Are there schools out there that do not pack up 5 or more ppl like sardines....

Cdl of ga. My class was 4 people. It's a 3 and a half week course. Great instructors.

 

National Training in Orange Park, FL is 4 to a truck. Sounds like alot of people per truck but with 3 weeks of driving, everyone gets more then enough time to have wheel time. If you find a school thats any decent with 1 on 1 type truck training. Key word is decent. Your going to be paying out the butt for it and not worth the extra money.

Thanks
JR

 

No school is going to give you enough time doing anything to qualify you to be a driver . They only qualify you to get a CDL . Just be sure the school you attend is approved by the carrier you hope to work for .

 

Trainco in taylor michigan was a blessing. our night class had 3 students total and 5 weeks long. cost 3 grand. their day class had 6 i think.

 

Some of the most valuable time in training IS watching and learning from the other students. Driving with other student's in the truck also will speed up your progress via the sometimes vigorous competition between the students. If you only have a veteran instructor to learn from, it can be rather intimidating when your skills just come nowhere near theirs (and wont for some time).

 

Well I obtained my license from a school and not a company. I think it's better to do it that way instead of going to a company school and having to be stuck with them for a year or owning them 3500 or more money for leaving. The training you get with the company you go with whether you go to there school or not is going to be the most valuable. I think going to a school is a lot better than going to a company school where they are pushing people thru. So yes, it's better to know something before you get there. It helps because you not in training as long as the company students, which means you get to the real money faster.

 

dont go to a company sponsored school. they will make you sign a contract and alot will still make you come up with like a 500 dollar down payment. swift is like that. if you can't afford 3-5k to go to a private school, maybe just pay hourly. my school has an option to pay 75$ an hour and you can go at your own pace. Hell, i could have probably done just fine with 8 hours of training. you have to go through a more rigorous training process at your future employer anyway.

 

I just graduated from National Training Inc last week. They have great instructors and one of the best things is they actually have a 1.5 mile shifting track on their property. You alternate days on the backing pad and on the shifting track I had a GREAT group of people (4 to our group) and we were able to learn from each other. After the first couple days you start going arround the track without an instructor and that gives you the benefit of learning from your mistakes without the pressure of an instructor watching you. You also go out for about 6 road drives throughout the 3 weeks.
Also you complete most class work from home on your computer so most of the time there is focused on driving still about 1.5 hrs a day in the classroom going over stuff.
Another benefit is they have a truck set up for coupling and uncoupling which most schools do not have. The only complaint I have would be their equipment. The road/ shifting trucks were decent (2000 freightliner classics with 10 speed) but the rest of the trucks could definitely be replaced with newer trucks. Good luck !