CDL Pre Trip Inspection Class B Checklist for a Straight Truck
Unofficial practice sheets for a straight truck: type 1 for each part left out of a run.
Class B Pre-Trip Inspection Checklist (unofficial)
Engine and front (straight truck)
Type names and scores in the boxes. Totals add up as you type.
Engine and front (straight truck): a column for each run. Totals fill in as scores are typed.
Run 1
Run 2
Run 3
Run 4
Run 5
Run 6
Hood held shut
Front bumper
Headlamps, both beams
Steering column
Front axle beam
Steering gear and pitman arm
Ball and socket joints
Leaf springs
Torque and radius rods
Brake hose joints and tubing
Automatic brake adjusters
Push-rod stroke
Steer axle brake match
Front brake linings
Steer tires
Wheel welds
Front end tally
Type a score and the totals fill in.
Scoring key
Practice only, unofficial
A study sheet from this site. No motor vehicle agency, test examiner, trucking company or school put it out.
Scoring a run
Each box takes 0 or 1. Enter 1 when the part went unnamed or unchecked, and leave the rest blank.
Straight truck, no coupling rows
49 CFR 383.91(a)(2): Group B is a heavy single vehicle, or one towing a vehicle of 10,000 pounds GVWR or less. These sheets are for the truck alone. The special features area of 383.113(a)(1)(ix) names the tractor-trailer, school bus and coach, not a straight truck.
Cab rows are on another sheet
Cab and engine start rows, the air brake check among them, are the In the cab sheet of the Class A checklist on this site.
A count, not a grade
Totals here are counts of 1s. Passing figures belong to the examiner manual that 49 CFR 383.135(b) points to.
Marks stay in this browser until you press Start a new sheet.
Front bumperMissing, loosely attached, or sticking out beyond the confines of the truck so as to create a hazard: 49 CFR 393.203(e).
Headlamps, both beamsAn upper and a lower beam that the driver can select at will, each steady-burning: 49 CFR 393.24(a).
Hood held shutA hood that is not firmly held down fails this paragraph, whose one sentence is about the hood: 49 CFR 393.203(c).
Steering 4
Ball and socket jointsA stud nut that moves under steering load, or motion other than rotation of more than 1/4 inch between a linkage member and its attachment point: Appendix A to Part 396, item 7.g.
Front axle beamAny crack, or any obvious welded repair, in the beam or in a steering component other than the column: Appendix A to Part 396, item 7.c.
Steering columnNot securely fastened, a U-bolt or positioning part absent or loose, or a universal joint worn, faulty or plainly repaired by welding: 49 CFR 393.209(c); Appendix A to Part 396, item 7.b(1) and (2).
Steering gear and pitman armEvery bolt that holds the gear to the frame present and tight, the housing and its supports free of cracks, and the arm on the output shaft with no looseness: Appendix A to Part 396, item 7.d and 7.e.
Show all 44 lines (37 more)
Suspension 2
Leaf springsA leaf cracked or shifted out of position, or a main leaf broken: 49 CFR 393.207(c); Appendix A to Part 396, item 8.b(2).
Torque and radius rodsAny part of a torque, radius or tracking assembly, or of what attaches it to the frame or axle, cracked, loose, broken or missing. Loose bushings in torque or track rods are not counted: Appendix A to Part 396, item 8.c.
Brakes 5
Automatic brake adjustersAn automatic adjuster replaced with a manual one, components damaged, loose or missing, or a brake not kept within the stroke limit the vehicle maker specifies: Appendix A to Part 396, item 1.m.
Brake hose joints and tubingTwo hoses improperly joined, such as a splice over a piece of tubing, or brake tubing damaged by heat: Appendix A to Part 396, item 1.d(4) and 1.e(2).
Front brake liningsOn the steering axle of a truck with air disc brakes, a pad under 1/8 inch thick. Drum brake limits are in the same item: Appendix A to Part 396, item 1.a(6)(d).
Push-rod strokeStroke past the readjustment limit for the chamber type, measured with the engine off, 80 to 90 psi in the reservoir and the brakes fully applied: Appendix A to Part 396, item 1.a(5).
Steer axle brake matchAir chamber sizes or slack adjuster lengths that differ from one side of the steering axle to the other: Appendix A to Part 396, item 1.a(8).
Wheels and tires 3
Front end tallyEvery 1 from hood to front wheels, added per run.
Steer tiresA boot, blowout patch or other ply repair, a label reading Not for Highway Use, or a tube-type radial with no radial marking on its tube stem: Appendix A to Part 396, item 10.a(5), (6) and (10).
Wheel weldsA crack in a weld that joins disc to rim or a tubeless demountable rim to its adapter, or a welded repair on an aluminum steering axle wheel: Appendix A to Part 396, item 11.d.
Side of the truck 10
Air suspension, where fittedThe truck level, not tilting left or right, and air leakage of no more than 3 psi in 5 minutes at normal operating pressure: 49 CFR 393.207(f).
Air tank drain valvesEach air reservoir with a condensate drain valve that can be operated by hand: 49 CFR 393.50(d).
Battery coverA battery outside the engine compartment covered by a fixed part of the truck, or by a removable cover that is substantial and securely latched or fastened: 49 CFR 393.30.
Cab and body mountingA bolt or bracket that secures the cab or the body to the frame loose, broken or missing: 49 CFR 393.203(b).
Cab doorsA door missing or broken, sagging so that it cannot be properly opened or closed, or wired shut: 49 CFR 393.203(a).
Exhaust outlet and repairsDischarge to the rear of the cab or, where the pipe rises above the cab, near its rear, and no part temporarily repaired with wrap or patches: 49 CFR 393.83(e) and (f).
Frame railsThe frame or chassis cracked, loose, sagging or broken, or a rail flange between the axles bent, cut or notched: 49 CFR 393.201(a) and (c).
Fuel tank and linesA tank not securely attached, or a fuel line not secured against chafing and kinking or hanging more than 2 inches below the tank outside a protective housing: 49 CFR 393.65(c) and (f); Appendix A to Part 396, item 4.c.
No brake left offEvery axle that the rules require to be braked has its brake fitted; a missing one is the defect: Appendix A to Part 396, item 1.a(7).
Tire and wheel clearanceAny condition, loading included, that lets the body or frame touch a tire or any part of a wheel assembly: Appendix A to Part 396, item 9.b.
Rear of the truck 4
Cuts in the rear tiresA cut in a rear tire that goes deep enough to uncover the ply or belt material: 49 CFR 393.75(a)(4); Appendix A to Part 396, item 10.b(5).
Rear end protectionWhere the rear bottom edge of the body sits more than 30 inches off the ground with the truck empty: a guard no higher than 30 inches, within 18 inches of each side and no more than 24 inches forward of the rear: 49 CFR 393.86(b)(1); Appendix A to Part 396, item 15.b.
Stop lampsCome on when the service brakes are applied: 49 CFR 393.25(f).
Tailboard and rear lampsThe tailboard, the load and its covering leave every rear lamp and reflective device in view: 49 CFR 393.9(b).
Body and load 7
Body doors and tarpaulinsNamed beside the tailgate in the same paragraph, and secured likewise: 49 CFR 392.9(a)(2).
Flags on a projecting loadA load that reaches more than 4 inches beyond the sides or more than 4 feet beyond the rear carries red or orange fluorescent flags at least 18 inches square: 49 CFR 393.87(a).
Front-end structureWhere the rules call for a barrier ahead of the load to keep it from sliding forward, the truck has one or a device that does the same job: Appendix A to Part 396, item 6.b.
Load spread and tied downThe load is spread properly and held as the securement sections of Part 393 specify, and whatever fastens it is itself made fast: 49 CFR 392.9(a)(1) and (2).
Side and rear tallyMarks from cab doors to load flags, totaled for each column.
Spare tireListed in 49 CFR 392.9(a)(2) among the things secured before driving; Appendix A to Part 396, item 6.a counts a spare that could drop off the truck onto the road.
Tailgate or tailboardSecured before the truck is driven: 49 CFR 392.9(a)(2).
Scoring key 6
A count, not a gradeTotals here are counts of 1s. Passing figures belong to the examiner manual that 49 CFR 383.135(b) points to.
Cab rows are on another sheetCab and engine start rows, the air brake check among them, are the In the cab sheet of the Class A checklist on this site.
Dump, box, flatbed or mixerThe body and load rows cite 49 CFR 392.9(a), which is written for every truck and singles out no kind of body.
Practice only, unofficialA study sheet from this site. No motor vehicle agency, test examiner, trucking company or school put it out.
Scoring a runEach box takes 0 or 1. Enter 1 when the part went unnamed or unchecked, and leave the rest blank.
Straight truck, no coupling rows49 CFR 383.91(a)(2): Group B is a heavy single vehicle, or one towing a vehicle of 10,000 pounds GVWR or less. These sheets are for the truck alone. The special features area of 383.113(a)(1)(ix) names the tractor-trailer, school bus and coach, not a straight truck.
How this list was compiled: From Title 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations, read on ecfr.gov on 2026-10-05 in the text current as of 2026-10-01 (https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-49). The order of the rows follows the inspection areas of section 383.113(a)(1) (https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-49/section-383.113): engine compartment, steering, suspension, brakes, wheels, side of vehicle and rear of vehicle. The ninth area, special features, names the tractor-trailer, the school bus and the coach or transit bus, so a straight truck has no rows from it; the cab and engine start area is the In the cab sheet of cdl-pre-trip-inspection-checklist. Section 383.91(a)(2) was read for what Group B is, and section 383.75(a) for who gives the skills test. Each row is a part or condition that a federal section names, and its line says in our own words what that section requires or calls a defect: sections 393.9(b), 393.24(a), 393.25(f), 393.30, 393.50(d), 393.65(c) and (f), 393.75(a)(4), 393.83(e) and (f), 393.86(b)(1), 393.87, 393.201, 393.203, 393.207(c) and (f) and 393.209(c) of Part 393 (https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-49/part-393); section 392.9(a), inspection of cargo and cargo securement (https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-49/section-392.9); and Appendix A to Part 396, Minimum Periodic Inspection Standards (https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-49/part-396/appendix-Appendix%20A%20to%20Part%20396), items 1.a(5) to 1.a(8), 1.d, 1.e, 1.m, 4.c, 6.a, 6.b, 7.b to 7.e, 7.g, 8.b, 8.c, 9.b, 10.a, 10.b, 11.d and 15.b. A dump bed, a mixer drum, a packer body, a water tank and a roll off hoist have no row, because the sections read name no defect for them; section 392.9(a) names no body type. Section 383.135(b) was read for scoring: it sends the pass scores to the examiner manual and prints none, so the sheets show no pass mark, no point value and no time limit. Nothing is taken from a state CDL manual, a walk-around script, a memory aid or an examiner's score form, so a part that the sections read do not name has no row. Our own work: the wording of every line, which named parts were chosen for a one-page sheet, and what a 1 in a box means (a part the driver did not name or check on that practice run). These are unofficial practice sheets, not a state's, an examiner's or an employer's form and not an inspection record. RELEASE CHECK 2026-10-05: each of the 36 part rows was read a second time against the paragraph it cites in the eCFR text; none was cut. Licence: own work
How it works
This unofficial CDL pre trip inspection Class B checklist is for a straight truck: no trailer, so no coupling rows. Rows cite 49 CFR: engine and front, side, rear, body and load. The state CDL manual has the test directions.
Read the full guide
Class B pre trip inspection, front to back
1. Print the first sheet with Print blank sheet, or mark it on screen.
2. Starting at the hood, the driver names every part and explains what is inspected; a helper keeps the sheet.
3. Enter 1 against each part that was left out and nothing against the rest.
4. Choose Side and rear for the cab doors, frame, lamps, body and load.
5. For the in-cab rows, open the Class A checklist and choose In the cab.
Class B with air brakes: the air brake check is one row on the In the cab sheet, and push-rod stroke is a row here.
A class B pre trip inspection checklist PDF comes free from Save as PDF in the print window, one page for each sheet.
A class B pre trip inspection list for the cab is not on this page; step 5 links it.
Questions and answers
What is on a Class B CDL pre trip inspection for a straight truck?
49 CFR 383.113(a)(1) lists the areas: engine compartment, cab and engine start, steering, suspension, brakes, wheels, side and rear. The ninth, special features, names the tractor-trailer, school bus and coach, so a straight truck has no coupling rows.
Does a dump truck or box truck pre trip inspection use a different list?
This list serves every straight truck body: dump, garbage, water, box, flatbed, roll off, concrete mixer (ready mix). Its body and load rows cite 49 CFR 392.9(a). The dump truck sheet adds dump body lines from a federal construction rule.
Exactly what to say on a Class B CDL pre trip inspection?
The federal rule prints no script. It asks the driver to identify each safety-related part and explain what needs to be inspected (383.113(a)(1)). Each row here gives the defect that its cited section names.
Is this a DMV or DOT Class B pre trip inspection form?
No. No government agency made these sheets: they are an unofficial study aid, not an examiner's score sheet or an inspection record. The state or a third-party tester it authorizes gives the skills test (49 CFR 383.75(a)).
Is there a cheat sheet or study guide for passing your Class B pre trip inspection?
The blank print is the list to learn, and the runs are the practice. 49 CFR 383.135(b) ties passing to scores in the examiner manual and prints none, so the totals only count the parts left out.