# CDL in NYS



## a palustris (Jul 28, 2002)

Anybody on here have a class B liscense for New York State? I am thinking about getting it along with the air brakes endorsement. How was it to get the liscense? Do the cops bust your butt when you are driving your rig? Please post anything else that may be relevant. Thank you-


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## John DiMartino (Jan 22, 2000)

I have a class A,dont use it much,but i like to know its there when i need it,or if I borrow a rig or need to make deliverys for friends who truck.Yes thr cops/DOT bust your butt,they love dump trucks,and liquid carrying trucks especially.They sit by all the bridges and wave you over as you come thru the toll booths.Your truck,your log,and your shipping papers/manifest better al be in order.It is liek a catch 22 to drive trucks ,IMO.If you dont run overloaded you dont make good money,if you run over,and get caught,its $$$,and you dont make good money.IMO NJ,and CT are worse than NYS,at least you can get an R permit here.


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## a palustris (Jul 28, 2002)

Sorry to sound ignorant.. but what is an R permit? I would not be looking to drive this rig out of state or on major highways for the most part. I prefer to stick with back roads, or rural highways. How did you go about getting your liscence? What did you have to do for the road test? Any pointers?


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## John DiMartino (Jan 22, 2000)

If you know very little,my biggest tip is go to a driving school,pay the $$ ,and they'll teach you the basics,after you get your license you can do what you want,and you'll learn a lot more then.An R permit is a Restricted permit,it allows you to run over the legal limit of 80000 lbs,to get it,you pay a fee,and you have to stay on certain road,and some bridges are off limits,ypou also need to have your rig set up properly to get one,the axles need to be far enough apart as to not load a given area in sq ft to high,this is for the bridges,and for reducing ruts when slowing down.I got my license 5 yrs ago,thru a driving school,I had been driving for 3 yrs with a permit on and off before that.Go to the DMV,and get the CDL book,read it cover to cover,and you'll get answers to a lot of your questions.


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## Arc Burn (Oct 21, 2002)

I was lucky enough to learn at a municipality who also paid for me to get a class b with air brakes,they had a saftey officer who knew the ropes and knew everything involved with the test,i would take a class just to be safe,you need to "pre trip" the truck,it's not hard but if you dont know exactly what your looking for they will give you a hard time,pay special attention to the air brakes section,their were quite a few questions on that and you need to show your understanding of that system at your road test,sometimes they make you check your slack adjusters on the brakes,make sure you know the specs for your truck and know how to measure this,on the other hand i know people who just hopped in the truck and drove down the street and back,my test was more involved than that,about 45 minutes with half of that spent on pre tripping the truck.good luck,it's not that hard!


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## Bob V (Nov 29, 2002)

a palustris

John DiMartino said it best 

"Go to the DMV,and get the CDL book" and "go to a driving school,pay the $$ ,and they'll teach you the basics,after you get your license you can do what you want,and you'll learn a lot more"

But don't let him scare you "a class B liscense for New York State? " was your question. I also have an "A" and you are looking to get a "B". The "A" is harder to obtain and the State Troopers and Dot usually watch the main routes and usually stop the tractor-trailers. I was never pulled over running dumps and when I was flagged over running tractor-trailers, I was always waved on. Always on Rt390, Rt490, and Rt17 (Rt86) never once on Rt 90 or Rt 81.

A "B" with air brakes is easier to obtain, if you have a good driving background (no DUI or DWI) you should have no problem.

Just my 2 cents, maybe 3.
Bob V


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## Pelican (Nov 16, 2001)

Matt, sorry I haven't gotten back to you yet. I had an answer all typed up and was ready to click submit and POOF!, we had a power outage. Let's try again.

The process for getting your CDL is similar to any other license, but a bit more involved. The Class B shouldn't be a big deal, if you can run a one ton dump or in your case, chip truck, then moving up to a bigger truck isn't much trouble. Once you've got backing by mirrors under control, the rest is easy.

Get the DMV book as the others suggested and study it hard. I'd read it 4 or 5 times cover to cover. The test questions are drawn directly from the text. Sign up for as many endorsements as you can, it will open oppurtunities in the future.

You need to learn how to do your pre-trip inspection, it's in the book. This is something you have to demonstrate at the road test. You'll also need access to a truck of the same class you're applying for to take the road test in. Make sure you get one with air brakes or you'll be restricted to driving trucks without.

I didn't have any formal training before I took my test. In 1978, a friend of mine took me to his job at Grand Union where they gave me a truck and trailer to practice in the yard with. I had been backing trailers on farm tractors since 8 years old, so I just needed to transfer the experience to the mirrors. They let me take a truck for my test, and hired me on the spot when I passed. The old Class 1 is now a Class A. The written test is a bit more difficult today, but if you have good memory retention, it shouldn't be a problem.

Hassles? More so than in your car. There are DOT cops specifically assigned to heavy trucks. You can learn where they usually set up for inspection, the toll bridges are famous, and can circumvent them most of the time. Ocassionally though, a car (or van) on the fly will grab you and look you over. Some are pretty cool and only issue warning summonses, others are out to make a name for themselves. Your attitude and some PBA stickers can go a long way towards your results.

R permits were introduced about 15 years or so ago, when the State started cracking down on overweight trucks. It used to be you'd pay your "monthly dues" with a $200 fine for weight, but then they changed the laws and the fines became heavy. I know one guy who had to sell his truck, the fine was so high. The State would sell R permits to allow the dump trucks to haul what they used to legally, it was a one time fee for the permit and it stays with the truck. They're no longer available from the State, you have to buy out one that's already been issued, usually at a premium. You probably won't need one for the truck you have in mind, plus they are being phased out, will expire on a certain date (don't know when).

Another thing you should be aware of, you'll need a fuel tax permit for any state you plan to drive in. They're issued by that State's DOT or DMV and day permits are available. It requires that you log the miles you travel in each State and then you pay a tax per mile.


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## DYNA PLOW (Oct 14, 2000)

as the others have said ,get the book from the D M V and read it cover to cover, then have someone quizz you on the ?'s till you can spit out the answer before they are done reading the ?
i just got my class A cdl with airbrakes and tank endorsment..did it the old fashioned way, read the book and read the book then read it again. went to several truck dealerships to study trucks( brake systems and other components) the salesman always thought i was serious. then i made an app. for my road test, We have a guy that does cdl testing around here, he uses his own truck so basically you rent his truck from him at 105.00 then he charges 75.00 for the test.
i am proud to say that i passed the test in his freightliner with no prior big rig driving experience.
now i can atleast get a job a little easier in the const. industry,
i had my cdl instruction permit for 5 months and no one would hire me cause it was'nt the full blown cdl license.
i will say this, my wife said she has never seen me as nervous as i was the day of the road test, man that was nerve racking.
good luck
dan


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