Hi there, Rick with Smart Drive Test talking to you today about the five
components of a Class 1 driver training course. The
five components are: 1) turning; 2) shifting; 3) pre-trip inspection; 4) backing and 5) coupling -
hooking and unhooking the trailer. We're gonna be right back we'll talk about that.
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Hi there, Rick welcome back, talking to you today about the class 1 driver
training course. The Class 1 driver training
course consists of five major components: 1) turning; 2) shifting; 3) pre -rip inspection;
4) backing; 5) hooking and unhooking. The first three: 1) turning; 2) shifting; and 3) pre-trip
inspection are the major components of the course. The last two: 4) hooking &
unhooking and the 5) backing up, depending on which License Center you're going to are
minor components.
The first one, turning. As I always tell my students - most of them are so consumed
by trying to shift a non-synchromesh transmission, it takes all of their
energy, all of their time that it overshadows the importance of turning.
And what I tell my students is, turning is gonna get you into trouble! It is
going to get you hurt, your gonna pull the trailer up over somebody's car and
they're going to be very excited when that happens! Let me you, you pull the duals
of that trailer up over the front end somebody's car on a left-hand
turn - screaming, crying, jumping up and down - it is not a good scene. Turning in
my mind on a Class 1 driver training course is the most important aspect of the
course and what you will learn.
Shifting, the second thing that you are gonna learn on a Class 1 driver training course.
Shifting is difficult because it is a non-synchromesh transmission.
And in that non-synchromesh transmission, it's up to the driver to synchronize the transmission.
and by doing that you have to match up 1) the road speed, 2) the gear, 3) and the engine
RPM. Now the engine rpm is a misnomer because actually what you're doing is
synchronizing the speed of the gears in the transmission. But the only way that
we have to determine how fast the gears in the transmissions are going is through the
rpm, the tachometer on the dash. In order to speed the gears up in the transmission
you have to double clutch. You have to reconnect the transmission to the motor
and a lot of students have difficulty with the throttle and the clutch. Those
two things: ones on, one's off - wax on wax off! On that note, as well the clutch - if
you push the clutch in too far after your starting gear, you begin to engage
the clutch brake and slow the gears down in the transmission. When you slow the
gears down in the transmission you get a rough shift. You also have to double clutch. It's
imperative that you double clutch - one clutch into neutral, let the clutch out,
into gear again with the clutch in. So you got a double-clutch. This is not a
spectator sport; you have to do it, you have to go to a school and have
something to show you how to do it, it's going to make it a lot easier for you.
The pre-trip inspection. Now, most driver licensing centers in North America allow
you 45 minutes for pre-trip inspection. It's a complete, thorough pre-inspection.
You are not determining if the vehicle is safe,
you're demonstrating a competency - that you know the names of the major
components of the vehicle, what could be wrong with them, and whether they're
working or not. And there's a video here. I'll put up a card here for you. Watch the
pre-trip fundamentals about what you need to do for the purposes of a road
test for a pre trip inspection. The last two components can be somewhat minor.
Backing - some places are just 50 feet straight back. Here in Vernon,BC - thats
what is, it's fifty feet straight back. Make sure you get out before you back up.
For those people who don't have any experience at all backing up, go out get
yourself a pickup truck, borrow somebody's utility trailer and just
practice backing up. All of the principles are the same as they are in a
big truck. Actually a tent trailer is a lot harder to back up than a semi-trailer.
You just need a bit more room in a semi-trailer. Now just a couple of
pointers on backing up: 1) if you want to turn the trailer, put your hand on the
bottom of the steering wheel - the way you push the steering wheel is the way that
the trailer's gonna go now. Don't let it get too far. We say to students, look in
the mirror - when you can see the dollies, then start to follow it. To follow the
trailer, you put your hand on the top of the steering wheel. And the way the
trailer's going is the way you turn the steering wheel. So, few pointers on
backing - depending on the licensing centre - in Victoria, BC for example, it was
quite difficult because the students had to parallel park and that was a bit
of a challenge for some students.
Now the last one is hooking & unhooking and I tell students it's not a
huge deal as long as you don't drop the trailer on the ground, rip the dollies off, or pull
the lines off, your OK. But look at the procedure, follow the procedure. Now
unhooking: LAP - 1) landing gear, 2) airlines, 3) pin. Hooking up: PDA - public displays of
affection - 1) pin, 2) dollies, 3) airlines. Now keep in mind, landing gear & dollies are the same
thing. They're the legs that hold the trailer up when it's not hooked to the truck. Those are
the five components of a tractor-trailer course.
In conclusion, you're going to a driver training school and going to take a tractor-trailer
course. The five components are: 1) turning; 2) shifting; 3) pre-trip inspection 4) hooking/unhooking
and 5) backing. Those will vary in difficulty depending on the licensing
center. Turning is the most important. You need to get the truck around an urban
area. Some times what I tell students is driving truck is a little bit like being
a soldier in the Vietnam War, or any war for that matter. It's hours and hours of sheer boredom
punctuated by a few moments of sheer terror. Sometimes it's a bit of terror to get
these things around a city because they're in spots they're not designed to be in. The
second one is shifting. Shifting a non-synchromesh transmission is not a
spectator sport. You gotta get in the seat - you gotta do it. You're going
to learn by doing. It's easier under the tutelage of somebody who knows how to do
it, who can teach you how to do it. So keep that in mind. The other one is pre
trip-inspection. Pre-trip inspection is more or less memorization. Once you've
done it a few times it gets a lot easier.
The last two are the minor components I call them. Hook-unhook and backing up.
If you've had backing up experience before, it's gonna be fairly straightforward. It'll also
depends on the licensing center and what are the requirements for backing up. Hook-unhook:
PDA—public displays of affection— for hooking up - 1) Pin; 2) Dollies 3) Airlines.
Unhooking—LAP—Landing gear; 2) Airlines 3) Pin - do it in the same order
every time! That way you won't drop it on the
ground, you won't rip the legs off, and you won't rip the lines off. I'm Rick with
Smart Drive Test. Thanks very much for watching. If you like the channel,
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sign up for your free checklist for the weigh scale if you're looking at becoming
a truck driver & you gonna go down the road.
You gotta go into the scale, if you are unfortunate enough to get pulled in your
gonna need a list of paperwork. This will give you that check list of paperwork
that you need. Thanks very much for watching. Remember, pick no best answer,
not necessarily right answer.
Good luck on your road test. Have a great day!
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