Pinellas Technical College

I was wondering if Tampa truck driving school was auto only, I called them and the lady wasn't sure.... I then called a Stevens recruiter and a swift recruiter because I know they farm students to those two and both recruiters said they train on a ten speed when I said I wasn't interested in having a auto only restriction, I wondered if they were just telling me what I wanted to hear lol. I also called Hillsborough county community college and they are 5k like Roadmaster, I might have to give Pinellas a call. This thread really painted Pinellas in a good light and even though it would be a ##### of a drive for me it sounds like a good program.

 

Pinellas is number 1 in that area to me if you pay for school. Yes tampa truck told me I test out in auto but I can come back and test in manual in a few months. Then I'm thinking, how the heck can I do that if I have no experience driving manual......

You don't want a manual restriction it's almost like having no cdl at all. You will have to start from scratch to get the restriction removed.

 

There's a real possibility you will never drive a stick shift.
At one time people scoffed at the idea of people getting rid of their horse & buggy and buying a car.
SRT gives you a choice of assigning a stick shift or automatic and also will reimburse the tuition up to $6000.00
Pinellas graduates have many companies to choose from; many of their graduates have posted on here in the past.

 

I agree 100% on most people will probably never drive a stick. I just don't want the restriction because I can drive a manual already. My race hauler has a 10 speed and growing up on a farm I learned to drive in a old international dump truck with a 9 speed. I just feel like there is no point to have the restriction if you can already drive a manual. Pinellas is looking real good, the op did a great review and made a good read here.

 

Redbone Trucking hires new cdl grads and hauls some for FedEx. Has a FedEx team route out of Orlando.

 

Fwiw, Tampa Truck Driving school is one of my customers. They are based in Tenessee, Tenessee Trucking School. Decent folks over there. Stan is the coordinator and he is a good ol' no nonsense kind of guy. Their schedule is pretty rigorous, but it will get you done in 4 weeks. Their price is $4200.00 if I recall correctly, where roadmaster is another $1600 or so. They do have manuals they train in too. I called Pinellas and found they are only like $2600.00. It's 9 weeks, so not as compact. You drive 1000 miles during their training.

 

Did you finish? What's your overall experience? It seems like 8 weeks cdl training is overkill.

 

I'm pretty sure Mr. Futch is no longer driving T/T's, so not sure if he checks back here. You will glean a LOT of knowledge if you read this post from the beginning, and subsequently where he 'cut his horns' OTR. It's all in the diary. Not sure WHY he came off the road, but his training was spot on, as was his tenure with his 1st company.

I wish he'd check back too, tbh. I helped him a bit through his journeys. Yes he finished, and went solo with the aforementioned company for quite a while..posted his journeys there, as well. (Hint: J.R. Schugel...).

Best to ya, man.

 

I havent done it. My mom died this month and my llifes perspective has changed