As someone that just passed their CDL skills test last Friday, I echo the comments about treating it like a story that you are telling out loud. I had to do an engine start, in-cab, coupling system and trailer pretrip. I started with the coupling system, then did the trailer, then the engine and finally the in-cab. I went into a very detailed and long narrative. I made good eye contact with the examiner, called him Sir, invited him to crawl under the truck with me to look at what I was describing and generally gave him more info then he probably wanted. It took about 40 minutes for me to do the pre-trip with him. Make sure you touch and / or point to everything you are speaking about. There is no way to give too much info to the tester. Hang in there and the third time will be the charm. You should not miss any points in the pretrip inspection. This is where you show yourself and the tester the vehicle is safe to operate.

BOL and drive safe out there!!

thanks but in ohio we only get 30 min so you have to move fast

I used one of those cheap laser pointer cat toys when i took the test. It helped me keep focused on that particular part and showed the DMV what i was looking at!!!

peace out,
feulman

It is not uncommon for the examiners to cut short the pre trip exam once they realize you know what you are talking about.

By cut short I mean not have you go through everything and instead ask you questions about a few key areas.

The Pre-trip can be a pain in the ass. My best advice is memorize it. Memorize to the point to where you can recite it out loud with out looking at the truck or parts of the truck. I would lay in bed and recite it several times every night before I went to bed. Make sure you include everything your looking for "cracked, broken, missing, properly secured and has no illegal welds".

bol

Frame. Goes from the front of the tractor to the back. Properly mounted, no illegal holes or welds, not damaged, not leaking. :D

my feeling is that is is ridiculous to be expected to check everything from memory, there should be a standard checklist that you go by, you could use the list to check and show that you know how to check the things that are on it
if you knew an airline didnt allow their pilots and mechanics to use a checklist, but made them check the plane by memory, would you fly with them? I wouldnt..

I took my test in ohio. the big thing is they want to know what your looking for. I ran out of time and didn't get to do the pump down on my brake test but since I nailed every part before that I still passed.

learn the parts they are looking for.

If it has fluid state its not leaking. if its glass or plastic state it not broke or cracked. metal say its not cracked no broken welds loose or missing bolts or whatever applies.

also in ohio you only have to do the drivers side and mention what is different on the passengers side.

basically if you look at the truck and point out the parts and WHAT to look for to make sure they are working you will be fine. I started from the top and worked my way down and back. get the same pattern and you will won't miss things.

my tester told me after words how many people would miss the windshield etc. he said they would sit there starring at it and never mention it.

you do have a check list. its the truck. you look at all the parts! your really just learning what they are and how to tell if something is wrong. top to bottom front to back. point out all the parts and tell how you would know if something was wrong.

you learned the pre trip in school not the trainer. the trainer is there to put everything you learned into practice in the working environment. MY trainer told me flat out, i'm not here to teach you the pretrip that is your responsibility i'm here to teach you how to drive safely and how to get the job done. did he do a "real" pretrip everyday? no. did he check things throughout the day and did he know what was going on with everything having to do with the truck.? yes.