What school did you pick and why???

I went to Bubba Pwaters chicken haulers truck driver training school. In beautiful,Toadlick,AR. He did'nt waste my time with backing,or parking.None of that silly stuff.He taught us important stuff.Like,how to pick out a CB handle.And.how to negotiate with a lot lizard.And how to shift with the jakes on in the parking lots.And gave us a journal of all the good CB and chrome shops .The 3 days of training was money well spent.

 

I was home schooled

 

Souther Utah ATC in Cedar City UT. Its close to home.

 

I went to Hammond Truck Driving School in Hammond, Wisconsin, about 40 min east of the Twin Cities just off I-94. They haven't been around long, but they have a great track record of students passing their CDL road test on the first try (above 90%).

They are good instructors with around 70 years total of actual everyday trucking experience. You're trained in the yard and on the public roads exclusively on full-sleeper Peterbilt 379s with 53-foot van trailers, nothing else. Too many schools train with single-axle day cabs and 28-foot trailers...you won't find any of that here. During my training at Hammond I had about 800 miles of actual road driving on everything from narrow county roads to interstates, along with hours of practice in the yard doing backing, shifting, coupling/uncoupling, pre-trip inspections and close maneuvers.

Learned more than just the basics too, with the first week of the $3,400, 4-week program being spent in the classroom. Trip planning, sliding tandems/scaling, paper logging, regulations, wellness, etc are taught.

All in all it was a good place to get my Class A CDL and take my first steps into trucking and I recommend them to anyone.

 

Crowder College, my dad went there 20 years ago to learn logs. They had the best price, included dorms and meals and TTR had good reviews on it. It was a good experience.

 

I chose Swift Academy in Lewiston ID. It's only 6 hours away, so I can drive there. It's a PTDI certified course. I've heard good things about the school there. The school cost about 4k with no upfront cost, 0% interest, and if I stay 13 months, I will have it paid off. If I stay another 13 months, they will reimburse me the cost. I can leave anytime I want and my only obligation is the remaining balance owed for school. I kinda felt like CDL school gets you your license and then your training comes from the company. I figured I'd get both at the same place.

I feel the training length is appropriate. The pay starts low, but at a year I'll be at .32 cpm and at that point, I'll look at my options. I figure, I'm new to trucking I might as well start with the biggest and take it from there.

 

I know this is an old thread but I figure there's still people weighing their options. I got my CDL through Schneider Training Academy. It was free with a one year commitment. Far from one on one training but all I needed was the basics and pretty much taught myself the rest. From day one to solo it took 4 weeks to the day. Two weeks class/driving and about a week with a TE but they were real good about not putting people out on their own if they weren't ready. I took a few days off while waiting for a truck.

I'd say my first year was alot of fun and I still made a good money despite not knowing many tricks and short cuts right out of the gate.

 

I just finished the academy in Lewiston. It was an experience to say the least. Of the 8 people in my class there was only two who completed the state test. I was one and my roommate was the other. I enjoyed the instructors, and was happy to learn from people with so much experience.

How was your mentor trip? I leave next Thursday, the 12th. Just thought Id get as much info as possible before I leave. Thanks !!!!