Tennessee Truck Driving School - Louisville, TN (Knoxville, TN Area)

Hello everyone on The Truckers Report. I just graduated from TTDS in Louisville, TN. I will say that everything they do is top notch. I will break down their three weeks (four in my case) of intense training.

I went to TTDS because I lost my job at Consolidated Electrical Distributors because I only had an F endorsement of my regular driver's license. The recession has been really hard because I have changed careers, and things have been unstable. I went to TTDS because I was mad about losing my job and was determined to have a real fall back if things ever go south again. Plus I want to show CED that I now have a CDL and want that vindication of showing off my shiny license to them. I plan to finish my education degree over the course of the next few years, and come off the road full time in about 5-7 years and enter a classroom setting. Then do this as a summer thing driving hotshots or short hauls. I figure I can make 1/3rd of a teachers salary doing this in just the course of 2-3 months of the year. However, I need the work now because my 5 other degrees are not getting anything done for me. Who would have thought having a couple of drafting degrees would not equal out to work, but they look awesome on my wall.

Now to the course. First things first the tuition. The course itself if $4,000. In terms of the local community colleges that is a little higher. Full time at Roane State for a semester runs around $2800-$3250 depending on course load. Pellissippi State is about $3,000 for a full time semester. The University of Tennessee is much much higher. Tennessee Technology Center runs about $750 a trimester ($2250 a year) give or take depending on your program. So you have a few options. Pay everything up front. Pay $1,500 and the school finances the other $2,500, or take a private loan. The private loan pays all $4,000 but you have to come up with $500 to pay for fees to the loan company. If your credit sucks, like mine, you will not get financed. My suggestion is go with the $1,500 down and take their loan. It doesn't matter the credit and if you have a family member that likes you then just borrow the money. If you go the option through the school you must give them 20 post dated checks. They don't start taking payments until you have been out of the school for 2 months. So you have time to get settled into a job. That has to be in before you graduate. If you pay off the school faster they will destroy the checks. Since they are fully accredited through the Board of Regents and the State Commission of Higher Learning I tend to believe them. The state doesn't take that accreditation lightly and is very strict.

Your first week. School is intense and that is the nicest way to put it. Monday through Thursday you are there from 6 AM to 6 PM. Friday 6 am to 3:30 pm. Except for your first day in class, you go from 8 am to 8 pm. Your first week in class you are with Frankie Henson. Frankie is a good teacher. I should know since I have been doing education classes for a while. His style is thorough. He allows you the chance to read the material through each section. Then Frankie goes in an fully explains everything you have read. He knows his material, and knows exactly how to make it clear for the students. If you pay attention in class, you will have no problems getting through your permit test on the first try.

Your second week. You then move into basic maneuvers with Jim Boswell. Jim is quite experienced mostly flat bed from what I gather. His teaching style is laid back. He will show you and then observe how you took what he said. Then what he does best is correct you on your mistakes. He wants you to get it, but you have to find it. He will lead you there, but in the end you have to do it. I carried a high enough grade to go on to the final week, but under consideration Jim did not move me through to the final week. I failed my pretrip test and offsetting I jumped out of the truck more than I should have. So before he would be comfortable with allowing me to go on to the road driving portion of the course I was held back. Great move because it made my skills sharp and made me more confident. What you learning in this course is, straight line backing, exterior pre trip inspection, angle backing, offset backing and basics of double clutching.

Your third week. This is the final courses. You have three instructors for the week. Greg Dotson, backing and alley docking. Clifford Moore and Shawn Henson, who handle road driving. Greg is nothing short of awesome. I'm not going to lie here, if Greg ever wanted to go teach in a school system he could do it. He could be the best teacher in the entire school. He breaks things down do simply and will make things almost flawless. Jim gives you a rough idea and leaves you as a rough draft. Greg gets you and polishes you to your shine. Honestly, if it wasn't for Greg I would have never passed my skills test. Cliff, looks intense, he is a former Marine after all. His credentials speak for themselves. Cliff is a 4 time driver of the year and a multiple time trainer of the year winner with Rohel. However, he isn't intimidating. He is quite funny and makes the experience of learning to drive on the road great. Just pay attention to what he tells you and he will get you setup to nail your road test. Shawn Henson, is young but knows how to handle a truck like any other veteran. He will make it just as simple as Cliff. I didn't work with Shawn as much as I did Cliff. However, I don't have anything I can say against Shawn. He does a fine job.

The test is clear and done on site. The road test is not bad either. The best tip is just go do it. Take in everything you can and have a good time. They are there to help you.

Job Placement. It matters to the school. Unlike other schools that say they help with job placement they do. They have about 20 companies they have applications for. I basically shot gun blasted most of the companies. They have apps for TMC, McElroy, BTC, Maverick, Boyd Brothers, Covenant, Schneider, Werner, CT Transportation, Colonial Freight, EPES, US Xpress, Rohel, Star Transport, KLLM, Averitt Express, WEL Transport, Western Express, Purdy Brothers, USA Truck and others. I know I personally applied to 17 companies. I was prehired by 8, and chose Colonial because it is the closest to my house. The companies I really wanted to go to told me to come back after a year. I don't have the property to leave a truck and trailer, and I don't feel comfortable leaving my car just anywhere. With most of these companies I just was not satisfied with what I found for one reason or the other. They give you a list and break down the different companies training, pay, and other info. So they make it easy to see what you want. They also break down what each company's focus is on (i.e. flat bed, refrigerated, or dry van). So that made it easy, and once you have your apps ready they will get them to the companies. They will also put you in touch with the people you need to talk to. They do make an effort. Almost everyone that finished with me either was going somewhere or just had to finish their selection. I mean I graduated on Friday and start at Colonial on Tuesday. So that was my experience. Thought I would share.

 

It is the same Colonial Freight. They are an awesome company. The training program is 3 months, but it is a great move to make good truckers. Other companies set you loose in a couple of weeks and I have been hearing stories from my friends at those companies. So I am glad to have landed where I am.