CDL Training And Educational Tools
If you’re looking to become a truck driver, you’ve come to the right place. Truckers Logic is dedicated to helping new and veteran truck drivers with their careers. How many times have you heard this is the best time to get into the trucking industry? I know I’ve heard it dozens of times. Truth of the matter, right here, right now, this is the perfect time to become a truck driver. While this article is from 2014, we always update our guides and training materials. And this article is updated as of November 11th, 2015.
As of November 2015, there’s over 40,000 open truck driving jobs in America alone. We don’t have enough truck drivers. It has been this way for years and it continues to get worse. In fact, within the next decade, we could have nearly 900,000 open trucking jobs. New truck drivers are not coming into the industry. High turnover rates and rising demand is straining many trucking companies across the country. Trucking companies are now paying more money, offering paid CDL training and offering better benefits then ever before. If your struggling to make money, this is a great opportunity for you. Truckers Logic can help you begin your trucking career, here’s how.
Truck Driver Training Books
Before we officially get started, new truck drivers, we highly recommend reading these trucking eBooks. They only cost $2.99 and their well worth the initial price. These two books were written by veteran truck driver Spencer Jensen. Spencer has over 7 years of trucking experience and operates his own trucking company. The insight you’ll get will last a lifetime. In fact, here’s the complete series of truck driver books.
Surviving Truck Driver Training
CDL Permit Test
If you’re a n
ew truck driver or thinking about becoming a truck driver, your going to have to meet a few requirements. For starters, your going to need your CDL permit before you can even begin driving and practicing in a heavy truck. The first thing you want to do is start studying for your CDL permit exam. Your CDL permit test is a written test, the questions can vary depending on your state DMV’s requirements.
Depending on how long you’ve been interested in becoming a truck driver, you may or may not know much about trucking. Completely fine. In order to get you started, you need to go to your local DMV and pick up a free CDL permit manual. Even if you have experience in trucking, take the time to study your CDL manual. Your CDL permit test is go to be common-sense questions. The DMV has a way of making these questions more difficult then they are by wording them different. Just keep your cool, if you study, you have nothing to worry about.
Truck Driving School Cost And Assistance
Once you have your CDL permit, you’ll finally be able to legally operate a tractor-trailer. It is possible that you’ve been driving a tractor-trailer for years. Although this experience counts, you need to learn proper techniques in all areas of driving a truck. Once you have your CDL permit, you’re going to have to make some tough decisions. In order to get your commercial drivers license, you have to get properly trained.
There’s a number of different truck driving schools out there that offer CDL training. There’s dozens if not hundreds of top quality CDL programs to learn from. The biggest issue for new truck drivers coming in is the cost of CDL training. Truck driving schools are not cheap. At an average rate, truck driving school is going to set you back $5,000 at least. For new truck drivers, obtaining this amount of money can be very difficult.
For those of you that qualify, truck driving school financial aid is available to help you with the cost of CDL training. US Truck can help you with your financial aid for truck driving school. Scholarships and student loans for truck drivers are available. Your local state may also have programs in place to help you get through the CDL training process. You have several options, take the time to explore these options. Very few can pay cash for truck driving school and CDL training. You’ll never know what is available until you try.
Company Sponsored CDL Programs
Another option that new truck drivers have is company sponsored CDL training. Some trucking companies will actually pay you to take your CDL training. At the least, you’ll get your CDL training for free. You read at the beginning of this article that there’s over 30,000 current open truck driver jobs. This is a fact, according to the American Trucking Association. Since trucking companies are having trouble getting new truck drivers on board, we’re seeing more and more companies offer paid CDL training. If you can’t afford truck driving school or can’t get financial aid, this is an option.
In order to find which trucking companies are offering fully paid CDL training programs, you’re going to have to do your research. Google it! Right? You can nearly find anything you need on Google. Take the time to research and look for these companies via Google. More then likely, you’ll find numerous trucking companies offering company sponsored CDL training. By doing so, you’ll find a few schools that offer this and you’ll be able to begin the application process.
Truck Driver Training
Once you have your CDL permit and CDL training paid for, you’ll be ready to get behind the wheel of your tractor-trailer. You’ll start your CDL courses with basic driving skills. You’ll be learning right and left turns, shifting techniques, parallel parking, backing techniques and much more. Once you get the basic driving skills down, you’ll be ready to move on to the next level.
At this point in your CDL training, you’ll be ready to start driving on local roads, state roads and highways. These are the same skills you’ll be using on a daily basis. Make sure you always pay attention. Throughout the process, you’ll hear the term “safety” a lot. Safety is first priority, getting the load or haul there safely is your mission everyday you drive. Your learning the same techniques that will make you a successful truck driver.
CDL Test
Before you get your commercial drivers license, you’ll be required to take two test. You’ll be required to take a pre-trip inspection test and your actual CDL driving test. You will take your CDL test at your local DMV. Each state DMV test is different, the total amount of questions will vary from state to state.
CDL Pre-Trip Inspection Test
Your CDL pre-trip inspection test will cover all the elements of your tractor-trailer. You need to make sure that you’re very familiar with your truck. I wouldn’t advise taking your CDL test in a truck that you don’t know. You’ll be asked several questions about where specific items are on the truck. They could ask you to turn on the wipers or your warning lights. They could ask you to honk the horn or set your emergency brake.
CDL Driving Test
This is likely to be the last part of your test, this is known as the CDL driving test. You will be asked to drive your truck locally, don’t expect to go real far, probably just a few miles. You could be asked to do a number of different things, such as parallel parking, driving up hill or backing up. Make sure your obeying all driving laws. Make sure your braking ahead, shifting gears correctly. Don’t let your nerves get to you. At this point, you’ll be fully trained and prepared to pass your CDL test.
Truckers Logic has a hundreds of articles on truck driving. We have one of the largest libraries of truck driver training material online. Please feel free to take your time reviewing our training articles. We’ve listed several helpful links below to help you obtain your CDL. Feel free to also leave us a comment or ask a question if you need help. Thanks for taking the time to read our article on the CDL training process. Good luck on your test!
