Week Eight - Thursday

Today I drove a straight ten speed truck for the first time. Once again, I handled the truck well, but shifting was very interesting. Driving the straight ten truck requires much more shifting. Shifting all gears in order, instead of skipping gears, requires a different thought process. I was actually starting to get it towards the end of the ride. All in all, it was a good time driving the straight ten truck.
After the ride it was time for lunch. After lunch we were back in the yard practicing the various backing maneuvers. It would be nice if we could learn some of the other maneuvers, but alas it is not to be. Two more weeks till graduation and NYS road test.

So, that's about it for today.

Have a nice evening,
Don

Week Eight - Wednesday

OK, so for clarification, the last blog was actually from Tuesday. Monday was a Holiday and the school was closed.
As for today, it was pretty much another normal day. We drove forwards and then backed up over and over and over again. ALL DAY LONG!!!
Tomorrow, yes, we will do the same thing. I am truly great full that I did not sign up for the 18 week session. I think 7 weeks would have more than been adequate for this program. I should have a road ride tomorrow. I am hopeful my shifting will be better.

Have a great night,
Regards,
Don

Week Eight - Monday

Good evening,

Monday was a Holiday, so today, Tuesday, was our first day back this week. I arrived at school at 10:30, as scheduled. I had a road-ride first thing. I got to go out with a great Instructor. The ride went well, I am still having issues with grabbing a gear properly on the downshift. My city driving and highway driving is really good.
When I returned, I did a pretrip inspection and a drop and hook. Then I moved over to the everything truck. On this truck, I can do a c-side and blind side backup, as well as an off-set backup.
After lunch, Our Team worked on parallel parking. We did this till 4:45, when we left for the day. I can't believe we are in our 8th week already. Time is just flying by. I need to make up some flash cards to learn my speed and tachometer vs gears.
It's the same old thing for me, I have got to get my shifting down in order to make a clean sweep of my remaining tests.

Have a great evening,
Regards,
Don

Week Seven - Thursday

Today was a very long day in the sun. The temp was up to 87 degF. We drank a ton of water, and did pretty much the same as yesterday. I did not have a ride today. Tomorrow we will be let loose early due to the upcoming Holiday.

Not much else to say about today.

Have a nice evening,
Don

Week Seven - Wednesday

It's over-the-hump day !!! More of the same, backing maneuvers, Pre Trip Inspection, and drop and hook. I worked with another group of new students today. They seemed very receptive, if not overwhelmed.
Road ride #11 was today, I went out with the Boss, in a truck that well..., let's just say was a bit of a challenge. I did pretty good, considering, especially once I got a handle on the shifting pattern, the clutch plate, and the shift sticking. All other aspects of the drive were fine. On the return, the Instructor had me parallel park, I nailed it not once, but twice. All in all, a decent performance. I still need to focus on revving the engine on hills (both ways). I know that with more experience I will get better at this. Especially, when I will have more than an hour in the same truck. ;-)

So, at week 7.3, all is well and full speed ahead.

Have a nice evening,
Don

Week Seven - Tuesday

What a difference a day makes. Today I was on... The parallel parking was much better today. I had a road trip into the city, and it was great. Shifting was much better. My trip report was good across the board with the following statement in the comments section; "Good job around City turns".

I am feeling much better than yesterday. I want to summarize what we are up to:

Maneuvers:
1. Pre Trip Inspections
2. Drop & Hook
3. Straight Line Backing
4. See Side Backing
5. Blind Side Backing
6. Off Set Backing
7. Parallel Parking

City Driving

1. Close Intersection turns
2. Abrupt Stops
3. Anticipating city hazards
4. Hillside starts
5. Tight lanes/parked cars/unloading cars-trucks etc.

So, we have learned everything that we are supposed to in the 10-week program. We now face mastering and increasing our confidence in handling the trucks in various city and highway situations. In addition, we need to perfect our backing maneuvers. We have three more weeks till graduation. We should be in good shape by the second week of June when we have our School Final Road test. We must pass one of two school road tests to graduate from NTTS. Once we graduate we will then go to the Department of Motor Vehicles for our New York State road test.

Now, once I graduate from NTTS and pass my NYS road test, I will be off to Allentown, PA for my orientation with Werner Enterprises Trucking Co. My orientation will include another physical and drug test. Testing of my general Trucking knowledge including rules and regulations and log books. I will need to demonstrate knowledge of trip planning and using the Atlas. Then, I will have to pass trucking maneuvers, a pre trip test, and a Company sponsored road test. So, you would think after passing all of this, I would be good to go, but you would be wrong. Once I prove that I can in fact drive the truck, I will then be assigned to a trainer. I will move into the truck with the trainer, and we will head over the road for approximately 6 weeks. Then, based on the trainer's recommendation, I will be assigned a truck. I will be routed back near my home and get to take a few days off, before heading back over the road.

Take Care,
Don

Week Seven - Monday

So, another week is upon us. Today, we learned our final maneuver, The parallel park. We are struggling with this one, but we pretty much have everything else down. I had a road ride today, and forgot the time. The Instructor found me in a truck practicing parallel parking. Oh brother, not a good thing making the Instructor come looking for you. To make things worse, i miss-judged on coming traffic as I pulled the truck out of the school lot. GEESE !!!!

I am still having issues down shifting, especially on hills. Today we went into the city. I once again misjudged an approaching car as I made a left-hand turn. To say the least, I was glad when this ride was over. Bummer!!!

Here's hoping tomorrow goes better.

Good Night all...
Don

Photos at NTTS

Week Six - Friday

So, today we continued our backing maneuvers. We continued our pre=trip inspections, and our drop & hooks. We only have one maneuver left to learn, and that is the parallel park. We are set to learn that one on Monday.

Yesterday we tested out of Phase two. We each had a road test that included a full pre-trip and an in-route straight line backing maneuver. Back in the yard we were each tested on our drop & hook, and our see-side backing maneuver. I thankfully Aced each test. The other Team members also did very well.

So, Monday we enter our final phase of testing, Phase Three. The Team has four weeks to master all maneuvers, including confidence in truck handling in city, country, and highway areas. This to include the identification of all hazards and proper truck handling in these situations. Though this may seem impossible, each of us will have over 20 1-hour, 1 on 1 road trips with various Instructors using various trucks and trailers. We will also have a 3-hour night ride.

To graduate from NTTS, we are required to pass 1 of 2 full road tests. These tests are much more dificult than the New York State CDL Road Test, but to quote our Instructor, "We are not here to teach you how to pass the road test, but how to be safe and make money in the trucking industry. PRETTY COOL HUH !!!! :-)

I just calculated my school average at the end of phase two. I have raised my phase I average of 94 to my phase II final average of 97. In addition, I not only have perfect attendance, but have banked approximately 40 extra hours of training. Calculating the total hours and total cost of my training program, the 40 extra hours means I have volunteered for and received an additional $889.00 worth of training, so far ;-)

Ok, well time for me to crash, enjoy your weekend.

Don

Good evening, Say hello to Team 4-6 (10-week) Today was a good day. We learned our final backing maneuver, the blind-side back up. We spent most of the day working on our various maneuvers. Our lab was on various types of trucks, low boys, over-sized loads...etc.

That's it for today,

See you back tomorrow,
Don

Week Six - Monday

Well, Today is the first day of the second half of my 10-week program. In addition to our normal maneuvers, we learned how to do off-side backing. After lunch, I had another road-ride. It was awesome, I continue to improve on my shifting. The Instructor was very relaxed and kicking back during the ride. This is a good sign. His post ride comments stated that I continue to make more and more progress with each ride. He still grinds gears a little, but it's getting allot smoother. He also stated that I could be ready by Friday to drive in downtown Syracuse. Driving in the city is the final big test of a drivers road skills. I am not sure if I am ready to drive in the city, but will do my best if the Instructor takes me there.

Well that's bout it for today. Have a great evening,

Don

Week Five - Friday

Friday was a good day. More practice in the yard. We continued our work on Pre-trip inspections, Drop and Hook procedures, straight line and see side backing. For the most part, the Team is doing very well. We are trying to help each other with our maneuvers.
I am very tired today, and am looking forward to returning home.

Best Regards,
Don

Week Five - Thursday

Today was rainy, chilly, and rather dreary. The Team is really ready to learn some new maneuvers. Today we continued our backing, pre-trip inspections, and drop and hook procedures. It was a very long day.
I did have my 6th road-ride this afternoon. I must admit, I didn't do so hot. I still tend to choke on my shifting when I come up on situations. For example, today I made a right hand turn, just after being shown how to use the range finder to go up and down a single speed. So, I made a good turn only to find myself going up hill. I tried to shift, but the speed slipped and I missed the gear. I tend to get frustrated with myself, and that only makes things worse. So, I know that I need to get more familiar with looking at my speedometer, and tachometer and knowing what gear to go into, or what gear I am currently in.
Well it's time for me to get busy, so that is all.

Have a great evening,
Don

Week Five - Tuesday/ Wednesday

I was unable to Blog last evening as I was on the road to see my Son conduct his middle school choir in Buffalo. It was an awesome concert, and he did a great job.

Yesterday, I had a great road ride showing improvement in clutching and shifting. I felt really good coming off that ride. I finally got a ride with my original classroom Instructor.

Today, I drove back to school and got in to the yard around 9:00 am. I met up with some of the guys and started working on backing maneuvers, and drop and hooks. We have been working on these maneuvers for a long time now, but the Instructors will not add additional maneuvers till next week. This is to keep us on track with our 10-week program. Honestly, it is a bit boring, but we have yet to truly master the maneuvers we do know. I had another great road ride with yet another Instructor.

That's it for today,

Best Regards,
Don

Week Five - Monday

Hello, welcome to another week at NTTS Liverpool, NY. Today, out Team continued to work on PreTrip inspections, drop and hooks, straight line backing, and c-side backing. In the morning our third team member mastered the c-side backing, and finally, just before knock-off, our fourth team member nailed the c-side backing. It was sooo great to finally have all of us doing the c-side maneuver.
This morning, two new guys came onboard Team Two, to get their Class B training. The B folks use a straight truck, but do similar backing maneuvers. I helped them with their pre-trip inspections, and then demonstrated the straight line backing maneuver in the B-truck. Both the B-guys took right to it with no problems.
Todays lab was on breaks and setting the slack adjusters. I thought this was going to be rather complicated, but it turned out to be rather simple to do.

So, that's about it for today, I should get another road-ride tomorrow.

Take it easy,
Don

Week Four - Friday

TGIF: Today was a long day. No road-ride, unfortunately. Our lab today was on Bridge formula, and calculating Axle weights. We then got into when, why, and how to slide your Tandem and or fifth wheel.
The Team continued working on straight line and C-side backing. Two of us have it locked, one is close, and one is getting better.
After only one week in the various trucks, I am feeling more relaxed and my shifting and yard maneuvers are really coming along well. In addition to continued road rides, straight line and c-side backing, next week we will add off-side and blind-side backing. We also will continue our Pre trip inspections and drop and hook procedures. Our Team has 6 more weeks to master these techniques. If we attack the next six weeks with the same hard-charging attitude we had this week, we will pass the NTTS program as well as our Road Test with flying colors.

Well, as I am home now, and my nice big bed is just behind me, I think I will call it a night. It's been a long hard week.

Have a great weekend and I will see you Monday evening.

Regards.
Don