PTDI?

I attended (I assume) the same school as Mgassel- there's a thread in the schools area .. look for SAGE in Henderson, CO - I put together on my experience getting to and through school.

I strongly recommend the one on one training. You just can NOT learn how to drive a truck by sitting there watching somebody else do it.

When I was checking out schools, I talked to a bunch of carriers - every last one of them said they'd take a PTDI grad over a non-PTDI grad. The non-PTDI school may have the same curriculum, but the PTDI certification carries with it a guarantee that certain standards have been met. It's all about expectations.

That having been said - in the real world, I don't think it will make much difference. Every company I've ever heard of will take you out for a test drive. If you suck, you apply somewhere else. If you don't - things proceed from there.

Personally, I think the PTDI standards are too lenient, as are the base requirements as specified by FMCSA. But that's me.

 

Regarding ptdi certification... Just go to their website and navigate to their standards, then compare them to which ever school you might be considering. Then you'll have facts to base your decision on, in addition to the opinions of others, as insightful as they may be. Good luck!

 

Lurch, you make an EXCELENT point. As far as being hired, school might not make a huge difference. What I think is the more important consideration is what ya get vs. what ya pay for, in terms of what you are given the opportunity to learn (curriculum), and the amount of time made available to practice driving, regardless of what those might hire you might consider. To me, it's deceptively simply, just do yer homework (period).

 

with fuel at close to a buck a mile I'd be sure and ask for that in writing up front. just my .02 cents worth

 

If you pay attention and take everything serouisly then you will have not trouble at sage.

A little tip for you if you get the wia program funds to pay for your school the school has to get you good enough to get the cdl it is in their contract.
Also the instructors while in the yard or on the road will grade you daily and go over it with you daily because you will have to sign their report card for that day.
If you go to Sage in Henderson watch out for Harold he is a dog with a mean bark but he will not bite unless you really get under his skin.
If he rides with you he will be watching for babe's and checking out if they have clean underwear on .
I was scared of him at first but it was not hime that I had to worried about it was another laid back instructor named Manny that has a rep for failing students on the cdl test.

He rode with me and said I was the first student that did not scare the s*** out of him. He was my mountain instructor on that day but we had issues with the rental so I got a little up I 70 then had to turn arround because the truck was loosing power. I was comming down at the posted speed jaking and he also taught me how to sing light applications to slow down on smaller grades.
I drove the truck back to the rental yard were we swapped it out with another one once we had premission from Rob to do the swap.

We also stopped of at the ta on the way back use the bathroom etc.

 

Neither Manny nor Rob is there any more, though Harold is.

Harold gave me my CDL test - he had a few comments on the way I parallel parked (let's just say "badly" ). Other than that, it was fine.

He does come across as a bit gruff - but of all the instructors there, he was the one most willing to work with me on parallel parking (I STILL can't do it for beans)

We were the first class under the new PTDI rules - all road driving has to be done with a minimum 15K pound load. That freaked out my classmates coming down from Eisenhower. Me, I loved that trip - even when Brian reached over and turned off the Jake.

What made the trip truely special was the FedEx driver with the wiggles who passed us on the way down. We passed him at about 470 - he was sitting there in a cloud of smoke, trying to explain to the trooper why he'd been stopped...

 

Brian Had just started there when I was there he was one that I wanted to punch him a couple of times.

I can not put up with someone bugging me while I am driving. I had more problems paying attention to what I was doing when he was with me once I first got on the road then.
I explained to him hey shut up while I am driving.
Give me instructions in advance do not wait till the last minute.
Things went better after that he calmed down I made less mistakes.
Rob was the director of the school.

 

How much did it cost?

 

I belive it was $ 4250.00