I'm Thinking Of Starting A CDL School

if u do let me know where and when

 

more road time....most schools dont have enough road time while training.....and more backing practice....

also longer course...dont cut them loose in 2 wks.....

 

What is your experience in the industry? What is the experience or understanding of the industry by the investors? There's a reason that CDL schools are called "mills". With the exception of some community colleges they are pretty much all "mills". I worked as an instructor for about 6 mos at a "mill" and although my intentions and the intentions of most of the instructors were good, the idea was to keep the flow moving. That's how the school made money as it's a business. From my experience there is a small minority of students who come through school that actually want to learn and make a career out of trucking. The majority of students are usually homeless, former or current substance abusers, lazy, broke and unwilling to learn. Yes, they will almost all be pushed through and graduate (not if I could help it) but during the time they are in school you will be forced to deal with all their issues. At times you feel like you're working at a daycare except the students aren't children but rather grown men and women. The administrator at the school once told me that over 75% of students are out of the industry within a year. I'm not sure if that's an exact number but I believe it's a good estimate. Your intentions seem honorable but I would really consider what you're getting in to.

 

I am currently going through CDL school with a one-on-one program. The school is called ONTRA here on Long Island. I really like the one-on-one training but would love to have the opportunity to train with different trailers. Right now they have a 53 foot van but even having the option of a tanker filled with water to experience surge from a moving liquid load would be great. The ability to train on different types of transmissions other than the standard 10 gears would be good too. Night lessons would be another plus. My school can't give night lessons due to insurance reasons.

Thankfully we've been having some really crappy weather here with lots of rain and flooding. I think now I can only drive during monsoon season. Deep puddles, wet brakes are no problem to me now.

Learning to drive class A here on Long Island is a real experience with all the really impatient (and obnoxious) people here. I actually got passed by a school bus on a single lane double yellow and don't get me started on people passing me on the right on the shoulder while I was at the limit. A couple of the local police know the training routes the school uses and just wait for some idiot to pull a real manuever on a student driver. Easiest quota fill they ever had.

 

To a certain point I would agree with all of the above. I investigated several schools before settling on the one I am with now. One of the things the school that I go to is that they specialize in CDL B holders upgrading to Class A. It is a niche that was waiting to be filled. All of my instructors have full time local jobs as gasoline tanker drivers and do this as a second calling. It makes things interesting as a student who is venturing onto the Long Island Expressway on a Saturday filled with Hamptons and beach traffic and hearing the toots of an air horn from the tanker in the center lane saying hello to his fellow workmate. As a really green student the first thing you think of is that you did something wrong. Now I am used to it.

 

Hi, I own a school - it's the second CDL training company that I've owned; I've opened about four schools and only have one currently under this, family owned, company.

There's soooo much I could tell you, both good and bad.

For starters, you have to decide WHY you want to enter this business. There are schools out there that want to make great truck drivers, they don't make any money. There are schools out there that want to make lots of truck drivers, they roll in the money. If you and your investors are not on the same page, reconsider this industry because it's only going to cause problems for all of you.

Fuzzymateo is correct, lots of the students coming through are going through some stuff. A school that wants to create good truck drivers will turn away those that have drug, felony and work issues. Their students will still have problems but they will find it rewarding to help the student out and get them a job.

A school that wants to roll in the cash will take all students, regardless if they can get a job or not. This school will find more students that have things going on and less time to deal with the issues. They will have to either push the student through the program or dump them out. They will make sure not to dump the student out until they get his money. It isn't the best way to do business but they will consider it "business" and move on.

Please have a talk with your investors and decide why all of you want to be in this business. There are two different paths and you all need to be on the same path. I know from experience that investors that want to make money don't take kindly to a school that turns people away, gives extra free training to those that need it and spend time with the students discussing their problems.

I'm not making money but I love what I'm doing and I'm proud of the students I graduate and place.

 

Im sorry, but thats complete and utter nonsense.

Please, tell us the name of the school you own, because that is a complete fabrication to say that schools that want to make a profit couldnt care less about their students and the only ones that want to make good truck drivers dont care about profit.

Thats just class warfare nonsense.

KingpinR,

You absolutely can be worried about making a profit AND at the same time be concerned about training quality students and making successful truck drivers. They are not mutually exclusive....you DO NOT need to be a martyr that sleeps in the cab of one of your trucks living on raman noodles to care about your students.

If you want to open a quality school, good facilities, good equipment and enough staff and instructors to provide quality training, you can count on needing anywhere from $250,000.00 to $350,000.00 to do it right. Thats an enormous up front investment and the work involved is staggering. If you stick your neck on the line like that, you #### well deserve to make a profit if you do it right.

There are enough high quality people out there looking for a good paying career and enough quality trucking companies looking for those very same people.....if you screen your students up front (dont deal with the low lifes and homeless) and place them with quality carriers that pay their people well and stay away from the garbage carriers (the CRST's, Primes, PAM's Covenants......) then you can create a niche of good hard working people that just want a good paycheck and benefits teamed with the companies willing to hire them and give them what they deserve.

Dont listen to the naysayers.....there are good companies out there and many great people that would love to work for them.


Im gonna tell you right now though, if profit isnt one of your driving goals, then put your money in the bank...or dont waste your investors money. Its noble to wanna help people....and you should help people.....but if you go out of business....what good did it do?

 

Put in the exact hours behind the wheel and in the classroom/on the yard required by NCDOT. Carolina Trucking Academy in Raleigh, NC.