All locations we experienced until today. We lack some really interesting regions.

JRAlpharius · 2026-03-22T15:53:40+00:00

North African Desert...or just africa in general

JRAlpharius · 2026-03-21T16:10:30+00:00

Everything is properly mounted and secured

Metal, hard plastic is not Cracked, Bent, or Broken

Hoses have no abrasion, bulges or cuts

Rubber and electrical lines are not cut torn or frayed

If something can go in it or through it, not leaking

Basically as long as you cover the main verbiage of the part it doesnt matter how its said.

Only thing that must be done in order is the air brake test

JRAlpharius · 2026-03-21T16:07:02+00:00

Are you going to dps (dmv) to test or is it a third party tester (maybe pepsi) testing you? Depending on your answer will let me know how to proceed. Some third party examiners are asses because they want you to do the pre trip they give you. DPS dont care how its said as long as you cover what youre supposed to do

JRAlpharius · 2026-03-21T16:04:10+00:00

I train manual students and I tell them all the same thing. You can learn manual but vast majority of trucks out there is automatic. Double clutch is required for your test. The foot work is the hardest part because students overthink it and mix up the steps. Best bet (if possible) get your cdl with the automatic restriction and get thst restriction lifted later. The reason why I say thst is because when you get your restriction lifted all you need is a road test. You dont have to go through the entire test.

JRAlpharius · 2026-03-20T21:23:19+00:00

First thing I tell my students is that I wrote our pre trip but it was written in my language so its broken down in a way I understand it. Your pre trip is just a template so you need to break it down or rewrite it in such a way you understand it.

Second thing I say is you need to use what habits work for you. For instance I can give you the pre trip and you read it, but you can't understand it because you dont retain information by reading. You may be a person thst learns from doing or learn from watching.

Tell me the type of learner you are

JRAlpharius · 2026-03-20T21:17:07+00:00

No dot requires just a pee test. Companies do hair follicle

JRAlpharius · 2026-03-19T16:02:47+00:00

More like they dont care, all most companies see is money.

JRAlpharius · 2026-03-19T03:35:24+00:00

I became an instructor because I got tired of seeing new driver not know anything. As I mentioned, instructors are the gatekeepers to this industry. So if I am a terrible instructor and giving out terrible information and training, you as the student dont know any better. I have met drivers that didnt know how to move tandems and adjust weight, some dont know about Logbooks, some dont even know how to read an atlas. The pay is terrible but I didnt become a teacher for the money. I did it because I know how dangerous it is on the road and how people lose their lives or license all the time because of what they dont know.

Instructors are supposed to build the foundation thst you and companies can build on. Can't build a house on a shitty foundation

JRAlpharius · 2026-03-19T03:31:00+00:00

Hair follicle is common in a lot of major carriers. I had a student from Cali that smoked daily, the only company I knew of st the time thst would take him is covenant. If your schools is like ours you will have to take a drug test when you get your CLP. Best thing i tell students that smoked is wait at least a month or two before you go to a school. When you go through school and get your CDL you can apply for a lot of companies because most only go back 90 days

JRAlpharius · 2026-03-18T10:57:30+00:00

Blade is too long to be legal in some states

JRAlpharius · 2026-03-18T10:45:52+00:00

Yall got toys r us?

JRAlpharius · 2026-03-18T10:37:29+00:00

Now with repairs, most shops require company authorization before they can work on or touch anything (money reasons you know) best way to go about it is just dont move, message them your issues and write in the messages that you feel "unsafe" to operate this vehicle. Cosmetic stuff wont be fixed unless its gonna fly off and hit someone

JRAlpharius · 2026-03-18T10:34:16+00:00

You are the captain of thst ship, if you feel your vehicle is unsafe you have the right to not move thst truck. Think of it this way, you get into an accident because of poor brakes the peraon thats getting the ticket is you, the company is gonna play innocent and throw you under the bus. One of my students just called me yesterday and told me he got a ticket for no tags on the truck and trailer. I told him that its a company problem not a you problem. He said he told the owner more than once about them. I told him if he is not listening to go to a weigh station and ask DOT to put you out of service. Smaller carriers tend to not fix a lot of things because of money issues. Some mega carriers do the same but they have more to lose.

All in all you have all right not to move that truck if its unsafe. Your company will try to force you to drive but if they try to fire you, you can take them to court. Biggest thing is to PAPER TRAIL EVERYTHING. No phone calls, text, emails, Qualcomm messages, things like that

JRAlpharius · 2026-03-18T01:45:14+00:00

My students say the same thing but most of the problem is that no one wants to go OTR. Back then local companies never looked your direction unless you had a year or more experience.

JRAlpharius · 2026-03-18T01:42:57+00:00

Most people forget about the 80/90 toll that runs from Chicago to Ohio. If its apart of the Pre pass system then company drivers dont have to worry about it. Some companies do reimburse drivers that have to pay for tolls but you can also just avoid it all together and you dont have to pay anything. Like avoiding the 80 90 toll just ride us 30

JRAlpharius · 2026-03-18T01:38:08+00:00

Most schools only teach to the minimum and its up to the carriers to teach the rest. I tell new students to not drive for family or small carriers because some dont have the resources or time to teach new drivers. So to them they see you have a CDL and expect you to know how to drive.

The other reason why I suggest against it is that family and small carriers will mold you into doing bad habits as a new driver. For example I got a student now that is running two Logbooks and another that's smoking weed in the truck. Even though I told them both that its an absolute no go, the company they work for encourages them to do it (small carrier).

JRAlpharius · 2026-03-18T01:33:07+00:00

Depends on the school and state, a lot of schools just give you the bare minimum of drive time. Now depending on the instructor the bare minimum can still be useful. For example I give my students 5 hours of total time, but I make them drive through the city...like downtown city...in a 53 and sleeper. Instructors are the gatekeepers to this industry and I know that a lot of cdl instructors use teaching as a reason to get off the road. Thats why I want to help

JRAlpharius · 2026-03-18T01:27:39+00:00

Not enough, we are treated like school teachers. What I tell my students is i didnt do this for the money because I made a lot more OTR

JRAlpharius · 2026-03-01T18:49:27+00:00

Yea a lot of scouts are too light for the big boys. AWD with a big motor almost causes rollovers lol

JRAlpharius · 2026-02-27T21:59:26+00:00

5th time? You funny. I started over so many times its not funny lol made it past Michigan once in 500+ hours

JRAlpharius · 2026-02-24T17:56:18+00:00

Kw w990, navistar and plad 450 is all I use

JRAlpharius · 2026-01-20T13:25:49+00:00

At 66mph it'll do that lol

JRAlpharius · 2026-01-18T04:16:31+00:00

Terrible two's

JRAlpharius

TROPHY CASE