As I stated earlier, in 1992 I became an over-the-road truck driver. In the fall of that year, my father passed away. When you're driving down the road in a big truck, you have the opportunity to do lots of thinking. One day, as I recall, my JD Truck Training Centre was out in the great northwest, Montana to be exact. Thinking of my past, my dad, and where I was, I started to create a poem. I call it This Great Land Of Ours.
Everything from braking and grabbing gears; to following distance, lane changes, exit ramps and knowing who's around you, truck driving is a thinking man's game. Thinking ahead is the name of the game. Then everything falls into a natural rhythm.
I remember when the Truck driving school was teaching me how to meet all the CDL requirements. They taught me how to back up, shift and do lane changes and everything. But the real deal of getting loaded, to driving through the mountains is another thing.
I have tried to reform Jesse to the best of my ability. I started with a book given to me by my brother-in-law; called Good Masters make Good Dogs. I followed this book to the t, child-locking my kitchen, putting shock systems on things, but it did absolutely nothing. Jesse just out-smarted it all. I was at a loss. I then turned to my veterinarian. The vet taught me tricks to correct misbehavior in animals that was "fool-proof". Well, obviously, my dog is either a genius or a dunce. Jesse seemed hopeless, resistant to any type of correction.
Out of all the endorsements, you must be fingerprinted and pass a background check for only one: the HazMat endorsement. If you have been convicted HR licence in parafields of arson robbery smuggling HR Truck Licence bribery or other serious crimes you cannot obtain a HazMat endorsement. Your HazMat endorsement must be renewed at least every 5 years.
Now that you know how much it costs for tuition, you should also consider other costs like financing, room and board or hotel stays, transportation to the school, amenities etc. Be conscious of the numbers game. It might be $5000 for one school all-inclusive and $4000 for another but you still have to pay for hotel. That makes them the same. So you really have to evaluate the schools and do your due diligence.
Backing and parking your truck. Or how to enter in a parking lot, or mountain driving and driving on ice are all things you should be prepared to know. To be a professional truck driver, making the big money behind the wheel of a big truck is what you do. In my future articles I will be covering these things teaching you what the trucking schools do not teach you for your CDL license.