Trying to decide which school/company training to follow for training.

you can try roehl transport-- i am looking into them also

 

I do NOT recommend any company paid training program. Find a school and get financial aid. The reason: If you enroll in a company program, you have to sign a contract to drive for them 1 to 2 years. If you quit or are terminated, then you have a black mark on your credit report and DAC report.
NO COMPANY should have that kind of control over you.

 

Please look into covenant

 

Please look into covenant

 

Run from Crusty or CRE. But do yourself a favor and do some research on this forum. The tools are here, use them.

Here comes my standard copy and paste advice, take it for what it's worth. I built it based on trying to keep new drivers from posting the horror stories we read several times a week here at the TTR Forum.

You need to research and find out what the important questions are. You can make an above average living but you will make sacrifices that other jobs don't require. Read the "good companies" and "bad companies" section on this forum and get an idea of what company you want to work for and what kind of trailer you want to pull. Don't just go to school and then try to figure out where to go.

I don't know your financial situation. Don't take training from a company if you can afford it or get it with financial aid. You will be their slave for up to year. If you leave they will trash you DAC and credit record. Check out your local community colleges and employment office.

Just know that most training and trucking company recruiters will do nothing but lie to you. They will let you talk about what you want and then tell you what you want to hear. Trucking is about moving freight to make money for the company. Your home time, family, paycheck and everything else comes second.

It is not like any other job. Local is usually backbreaking delivery work 10+ hours a day, 6 days a week. Often you unload dozens of times a day or you are a salesman. In my area most dump truck jobs pay less than a good factory job. Regional is lots of loading and unloading time, fewer miles than OTR and not as hard as local but will wear on you and push your HOS limits. OTR is out 3 - 5 weeks with 3 - 4 days home, less manual labor and more miles.

You'll probably have to pay your dues before you get the gravy job. Weekends off, if you are lucky enough to get something like that starting out, may be home Thursday afternoon and leave Saturday night or home Friday night and leave Sunday afternoon. Loads deliver on Monday early and you leave in time to get them there. Often your home time will be in the middle of the week.

Regardless of your driving choice, after school you will go through company training. For OTR this can be six weeks to three months with little or no home time. The first phase is usually $400 a week and the second phase is $500-550 a week. Some pay less. One company pays 12 CPM for training.

One last thing, you don't want to wait around too long after training or you'll have trouble finding a job. If you get out before you have a year in, when you try to come back a few months later you will find they want you to start over.

 

I am considering a school in Mesquite Texas cdltesttruck.com
Any ideas or suggestions? Just wanting to get started and they seem legit

 

But read this thread first http://www.thetruckersreport.com/truckingindustryforum/report-a-bad-trucking-company-here/163235-very-upset.html

 

CDL Test Truck is not a school (it will not get you a job) but is an easy and fast way to get your CDL Class A license. Billy will take you on the Garland DPS test course the morning (early) the day of your driving exam. There were six others taking the driving test the same day; I assume they all passed. I was number 3 to drive and the two passed ahead of me passed with an A rating. I didn't find anything fishy or illegal about what he is doing. My only complaint is Billy has a foul mouth but he did not cuss anyone in the driver seat. Overall, they deliver what they advertise and nothing more.

 

They're actually located in Allen, TX, not Mesquite. Google "CDL TEST TRUCK Scam" or "CDL TEST TRUCK Review" or "CDL TEST TRUCK Allen TX". I do not recommend them.