Week Five - Professional Truck Driver Training
I
Drove
A
Big
F'n
Truck!
Yeppers, you read that right. I finally got to drive a big rig. Day one, week five was all about learning to back up in a straight line and from a 45 degree angle. I must brag on myself a little for the fact that I can back that 48' rig in a straight line like sliding a warm knife through butter. Boo-ya! I had it down pat on the first try. I got a little over confident at that point of course and when I attemped the 45 degree backing maneuver... I failed miserably. BUT... I didn't kill any of those little orange cones. And that's a good thing. I just didn't quite get the trailer square in the box. But after a few more tries I started getting the hang of it.
I had expected the trainer to be in the cab with me. Nope, not the case at all. Instead he sat in his lawn chair and would occassionally point in the direction we should've been turning our wheels and such. I was feeling really good after about 6 or so passes at the first two basic backing maneuvers.
Then, to get us prepared for Day Two, the instructor had us all load up in the truck while he demonstrated shifting procedures. It looked and sounded easy. BAH! Man, it was tough! I had a hard time accepting the theory of double-clutching and it was all I could do to get that transmission into the right gear.... or any gear. I left at the end of the day feeling so deflated that I was tempted to never again return to the class.
When I woke up this morning I was nervous as hell. I was giving myself a pep talk the whole way to school and as I started walking from the car to the classroom I started feeling queasy. I had to will myself not to throw up. Seriously... I was that nervous.
We did our pre-trip inspection and then took a seat in the truck. The trainer drove us up the road to Quincy. He went over all the steps and procedures and what to do, what not to do, etc. I was dying... I still wanted to hurl so bad. We got to Quincy and pulled off the road right across from McD's. Several of us had consumed quite a bit of morning beverage and opted for a potty break. When I got back out to the truck I was informed that I'd "drawn the short straw" and was going to be driving first.
AAAACCCCKKKK!
My heart was pounding so hard I could see it in my eyeballs!
But I bit the bullet and hopped up in the truck and started adjusting the seat, steering wheel and mirrors. I took several deep breaths and after the instructor informed me twice I could "go anytime" I put the truck in gear and started rolling.
It was rough going at first. My confidence in my shifting was still very very low at that point. But after a few grinds and curse words, I was up on the 4 lane and going 45 miles per hour. Our goal today was just to get used to shifting. So I spent a grand total of an hour and a half shifting up and down through the gears.
And you know what the best part was.....???
By the end of the day I thought... "Holy crap I can actually do this! And I do it pretty durn well!"
I'm exhausted now. My right arm aches, I have shifter blisters on my hand and my left leg feels like it's been through the Mangler. But I'm so happy to say...
I drove a big f'n truck today!
Drove
A
Big
F'n
Truck!
Yeppers, you read that right. I finally got to drive a big rig. Day one, week five was all about learning to back up in a straight line and from a 45 degree angle. I must brag on myself a little for the fact that I can back that 48' rig in a straight line like sliding a warm knife through butter. Boo-ya! I had it down pat on the first try. I got a little over confident at that point of course and when I attemped the 45 degree backing maneuver... I failed miserably. BUT... I didn't kill any of those little orange cones. And that's a good thing. I just didn't quite get the trailer square in the box. But after a few more tries I started getting the hang of it.
I had expected the trainer to be in the cab with me. Nope, not the case at all. Instead he sat in his lawn chair and would occassionally point in the direction we should've been turning our wheels and such. I was feeling really good after about 6 or so passes at the first two basic backing maneuvers.
Then, to get us prepared for Day Two, the instructor had us all load up in the truck while he demonstrated shifting procedures. It looked and sounded easy. BAH! Man, it was tough! I had a hard time accepting the theory of double-clutching and it was all I could do to get that transmission into the right gear.... or any gear. I left at the end of the day feeling so deflated that I was tempted to never again return to the class.
When I woke up this morning I was nervous as hell. I was giving myself a pep talk the whole way to school and as I started walking from the car to the classroom I started feeling queasy. I had to will myself not to throw up. Seriously... I was that nervous.
We did our pre-trip inspection and then took a seat in the truck. The trainer drove us up the road to Quincy. He went over all the steps and procedures and what to do, what not to do, etc. I was dying... I still wanted to hurl so bad. We got to Quincy and pulled off the road right across from McD's. Several of us had consumed quite a bit of morning beverage and opted for a potty break. When I got back out to the truck I was informed that I'd "drawn the short straw" and was going to be driving first.
AAAACCCCKKKK!
My heart was pounding so hard I could see it in my eyeballs!
But I bit the bullet and hopped up in the truck and started adjusting the seat, steering wheel and mirrors. I took several deep breaths and after the instructor informed me twice I could "go anytime" I put the truck in gear and started rolling.
It was rough going at first. My confidence in my shifting was still very very low at that point. But after a few grinds and curse words, I was up on the 4 lane and going 45 miles per hour. Our goal today was just to get used to shifting. So I spent a grand total of an hour and a half shifting up and down through the gears.
And you know what the best part was.....???
By the end of the day I thought... "Holy crap I can actually do this! And I do it pretty durn well!"
I'm exhausted now. My right arm aches, I have shifter blisters on my hand and my left leg feels like it's been through the Mangler. But I'm so happy to say...
I drove a big f'n truck today!
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