cdl class in the springs

[86k10]

I was thinking it would be cheaper and easier to just get my class b for now....I have a guaranteed job if I can get the license all local driving and decent pay.... I don't really wanna drive a big semi with a trailer OTR or anything like that

Driving most straight trucks is like driving a big car. You might not need a course. I would suggest watching pre-trip inspections on Youtube. Thats where most people fail the test and you lose your money if you fail there. I was practicing in the yard and 3 guys from Halliburton was testing for their A that day. 2 guys didn't make it pass the pre-trip and one failed the driving test on the first turn by hitting the curb. The instructors at the CDL College said most fail the pre-trip and you don't move on to the skills test. If you paid just for the test you would lose your money in 15 minutes.

Thats why I took the 10 hour course because they go over the pre-trip with you, let you run the truck in the skills test and take you on the road and are more sympathetic if when you take your test vs. just going for a test.

Here is a little thing to remember on your pre-trip. If you don't know the name of the part, like a Drag Link.

All metal parts are BBC, No bends, breaks, cracks.
Plastic is ABC, No abrasions, bulges, cuts.
All liquids parts mention no leaks
All air parts mention no audible leaks

[DSB OUTDOORS]

Go big or go home I say. JK, I had my class "B" for awhile. Didn't see the point in it. Look for a 3rd party tester through a trucking company. The schools are OK but if you have access to a class "A" vehicle to practice with, that's the way to go. But if it has air breaks, even better! Separate endorsement needed for air brakes, even for a class "B".

[Irving]

Can you get a Class A with a poor driving record?

[streetglideok]

I was thinking it would be cheaper and easier to just get my class b for now....I have a guaranteed job if I can get the license all local driving and decent pay.... I don't really wanna drive a big semi with a trailer OTR or anything like that

Its one extra written test if I recall to move from B to A, and you just need to be able to maneuver the thing and back it for the test. You are far better off to be fully licensed for whatever you may need, than only have a B and be in a jam. Bosses in the industry are well known for talking drivers into breaking rules and laws to save a penny. Regardless, if you get any kind of ticket, its on you. If the company decides to be nice and cover it, so be it. An overweight ticket for driving on a B and pulling a trailer that put you in the A class will go to you, not them. You may find yourself bored with B trucks and want to move up to combination vehicles.

[JohnTRourke]

Separate endorsement needed for air brakes, even for a class "B".

Wrong
there is no separate endorsement for air brakes on a CDL
there is a removal of a restriction. You are either restricted from not driving air brake vehicles or you are not. (check your license, if you have air brakes it says "air brakes, restricted, no").
Yeah, it's semantics, but so is most of the CDL tests

BTW, when you take the written tests (for the permit), take all the other endorsements with it. (tankers, doubles/triples, etc), it's just a written test, and then you are golden and you won't have to wait in the endless line again.

[streetglideok]

Wrong
there is no separate endorsement for air brakes on a CDL
there is a removal of a restriction. You are either restricted from not driving air brake vehicles or you are not. (check your license, if you have air brakes it says "air brakes, restricted, no").
Yeah, it's semantics, but so is most of the CDL tests

BTW, when you take the written tests (for the permit), take all the other endorsements with it. (tankers, doubles/triples, etc), it's just a written test, and then you are golden and you won't have to wait in the endless line again.

Yep, that is where I messed up in 2005. I should have took the wiggle wagon(doubles/triples endorsement) and tanker when I did the tests. As I remember, there was the general vehicle test(class B basically), air brake, combination vehicle(class A), and hazmat tests. Got my permit, went thru SNI and did all the training hoopla. Showed up and did my driving test, which constitutes performing a pretrip the way the state wants to see you do it(Oklahoma was a joke), your air brake pump down check, then drive thru town and highway do demonstrate skills. At least for the class A, there is a backing up skill test as well. When I did it all, I found out how different each state is, and I don't know where kolorado ranks in difficulty. Oklahoma you did a 90* back into a dock. Texas did that, a blindside 90*, parallel parking, and doing a wiggle worm backup around cones. Cajun land's test was a 200+ point pretrip inspection, then a pretty absurd driving test as well. Difference between class A and B on tests won't be a lot really. You'll need to know the same stuff for airbrakes, so you're looking at one extra written test, and the driving test. No sense in shooting yourself in the foot with only a B.

Now hazmat, since 9/11, has gotten stupid. Fingerprint and background check to get it, and maintain it. When I renewed my cdl in Oklahoma, I wasn't driving anymore, so I let the hazmat go. It was $90 or so for the paperwork to be done, every so many years. If I need it down the road, I'll just go take the silly test and do it again. The rest of my endorsements I keep current. Also found out, some states at least are putting restrictions on CDLs if you take the driving test in an automatic, meaning you aren't allowed to drive a manual tranny big truck.

[Big Wall]

Can you get a Class A with a poor driving record?

It depends on the offence. Getting a job with a poor driving record is a different matter all together.