Trainco- Perrysburg Ohio

Just thought id make a post about my experience at the Trainco school in Perrysburg Ohio. I did the 4 week class full time and it was in the neighborhood of 3990. I thought it was a great program. Only one of us didnt make it through and that was because they were bad mouthing the equipment and beating the heck out of it. Me and the other 2 guys all got our cdl the first try. First phase of it is a couple days of in class training , explaining how things work and what to expect. Our instructor actually tried to talk us out of driving a truck and told us alot of stuff you wouldnt expect a school to tell you. The training starts with just bob-tailing in an old volvo "around the pound" to get our shifting basics down. After wards they move you on to straight line back and what i liked best is they didnt move you on until you were ready. After that its onto the reverse lane change. Each day you were generally in a different tractor which i enjoyed because each truck handles differently than the other so you get some good practice. Then you are moved on to the parallel park which is a little tricky to do but i just asked the instructer to walk me through one and she was happy to do so. After that i started to get it. Finally you are taught the alley dock which was insane at first. I was jack knifing it everytime. You get plenty of practice though and the instructors i had actually cared about you getting the hang of it. Each day when you came in they assigned you a tractor for the day and had you hook up to a trailer. Great practice and they make sure you know how to do it. Towards the end of the classes you go back in for a day and they teach log books and map reading. This area was my only complaint on the school because i sucked at log books and you really only have that one day to get it down. Certain days throughout the week they do start taking you out on the road. We first went to an industrial park during our second week for some bobtail shifting, again...they didnt advance us past that until we were ready. After you get decent at that you practice more only this time out on the road. They actually take you on some decent trips to practice, backroads,highways, and city driving. As they say it you have to earn your trailer to get out there with one. I must say the first time doing that was terrifying! The thing i liked best though was that even when we messed up no one yelled at you or made you feel like an idiot. They just explain what you did and help you do it correctly. The last week your mostly out on the road going through downtown toledo. Your last day there consists of final exams but they are open book so its almost impossible to fail it unless you never paid any attention or did your weekly book assignments. Which i forgot to mention! They assign you a copy of "Bumper to Bumper" a complete guide to tractor trailers. Each week you have to read 3 or 4 chapters to do the quiz for them. The books great, a little on the dry side but still a good learning tool. I found a copy on ebay for fifteen bucks so i always had one for reference. Again this was just my experience but i loved my time at trainco, i loved my instructors and i still talk to them from time to time. If anyone is considering this school go for it. Ill be happy to answer any questions on it.