New CDL Driver

[Meat]

The boy should have his in a week or so. Stay off the sidewalks!

[kevin]

i drive on sidewalks as part of my job

[Meat]

That's four generations now, split-shifting and double-clutching. 

[kevin]

what will he be dtivong?

[Meat]

what will he be dtivong?

Most likely only dump trucks for now. He's a city employee.

[Maria-Juana]

That's four generations now, split-shifting and double-clutching. 

Wow!
Impressive, Meat.

[Meat]

That's four generations now, split-shifting and double-clutching. 

Wow!
Impressive, Meat.

I got mine at age 16, the old days. (Combination Endorsement) I only had to take a written test and have my boss at my logging company sign a waiver. Lol.

[Maria-Juana]

Meat, what's the hardest part about being a truck driver?
~Just curious.

[Meat]

Meat, what's the hardest part about being a truck driver?
~Just curious.

I don't drive full time but I used to. Now it's a bucket truck, digger-derrick or the occasional dump truck. To try to answer your question though, I'd say truckers have a lot of weight and size to navigate safely and other motorists that don't care about the aforementioned. It's actually physical demanding at times too, ask Kevin. (Mostly mentally demanding in my opinion)

[kevin]

the hardest part aboutbeing a truckdriver is finding somewhere to pee

maybe not the hardest but right up there.

aint nowhere to pee on the new jersey turnpike in rush hour

[Maria-Juana]

You guys are giving me pearls.

I've always been impressed by the size of the 18-wheelers, and I've always admired those who drive them, but it's not for everyone, is it?

[Meat]

the hardest part aboutbeing a truckdriver is finding somewhere to pee

maybe not the hardest but right up there.

aint nowhere to pee on the new jersey turnpike in rush hour

A Gatorade bottle works great. Adult diaper?

[kevin]

thats nasty

[Maria-Juana]

Reminds me of this movie scene.
—Careful with that pineapple-apple Gatorade.

[Meat]

The boy actually has to double-clutch for now. As Kevin knows, the clutch is rarely used other than starting and stopping. It's all about timing and synchronization. Yup.

[Meat]

He'll test Wednesday after completing the course. The walk around is the toughest part as I understand, although stalling or hitting a curb is an automatic fail. Oops. 

[kevin]

if i can do it he can too. tell him to just walk in a circle around the truck and identify and call out every part- steps, fuel cap, grabrails, catwalk, brake parts, pitman arm, drag link, steering column. every part. then say its present, not loose, not broken, and go to the next part. all the way around

[kevin]

i hit a curb in a right turn. there was 16 inches of snow on the ground and no way to know where it was.

[Maria-Juana]

I had to google it. 

[Meat]

Big day for the boy today, the test. On the 26th I'll get my motorcycle endorsement hopefully. Three days worth of training now in Wa. I had it in the 80's and let it lapse, what a dummy! My first trip is already planned up into the North Cascades. Solo of course, who needs people? Lol.

[kevin]

tell him to get doubles and triples and tanker, if he can. the more endorsements the better, and you dont need a driving test for them.

[Meat]

tell him to get doubles and triples and tanker, if he can. the more endorsements the better, and you dont need a driving test for them.

He's getting tank for sure. I still have doubles/triples along with tank. No triples in Wa. but Oregon has them. Funny to see. Australia has truck trains. Lol.

[kevin]

those aistralian road trains are pretty extreme

[Meat]

Rats. He failed the backing portion. He said the guy scumbagged him and I believe him. He's not the type to be a sore loser so....The good news is he passed the walk-around and air system portion. He'll test again in two weeks.

[kevin]

why would tbe guy fail him?

[meAgain]

Rats. He failed the backing portion. He said the guy scumbagged him and I believe him. He's not the type to be a sore loser so....The good news is he passed the walk-around and air system portion. He'll test again in two weeks.

My #4 failed her behind the wheel driver's ed test and she didn't even get a chance to go on the road.  It was pouring rain so the instructor, having to stand out in the rain was in a bad mood, but I'm thinking, think how nervous my 16 year old daughter was feeling having to take her driver's test in pouring rain. 
Anyway, it didn't even get that far, because he asked her to put on her four ways and she had never heard that term before.  We say hazards.  She hesitated and looked a little confused, so he snapped, "Fail!  Come back when you know your dash!"  Seriously?

[Meat]

why would tbe guy fail him?

He said encroaching on cones while backing the trailer that were laid out and then one other misunderstanding. Evidently the trailer was supposed to stop in a certain place other than what the class taught. I told him in a couple of weeks it'll all be forgotten.

[kevin]

lack of communication, apparently.

after he passes he can hop the curbs to get more room like everybody else in the real world.

today i need to pick up a 30 yard box in a very congested parking lot. tried to set up three times-- no room. i work with two-inch clearances, but my truck is 33 feet long and i cant make it fit into 25.

so i put the truck rails against two  3-yard dumpsters that were in the way and pushed them down the sidewalk.  then i put the rails against the front of the box and pushed it sideways until it was inline.

sometimes there isnt room until you make it. he ll do fine once he passes.

[Maria-Juana]

Aww. Sorry to hear this, Meat. 

The good news is he passed the walk-around and air system portion. He'll test again in two weeks.

Good. I'll keep my fingers crossed. 🤞
Please keep us posted.

[Meat]

Aww. Sorry to hear this, Meat. 

The good news is he passed the walk-around and air system portion. He'll test again in two weeks.

Good. I'll keep my fingers crossed. 🤞
Please keep us posted.

Thanks.

[Meat]

Well I passed my motorcycle endorsement class but I'm here to tell you, not that easy. I grew up on bikes but street riding is way different. I'm sticking to Forest Service roads mostly with the occasional back road or highway. The boy should retest for his CDL in a week or so. These state sanctioned tests are for the birds.

[kevin]

what did you test on? i have a little honda CL100, over fifty years old and not much bigger than a bicycle. i make the kids test on that, because its street legal but `you can twist it tyhrough their idiotic cone mazes with one hand.

the best machine to test on is a moped, if they will let you.

[Meat]

I tested on my DRZ 400S. Not the best choice but....

[kevin]

i watched a guy here test on a stnking 600-pound harley dresser once. he seemed to do okay, but why suffer though it?

when i took motorcycle test training in kuala lumpur fifty years ago, we had to do three figure eights within a rectangle 16 feet by  . . . 32?  very difficult to do on the triumph 500 i had, but if you locked the front wheel to the side and bumped the throttle you could get around. i

i never did get rid of my learners plates.

[Meat]

He got it Tuesday, yay. 

[Meat]

I'll pick up my motorcycle endorsement tomorrow at the DOL. I even have insurance now, $74 for the year. Lol. 

[kevin]

helmet?

[Meat]

helmet?

I have a Bell MX-9.

[Meat]

I spotted the boy on the road in a 5 yard dump truck, I followed him to the pit. I couldn't help myself, I mentioned gravel on the sideboards and blind spots on mirrors. Kevin knows the dangers but the general public is mostly annoyed with big trucks. Try it sometime.

[kevin]

if ylou leave gravel on the outside someone will eventually be calling you.

i slow down when people tailgate me so that they get annoyed and pull around