Kind Of Confused

I an attending a career school. Today I finished my training by passing the road final. I took a six month program that was split up into a classroom then a range for skills then two weeks of driving. The classroom was very thorough and structured where they drilled our heads with regulations and the importance of a pretrip. The range was also very thorough then came the big disappointment. The most important part of the training is inadequate. We went from putzing around a skills range in first or reverse to without any practice at shifting thrown into the water trying to learn to shift and drive in traffic at the same time. They gave us 33 hours to learn how to straight line and then 14 on the road to learn how to drive and shift. It would take to long to get into the details but they triad us in skills on single axle trailers and there is a fifty fifty chance you'll take the state exam test in a double axle which handles completely differently. They are very dysfunctional about letting us go near their precious test trucks so we take the test on a truck we have never been in or drove or looked at under the hood. I'm thinking about taking the test with the state instead of the school. I don't know how to get a truck to take it in though. It would be so nice to pretrip a truck and get to drive it for awhile before taking the test. Any suggestions? I live in Philadelphia. Do companies rent trucks for just such a situation?

Have you tried asking the instructors for some extra help? If you paid out of pocket for this school, they owe you quality instruction. If all else fails try Paid CDL Training Programs. Good luck.

Not sure how the school operates but I can tell them u not ready to test out yet and u want more practice. You paid for school. So they shouldn't have any objections. If they do like how my school did (ROADMASTERS). They only pay for your first test out then u must pay after that each time. If u want to take the test on your own. I believe most test sites allow u to pay them to use there trucks but they may have a double axle as well call and check up.

Have you tried asking the instructors for some extra help? If you paid out of pocket for this school, they owe you quality instruction. If all else fails try Paid CDL Training Programs. Good luck.

Kevin, I agree with Big Scott on this...can't go wrong with company sponsored training. Considering the point you are at, you might be able to breeze through it, quickly pass your CDL and be on your way to Road Training with your chosen company.

Good luck.

I had a talk with the head of the program this morning and it was horrible. All this school is concerned with is meeting it's legal obligations of the contract I signed. We are told there are extra trips available if we don't feel prepared for the test. This morning he said the extra trips are not guaranteed and I can't use them. Then said sorry Charlie and smiled. Before you assume that I must be the ******* here because why would they refuse me the extra trips I want to inform you that I did not miss a roll call in six months. I had PERFECT attendance and a 3.5 GPA. The 3.5 GPA includes a 72 on my road final and a 68 on straight line where the instructor told us we had to pull out of the box when we touched a line and start over. We all should have gotten 92 scores but decided not to complain because we passed the course. I have busted my ass all summer in 95-100 degree heat to be told sorry Charlie. They have their money and have met their legal contractual obligations and don't care one bit if I get my cdl. I know I'm a big boy but when you're told if you apply yourself you'll make it then find out the most important part of the training (actually learning how to drive the truck) is inadequate it's pretty annoying. Again 33 hours to learn how to straight line and then 14 hours to drive the truck without any physical practice learning how to shift. They hand us keys on the side of the road on our first road trip acting say go. The only training I had in shifting was from a textbook and a demonstration from the insteuctor that lasted 30 seconds. I learned they meet the federal required regulations to get financial aid and that's all they care about.

Have you tried asking the instructors for some extra help? If you paid out of pocket for this school, they owe you quality instruction. If all else fails try Paid CDL Training Programs. Good luck.

Kevin, I agree with Big Scott on this...can't go wrong with company sponsored training. Considering the point you are at, you might be able to breeze through it, quickly pass your CDL and be on your way to Road Training with your chosen company.

Good luck.

Sounds to me like this company is almost a scam. I noticed a new company here in Charlotte that is offering CDL training for very cheap. I looked into them and they don't seem to give you a certified course. One must research any school we go to. However, hind sight is 20/20. If you fail your road test, you may want to consider Paid CDL Training Programs. I think all of these programs pay you during training. Good luck.

I called one of the companies listed at that link and they said they don't train. I'll check a few more.

Sounds to me like this company is almost a scam. I noticed a new company here in Charlotte that is offering CDL training for very cheap. I looked into them and they don't seem to give you a certified course. One must research any school we go to. However, hind sight is 20/20. If you fail your road test, you may want to consider Paid CDL Training Programs. I think all of these programs pay you during training. Good luck.