For those of you that already had a UK Class 1 (C+E)
I know that, you have to take a multi-choice test, and an air brake test…
What is actually involved in the road test ?
How long is it ? time wise…
Do they make you do an S-reverse into cones- a bay like the UK or is it just docking ?
Do the long 8 week courses make them better drivers, or is it sooo strung out, and because most grew up with, or only had Auto gearbox experience in cars, did that make them take longer ?
Cheers.
Took mine in 2007, books avaliable for all the airbrake stuff.
If you can change gear with a Fuller it will save time.
The actual roadtest is round the block well mine was then into 4 cones backwards.
If You fluff the pretrip You dont get to do the roadtest though.
PM kr79 He did His a month back I’m out of date with most things including My Mullett…
IN mb its written airbrake,class 1 multi choice.
provisional
test day------ pretrip (walk round /showing /telling tester what you are looking for.
airbrake practical
then if passed above
reverse ,straight reverse ,stop wi back end in box .( allowed to get out an look)
then drive so many left/rights ,lights perhaps even a buttonhook turn ( nairn ave test centre w/peg)
touch the keb and auto fail.!
then in my test i asked for brake ajustment part of test. ( o8)
jimmy
Crickey,
Seems like the pre-trip is more involved than the road test!
How long (time wise) do they actually have you out on the road ?
Is the Fuller 4 gears…? but with 3 ratios? (12 +reverse=13?)
Like a 4 over 4 here ■■ but with an extra Overdrive for the highway ?
aye most are eaton fuller 13sp. 4+4 top 4 wi split.
normal not to use split on test so was told ,so i didnt.or float gears because if you travel so far in neutral(not getting ere in gear).you get so many points for that.
was told use clutch on test and not be a smart arse,lol…(learned on maggies ,atkis,clydesdales donkey s yrs ago lol).
mind though ya can pass on an auto in MB and get full licence!
Test time ,depends on how fast you do first part, but canny mind went quick 
sounds worse than it is its the fact they want you to know how the brakes work etc ,we are not used to that now in europe.
same as the brake adjustment endorsment not sure if they do that now in MB.
funny enough the btrain i haul i have to adjust the brakes myself as they are not self adjusting. and the new boy at work hasnt got the endorsment so he is not allowed to adjust them… 
cough cough.
jimmy
Pre trip and air brake are quite involved but just a case of remembering a sequence of events and procedures realy.
Driving test is fairly easy it not much more than a drive round the block. Takes about 20 minutes. A few left and right turns. As Flysheet says if you have driven a fuller box it will be a lot easier. Truck I done mine in had a 13 speed 4 over 4 with overdrive on the top 4. Was told only to split top. The reverse is easy its set up as driving off a bay in to the next one. Box is about 12 foot wide and enough room to be set up in front so back straight in.
I’d driven fuller boxes a good few years back but never lhd. I had about 4 or five hours driving training and about 7 on pre trip and air brake. Passed first time.
No they don’t do the brake adjustment now. I was told not to use the clutch though.
In SK much the same , the pre trip and air are the most important parts and we do still have adjustment although if you can grasp a ring spanner it’s not difficult . Road test isn’t that bad ,well bloody easy really , drive downtown avoiding kerbs ,shoot along a stretch of highway , and a reverse in the middle of nowhere to see if you can keep it straight .The Fullers take some getting used to ,and use of the clutch is still required here , IIRC i told my tester that I’d only been driving them for 2 days and to expect the odd tune , whereby followed a conversation about European autoboxes and immigration blah blah , I played a tune and he passed me
I went for a spin round lethbridge bout 45 mins or so did pre trip and backing up half way through in a transport yard but nowt to difficult
Ok thanks all…
So in summary…
Airbrake test- just read the book, if you can memorise the multi-choice, then it’s just a simple’ish test
Pre-trip -routine : takes a bit of practise, and more precise, needs some thought… and must be practised-explained in the right order to make it easier, (especially for the examiner)
The road test-reversing is actually not that bad at all. Easier than the UK test/shorter /less involved and less roundabouts…grin
Hmmmn got me thinking…
No, not really as easy as you make it sound 
The theory tests for highway code and airbrake are multiple choice, so do your homework and you should be ok, but the practical tests are the difficult part, the pre trip is a piece of ■■■■, just look and touch everything that could be cracked, broken or fall off, touch it and tell the examiner what you’re touching and why.
The air brake test is a sequence of events that must be done in a particular order, at first it is baffling, I understand how the brake system works and why you do each check, but the correct order is the killer, it drove me up the wall. I found that the best way to learn that is to keep writing the sequence down from memory until you get it right, once you’ve done that you’ll be able to do it right every time, it just clicks, one minute you are confused, the next time you do it and it all comes together 
Ther is a huge downside to all of this though, once you pass the test…you can be a lorry driver
newmercman:
Ther is a huge downside to all of this though, once you pass the test…you can be a lorry driver
And then forget absolutely everything about airbrakes, the difficult bit of passing the test and proceed to spend all of your awake life driving down the road, doing the easiest bit of the test.
I was concerned about the pre-trip part of my test as I’m not mechanically minded and dont know the proper name for most parts of the truck so went totally OTT in the test and after about 40-45 minutes had only got down one side of the vehicle, by which time the examiner got so bored she just told me to skip the other side and jump straight in to the truck for a quick 15 minute drive around the block.
The manual airbrake adjustment was the best of all though. Having never in my “career” as a driver in the UK seen, let alone physically adjusted a brake I was at a total loss about this part of the test. The company that brought me over sent me and another Brit down to a local training school for 30 minutes demonstration with a brake set up he had in one corner. I got the most basic of grasps of it, but nothing more. Fast forward a few days later and I’m at Service New Brunswick in Fredericton ready to do my manual slack adjuster test, 2 hours prior to my road test. Imagine my shock and horror when their brake set up was upside down, in reverse and the adjustment tool was completely different. As I said before, I’m not mechanically minded and I barely knew what I was looking at, let alone what to do. Not wanting to look a complete fool, I just admitted straight away that I had no idea what to do, I didn’t know what I was looking at, I’d only received 30 minutes instruction on the matter a few days before and prior to that had never seen or done it in my life. The official looked somewhat dismayed by my confesion and slightly annoyed, however knowing I was soon due to take my road test, she proceeded to tell me what to do and guided me through the whole process! 5 minutes later I walked out of the test centre with my pass cert and went off to do the driving bit. Can you imagine that happening in the officialdom of the UK?!?!
Brake adjustment tool 
You mean a 9/16th ring spanner
Anyone who has pulled a stepframe without automatic slack adjusters will have performed a manual brake adjustment more times than they care to remember
newmercman:
Brake adjustment toolYou mean a 9/16th ring spanner
Anyone who has pulled a stepframe without automatic slack adjusters will have performed a manual brake adjustment more times than they care to remember
Sorry, I meant the tool used to check the travel, to lever it out etc. Obviously when it comes to brake adjustment, I’m the biggest tool of all. This I freely admit!
LOL funny as wotsit The complexities of the test , yeap I struggled to get the air brake test into my head , eventually broke it down into 5 basic categories ( no I cannot remember then ) and memorized the first letter of each , all fell into place after that .
The pre trip is easy , keep walking around until you think everythings covered , then go around again .After that’s done you only have the road test to complete ,shouldn’t fail unless you wear a wraparound stetson really .
Anyhow , Happy New Year to all , exciting night in front of the fire for me and wifey , life on the edge holds no bounds Have a great 2013 .
Hapy new year from the Calgary Flying J… Whoop whoop
newmercman:
Hapy new year from the Calgary Flying J… Whoop whoop
Ha i was suppose to be there but ended up going far as Lethbridge
taffytrucker:
newmercman:
Hapy new year from the Calgary Flying J… Whoop whoopHa i was suppose to be there but ended up going far as Lethbridge
I’m back there again 
newmercman:
Brake adjustment toolYou mean a 9/16th ring spanner
Anyone who has pulled a stepframe without automatic slack adjusters will have performed a manual brake adjustment more times than they care to remember
Don’t forget your knocking stick too Driver, nothing worse than sliding under a stepframe & not having a hammer to tap the locking ring back.
That’s quite funny Robin Hood…
and exactly the sort of thing that is handy to know !
All the best everyone for 2013 !!!
drive safe in the ice, and watch out for those bad drivers…
fly sheet:
newmercman:
Brake adjustment toolYou mean a 9/16th ring spanner
Anyone who has pulled a stepframe without automatic slack adjusters will have performed a manual brake adjustment more times than they care to remember
Don’t forget your knocking stick too Driver, nothing worse than sliding under a stepframe & not having a hammer to tap the locking ring back.
The ring spanner and a good whack with the palm of my hand was all I ever needed to get the locking ring compressed drive