Paid Trucking Schools. C.R. England, Prime inc, TMC

I've been doing similar research since the start of January and I've come to the conclusion that steering clear from any 'paid CDL training program' is usually the way to go. These companies offer a paycheck while in their training program but ultimately, it's effectively just a 'paycheck loan'.

They deduct money from your paychecks each week while you're actually earning until you've paid back what they fronted you. The other difficulty with this is, it creates a bigger barrier to leaving their company during the contract period because then you owe them more money than just the cost of their school program and I heard Prime throws in a non-compete clause in their contracts where you can't start at other firms without paying them thousands back first. Yikes!

If, like me, you were interested in this sort of thing because you have bills and didn't want to take possibly 3-4 weeks without a paycheck, do more research, other companies pay dramatically more making it entirely more worth it even if your finances were difficult for a month. I was close to signing with CR England but with all the negative reviews, I just didn't want to let my usual arrogance (regarding not heeding other's warnings) put me in a crappy spot. Today I signed with Millis Transfer to start training in Richfield, WI on March 12 which from what I've read on this site, is like a night and day difference to CR England and Prime and some other companies like theirs.

FWIW, I've been reading these forums for weeks, i created an account today just to throw another word of caution since I think my patience paid off with huge dividends and I imagine there may be other readers who aren't posting but may find the information useful. Best of luck to you!

 

There was an article on Overdrive other day about a CRE trainer arrested at the POE for ### raping a student at the terminal in his truck.

That being said, I thought they had excellent classroom instruction.

I went there 13 years ago. Now a days, if it were me, I'd go to Schneider.

 

Congrats and good luck man! I apologize but I should've said that I needed to call Millis after applying. They were very prompt once I got them on the phone (signed within a week of calling) but I waited without a response for like 2-3 weeks.
I imagine not everyone has a poor experience with Prime, i drove to North Jersey from Pittsburgh over this past week visiting family and I passed SCORES of Prime trucks on the road. They were easily the most popular company, followed in a clear second place by Schneider (looked like there was a Schneider hub in central PA near Harrisburg). I doubt so many people would drive for a company that was terrible for everyone so I'm sure review bias may play a part here.
In any case, good luck to you again! Hope things work out better from you than some of our peers!

 

If this CRE trainer is guilty of rape, he should be sentenced to many decades in a maximum security prison, in general population.

God bless every American and their families! God bless the U.S.A.!

 

I hear that a lot about them. How they just use the new drivers up and half way pay them their worth

 

@Kt0595
Found this job in Lake Charles, but it's local, not OTR. Trimac does have some better paying jobs than this though. Note - they hire new cdl grads from certain schools and have tuition reimbursement.
Trimac - Lake Charles, Louisiana
Solo | Local | Tanker
Earn up to $57,000 Hauling Chemicals
Requirements:

• Hazmat/Tanker Endorsements
• 1 year verifiable tractor trailer experience or recognized driving school across North America.
• No previous driving record involving consumption of illegal or intoxicating substances in the past 10 years
• Not involved in a major preventable accident in the past 3 years
• No more than 2 highway convictions in the past 2 years

Walk-Ins Welcomed and Encouraged:
Apply in person Monday -Friday 8am to 4pm
6273 US 90 East, Fruge St., Lake Charles, LA, 70615