Straddling The Fence....

Company sponsored schools are not what you think. You go to orientation for physicals and interviews then a couple days later you get a trainer and get in the road...all over. I drove 10k miles my three weeks with my permit. After you pass the CDL test, you then get a trainer and drive a ton more miles and training for how to do both driving and company required things.

Once you go there is no "do it here" cause "here" is living on the truck 24/7 and driving thw country. But really, the over the road lifestyle starts right away.

There are subtle differences between how each company administers their training. Prime is different than what I experienced at Swift; 3 to 3.5 weeks of formal school that includes classroom, yard skills and road skills. Once graduated and you pass the CDL tests, you are then road training with a Swift mentor for 200 hours, and then test out one last time before going solo.

There are subtle differences between how each company administers their training. Prime is different than what I experienced at Swift; 3 to 3.5 weeks of formal school that includes classroom, yard skills and road skills. Once graduated and you pass the CDL tests, you are then road training with a Swift mentor for 200 hours, and then test out one last time before going solo.

The classroom sounds good for every one to learn the company way of doing things. If you ask three trainers a question they each give a different answer. But GTown...at swift did you go home? Or were you away the whole time?

I believe knight has their own school, or I thought they did. It's in Phoenix at their home terminal.

Our CDL program is located in Phoenix, AZ and is currently available to the residents of Arizona, California, Colorado, Kansas, Nevada, Oklahoma, Oregon, and Utah. Please call for more details.

They do, if you live in one of these areas. But call a recruiter, it may be possible for people in other areas as well.

Also remember, review sites need to be taken with a grain of salt. Generally, people do not go to review sites to post their positive experiences, but they will almost certainly go to a site for a negative one. Point is that, for every bad experience you see, there are probably 100 good ones that nobody bothers to tell anyone about. It gives companies a bad name because all the general public sees are the bad ones.

Thanks for info. I live in Florida and would prefer to do school/training here. Live about hour from Tampa so would be perfect

If you have the time and $, look into Pinellas Technical College in St. Pete. They have a 9-10 week course that teaches you to drive, not just a "pass the CDL test" program. Costs about $2500, and there are some financial assistance programs as well. My wife and I went there and can't recommend it strong enough.

All major carriers will then reimburse you for training during your first year.

Just my .02

I believe knight has their own school, or I thought they did. It's in Phoenix at their home terminal.

Our CDL program is located in Phoenix, AZ and is currently available to the residents of Arizona, California, Colorado, Kansas, Nevada, Oklahoma, Oregon, and Utah. Please call for more details.

They do, if you live in one of these areas. But call a recruiter, it may be possible for people in other areas as well.

Also remember, review sites need to be taken with a grain of salt. Generally, people do not go to review sites to post their positive experiences, but they will almost certainly go to a site for a negative one. Point is that, for every bad experience you see, there are probably 100 good ones that nobody bothers to tell anyone about. It gives companies a bad name because all the general public sees are the bad ones.

Thanks for info. I live in Florida and would prefer to do school/training here. Live about hour from Tampa so would be perfect

If you have the time and $, look into Pinellas Technical College in St. Pete. They have a 9-10 week course that teaches you to drive, not just a "pass the CDL test" program. Costs about $2500, and there are some financial assistance programs as well. My wife and I went there and can't recommend it strong enough.

All major carriers will then reimburse you for training during your first year.

Just my .02

I had also looked into PTec since its only couple miles from my home however current job situation wouldn't work out while doing schooling, and sounds like my job is going to be covering my schooling and pay me over $20 an hour for the time spent in school. Idk how other schools do it but when I contacted Ptec I had talked to Mary and she told me that you can do class for 4 weeks, then on the job training for 1000 miles (verified by giving copy of your log book) instead of doing school for the full 10 weeks...just something to think about...

Rainy Wrote:

The classroom sounds good for every one to learn the company way of doing things. If you ask three trainers a question they each give a different answer. But GTown...at swift did you go home? Or were you away the whole time?

Sorry Rainy I somehow missed this.

When I road trained (mentored) I was out for 160 hours and did not return home until it was completed. My mentor lived in Florida and took two home time breaks. My Uncle lived nearby so I was able to visit him twice, so it wasn't a burden. I think a driver in training needs to be prepared to be away for the entire period though.

About a year or so they increased the mentoring hours to 200.