CDL Test Truck

Here is the fact I know - I paid $250, then was given very detailed study material for the written (computer) tests; I scheduled a driving test with DPS, emailed 'Billy' the date. His son called me the day before and gave me a time (early morning) to meet him and 'Billy' at Garland DPS. Met 'Billy' at DPS Garland and paid him $60 (for fuel charge - I thought was a bit too much); he provided four hours of in truck driving (I was a passenger the most part). Garland DPS opened and I drove the same route 'Billy' provided instruction for; passed with an 'A'; got my CDL A in mail a few weeks later. SO - scam? No, maybe whoever failed or had to retest needed to ask more questions. It was a walk in the park I thought.

 

You are right that the cheap option can get you into trouble. My roomate told me Billy sounded fishy offering such a low price. Also, a formal school will get you a job much faster. A CDL is great to have, but you need real experience to get a driving job. But if it's a CDL you want, don't go to Billy! You'll pay through the nose and wait weeks for your road test! Find a reputable instructor who has been in business for a while!

Here's the deal. Billy charges $250 to reel you in, and then adds fees such as fuel charge, reschedule fees, etc. You could wind up spending upwards of $650 with him. To add insult to injury, Billy wants you to tip him - yes, tip at least $50 bucks to "guarantee you pass". After realizing Billy was running a bait and switch operation, I went to another CDL instructor who was honest. He charges $399, and that's it! There's no fuel charge, reschedule fees, or anything extra. After I found this other CDL instructor, I had my CDL a few days later. With Billy, you can expect to wait over a month, spend over $650, and discover he doesn't care about you getting your CDL. His primary mission is to find a reason to charge you extra. The proof is his contract, which is here: http://www.thetruckersreport.com/tr...e/197281-cdl-test-truck-aka-cdl-services.html By the way, "Billy" is not his real name! It's EDWIN WILLIAM BEDFORD!! He also goes by "Eddie". An honest man uses his real name, not an alias.

 

I give you credit Justin. You're getting more persuasive at defending Billy. But 'Billy' is a grown man. If he was legitimate, he would defend himself, not have his son do it for him. Billy has brain-washed you into doing his dirty work for him. And your old enough to know that what he's doing to people is wrong and dishonest. Don't start your life doing bad things. I know you're not the brains of this operation, but you are part of it. I urge you to get a fresh start doing something good in this world.

 

Is that the guy with the red truck (thats an automatic) and a pup trailer? Really fast talker? Be careful with guys like that. He told me I should test on his truck, and then just go out and "test drive" a manual from a dealership and learn to clutch on it. And he told me to find a small trucking company and bribe them to say I have xp, or go find a company that went out of business and say I worked for them to get on with another company. That guy is really shady, and was hanging around Garland all the time.

 

Well since originally posting this I have found out many interesting things about Billy. first off jd whatever your handle is you are sadly confused brainwashed or hey liar just like Billy. I had told Billy that I was a firefighter in East Texas and he told me that he was a firefighter and captain formerly of Fort Worth fire department. I visited the administration of the fire Department of Fort Worth and discussed with them and gave them the name of Billy his real real name and they have no record of having a firefighter much less an officer by his name. Needless to say they did not take that lightly and I knew there was going to be an investigation launched but I know nothing further of it. Furthermore JD whatever your name is, Texas does not grade their CDL's on ABCD and F scale. It's on a scale of 100% down to 70% or points which ever way you want look at it. But yes all buyers beware it is a money scam that will try to get more money out of you yes he is very vaulgar and very rude and his wife not of this country is not much better and if you want to go to work for any decent reputable company go to a truck driving school that is accredited by that company. I have been a solo truck driver for a year now and just put a bug in your ear if you want to make money and have a good job do not work swift Schneider prime Stevens warner or CR England those companies will try to force you into a lease purchase they will not pay you anything as a company driver and you yourself should demand more respect for yourself. As for a good company you can try Martin transportation knight transportation or knight refrigerated or national carriers they treat their drivers well and you will make money!

 

Amen! Nail on the head!

 

I registered just to tell my Billy story. I read CDLTESTRUCK strict rules, which are designed to make him the most money possible, made sure I followed the rules, followed up 3 time till they responded so I could use that as documentation that I had followed the rules. The way I got them to respond was to ask them a question that would make them more money. Like, is there additional drive time available the day before? That worked.

here is what they sent back from that one

"To practice on Sunday would be a $150 hour fee with a two hour minimum. There is also a 30 minute fee to get the truck & 30 minute fee to put in back up. Also a $75 for fuel. The total fees for Sunday would be $525."

Somebody should just say no, if you know what I mean....



I practiced backing with a truck and trailer (17ft) for days to get me comfortable with backing up a trailer using mirrors instead of over the shoulder backing. This turned out to be a total waste of time as a bumper pull trailer and fifth wheel trailer are not even close to the same in how they would react.

I showed up at the DPS, having memorized the air brake test, ready to go. I am a big guy. There was another big guy as well.(300lbs) Plus I think 6 other normal adults. We all crammed into two bunks and went to driving the course. Each one at a time.
You got to drive the course 1 time each. Billy was passionate about getting everyone to pass. He is also gruff. He had stories galore to pass the night. And if you messed up everyone knew about it. If your thin skinned you have no business being there. I had never driven a truck before. Ever. I rode around, drove my turn, waited my turn for my test, about noon it was finally my turn to drive and I did. The cops were patroling the test course writing tickets to the guys who were testing. Like if your going 20 on the frontage road without your flashers on they would stop you and give you a ticket, plus that would fail you. They were not just regular dps guys, these were the CDL Enforcement divison. I thought that was pretty low.

Bottom line is I passed the driving test with billy for $310 plus the hotel room next door that I really didnt need. I am really happy to have a CDL. The small fly in the ointment is that a license doesnt make you a experienced driver. To become experienced driver instead of just a deadly greenhorn with a truck you have to have some drive time. Not the 20 minutes you are given from Billy but Hours under the supervision of someone who knows how stupid and dangerous you are behind the wheel of that truck. It really takes alot of attention to maintain control of the truck and the load behind it while cars are flipping you off and cutting you off. And you are supposed to somehow magically know the different laws for truckers that bring thousands of dollars in fines. These laws are not on the test, I never heard of them but yet they were HUGE fines. I was really suprised. I would never make a OTR trucker even for 10 dollars a mile.

For $1000 dollars I could have taken a course locally from a guy who would have actually tought me how to drive a truck. I chose the Billy adventure to save a buck. After I came back with my license I paid the local guy to drive me 3 hours which went very fast. Now, with the 3 hours I paid for @300 dollars, the Billy training@ $310 I am now qualified to have my picture taken standing next to the truck. No thats not true, I am a little better than that. Eric, my trainer did teach me some good backing tips and how to get the trailer into places that are tough. Backing around cones is alot safer than trying to back around a couple of rigs. Cones are cheap. But I am nowhere close to be able to be called a safe, esperienced operator.

Dont join a school to get a license, or anything that makes you pull a loan or makes you an indentured servent but do make sure the person you are going to give your money to is going to give you some drive time. I asked the CDL guys in austin how many hours will they drive me for 1000 bucks, the cost they wanted after finding out I had passed all my written tests and he said "till you pass". He was only concerned with completing the mission. I thought that was cool. Eddie was the owner. If you want to find him your going to have to do your own research.

I hope this helps someone decide how they want to persue a CDL. Best of luck and be safe!

 

This is just another fake review from the owner - "Billy" or "Eddie". You'll notice he made a fake account just to counter the negative comments in this thread. A con-man speaks nothing but lies. He'll lie and cheat until he steals someone's hard-earned money. This "Billy" (not his real name) is nothing but a con-man. He's attempting to legitimize his fraudulent business by making fake reviews. And stories are all Billy has - BS STORIES and LIES.


He was quoted $525, but only paid $310? Does that make any sense to anyone?


Anyone who has a "Billy Story" probably got over-charged, and didn't get their CDL. I personally know of many with "Billy Stories," and those stories are not happy ones. If you have any sense, do your research before sending "Billy" your money.

 

Sorry no fake review this time. the 525 was a crack price to have billy drive me around on Sunday. I was charged and paid 250 plus 60 dollars gas money to be put in a truck like a sardine. But I did get my license, I passed with a whopping 72. Close but close enough. Craziest experience I have ever had.

 

Well i know a place that only charges $399 "till you pass". There's no extra fuel charge, there's no hidden fees whatsoever. What you see is what you get - for $400 bucks. Before you give your money to anybody, make sure there's no hidden charges. I went to Jon Mathers, who is the real deal. He's been in business 22 years, and you can find him on CDL Help. If you've been ripped off by the other guy charging $250, Jon will even give you a discount. You can choose whichever CDL training place you want, but make sure to ask in-advance to see their contract (if there is one). You should only pay one price and never anything extra. If you're asked to pay more, don't. Like I said, I've had a very positive experience with Jon Mathers. Jon doesn't need to write fake reviews on the internet because he's the real deal. He gets his business from word-of-mouth. He's trained drivers from Andrews Distributing out of Fort Worth, amongst other trucking companies. Just be smart and do your research before you send anyone your money!!!