- Updated for January 2025
- Based on 2025 PA commercial driver's license manual
Free Pennsylvania CDL Combination Practice Test 2025
Several key sectors in the great state of Pennsylvania can offer economic opportunities to drivers of combination vehicles (such as semi-trucks and tractor-trailers). Pennsylvania’s agricultural sector produces mushrooms, apples, poultry, and many other agricultural products. Much of this is exported from the state by truck. The state’s five manufacturing centers need truck drivers to transport materials to the manufacturers and transport their finished products. Pennsylvania’s proximity to New York, New Jersey, and Washington, DC have helped make the state (especially the Lehigh Valley) a major logistics hub, creating a demand for long-haul truck drivers. Finally, the Port of Philadelphia, one of the fastest-growing ports and the largest refrigerated port in the country, needs truckers skilled in intermodal transportation and the transportation of refrigerated products.
Major truck routes in Pennsylvania include Interstates 76 (the Pennsylvania Turnpike), 78, 80, 81, and 95; U.S. Routes 22 and 30; and State Route 283.
To have a career driving heavy combination vehicles such as semi-trucks and tractor-trailers, you may have a long road ahead of you (pun intended). To drive commercial motor vehicles (CMVs), you must meet all the requirements to obtain a Commercial Learner’s Permit (CLP) and then a Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) of the appropriate class (likely Class A for heavy combination vehicles). But to be allowed to drive heavy combination vehicles specifically, you must also pass the official Combination Vehicles knowledge test on the theory of operating combination vehicles.
Like the other official CDL knowledge tests, the Combination Vehicles knowledge test is based on the official Pennsylvania Commercial Driver’s Manual (Pennsylvania CDL Handbook 2025). Therefore, you should read this study guide (especially Chapter 6) as part of your study plan. And we have some additional tools for you that will really help you ace this knowledge test.
This free Pennsylvania CDL Combination practice test is based on the official Pennsylvania Commercial Driver’s Manual, just like the official knowledge test. It’s up to date as of January 2025. There are 25 multiple-choice questions and answers on such topics as combination braking systems, combination driving techniques, coupling and uncoupling, and pre-trip inspections. Unlike the official knowledge test, however, each question on this practice test comes with an available hint, courtesy of our automated assistant; use it if you get stuck. Each question also comes with an explanation of the correct answer. Read it carefully if you missed the question so you won’t make the same mistake again. What this practice test doesn’t have is a time limit. Take your time and learn as much as you can from the practice test. If you miss a question, study the relevant sections of the CDL manual.
- Perfect for first-time and renewal CDL/CLP applicants, and those adding endorsements
- Triple-checked for accuracy
What you need to know
What to expect on the actual PA DOT exam
questions
correct answers to pass
passing score
Helpful links
List of questions (classic view)
- After you lock the kingpin into the fifth wheel, how should you check the connection?
- After you connect the air lines but before you back under the trailer, you should
- Which situation best illustrates the "crack-the-whip" effect?
- Where should the tractor be when you inspect the landing gear after uncoupling the trailer?
- What is the safest way to turn right from a two-way road?
- To drive a triple combination vehicle, you must have
- To prevent a rollover, cargo should be
- Combination vehicles take longer to stop when they are empty than when they are fully loaded, because
- If your vehicle gets stuck on a railroad track, you should
- Low-slung vehicles can be risky at railroad crossings because
- On a double or triple vehicle, which wheels offtrack the most?
- When you're pulling doubles or triples, the shut-off valves should always be
- On a trailer, where is the yellow antilock brake (ABS) malfunction lamp located?
- Even before antilock braking systems (ABS) were required, some vehicles already had them. How can you check if your vehicle has ABS?
- An antilock braking system (ABS) is useful
- After coupling, make sure that the air lines are not crossed. How should you do this?
- During uncoupling, you should disconnect the electrical cable and
- Before you start to uncouple, you must
- You can confirm that air is going to all brakes in your trailers by
- To uncouple a loaded trailer, after the landing gear has made firm contact with the ground, you should
- If the trailer has antilock brakes (ABS) but the tractor doesn't,
- To test the tractor protection valve, charge the trailer air brake system, turn off the engine, and
- If your test of the tractor protection valve is successful,
- The tractor protection valve is designed to close automatically when the air pressure falls into the pressure range specified by the manufacturer, typically
- As part of your vehicle inspection test, if your vehicle is equipped with air brakes and has a trailer, you will inspect the air connections between the truck or tractor and the trailer. Make sure that the ________ are locked in place and free of damage or air leaks.
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