Starting School on Monday
 

The time has finally come! I start my truck driver training on Monday (9/11) at Commercial Driver Services in Lakewood, Washington. This is something that has been in the works for a few months but now I'm actually taking the first baby steps. Their school has come highly recommended and I'm looking forward to the experience.

While my days for the next 4 weeks will be very long (work from 8am to 2:30pm, school from 3pm to Midnight), I look forward to retiring from my current job (military) to begin my new life as a truck driver as soon as my training is over.

Good Luck to you future driver!!! Check out my website for a lot of good pre-trip info!

I was about to make this same post. I start on Monday as well. I went by the school today and they gave me some manuals to study over the weekend so I can take my permit test on Monday afternoon, followed by a physical, and something else I forget. 4 long weeks ahead.

Jbroad572,

Good luck to you. We'll probably run into each other down there. Are you going days or nights?[/quote]

Days... 730-3:30.... I have to completely adjust my sleeping patterns, but hopefully all will be well. What about you?

Hey Jbroad and Brian, small world!

I was there today also. I'm retiring from the Air Force Jan 1st and was at CDS this morning getting info.

I won't be going to school at least until January though.

I'd really appreciate both your thoughts on how your training goes with CDS.

I had checked out Bates. Their program sounds great, but 5 months was a bit too long and I know Gordon will take CDS graduates.

Who are you hoping to hire on with?

Good luck to both of you!
Landog

Got a family owned trucking company I will be signing on with. So, not really looking to join onto another company ;). Maybe I saw you there today? Did you by any chance come with your wife or a female? Anyways maybe not. Small world indeed.

No, I was there by myself around 1130-1230 I think. Spoke with the lady for about 20 minutes and got some info.

I'm looking forward to hearing some updates on how the school goes. It's great that you've got an "in" with a family owned co. :D

Cheers,
Landog

Jbroad,

I'm in the night class (3 to Midnight). Makes for a very long day but it's worth it. Three weeks to go :D



Landog,

CDS is a very good school with excellent instructors. I highly recommend them.

I would suggest that you go to the DMV as soon as you can to pick up a CDL drivers manual, study for your tests and get your CDL permit. You'll need to take the General Knowledge, Air Brake, and Combination Vehicle tests to get your permit, then will need the HAZMAT, Doubles/Triples and Tanker tests to graduate from CDS. Then after graduation you'll have all your endorsements in hand and easily be able to get almost any driving job you want.

I'm looking to drive OTR for Gordon after graduation and once my terminal leave kicks in, hopefully in early November. I gave Sharon (CDS placement specialist) my application for them on Friday and she said that she'd send it in.

Best of luck to both of you!

Hey Brian,

Glad to hear things are going well and good words on CDS. I'm also looking to go with Gordon once I'm done with school. Their terminal isn't too far down the road from me and I've taken a trip out to talk to the recruiters there.

I'll go on terminal leave in early November also, but won't do school probably until January so I can go visit some family.

Brian, are u paying for this out of pocket?

Thanks for the advice on the permit. I've got the book from the WA DOT and plan to get my permit in December before school. You've already answered my question about which endorsements to get. Thanks!

Glad to hear things are well. Look forward to more updates when you get time.

Cheers!
Landog

The Gordon recruiter called me yesterday and left a message on my cell phone. I called him back and left a message on his voice mail so now we're playing phone tag. I'll try calling him back again later this morning.

Last night was our first time in the yard with the trucks. We went over installing tire chains, pre-trip inspection, and then hooking up the trailer. We all got a turn at doing that. I've driven an M1 Tank, but let me tell you, driving a big rig is 10 times better, at least for me. The instructor even let me back the truck into its parking space afterwards because I was the last driver of the night.

Tonight we're supposed to go down to the Port of Tacoma to practice driving for real. Looking forward to that.

CDS was my best choice by far. I had originally looked into going with Schneider but backed out. Their school was in Southern California. I also looked at Swift because their school is closer (Portland), but that didn't happen either. The main reasons I went with a local school are that my research found that CDS was highly recommended by others and because I could fit it into my work schedule. It really was a no-brainer at that point. With both Schneider and Swift I would have had to get out first, taking a big risk of unemployment if I would have failed for any reason. So, yes, I paid the tuition for CDS out of my own pocket but it was worth it.

How's everything going with you so far? I am supposed to test for my cdl this Saturday (oct. 7). Hopefully, everything will go well. The biggest challenge will be backing up. Thankfully the DMV is coming to our facility to do the testing. So, we will be right at home. I also just hope I don't get nervous and choke when they are sitting next to me. Don't want to hit a curb, or shut the engine off. Hopefully all will go well.

I just retired on friday, now unemployed. I was also looking at CDS, how does the cost of this course compare to other courses? Seems expensive, but anyway, I've just found this website and just started to look into driving trucks, I used to drive trucks years ago in the Army. I just retired from the Coast Guard, driving boats for the last 15 years.

Tony

Tony,

The cost for going to CDS was comparable to other schools I looked at. It is pricey, but you get what you pay for. The instructors at CDS are all excellent and the training and equipment is top notch. You won't go wrong by going to their school. Good luck to you.

Jbroad572,

You'll do fine on your test. I tested this morning with Evelyn and, believe me, if I can do it anyone can. Breezed through the pre-trip and then drove around the course with no problems. Then came the backing up part. I had two pull-ups on the angle part and did the straight line backing in one try, but I ended up with a 4 on the backing because I forgot to turn on the flashers first. Stupid mistake, but hey it's over. I ran straight down to the DMV to get my license before the ink dried on the paper. It's a great feeling.

You're testing on Saturday? How is that? I thought you were in the day class (I think I know who you are), and we graduate on Friday. Either way, best of luck to you.

Hey, congrats on passing. Yea, I test on Saturday. I'm not worried about it at all. I've been doing really good on my backing and don't think I will choke on that. The route is pretty simple.... There's just one really tight right turn that I brushed today, but as long as I don't run over it I should be good. I have the pre trip and brake test memorized. It's been a fast 3 weeks. Ready to get it over. Hopefully it will go very smoothly without any hiccups.

Today I went on a trial run with one of the instructors and he scored me a 96. Scratched 2 gears I think and scraped that dag on curb.

I don't think we go to the same school, I probably should have stated in my first reply, I start school the same day, but at American Truck Training in Tulsa, OK. :D

Hey Brian,

Congrats! :lol: :lol: on passing your test.

How was the CDS program?

Cheers,
Landog

Finished the DMV test today with a 98.... Everything went smoothly, except coming out the yard I could not get into 5th gear whatsoever. Never happened before. But talk about grinding.... :oops: I think my rpm's were too low or something. I told the DMV lady if she wasn't in that seat I wouldn't have done that, hehe. Did the backup very nicely with one pullup, that wasn't really needed, but want to be as straight as possible.
Well, just an uppdate....
3 weeks total... I'd definitely recommend American Truck Training to anyone interested.