Question:
good heavens i just don't think i'm going to get it.
6 hours on the range where the scared and inept play
where seldom is heard an encouraging word
and the sky's are all diesel all day
took me 4 tries to parr. park and then i could'nt do it right the next time.
unfortunatly?,the instructor wasn't feeling well and spent most of the day sitting in the shade,except for our brief conversation where he made comparison by inference to a previous student afflicted with manic depression who also became frusterated and got out of the truck to let another student try.
honestly if you're not getting it and doing worse it is a bad thing to take a break and try again later?, or have i committed some kind of faux pas i should apologize for??
also did not have fun later first time on a divided highway with rig and trailer asked to pull out into traffic from gravel driveway on range..was not smooth instructor cranky.student stressed couldn't find gear and 6 cars lined up one honking....
maybe should sell avon????

Answer:
Relax....calm down....take a deep breath.
This stuff happens....
It is why you are a student driver.
With time and practice your errors become fewer and farther between.
Just do your best.
It will come.
If you feel yourself becoming overly stressed then take a break.
Many times in school I had to climb down and go and relax for a few. Aggravation only makes it worse.
Answer:
Dittoes to what Uturn said.
We're students. I just graduated from a four week school, and I had some good days and some absolutely horrible days, but I learned, and that's the important thing.
It sounds like your instructor is not terribly helpful. Sorry about that. Learning how to drive a truck is hard enough without hearing discouraging crap from your instructor. Mostly, I didn't have that problem at my school, and I'm thankful.
It ain't just bipolar people who take a break when they have trouble with a maneuver. My instructor told us that this is actually good practice if we're getting upset!

Answer:
Even when you're out on your own, you're still a student.. As my flight instructor told me years ago, "Now you have an opportunity to learn." Yesterday, I hit every back the first time, today, I couldn't put it into the slot without at least 8 pull-ups... I ride for those who can't! POW/MIA - You are NOT forgotten!!
Lead, Follow or get out of my way!!!

Answer:
Don't worry about it,it will come to you in time.
I'll second what Uturn said about "breaks".
Answer:
THANK YOU
i felt horrible yesterday,like an idiot and worse after my "chat'with the instructor.
nope we don't get alot of instruction it's every person for himself.
am also scared that i won't have a clue when i get out on the road and i do i agree there is a steep learning curve but am also aware i will have other peoples lives and equipment in my hands and really want to feel safe about what i'm doing.
can anyone comment about how you "got" it? my road test is 3 weeks away we just got into trucks on wed and am so far not very confident.

Answer:
maineiac, we just got into the trucks yesterday and our road test is 2 weeks from yesterday. One thing that has helped me some is thinking about the driving functions in relation to music notes. The double clutch has to be smooth and quick so it's like 1/8th notes. Clutch, neutral, clutch, gear. The other thing that helps a little is from decades ago when I was taught to drive a Formula Ford. That instructor taught us to imagine an egg between our feet and the pedals. He said consider it a tough shell egg that wouldn't break as long as it had smooth pressure applied. It could only break if jabbed or otherwise not treated smoothly.
You'll get it. There's no question about that. It just takes a little while behind the wheel. Each day will get better. Each day will also have parts that suck and you'll just know you are never going to get it. Don't let those parts take prominence. Just remember that if you are taking 2 steps forward and 1 step back you are steadily making progress. Before long the steps back will be fewer and fewer and far apart. The steps back will continue throughout your career though so just take the education they provide so you'll never take that step back again. Good luck.
Answer:
I know this may not make sense to you at this point, but one day you will get into the truck and something will just go "click" and the light will go on.
A few more words of advice. Do NOT measure your progress an a minute to minute or even a day to day manner. After 3 or 4 days look back to day one and you will be suprised at how far you really have come. 3 days later look back to day one again. Use your 1st day as the benchmark for your skills progress.
Here is some food for thought too. The school I went to did not offer a hold you by the hand approach on the range. They gave you the basics and let you have at it and let you try to figure things out for yourself. My instructors were there to offer advice and help out if you got into real trouble, but for the most part they stood back and watched. The know that every one has a different way of thinking about things and what worked for them may or may not work for you.
You will honestly learn more on the backing range from your "screw-ups" than you will from getting it right. You are in a safe environment right now and the worst that can happen is you squish a few cones. (My class nick-named ourselves the cone killer class of 98 )
Answer:

BTW ....paralel (or how ever you spell it) parking a tractor trailer is a very difficult manuver. Also it is one you will seldom ever use.
Answer:
this sounds just like me my first week on the range was hell week i had never shifted a gear in my life (car or truck) so what you grind gears so what you are not hitting the hole when you back do you know it took me 3 weeks to hit 6th gear i kept putting it in 8th then one day something happend i was hitting ever gear hitting every hole 90 backing was my nightmare one day hit every one then came test day and i nailed everything so just keep at it and when you start to loose it take a break go do something else hey you are from new england did we ever think the patriots would win a super bowl i lived their all my life so i seen it all know look at them they can't stop winning them now and that is how it will be in the truck once you get it it will keep coming keep your head up and "JUST DO IT "

Answer:
Each person learns in a different way. You need to figure out how you learn.
Some folks can read how to do something. Then get into a truck and just do it.
Others can read it and still not get it. Once they are in the truck they then figure it out.
Most will need to read it. It sounds good to them and they make a mental map. They need to get into the truck and try it.
Doesn’t matter if you are learning to drive a truck or in collage. These three ways can help you.
You need to know how YOU learn. This will help you.
The breaks can be a great thing, or a very bad thing. Depends on the person.
Myself. I am one to read it. I can normally do it fine after reading. I don’t know why, just the way I am.
One in the procedure. If I find my self just not getting it. I will take a break. Get me a snake and a pop and read about the subject again. Then I normally do ok.
The instructor sitting in the shade can be a good or bad thing.
Some folks need a instructor, others want to be left along to learn.
The idea of the range is for you to practice. Not be perfect. Every day out here on the road will be like that range, only the cones are replaced by trucks.
It takes time. Only time and trial and error will improve your skills.202 N Main Street
Summerfield Il 62289
TRUCK PARKING AVAILABLE!

Answer:

One day you'll be a pro at it and nail it in 3 tries, 50% of the time! I do it sometimes once or twice a week and it's always a challenge. All backing maneuvers will become easier when you learn to judge how close you are to the things you can't see, but never be too proud (or lazy) to Get Out And Look. And don't forget (like I sometimes do) that if you're parallel parking to the right, you can see alot by looking under the trailer.
Uturn's suggestions are worth repeating :
A few more words of advice. Do NOT measure your progress an a minute to minute or even a day to day manner. After 3 or 4 days look back to day one and you will be suprised at how far you really have come. 3 days later look back to day one again. Use your 1st day as the benchmark for your skills progress
Relax....calm down....take a deep breath.
-This stuff happens....
-It is why you are a student driver.
-With time and practice your errors become fewer and farther between.
-Just do your best. It will come.
If you feel yourself becoming overly stressed then take a break---------------------------

Answer:
thanks all..it helps am feeling alot less whiney now
i think if i could just sneak up to the range all by myself and try it it might be better, at any rate don't feel like a complete failure.
the other hard part is i just stepped out of a profession i was a pro at ,in critical care i don't even think about it if someone's heart stops it just flows...now i'm in a whole new deal , in nursing there is no margin for error ever...at least the cones can take a beating and come back.
i can't believe your test is just 2 weeks after getting in a truck how much road time do you get?

Answer:
That is two weeks to get you CDL. Not to be a prof truck driver. That take a long time.
Once you got the CDL, most companies will then put you through OTR training. Some of these places have very good training. Were you will leanr so much you never would have thought about. Others it is nothing more then driving with a trainer for 2 weeks.202 N Main Street
Summerfield Il 62289
TRUCK PARKING AVAILABLE!

Answer:
We will have a total of 11 days on the road. The test is either day 9 or 10. Then we go to 3 days orientation at the hq in Arkansas. After that it's out with a trainer for 4 weeks minimum.