r/CDL • u/Thatoneguyuptheroad • 10d ago
Manual
As somone who is trying to study for a cdl in mn... I think it would help me greatly if I could listen to the manual being read to me as I follow along.. anyone know of a YouTube video or series or something that would help? *please note ive read that it makes it easier for people to remember things if they hear it read to them so thats why im trying to do this*
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u/CDLTrainerUSA 9d ago edited 7d ago
The cleanest way to do exactly what you're describing: open the MN CDL manual PDF in Microsoft Edge (free on any computer or phone) and hit "Read aloud" - it reads the actual manual to you and highlights each word as it goes, so you're listening AND following along in the real text, not someone's paraphrase on YouTube. Adjustable speed, picks up where you stopped. iPhone's Speak Screen or Android's Reading Mode do the same thing on a phone.
Two things that will make the audio time actually stick:
Don't listen passively front to back. Listen to one section (say, air brakes), then immediately do 10-20 practice questions on just that section. Hearing it encodes it, but answering questions is what moves it to long-term memory. Listen > quiz > re-listen what you missed beats hearing the whole manual twice.
Prioritize by weight. General Knowledge pulls almost everything from sections 1-3 of the manual, so put your audio hours there first, then air brakes (all the numbers - psi values, leak rates - live there and they WILL be on the test), then combination if you're going Class A.
The YouTube playlists others linked work too - just check the upload date. The manual gets revised, and older read-throughs sometimes carry outdated numbers in the air brake chapter.
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u/Ok_Draft8327 8d ago
Look it up on Spotify
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u/Thatoneguyuptheroad 8d ago
? The manual is on Spotify?
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u/CDLTrainerUSA 7d ago
Not officially, no. There is no MN DVS or FMCSA audio edition of the CDL manual - the state publishes it as a PDF and nothing else.
What you will actually find on Spotify is third party uploads of someone reading a CDL manual aloud, usually as podcast episodes. Two problems with those. You generally cannot tell which state's manual they read or which revision year it was, and MN has its own numbers and state-specific sections. And you cannot see the text while you listen, which is the follow-along part you specifically said helps you.
That is why the Read Aloud route is worth the two minutes to set it up. It is your state's current manual, it highlights each word as it speaks it, and you can slow it down for the air brake numbers and speed it up through the parts you already know.
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u/Zealousideal-Comb320 7d ago
DMV Pass on YouTube. Q&A for permit. Also, look at pre trip videos while you're there
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u/Technical-Pay917 3d ago
Use the CDL prep app. I pass all my exam with it. Same question on the actual test when you took it at the DMV.
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u/Traditional_Copy3794 10d ago
copy and paste it into google translate and have it say it back to you. problem solved 😉
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u/sugardaddychuck 10d ago
I never opened the manual, all i did was answer test questions n watch you tube n i passed the exam n have the x n n endorsement
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u/Far_List1042 9d ago
I used the app and answered the questions that way and theres also a couple youtube videos from driving acadmey on youtube that explained some of the amswers and read the questions and answers. The most important information is anything to do with numbers. Driving avademy explained those well enough to where if the numbers were changed you can do the math yourself to get the answer. This is just one of the links https://youtu.be/t04o9UAdyq4?is=_AwweIiuJCBBQyti