College course or learn by doing?

If you have a solid job offer skip the school. Keep in mind you will need to stay with the family company for 6 months to a year before moving on. School will just teach you what you need to know to pass the CDL tests. As far as the rules and such get yourself the green book and read that.

 

I read your post carefully & you answered your own question!

Enjoy the community college evening classes & keep focused by not eyeballin' the coeds too much.

 

If you can get "on the job" training sufficient to get your CDL-A, I'd say to get it that way. The hard part is getting the permit. All that the school really does is give you behind the wheel time; something that you can get at work.

If you were looking to go OTR right away for one of the national carriers, you'd need the schooling. Since you're simply looking to expand your opportunities, I'd say that you will likely be better off running for your family for 6-12 months, then looking at other companies.

As for the rules and such, here's a tip. Schools teach you ONLY what you need to know to pass your CDL test, and a few of the very basic things like logging and how to drop a trailer. Everything else is taught by your company when you are out with the trainer.

 

You will have to study the CDL manual yourself to get the permit whether you go to school or not, so get your permit first on your own. Then spend some time in the truck with your cousin and see how it goes. My guess is you will learn more from your cousin than you will in school, but if you don't feel confident, then you can still go to school in the spring.

That way you only spend the money on school if you really need it. In my experience, the school didn't do much more than give me time in the truck to learn how to drive and know what I needed to know to pass the test. Your family should be able to help you with that. For everything else, you will learn on the job no matter where you go.

 

I got my CDL twice, first time in '77 and again early last year. Never went to school. Took the permit test on my own, using my brother's truck and hit the road co-driving with him. He taught me the ropes.

Most recently I got my CDL and with the company my brother was leased to was able to get 3 months recent experience OTR. With three months recent experience I then hired on with Swift and they took the experience in lieu of school and I had to go through their training program. Now I'm a trainer.

If I were you I'd lean toward getting into the truck and getting that behind the wheel experience. As others have noted, schools have one thing in mind for a successful graduate: passing the DMV test and getting their CDL. Most school graduates have very little behind the wheel experience and when they get in my truck they are green as new grass, and double their actual behind the wheel experience within the first few days on my truck.

Nothing replaces doing as a teaching aid. You may elect to go to school in order to round out your perspective and dial in non-driving issues. When you get to school I think you will find that the classroom work will also make more sense because you've already done it and can apply it. Seems from my perspective most students don't have much of the material "stick" because they haven't yet experienced it.

If you hire on with a major company you may very well have to go through their training program anyway because your experience won't be OTR.

Get the experience.

 

I read your post and I have a couple questions for you. If you have a decent job that you've built seniority in and have benefits like 4 week vac and I assume health care and maybe some retirement plan, why do you want to leave that? Does the trucking lifestyle really really interest you? Or is it just your cousin talking?

Trucking otr is a lifestyle. It's not a job. At best, you're not home that often. Do you have a wife or sig other? Talk it over with them too. This is a whole different ball game than what you're used to. Don't lose a good, close relationship over a job. It aint worth it. It's just a job.

Some posters mentioned that schools generally only teach you what you need to pass the tests. That may be true in some cases but depends on the instructors. I went to a local vo tech and loved every minute. I had excellent instructors that explained a lot that wasn't covered on manuals and test prep guides. On the road training trips were invaluable experiences. Most of these guys had 30+ years exp and were eager to share with students. I guess your cuz has about 20 yrs but he's just 1 instructor. How's your relationship with him? Do you trust him with your life and/or future career?

Family businesses can be good or bad. Don't know yours but what's your vibe there? Sometimes "extended family" issues can crop up. Just throwin stuff out there for you to think about. Trucking is a tough business and "business" will dictate your income.

Here's an idea: Check your local CC school thoroughly. Are facilities to train located at the school or are they subbed out? Talk with the instructors and get a feel for them. Maybe do the night course while you work during the day. Get your learners and spend time driving with cuz. I hope you will drive in city, suburban and rural areas under varying weather conditions to get a real feel of the business of driving a truck for a living. When you get the cdl, use your vac time to travel with cuz for a couple weeks on the road.

Then if you want to change careers, you'll have the knowledge and real experience to think things through. Or, you'll have your cdl to do some weekend jobs for extra cash if you keep your real job.

Good Luck to ya and keep us posted!

 

If you decide to let your cousin teach you vs. CDL school, you must pass a pre-trip insection test at the DMV on the truck you use for the road test. You will be graded as you do the actual inspection.

"A complete and proper CDL pre-trip inspection includes over a hundred different items that must be checked prior to operating the commercial vehicle. As many have learned from experience, one of the best ways to study for this portion of the CDL skills test is by using a pre-trip inspection checklist (often called a “pre-trip cheat sheet” or “pre-trip inspection guide”)."