I made it through the first week of school and was actually learning how to drive a tractor-trailer, big rig, semi truck, or whatever else you might want to call it! And (unlike one other student) was back in class for the start of Week 2.
Week number two of truck driving school would turn out to be a week of highs and lows. The car-habits continued to be a problem. My test on the pre-trip inspection and the air brake check was all going great until I began going through the engine-running part of the air brake check with the gearshift in 1st and my foot on the clutch. That, I was told, is a no-no which will get me an automatic fail on the BMV’s test, and therefore caused a fail on this one. It would not affect me getting through the school, but I would have to nurture the habit to keep it in neutral when I got to the BMV.
Most time in the truck this week was spent on backing. There are three BMV maneuvering tests on the lot: straight backing, offset backing and parallel parking. The last two are either left or right, at the tester’s choice. Straight backing was pretty much under control by this point. The trick is watching both mirrors and if you start to see more trailer in one than the other, steer towards the side with too much trailer. Offset backing is tougher. I came into things with pretty decent ability to back a small trailer on a ball hitch. The problem here is that a 5th wheel hitch moves the pivot point up over the rear wheels of the tractor, which does all kinds of funny things to the geometry of backing. And, of course, you can’t just turn and watch everything out of a back window because all you can see is the front of the trailer. We had after-hours access to the trucks on the lot, and I spent my share of time there working on the right offset.
I would not have thought that parallel parking a semi was a thing, but it is – at least as far as passing a CDL test with the state. Friday was spent working with one guy and watching/helping him get everything lined up for parallel parking. All of these parking maneuvers have a specific series of steps, and the trick is starting in the right spot and following them. As Bob (in his inimitable way) said to us, “Don’t think you’re a f***ing truck driver if you can do these things. Any idiot without a lick of skill or common sense can do these if he can just follow the steps.” So, follow the steps I did.
Week 1’s drive had been with a second teacher, a young guy who had been out driving maybe 5 years. Week 2 was with the real teacher. He would not be much good coaching 2nd graders in baseball because he has zero patience and not even a teeny bit of desire to protect our feelings. “Hey, I know I’m an asshole, but I’m an asshole who wants to see you get your CDL and keep you alive and out of jail after you get it.” So, silence meant things were looking pretty good, while lots of bad words and yelling meant they were not.
I got some of both on the second on-the-road session. Shifting was getting better and the truck did not seem quite as wide as it did the first time out, but I needed to spend more time watching the mirrors and where the back wheels of the trailer were than worrying about shifting. (“Hey, you’ve got a f***in’ trailer back there!”) My main goal right then was to get downshifts made far enough in advance so that I had the luxury of time to analyze a turn on city streets and give that full attention. Downshifting during a turn (like we do in cars all the time) is something that would break the peaceful atmosphere of the truck cab during a driving session. But for all that, Bob is a good guy who was trying to teach us both how to drive and how to do it safely.
This school’s focus is safe driving (as opposed to just teaching you enough to get through a CDL test) and we learned some things I had never thought much about. One is how every accident results in someone wanting to blame the truck, because it will always have the most insurance, so we are easy targets. We were taught to stay right at the speed limit, which will virtually always keep us slower than the flow of traffic. Because federal law requires us to maintain an 8-12 second following distance, driving slower than the flow is the only realistic way to achieve that distance because cars are always cutting into whatever gap you may be trying to maintain.
I got to drive the Curbside Classic of semi tractors – a CH series Mack from the mid 1990’s. I would not have thought that gathered velour was still a thing in the 1990’s, but apparently it was. The trucking company that operates this school as an adjunct still runs quite a few of these old Macks. The instructor hates them (“They got no creature comforts and are miserable to drive – the only reason anyone likes ‘em is because they’ll run for f***** ever”). The mechanics are in love with them because of their brute durability, and they stay on the road because of careful maintenance practices. We were told that modern trucks are an entirely different ballgame. In a tour of maintenance facilities, we were told that an engine replacement for one of the old Macks runs about $29k while a 2015 or 2017 diesel out of a later model Freightliner cost the company $74k when it failed, which caused them to total the truck. Most maintenance costs on newer trucks involve the DEF systems, which are apparently despised by the mechanics (and more than a few of the drivers). We were being told last summer that it was still extremely difficult to get new trucks in the numbers needed because of supply chain problems.
Week Two also saw the reps of different transportation companies come in to talk to us. It seems that year 1 of driving is mostly about training, and that once a driver has a year under his belt (a safe year, anyway) he can about write his own ticket starting with year 2.
The good news was that even the crusty old instructor told me that I was right where I needed to be in driving skills right then, so the key was to sweat the details and keep working on those basic skills.
Bob deserves credit; you know where he stands. There is no murkiness with him.
The supply chain for trucks is still an issue, although it is slowly easing. We’ve had dump trucks at work take two years to arrive, the manufacturers were only allowing so many build spots, and DEF sensors have been an issue.
I really like how your school had reps coming to talk with students during the second week. It likely helped confirm your decision plus I’m speculating it helped give you a better feel for the job market before being thrust into it.
Learning to parallel park a trunk does not sound like an easy task to master.
Mack apparently had some issues, and there was a time my company moved away from them, in favor of Freightliners and Internationals. But their newest trucks have been Macks. I have not yet driven one of those. There are now maybe a dozen of the new Macks in the yard.
New trucks arent quite impossible to get here its just a very long wait the same with parts we had a Freightliner laid up waiting for a new turbo it was still waiting 128months later when I left new turbos are built in OZ but their entire output goes to Cummins in the US and ordering direct from Cummins NZ didnt produce one either, we had a few Molvos, Mack Granites with Volvo engines and transmissions a huge step up from the CHs of yore, the day driver I shared a Navistar with turned up with a Mack CH rental one arvo he had trouble splitting gears with the 13 speed, I guess nobody told him about dont preselect the split like with an 18 speed, I’d alredy spent wheel time in CH Mack concrete mixers so just drove it putting a Btrain behind it didnt alter the controls,
Two trailers did they train you on that? the extra pinot point makes going backwards interesting, like any large trailer you have to correct it before it goes wrong in reverse and thats the trick.
Sounds like a Marine DI. I’m here to teach you the skills that can keep you alive.
What’s “DEF” ?
Diesel Exhaust Fluid. It is a urea-based fluid that is sprayed into the exhaust stream to try to clean up some of the worst of the pollutants.
Thanks, I should have been more clear on that.
Called adblu locally the mob I last drove for has the NZ distribution contract.
Congratulations, on your continued success. Your essays will hopefully be very useful aids, for others seeking to follow the same career path. Life experience is such a help, when taking on these new challenges. And ageism, at least in your mid-60s, doesn’t seem to be a significant liability. For you entering commercial trucking.
You don’t seem like you feel you need to succeed in this field. Rather, it is a challenge you are not afraid of. So, your self-confidence will help you.
This has been a great read, thank you. Wishing you much continued success!
Ageism is a real thing in modern business – and in law, if you are not the captain of your own ship, and sometimes even then when it comes to getting and keeping clients. This was one of the reasons I was drawn to trucking, because they are so hungry for drivers that my age is not really a factor. If I am healthy enough to get a medical certificate, I am just as likely to get hired as the next guy.
Bob sounds like my flight instructor, “Popps,” from when I was training in the 1990s. An A&P (airframe and powerplant) mechanic on B-17s during WWII, he was the poster child for ‘curmudgeon.’ If I didn’t put the 172 down exactly on the numbers on the runway, I ‘heard’ about it. I ended up a better pilot because of it, though.
I wonder if farm boys who grew up backing hay racks (which add an additional articulation to the mix) would pick up semi-backing easier? After eighteen years on the farm, I got good enough to back up about 40-50′ before ‘loosing it.’ Since retirement, I’ve entered a few backing contests at tractor shows, and they use racks that are double-articulated – both front and rear wheels steer (kind of like ‘all-wheel-steering’ setups on cars and trucks from the late 80s/early 90s). Those *really* mess with your mind!
“Mess with your mind” is the challenge.
While not as complicated as your situation, my challenge is to back a 23′ tandem axel 8’6″ wide boat trailer through a 9’0″ door, keeping it perfectly straight after it is through the door. At the end of a long day of sun, exercise and whatever mother nature may throw at us.
I’m a sober captain, so alcohol is never a factor, but when backing the trailer in a hailstorm, in a hurry to get my truck out of the weather, suddenly my brain may decide it can’t back a trailer to save my soul. It can take a moment to mentally regroup and get the job done.
My last job used to entail a CIP for product change CIP is clean in place hot water and solvents pumped through both units for a food grade clean it involved backing an 8 wheel drawbar trailer 2.5m wide through a 3m doorway after a 90 degree turn or a Btrain of you were aboard such a vehicle my licence says I can do it but practice is needed and changing trucks occasionally does not help.
I well remember learning to back truck trailers no semis we got thrown in the deep end 4 wheel short wheelbase drawbar trailer to learn on they go very wrong very quick anticipation is the key, correct it before it goes wrong, that takes practice on your own an instructor is an intimidating thing to have in the cab while learning.
That’s exactly the key difference. A tractor with a semi-trailer has one pivot point, a straight truck with a full trailer has two.
I’m sure those experienced hay-hauling farm boys can easily back up a tractor with a semi-trailer, no sweat (even on a very hot day).
When opting for a straight truck with a center-axle trailer, you get a fixed drawbar (directly hooked up to the truck’s trailer coupling) and, consequently, one pivot point. Those combinations are the preferred choice here among the flower/plant haulers and the flatbed/curtainside crowd.
I’m enjoying this detailed thread .
-Nate
One of the cool things about this series is the awareness it’s building for me around just how much training truck drivers have, and the skills that result. It really puts into pretty stark contrast the total lack of training that most car drivers have.
My wife and have spent our careers in white collar, where rough language is usually frowned upon.
While my daughters are moving into advanced medical fields, my son was accepted into the IBEW electrician’s union.
Not every blue collar speaks roughly, but it is more prevalent. It has been interesting to watch him evolve in how he wants to present himself as a young 20 something.
The complexity and durability issues of modern diesel engine emission systems have been a huge issue and explains why fleets now avoid them in even mid-sized trucks. But their irresistible lure to a certain demographic with their jacked up 4×4 HD pickups continues apparently unabated.
This is why Ford designed their new big gas truck V8 engine, undoubtedly the last of its kind. or maybe not?
I had been completely unaware of Ford’s big modern truck V8 until several years ago when a friend in the tree-care business chose that engine when he bought a new truck.
This might be why my company keeps running those old Macks as long as they will reliably run. Some of the old-time drivers have a real attachment to their Macks and have resisted moving into newer trucks. Both drivers and trucks will probably retire about the same time.
Exactly one old dunga of a Freightliner remained in use where I was simply because a long term employee refused to drive anything else his tractor unit was manual 18speed, He liked it, I drove it to change the flour container for the devanning crew and hated it, No room in the cab at all, typical of US day cabs, full size humans dont fit.
You are living my dream!
With the loss of Jerry Reed, there was a void in the trucking industry.
A CC alumni, is about to help fill that void. 🙂
That froufrou on the door panel is so weirdly out of place.
Scratching pad, for the travel along cats. 🙂
Lot lizards keep walking. This rig has all of the pussy it needs.
I could not even imagine parallel parking a tractor trailer.
I’m impressed that you can do this.
This series is fascinating.
Looking forward to Week 3!
I also never knew that parallel parking a big rig was a thing, out side of truck-driving skills contests. Ironically, I’m pretty sure parallel parking has been eliminated in most states’ tests for a regular license. That, in fact, was how I failed my drivers license test when I first took it at age 16, and I’ve never warmed up to parallel parking.
The after-hours access to the truck lot is a great idea. I’m sure I’d spend many hours there backing up.
And good advice regarding the trick to straight-backing a trailer.
It’s truly great to read all of this!
Straight backing is easy once you learn it aim the back of the trailer where you want to go get both units straight engage low reverse and move the wheel rapidly 10 to 2 as you back up adjusting as you go. Same for drawbar trailer semi either 2,3or4 axles B train what ever you have behind you. I takes practice, either after hours or just as you do your job.
Fun fact. If you take the D and E out of “student” driver, you have a stunt driver.
Or how about a Student Stunt Driver…….
“Today class, we’ll be learning to do the J-Turn, so pay attention!”
I drove tractor-trailer back in the 1990’s and the school I went to pounded traffic safety- it definitely makes you a better car driver. I had some great instructors, including one who taught me how to slip-shift a ten speed (“Don’t tell the other guys”) which is a pure joy when it goes right. On road test day, the school set us up with a single-screw power unit and a 45 foot float (flatbed trailer) which makes parallel parking a little easier.
“… My main goal right then was to get downshifts made far enough in advance so that I had the luxury of time to analyze a turn on city streets and give that full attention. Downshifting during a turn (like we do in cars all the time) is something that would break the peaceful atmosphere of the truck cab during a driving session…”
That brought back a memory! I took a Skip Barber 3-day “intro to racing” class at Lime Rock Park a couple of decades ago. The instructors reminded us several times to “get your downshifting done on the straight” before getting into the turn. One reason was to maximize traction and stability in the turn. But the other was to avoid hitting one of the other 5 Miatas that would be trying to squeeze into the same narrow line during a real race.
When this series stared, I hadn’t twigged that you were driving a full on articulated truck/truck and trailer, assuming (wrongly) you were some 10 rigid UPS delviery truck or similar.
So, full respect for taking this on and planning/expecting/succeeding to do it in a few weeks to a full licence standard.
You will never stop learning its how the game is played,
A different tractor unit could be really different to what youve been driving, I worked for a temping agency while doing a single dad stint, you get sent somewhere to do that guys job and often you learn the truck and the job at once, whats on the back of the chassis can be a little intimidating the front is only a truck. 9, 10 13, 15, 18speed, hook box autoshift manual syncro or crash you have to learn the lot and be that guy, thats the steep learning curve after you get the licence, its fun once you start.
Companys here advertise for roadranger experience and those guys are in demand and ironically to me who learned on crash boxes hard to get.
Great article with insight for readers like me that are somewhat intimidated by the sheer size of tractor trailers and give them the utmost respect on the road. On the subject of technology and safety do modern rigs use rear facing Lidar and or cameras to assist backing up? That seems like a no-brainer to me but then again with all the drop trailers in use wouldn’t they all have to be so equipped or are the sensors and cameras portable?
I am not aware of rear-facing cameras, at least not in my experience where trailers are constantly getting swapped out at different facilities. We were taught that the surest way to avoid accidents while backing is to not back up unless it is absolutely necessary. If we are not absolutely certain that there is nothing behind, we are harped at to get out and look!
That makes sense. When in doubt, hop out and verify the scene.
Have they told you the difference between a silver bulldog and a gold bulldog yet ?
Haha, that one actually got covered in class! I had never known that the gold bulldog signified a truck built of all Mack components. A purebred Mack!
I want to know what it is like to shift gears on a truck. The lack of synchromesh must be a challenge.
it’s a learned skill, mostly about timing. For a ten-speed in first gear it’s clutch in, shifter to neutral, clutch out, rev engine, clutch in, shift to second, clutch out. Repeat. Downshifting is pretty much the same thing except it’s imperative that you match the engine speed with the transmission speed- you only have one or two chances at it and if you miss a shift you must get on the brakes pronto before you lose speed control of you rig.