NO B.S. California newcomer in search of best company or school to test and work

If you have the money to go to any school I would not look into a company that offers paid training for obtaining a CDL. Unless you have other issues they may hinder you from getting a job (i.e. criminal history, driving record etc..). Look into a school that takes a few months to complete and gives you more training and understanding of the truck and what it takes to drive one safely.

 

You sound very motivated, way to go! ok, schools...If you live in fremont you have lots of choices, but you have to make sure the school you attend is an acredited scholl accepted by most major carriers, or else, the carrier (trucking company) will not accept you schooling, then, making you go to one of their own training school and charging you for it, about $6,000. You can pick any school you want, they are all mostly the same, you will only learn the basics. The real training starts out here on the road. Just ask on prices, and make sure you get your training done on a 10 speed transmission (at least) and a 53ft trailer. If you want some good references, i would say, Roadmasters(ontario CA) Advanced school of driving (fontana CA) and maybe Aztlan trucking or professional trucking out of los angeles.

 

Agreed. If this something you.know you want to do and money is no issue then avoid the companies that'll try to rope you in with free tuition. It sounds appealing at the surface but if you sign that contract you're essentially locking yourself in with the one company. I signed one with crst. I tried to contact swift four months later because I wanted my own truck, no co, and they wouldn't touch me because of my contract with crst. Had I gone to school on my own with pell grants or whatever I could have had my choice of companies to start with.

 

Here's a bit of advice. Know that when you first start in trucking, it will take a couple of years to earn a "living wage" but, you will be earning a "surviving wage" so, you're not going to die out there, it's just going to be a little tight. Companies? there's a whole lot of reports on this site just for you to research on. Good luck out there!

 

Would you be willing to go up to Redding? The school up there is good. Older FLD Freightliners but they are good mechanically, they even roll them through the cottonwood scales and get the cvsa stickers and never had a problem. They use 48 foot trailers and 9 speed transmissions. Plus you can get some good mountain training in. We went up buckhorn on ca 44 plus all the way up to mt shasta. Pretty scenery. The instructors I had are gone, but the owner runs a tight ship. It's called America Truck Schools LLC. Also too when I went through 6 years ago the state paid for tuition.

 

And roadmaster is accredited by whom ??

 

Hey Rich ... follow up question. Wanted to see where you ended up going to school. In SoCal here, trying to make an informed choice, but not end up spending $6,000 at Roadmaster either. There's gotta be a good mid-range alternative.... where'd ya go?