Questions abouts schools

Well, I've been looking into possibly signing up with Roadmaster trucking school in Ohio. I thought they had a fairly good reputation and seemed like a fairly good school. Well, today, I have another school recommended to me and hear that Roadmaster may not be as great as I thought.I have seen some redflags on my own, and these other concerns just compound them. But I have seen a lot of info about Roadmaster, both here and elsewhere.

The other school I just heard about is Napier truck driving school in Hamilton, Ohio. I've heard the tuition is lower that Roadmaster, but the tuition covers all expenses. Their course is 5 weeks as opposed to the three weeks at Roadmaster. Sure, it's two additional weeks over Roadmaster, but that also means two additional weeks training in the truck that Roadmaster doesn't offer. Plus, Napier's program includes all of the endorsements, which Roadmaster doesn't. The only problem with Napier is that I can't find any info about them. No reports, opinions, comments, good, bad, indifferent. THEY claim to have the best reputation in the area, but we all know about recruiters, don't we.

So does anyone here know about them? I'm looking for any info good or bad. I'm not sure what to do right now. Napier is actually looking pretty good, inspite the lack of information. HELP?

 

Well, thanks for the replies and suggestions. I called Napier on tuesday and talked to their rep for a little bit and got some info. Then I met with their recruiter on wednesday, and I have to say it was a pretty good meeting. Anyway, after talking with him for a bit, I've decided that I'm going to go with Napier. They've been open and upfront aout everything so far, whereas Roadmaster seems like they aren't giving the whole story. I still don't know how much their tuition is.

So the current plan right now is that I will start at Napier in July. Of course that is always subject to change. I've already changed my mind about schools twice already just trying to find someplace that is good. What I will probably do is start a new thread and keep everyone posted about my progress thru the school and my opinions and experiences. Since no one else seems to know anything about this school, this will get some information out there. Oh, and if anyone wants to know what info I've learned about Napier, just ask.

See y'all on the hiways!

 

Thanks for the support Bigcountry. Following your suggestion, I looked up their website. They look like possibly a good companyto work for. The one thing that concerns me is that they use automatic trucks, which if I stay there wouldn't be a problem. But it was pointed out to me that if you work for a company using automatic trucks and want to switch to a company using manual transmissions, you'll have to go back to school for a refresher.

A local company I've been thinking of checking out is Dick Lavy Trucking. They are just over in Bradford and have some nice looking trucks. Also, the ad poster they have up in the local job center shows they pay pretty good.

Being new to this whole game, I guess I'm not too sure about the proper steps. Should I talk to some trucking companies first and see if any would be willing to hire me after I complete my training, or should I go to the school first? The recruiter said (I know, I know...recruiters say alot...doesn't always mean alot) that there are company recruiters at the school nearly everyday from companies like Swift, Werner, USA Truck, and others. I realize these companies don't have the greatest reputations, but sometimes you just have to start a the bottom. When I fisrt started my career as an auto mechanic, I started out doing all the oil changes and tire jobs and all the other ###### jobs. As I gained more experience, I did less of the ###### jobs and more of the good paying jobs. Eventually, I got to where I was able to train the newbies how to do their ###### jobs. Well, now I'm a newbie once again and need you experienced guys to show me what to do.

 

Thanks. I was kind of skeptical about the whole auto to standard thing, but as I have no experience with the industry, I have no way of knowing for sure. Being a long time auto mechanic, I have no problem with hopping out of an auto car into a standard one...it's just like breathing to me. In my mind, I personally don't see why a big truck would be any different. But what do I know. I know what you are saying about the "mega" companies. I've read enough here to get me quaking in my boots, but sometimes you have to start at the bottom. I don't know, we'll have to see what happens. But I will look into these two local ones and see what may happens.