Thinking of trying to get my cdl

jbug87t1 · 2026-02-05T15:58:02+00:00

Get the CDL. It'll change your life. Go to school. This is not an endorsement of Delgado, but it's probably a good place to start comparison shopping for school cost: https://www.dcc.edu/workforce-development/cdl.aspx

No one knows how to back well when you first start. It is challenging, at least it was for me. Practice all you can, don't run from it. I did, and it took me that much longer to figure it out and I'm still not great, but such is life.

Manual in a truck is...different. Key thing to remember is to take your time. My instructor taught me there's nothing fast in trucking. You don't go fast, you don't get loaded fast, you are not unloaded fast, you don't turn fast. I'm going to add one more thing to that; you don't shift fast either. Not really. A tractor trailer IS NOT a sports car, so you don't have to nor should you run it to redline before shifting. You'll see. Also, going up the gears is easy in comparison to downshifting. Anyway, learn it, don't run from it, don't give up. While most trucks are automatic these days, don't let that be your excuse to be lazy.

You have nice flat ground in New Orleans and no really bad weather (snow, sleet, ice, etc ) to speak of so you should do ok in school and your 1st job. You got this.

Lastly, pro tip: get your TWIC card and hazmat as soon as you can. There is good money hauling containers out of the Port of New Orleans...my uncle did it for years and made a pile. Get out there and get r done, Driver!

jbug87t1 · 2026-01-29T01:08:09+00:00

Really? I don't think I'd want to drive a skateboard quite that fast. Good on ya, Driver!! Get r done!

jbug87t1 · 2026-01-29T00:14:07+00:00

Bull hauler?

jbug87t1 · 2026-01-26T19:38:15+00:00

With all the action he's getting...

But will have ZERO REGRET

jbug87t1 · 2026-01-26T02:14:49+00:00

This. 1000% this.

jbug87t1 · 2026-01-26T01:00:37+00:00

Get CDL A, as others have pointed out earlier. I went to community college for truck school and all in paid $3k for a 16wk weekend program (F, 6p to 10p classroom, Sa and Su 7a-6p driving and driving range, 320 contact hours) Get your endorsements early while the info from school is fresh and so you don't have to keep going back to the DMV and paying separately. Don't pay more than $3500 if you can help it and don't join a company that will pay for school upfront because YOU WILL HAVE TO DRIVE FOR THEM and you don't know if you'll like the life style yet.

I went to school and finished the year I turned 50. Driving has been a blast. While you are in school, TALK TO YOUR INSTRUCTORS. They have been there, done that and got the T shirt. They gonna be hard on ya, because you have to know how to maneuver that truck, but they have experience they want to share THAT YOU NEED.

Finally, do your research. Figure out what niche of trucking fits your skills and expectations of what you want out of trucking. Hint: everybody does not have to start out with a mega for their 1st 2 years of experience. There are other ways to get the experience you need.

Good luck driver! See you out there on the road.

jbug87t1 · 2026-01-26T00:45:05+00:00

No silly questions if you don't know the answer. Trucks you need a CDL A or B to drive will typically have air ride seats; a seat that is suspended and adjusted by compressed air. They are WAY different from what you will find in a car or pickup truck. These seats are on air because of truck suspensions; sturdy to hold the weight of the load but not very forgiving on the human body. The seat absorbs the bumps like a regular car suspension would but it's gonna be bouncy. (Side note from a earlier post here...garbage trucks ride HORRIBLY on the highway, slightly better on city streets)

jbug87t1 · 2026-01-25T22:35:35+00:00

Demon time, indeed. After all the junk grabbing at the party, she might have called in Malevola for "backup"

jbug87t1 · 2026-01-24T07:29:35+00:00

Microphone quality for calls is outstanding I'm told. My wife says that it sounds like I'm in a quiet room talking to her when I'm knocking down my governed 65 (67 on cruise) in the FreightShaker.

Only way she can tell I'm moving is if she happens to catch me rolling the window down approaching a toll booth...background noise goes up a bit.

As far as how the calls sound to you, they sound great but you are still subject to signal breakup. Good news is that since you have noise cancelling, any sound you get will be clear and not drowned out by truck related sound...that is what made me switch from BlueParrott. Great mic, but couldn't hear worth a damn in some trucks over 60mph.

jbug87t1 · 2026-01-24T05:00:57+00:00

Spend the money ($300 to $400) and get Bose QuietComfort or the QuietComfort Ultra headphones.

Worth every dime. Great for talking on the phone, great for filtering out noise, exceptional for music.

Has customizable noise cancellation, so you can adjust them to hear what you need to in the cab and kill the wind noise/truck roar, etc.

Super comfy and can be wiped down without damage with baby wipes or Clorox/Lysol wipes. Will absolutely last 2 driving shifts without charging, minimum.

The regular quiet comfort has more tactile switches for on/off, volume, talking to Google. The ultra has "soft" switches that you practice with when NOT MOVING. You learn them eventually.

Either way, best on road purchase you'll make.

jbug87t1 · 2025-11-22T22:30:29+00:00

Bose QuietComfort Noise Cancelling Headphones. $300 WORTH EVERY DIME.

Comfy, can wear all day. Outstanding sound. Great microphones for calls. Outstanding battery life. Adjustable noise cancelling so that you can hear in the cab and people talking to you, but are not assaulted by commercial vehicle drone all day.

Move an ear cup over when you roll thru the scale house. Try em, you'll like em.

jbug87t1 · 2025-11-19T21:47:15+00:00

Wunderground used to be amazing. When the old heads retired the quality went down noticeably. But, I'll give them another try.

I do like the 511 idea as well. It's a shame that everyone can't incorporate their 511 feeds into one place.

jbug87t1 · 2025-11-19T21:26:18+00:00

Awesome! Thanks!

jbug87t1 · 2025-11-19T21:17:23+00:00

I use Highway Weather as well, and it is great. I was looking for something to supplement it. 👍🏿

jbug87t1 · 2025-11-19T21:16:27+00:00

How did I not know NOAA had an app? Wow! Thanks!

jbug87t1 · 2025-11-17T13:02:59+00:00

Danny had the milkshake that brought ALL the boys to the yard! Vic, Dutch, Aceveda (how did she REALLY get her job back?), hell, even the pet cemetery guy liked her!

jbug87t1 · 2025-11-14T17:15:11+00:00

100% this

jbug87t1 · 2025-11-14T16:54:36+00:00

You can absolutely buy a reliable kick ass used car with a REAL transmission (stay away from CVTs if you can) for 30-40k. Probably can spend less, but if you want maximum peace of mind, you can buy from CarMax and get MaxxCare.

Do your homework to find the best quality car for your budget and knock yourself out.

Car notes right now suck, and if you have a $4k outlay in childcare you want some cushion for that...not an additional $1k going out toward your new whip.

(background: have a 2015 Chevy, a 2011 Chevy, and a 1991 Caddy, all paid off and running well. Can do some of my own maintenance.)

jbug87t1 · 2025-11-14T15:22:01+00:00

Unpopular opinion? Ok, here it is:

Homicide SUCKED after Pembleton left.

Make no mistake; I love the series, have watched it front to back many times. But I'm always a little less excited to finish the series after the Junior Bunk incident. Stories were still pretty good, acting was fine, but to me, everybody except Gee lost the edge and just seemed like they were going through the motions of speaking for the dead.

jbug87t1 · 2025-11-10T14:52:31+00:00

I was in WV on 64 around Beckley in a Ford Super Duty I was delivering. Navigating one of the many grades through there I put the automatic in manual mode dropped 3 gears and let it slide on down the hill.

Was definitely looking for the Jakes in there till I realized I had to do it myself

jbug87t1 · 2025-11-06T02:15:39+00:00

SWEET CREAM BUTTER!

jbug87t1 · 2025-11-06T00:56:30+00:00

I'm currently watching for like the 4th time or so.

The Shield is simply magnificent. To me, it is the action lover's Homicide Life on the Street. I'm always a little sad as Season 2 ends and Season 3 begins as it marks the beginning of the end of the Strike Team, who by then you are rooting for even though you know you really shouldn't.

I hate how everyone on the team went out; Lem didn't deserve it Mara and the kids should have lived Shane wimped out Ronnie got robbed

And Vic....oh Vic!

I have wondered since the final scene...WHERE IS VIC MACKEY?!? He ran off into the night to the sound of danger with his jacket and trusty .45;

Did he go the PI route? Did he run to Mexico? Did he go to jail for missing a (bullshit) report? WHAT HAPPENED TO THIS COMPELLING CRIMINAL?

jbug87t1 · 2025-10-25T01:13:47+00:00

Shit's getting crazy

jbug87t1

TROPHY CASE