regardless if you need it or not....it is common sense and anyone with that can pass it....i know i know the DOT ladies have bad days and are grouchy sometimes but work thru it...they are the same as you and i. its easy...so get it done!


just my 2 cents

 

What is it exactly you are trying to do? Are you after a class a or b license? Are you trying to get a Hazardus Matterial certificate? ???

 

In California if you tow a trailer over 10,000# but less than 15,000# you must have your drivers license modified to show that you have passed the CDL written test. I believe that above 15,000# you will need a non commercial CDL license.

 

I have a class A CDL, required for work -heavy equipment mech- Nice to have but I don't see the need at work since we just drive them around the parking lot and into the shop. Cost me $250.00 9yrs ago, now $1500.00! That one heck of a increase!

 

Most states require you to take the written tests first after passing these which mite include air brakes, tankers, doubles and triples, haz mat.....then you need to study for the driving test which includes a pre-trip and driving test

There are some schools that prep you for the driving part and provide a CDL class vehicle to take the driving test with they also teach you to pre trip a rig

Most testers grade you on the pre trip first then take you on a driving route in town which includes backing up to a dock....I have seen many people fail on a right turn test because they jumped a curb with a trailer....I watched one guy as he waited for a red lite to change and stopped his rig on a set of railroad tracks (he failed)

 

I got a CDL through my previous employment. I dont have a true need for it now, but you never know when you need it. I am in the environmental construciton business and when I am on jobs, it is always nice to be "legal" when driving a tanker up the road or throwing some haz mat in a truck. I think I pay around $65 everytime i renew (compared to about $15 for class C)

 

[quote author=midwestdually link=board=11;threadid=22009;start=0#msg205742 date=1067997545]
regardless if you need it or not....it is common sense and anyone with that can pass it....i know i know the DOT ladies have bad days and are grouchy sometimes but work thru it...they are the same as you and i. its easy...so get it done!


just my 2 cents
[/quote]

I don't understand the logic behind this post. If you don't NEED a CDL for what you do, WHY get one? It doesn't make sense. They cost more money to get, it is more trouble to take the tests, they cost more to renew....why get it if you don't need it. I had a Class B CDL with no restrictions and a passenger endorsement because I was driving buses on occasion and because I drove lumber trucks for the lumber yard I worked at. THEN I needed it. NOW I don't. Why get it if you don't need it? If your state doesn't require you to have it for what you're doing, then it's just a waste of money. :-

 

Another consideration which most probally are not awhere of is you have less rights with the CDL. In many situatoins you would or could be better off without a CDL. So think about it, Maybe it sounds cool to have, I don't know what your reason for wanting one is, but there is several down sides.

 

I guess most people keep their CDLs because once you have it and can pass the physical, etc you don't have to do anything besides renew it. One never knows when their employment situation might change and keeping it might come n handy.
I don't have one, but do have a motorcycle endorsement. Haven't owned a street bike since '83. I keep renewing it because if I ever get another, I don't have to go through the hassle of the written and riding tests.
On another note, my brother has his Class B's and was going to upgrade to the Class A. Passed the written, went out for the pre-trip inspection and was telling the examiner how and what to inspect on the front drive axle and when he moved to the rear driver, told the guy to check and inspect it just like the front driver. Because he didn't point out every detail, he flunked. Wasn't very happy about that. Something about didn't score enough points since each detail was worth X amount toward his final grade. :

 

I have to agree with Hoss. If you don't drive a comercial rig, whats the sence? I have been a truck driver for 29 yrs now& have 10 more until retirement. I've got all the endorcements I used to pull tripple trailers, for the last 21yrs have been hauling gas with truck & trailer. When I reach 62 no way am I going to renew my cdl. Just a little fyi. in oregon duii is .08 but if you have a cdl it is .04 something to think about not that I condoun drinking & driving.

 

the reason i said that is so all you guys pullin 5vers down the road and are always askin "do i need a CDL??" just get the thing....atleast you are somewhat educated and made an effort to get educated on the rigs that you buy.

many retirees buy a truck and trailer and head down the road like its nothing...know nothing about what they are doing and then that is were accidents happen. and by maybe getting a CDL you will only have to pull in and out of the camping spot only 5 times instead of 10 when you get the liscense

but go ahead...thats just how america thinks....if no one catches me or tells me then...well...i guess i just dont need it >

 

DUALLY, good advise, but maybe people should just take the course and be AWARE of the dangers and problems without taking the test, but they should also check the laws of the state they live in for weight requirements.
TANKERYANKER, if you've been doing it that long, you most likely got grandfathered when the law went into effect, I could have here in AL. but waited too long, I would work 16-18 hours building a BIG pump (20-35,000 lbs) for my former employer, and then I was the "lucky" one that got to haul it to the customer without any sleep, and then drive home, or be fired, only went to sleep ONE time (1987) going down a hill in S.C., thank GOD for the cop with the speed trap and one heck of a BRIGHT spot light, that night I was in a 1 ton flat bed with 24 ft goose neck, was only going 10 mph over limit, but he told me later, "something just didn't feel right". It was Dec. 24th, 3:30 a.m., and I was trying to get home for Christmas, he wrote me one HECK of a ticket and made me get some sleep, needless to say, my EX-wife was ****** because I wasn't there to put the bikes together, but the man saved my life. THANK YOU Mr. PoliceMan

 

Just by getting a cdl does'nt quallify one as a good driver. I see an amazing amount of drivers that come out of truck driveing school that think they can drive a tuck like it was a sports car.I'am all for a skills test for proving that one can handle pulling a trailer, how to keep it under control in an emergency.

 

i hear what you boys are saying...by taking the test...atleast you are a bite more educated then you were b4 you took it. i know...like my comment said..."it MIGHT help someone back into a camping spot only 5 times and not 10"