Im New and I need advise on obtaining my CDL

Both Millis Transfer & Prime have good programs, you owe nothing for the training if you provide so many months of service post training. I think Millis requires $500 down, but Im sure someone will chime in. Actually most of the companies that take students will reimburse you for your schooling, but you have to pay out the money out first, get your training and CDL and then get paid back over a period of time.

 

James,you want honest answers right?Well i going to lay it all out for you. After 15 years (no tickets,no wrecks of any kind) i can tell you that you would be better off doing something else. Companies will screw you with a smile on their faces every chance they get and if you think your going to earn a good living trucking then your out of you mind.That is unless you stay out for weeks on end and run like a dog. Most companies give you one day home for every 7 days out so your going to have to stay out for at least 2 weeks to get two days off and most of the time, your home time will be spent in the middle of the week. You will miss birthdays and holidays and if you have a family you wont be there to see your kids grow up. There are very very very few exceptions to this but for the most part,trucking sucks!

Oh and by the way.The companies out there that will hire you and train you to get your CDL do this for a reason.It's because they cant keep drivers in their trucks so they have to hire people with absolutely no experience and train them or else they would have a yard full of empty trucks. That's how bad these places are to work for!

It's just not worth the aggravation you have to put up with anymore. The fines for log book violations have gone through the roof ($10.000 fines are for real) no place to park and if you do find a spot at a truck stop for the night(on the east coast you will have to pay for that parking spot) then you can expect to pay $20.00+ for a sorry tasting meal alone with everything else there being costing 5 times what it would at a local store.

Now if this was say 5 years ago when trucking and the drivers driving trucks were different then i would say go for it. But today with the kind of people out on the road with you ( who would rather run you over then help you) it's not the same. At one time trucking was a blast but times have changed for the worst.

I retired from trucking last year after working for one of the very best and highest paying trucking companies in the country and even they stuck it to me (as well as other drivers working for them) and broke it off. I will never drive a truck OTR again and i advise you not to start. But it's your life,you do what you want.

 

Millis you must pay 500 upfront and if you stay a year you don't have to pay the 2500 training costs, but the 2500 for "driver training" you must pay regardless. So Millis is not "free", but they seem to have a decent reputation here.

 

I agree with some of the things you have said here. I do not know much about trucking, but I know people. Living in South St. Louis you have o know a little about your surroundings. people are who changed. its highly unlikely for another to stop to help now days to help. they would rather drive by fast an not stop or look, hell maybe even beep beep at ya. OTR does sound hard. I don't think I want to do OTR. I think it would be interesting to do around the town work and go home every night however. I am still going to pursue this.

 

Go to crst but bring food money, thats all you need

 

If you don't want to drive over the road then save your money and don't waste your time going through a cdl school. The chances of landing a local gig fresh out of school is very, very slim especially in todays economy. You have to understand that every experienced driver out there is wanting a local job so why would an employer hire a non experienced driver vs. an experienced one. They don't. The hire the driver with experience who has been over the road for at least a year or so. Local driving most of the time is harder than over the road so they want a driver that can handle those situations.

Put yourself in their shoes; would you hire an experienced driver or a newbie to drive your truck you just paid $130,000 for? Not to mention you are going to have to pay a hell of a lot more for insurance because you hired a new driver instead of an experienced one.

Not trying to be negative just trying to help you understand how the game works. If you don't mind driving over the road for a year or so until you get experience than go for it. I just wouldn't spend all that money to find out you can't get a local gig.

 

It's going to near impossible to find a local job straight out of the box.The best you could hope for is finding something regional and even then,it's going to be hard to find with the economy in the shape that it is. If you have your heart set on doing this then go for it, just be prepared for the reality of trucking today. I think,honestly,that if you are going to go with a company who will hire and train you to drive then i would go with Schneider National. In all my years of trucking i have really not heard any complaints about them from other drivers so i would feel safe that they would do you right.They may even have regional positions open in your area. I wish you luck.

 

Beg, borrow or steal to pay for CDL school yourself. Otherwise you are stuck and they know it. If you don't then be prepared to make very little your first year.

Air fare? No. Greyhound.

Room and board? Most of them put you up for that. Some will charge you for it in the end.

Food? Most will not pay for food.