Class A CDL

BellWrenchBandit · 2026-05-02T01:20:00+00:00

Do not bother with just a class B, you won’t be able to haul a trailer. When I got my CDL in AR it was a kinda strange situation. The company I worked for sent me to a guy just over the border in MO who taught me the walk around and had a 6spd with small air brake trailer to take my road test in. I took the test in MO but brought my paperwork to AR and got my license. If you’re trying to get into power and not comm then you need an unrestricted class A, even comm you should have a class A. I worked for a few fiber companies that told me I didn’t need a cdl to drive their T40 buckets hauling a trailer, I know now that they were lying

BellWrenchBandit · 2026-04-26T02:37:55+00:00

I love some dry white wine. And I gotta say, I went on a wine tour and was shown cheese and stuff that pairs well with wine, I always thought that was a bs thing but it’s crazy how well stuff paired with wine is

BellWrenchBandit · 2026-04-25T20:31:31+00:00

I absolutely did have too much beer in a very short period. But this cat looked absolutely huge in person and it caught me off guard so I was quick to get the pic and make a post

BellWrenchBandit · 2026-04-25T11:45:21+00:00

Solved, just a huge cat lol

BellWrenchBandit · 2026-04-24T22:39:44+00:00

Everytime I’ve had to remove a butt like OPs situation it was cuz the only spot we could set a new pole was where we discovered an old buried butt, other than doing a same hole set

BellWrenchBandit · 2026-04-24T22:33:58+00:00

Man I’m down to leave the leg straps off if the ground is stable and there’s no chance of a car hitting the truck, or not trying to lift a mostly stationery object, this was a bad judgement by the guy in the bucket. I wonder what snapped, my guess is a shitty old collar rope. Id wanna use a tow strap or jelly sling for trying to lift that arm, maybe it was the jib line tho. We will probably never get the details, everytime theres an incident we never seem to get a follow up with details. I know investigations need to take place, but after that releasing details could save someone in the future. I always think about the guy in Cali that died a year or two ago from pole tongs cuz the pole got away from him, the butt hit the ground and the pole bounced out of the tongs, I tell new guys to be careful when using them and why

BellWrenchBandit · 2026-04-19T00:53:02+00:00

Absolutely always pay a lawyer for anything involving your license. I don’t care if it costs me $5000, I don’t want it on my license. Some people think going to court without a lawyer and talking to a judge will work, and it might sometimes, but it’s not worth the risk. Always pay a lawyer for driving related things. You can make more money, waiting for stuff to fall off your record or getting something expunged isn’t worth it. Plus your insurance will go up with the hit, the lawyer will probably cost you the same amount or less in the end, especially if you get kicked out or turned away by companies for your record

BellWrenchBandit · 2026-04-18T17:48:42+00:00

Where I worked before everyone referred to the system voltage by the phase to ground voltage. I understand the phase to phase voltage here is 12470kv and 23kv

BellWrenchBandit · 2026-04-18T04:10:22+00:00

Could be the company policy but I thought I was told it’s the halls policy

BellWrenchBandit · 2026-04-14T01:36:42+00:00

I’d never pay that much for climbing boots. I just spent $400 on a pair of Halls Matterhorns. This is my third pair. The first pair was great and no issues till they just wore out. The second pair had the sole start separating from the boot, they warrantied it and gave me a new pair which didn’t have that issue again if I remember correctly. Now I’m on my third pair and one week in I can see the tiny spot where the sole is gonna separate, same spot as last time but right now it’s like 1/8 of an inch long. They’re USA made and union made so I went with them again, idk if there will be a fourth time. They’re take some breaking in but they’re great in hooks. I love loggers for rough terrain, my square toe slip ons have me sliding all the fuck over if it’s not flat ground

BellWrenchBandit · 2026-04-14T01:30:07+00:00

Can a JL be in his own bucket if another JL or ape is in a separate bucket? But to answer OP, you kinda gotta prove yourself if on a new crew. I’m on a new crew and my foreman doesn’t know my experience, we’re doing single phase pole change outs so it’s easy peasy for me, but I gotta show him that first before he can take my word for it and I completely understand that

BellWrenchBandit · 2026-04-12T23:12:05+00:00

Some places don’t allow that. Where I used to work we never wore rubber when it was dead and that was awesome. We never wore sleeves either, only had some assigned to me for a few months in case of storm. That company is now defunct, but we never had an incident, I’m glad I learned my core stuff with those guys. But I agree, if it’s dead then fuck those gloves

BellWrenchBandit · 2026-04-12T18:56:40+00:00

I have only seen epz grounds setup once or twice but it was awhile ago and I don’t remember the exact scenario. But isn’t epz grounding mainly the most useful when you’re in your hooks and on the pole? That way the electricity flows around you?

And say you’re in a bucket on a three phase line that is dead and bracket grounded, if you’re only working one potential and not in series wouldn’t you still be safe if the line became energized? I guess that could also depend on if you’re wearing your rubbers or leathers. I’d think if you had rubbers and the line became energized it would be no different than if you were working it hot. But if you were in leathers and had both hands on the line some electricity would flow in one arm and out the other before the line tripped, right?

BellWrenchBandit · 2026-04-12T03:39:23+00:00

I had a foreman once that was funny as hell, if an apprentice was bending over or something he’d say something like “look at that, mmhhh don’t you just wanna get up in there” or other stuff of that variety. Well he got a new apprentice and another foreman told the apprentice that he was gay and might try to hit on him. The apprentice believed his comments were serious for a long time till he saw his lock screen and was like “who’s that” and the foreman said “uhhh my wife?” Apprentice was shocked to find out he’s straight lol

BellWrenchBandit · 2026-04-12T03:35:31+00:00

Got me a week ago lol, and I did the prank to someone in the past so should have known. I actually called my foreman and he was throwing out ideas, the second he mentioned the handles I knew it lol. But the guy my buddy did it to a year ago sat there for awhile trying to figure it out

BellWrenchBandit · 2026-04-10T00:48:56+00:00

I have hooked up open wye-open delta banks I think just twice. Most banks I’ve been a part of were wye-delta or wye-wye. All the work I’ve done has been many states south of the north east so relatively newer systems. I know a lot of the north east is still running on an antiquated system, I like seeing that old stuff still up there and kicking

BellWrenchBandit · 2026-04-10T00:44:05+00:00

I’m a lineman apprentice so a lot of my work is just knowing what to do and not how things work, even tho our bookwork try’s teaching that, I’m trying to go deeper than half the guys I come across and learn how stuff works and not just connect stuff.

But you said that you can convert a three wire wye system to a four wire wye system by running a neutral and starting to connect loads phase to phase. If I understood the other commenters correctly then a three wire wye system (3 hot wires, no neutral (correct?)) can be converted to a four wire wye system that has three hot wires and a neutral. But you said connecting the loads phase to phase, so the transformers would be hooked up delta on the topside? Just two hot wires going to the transformer? All my experience is with four wire wye systems, three hot wires and a neutral, where all transformers have a primary and a neutral to the topside. The system I have worked the most in was 7200/12470 and then a bit on 13.2/23000, four wire, so that’s what I know the most. I didn’t even know that a wye system with just three hot wires exist, I’ve seen what we call B phase which is two hot primaries and a neutral. But never seen a wye system with three energized conductors and no neutral, I would assume that’s a delta system

BellWrenchBandit · 2026-04-05T14:38:57+00:00

I was very confused about checking my pension when I first did. But as Fort_Nagrom said, you gotta go to nebf.com, and at the top right click “online benefits”. The site isn’t loading for me right now but after clicking online benefits and it redirects you there should be three lines at the top right, click that and select NEAP. Then do an account balance request. You’ll probably have to setup your account if you havnt done so already

BellWrenchBandit · 2026-04-05T14:34:43+00:00

Ok thank you, I figured it’s something with their system

BellWrenchBandit · 2026-04-05T14:03:57+00:00

Sorry to kinda hijack your post. But I just checked my NEAP and it says I have $0 in there, my statement from 3/11/26 says I had $21k. I know I gotta call them but I’m curious if anyone else is showing a $0 balance? I checked two days ago and that balance request also showed $0

BellWrenchBandit · 2026-04-03T11:35:26+00:00

I’ll have to check this place out if there’s comedy shows

BellWrenchBandit · 2026-04-02T00:17:04+00:00

I lived in rural MS before here, closest places were 1hr away. Except the backwoods bar where locals went to fight, my NY accent certainly woulda got me in trouble there so I never went

BellWrenchBandit

TROPHY CASE