Review - Sage Truck Driving School -- Bloomsburg (Berwick), PA

Discussion in 'Trucking Schools and CDL Training Forum' started by Tlauden, Jul 22, 2018.

  1. Tlauden

    Tlauden Bobtail Member

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    Jul 2, 2018
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    I am currently attending the Sage CDL school located in Berwick Pennsylvania. I didn't really see any reviews of this specific location so I wanted to share my thoughts. I am currently 1 week into the program and will update this each week as I progress through the program. This location is ran as part of Bloomsburg University, but you are not considered a student of the university.


    Staff -- When you first visit the school, you will be greeted by any of the 3 office staff. There are currently two ladies and one guy. They are all extremely helpful and they will sit down with you and explain everything and answer any questions you will have. The classroom instructor is an older lady who spent her entire career driving truck. Not always OTR, and she drove bus for awhile, but she knows whats going on in the real world. She is a great instructor and will gladly answer any question and most of the time that answer will be accompanied by a story. She really does make class great. There are a few outside instructors who all seem to be well versed in how to drive, and offer excellent pointers.


    Curriculum -- I currently just completed my 5th day, the first 4 of which were classroom, and then today (Sunday) I had two drive sessions totaling 8 hours. At this location they offer what they call a "progressive" class. For example, you can walk in on a Tuesday and start classes, unlike other schools that only start every other Monday, etc. How they do this is the entire book takes 10 days to teach. If you walk in on day 5, you will start on day 5's itinerary. So 5,6,7,8,9,10, and then you would get days 1,2,3,4. It works well and the part time students are always coming and going depending on which lessons they need. As long as you have your permit, They will schedule your drive time to fit your schedule. If you come in without your permit, they will help you prepare, and allow you to do the classroom work, but you will not go driving on their range until you get your permit.


    Driving sessions -- As mentioned above I did my first two driving sessions today totaling 8 hours. Your first three sessions you stay in the confines of their private (dirt) yard. You start out with a pre-trip, which you review every time your outside to really get it into your head. Second, you practice shifting gears.... and I don't mean only once or twice. Auto's are not in Sage's fleet and they will need to rent you an auto (additional $$$$) if you insist that you need an auto... Anyhow, They have a loop that you drive around, shifting up, and shifting down, shifting up, and shifting down... You cant get going too fast, because it is dirt but its enough to learn how to do it and start building the foundation of what you need to drive. The loop also allows you to experience the off tracking if you have never pulled a trailer before. I drove around this darn loop for over an hour shifting gears. It was a bit annoying just to drive in a big loop but it did teach me double clutching up and down... It was actually a decent lesson. The next part of the lesson was backing. You start off straight line backing, move on to the offset, and finish with some 90* backing. The instructor will walk you through it the first go round and then if you/he feels comfortable enough, they just simply let you practice. I practiced about an hour on the straight line and offset, which I picked up pretty quick. When it came to the 90*, he walked me through it once, and then gave me a bunch of tips while I was practicing. I worked on the 90* for about two hours and was able to get to the point of doing it within the allotted amount of pull-ups and "get out and looks". The 90* will definitely need a but more work before my test date.

    So far I have nothing bad to say about Sage, They have
    Thats about all I can think of right now. Like I said I will keep this thread updated up until I complete the school. I am hoping this review will help others in the future!
     
    Last edited: Jul 22, 2018
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  3. Ravenlocke

    Ravenlocke Bobtail Member

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    Aug 3, 2018
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    I just graduated from that same school in July and they are an amazing school... I tested with Tim and while I got 6 points out of 12 on my backing (I was nervous on my 90 degree, I had to stop and take a breath) I did pass it just fine. The pre-trip I only missed one thing, and I got 2 points on my road test that was all. I start my Orientation with Schneider Bulk Tanker this weekend actually.. Good luck to you and I have nothing but GREAT things to say about SAGE in Berwick, PA.
     
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  4. Tlauden

    Tlauden Bobtail Member

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    Sorry for not updating, I have been pretty busy with the schooling and my personal life. Update below!


    So week 2 was all classroom time. There is not much to say about the class work... . The instructors make it a relatively entertaining experience... The movies that go with the book are extremely outdated. To the point they are painful to watch, haha.

    3rd week is all of the outside training on the range and is truly the "meat and potatoes" part of the course. You get 11 drives total, 6 are all on the range practicing your backing, 5 are road days where you go out and work on your skills. Every drive you pre-trip to get that down. They have a day cab and an old Freightliner with a sleeper that you can take on the road. They can adjust the road time vs. yard time to fit your particular needs. I requested a bit of extra road time due to my shifting. I drive a manual Dodge Ram as an everyday vehicle, so going to the 10 speed was a difficult transition for me. It was mostly due to the completely different style of shifting and I was having a hard time breaking my habits.

    The road test is 17 miles and is a mix of rural, interstate, and residential driving. It also has some decent downgrades and many red lights. It wasn't difficult, but wasn't a walk in the park either.

    All in all I would highly suggest Sage in Berwick Pa. You won't be disappointed. The training was great and you truly get out of it what your willing to put into it. Dont think you can slack off for the length of the course and still walk out with your CDL. You must put in the effort!!

    Any question feel free to ask!




    Awesome to hear!!! I agree, All the instructors there were great! I also tested with Tim and Zina and I was actually Zina's first state exam. I missed saying "watching the ABS light" in my pretrip, so I acquired a point for that. Other than that I was good. Backing was good, no points. Road test I got 10 points. Some were just nerves on my part. Twice I was slowing down for a red light, no cars in front. Light turned green so I started accelerating and up shifting right through the intersection!!!! OOPS!!! I could have kicked myself for doing it twice though!! I had one or two white line crossings in the downhill "S" curves, but no crossing the yellow which is an auto-fail... All in all Tim and Zina were great to test with, I felt very comfortable with them there!
     
  5. Ravenlocke

    Ravenlocke Bobtail Member

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    Aug 3, 2018
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    Yeah Zena is awesome and she was telling me she was going to take the state test to become an eximiner. All of the instructors there are really awesome and they really do care and want to make you a safe professional driver and yes they will not cut you slack they will fail you if you are a danger on the road. They even told me to check back in with them from time to time and keep them updated. I am currently in Coraopolis PA at Schneider’s Bulk Tanker orientation... three weeks to go and I get my own truck! Good luck at what ever company you end up with and stay safe out there!
     
  6. Slumwolf13

    Slumwolf13 Bobtail Member

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    Oct 11, 2018
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    How much was the schooling cost for you guys , I live in Poconos and trying to find a decent costing school to go through
     
  7. Fuelinmyveins

    Fuelinmyveins Medium Load Member

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    I went to Northampton College for my CDL A located in Tannersville on rt 715. My class had 4 students and 3 trucks in the yard to practice. I paid $4,500

    Truck Driver Training | Lifelearn

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    Last edited: Oct 16, 2018
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  8. Slumwolf13

    Slumwolf13 Bobtail Member

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    Oct 11, 2018
    Spring brook twp , pa
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    Thats really good one of the recruiters from eastern trucking had mentioned that school to me but couldnt remember the name off hand . I live in tobyhanna so thats literaly around the corner from me and my old job aswell . How was your experience there ? Is it a 4 or 7 week program ? Do they give permit there or do i need to bring one first ? And i currently still have my NJ DL will i need to switch it to PA before attending the school ?
     
  9. Fuelinmyveins

    Fuelinmyveins Medium Load Member

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    They have full time course which is Monday to Friday from 8:30am to 4:30 PM and also night classes "part time" from 5:00 pm to 10Pm and then Saturday from 8:00 to 4:30 pm. The first week or 2 they will prepare you for the permit exam. They will go over everything so you can easily pass the exam and have all endorsements as well. Once you get your permit you will be in the yard with instructor and also on the road. I believe that you need to transfer your license to PA first.
     
  10. Slumwolf13

    Slumwolf13 Bobtail Member

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    Oct 11, 2018
    Spring brook twp , pa
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    Thanks allot i really appreciate the information . That picture on your post is that one of there training trucks ? Cause flatbed work is what im looking to get into .
     
  11. Fuelinmyveins

    Fuelinmyveins Medium Load Member

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    Yes that's one of their trucks. 2015 Cascadia with 10 speed. You will practice for the most part with that trailer.
     
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