Special Alert!!! Truck Driving Schools

I attended a career fair recently, the contract is 18 mths. Stay with them 24 mths and they cut you a check for 1000.00

 

I just finished CDL training with Sage Technical Services, and got my CDL yesterday. To some it may appear as a CDL mill, but I was given excellent training, there were 2 other students and me in my class, and no recommnedations as to specific trucking companies were ever suggested to us, other than the instructors personal experiences. While some may think that $4000 including the testing fees, were too much, I think it was good money for someone with no truck driving experience such as myself. It was about 5 weeks, and that included classroom and about 450 miles behind the wheel individually with an instructor. I got experience with 3 different trucks, and then tested with the one that I felt most comfortable with. I paid out of pocket, and hope to recoup some of that in tuition reimbursement. I have no complaints what so ever.

 

Thanks for the feedback and good luck. LEt us know how it goes.

 

$8600 for a 24 week course. 10 weeks of classroom 14 weeks of road and range. roughly 300 hours of driving foreward and backward. when i got with Roehl the trainer was amazed at how much experiance and skill i had aquired from my schooling.

most newbies dont even know what tandems are let alone how to slide them. i heard most dont even know how to drop n hook.

All-State Career is "1 of 11 acredited CDL schools in the nation" i dunno if the numbers are right or not but that was the line they told me. they are acredited but it seems like there would be a few more then 11 in the nation. meh they taught me well i aint gonna complain.

 

I really want to thank you all for contributing to this thread. You all helped me to avoid making a mistake. I'm headed to the Tampa FL area as I just lost my job and am in a rural area with little opportunity. I've been giving serious thought to getting into driving, and have spoken with R-master in Tampa. Going to steer clear of that now and do more research. If anyone in the Tampa area reads this and knows of other training programs or opportunities, please let me know. Thanks,

FurFace

 

Thanks to all who have contributed to this thread... it has been so helpful... was initially considering a CDL mill in CA, but now will be looking into Sage in Kingman, AZ...

A couple of questions on how this will work logistically... currently in Los Angeles, so I'm a CA resident... do I get a CA CDL permit, and then that will be accepted at Sage? After I finish training at Sage, do I get a AZ CDL, and get that transferred to CA? I wouldn't be able to get a AZ CDL w/o being a resident, right? Or would I get a truck to use with an instructor to take the CA CDL? I tried to find info on this with a search, but no results... I see many folks go to school out of their state, so I'm sure it's already been addressed... I just couldn't find it. Also after training, I have no particular reason I will feel the need to stay in CA, but somewhere in the southwest would be nice.

 

Just to give people a bit of perspective...

Looking into a career change, trucking is my second choice... my first choice? Helicopter flight school... time involved 18-24 months... cost? 60 - 70K... (which is why I'm here checking out trucking...)

 

Ontheroad - I know at the SAGE school at Isothermal CC in North Carolina you would first get a NC drivers license if you were from out of state. Then you complete the NC CDL's. Upon graduation you would transfer the CDL from NC to CA. It all depends on the state. I am not familiar with AZ. Good luck!

 

Ontheroad,
Make sure you have a birth certificate copy to show when you apply for another state's driver's license. We are living in a high security world now.
Before first day of class, you will have your D.O.T physical to make sure your body is roadworthy. You will get a schedule of classes. Make sure you have a copy of your MVR/Motor vehicle record for the past 3-5 years. Be prompt.
Sage will teach you first week about rules of the road and pretrip, for the different endorsements and general CDL, Then you take your written tests at the D.O.T. to get get your CDL learners permit. Then continued class time for another week and a half or so, and practicing pretrip inspection to perfection, and what to look for, and taking school tests on each section. Then drive drive drive, local, highway, cones/range manuevers, and then a school driving test. Some more class time intermittantly, on chains, hooking, sliding tandems, route planning, log books, the FMCSA Safety handbook, etc. Then POE date for your D.O.T. driving test.

 

Thank you opalwy and kitering... I appreciate the replies! Since the first step is going for the physical, do I need to prepay any tuition to the school (other than maybe a registration fee), if I'm self-financing? If other words, am I out anything other than the cost of the physical if I don't pass it?