermont
Electra_Glide said:
tried to take off in 7th gear and stalled the truck.

Joe
Click to expand...

I did the same thing during my emergancy stop. Forgot to put it back on the low side and tried to take off in 6th and stalled.

Congrats on passing!
 
CascadeScaper

CascadeScaper

Senior Member
Joined
Feb 27, 2005
Messages
1,162
Location
Lynnwood, WA
Occupation
2nd year Operating Engineer Apprentice
Awesome man! I'm getting nervous about getting my CDL, I think I"m going in about 2 weeks for my written test (permit), which will be easy, but the pre-trip inspection is going to be the hard part. How many documented hours of driving with your permit do you need?
 
E

Electra_Glide

Senior Member
Joined
Aug 25, 2004
Messages
273
Location
Western Pennsylvania
CascadeScaper said:
Awesome man! I'm getting nervous about getting my CDL, I think I"m going in about 2 weeks for my written test (permit), which will be easy, but the pre-trip inspection is going to be the hard part. How many documented hours of driving with your permit do you need?
Click to expand...

In PA you don't need to prove ANY documented hours...:eek:. They've recently started doing that for a regular drivers license, so maybe they will be doing it for CDLs as well. I got my permit on my own, then went to the local commercial driving school because they offered a "customized", pay-by-the-hour course. I spent about 32 hrs. behind the wheel (in the yard, and out on the road), including the couple hours to take my test. Spent a few more hours learning the pre-trip and airbrake.

I'm glad I did it this way, since I knew EXACTLY what to expect on the test before I got there. I even got to run the exact test couse a few times with my instructor in the weeks leading up to the test.

The pre-trip inspection isn't so bad. Especially since you're already running equipment and (hopefully) are already doing some sort of "pre-trip". Your state CDL manual should have all the stuff you need for the pre-trip, so it's just a matter of studying. Since I went through a driving school, they had their own study guide, which I felt was a little easier to understand than what was in the state manual. You'll also find that once you learn something, it applies to other areas of the truck as well. For example, once you have the brake inspection for the front axle down, it's almost the same for all the other axles on the truck. Same with tires, lights, etc. Also you will become very familliar with the phrase "secure, no visible damage, no missing nuts"...:wink2

The PA test is divided into three parts:

1) knowledge: pre-trip inspection and airbrake
2) skills: straight-line backing, and driver's side parallel
3) over-the-road

There are a few things you can do to get an "automatic" failure (hit a curb, blatant traffic infraction (speeding, run a red light, etc.)), but other than that, it's done on a "points" system. You accumulate points for your mistakes, and as long as your under the limit, you pass. They don't expect you to be perfect, but that's what I was shooting for. Didn't quite make it...

I assume other states have a very similar system.

Joe
 
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