Charlotte, NC Trans Tech

I'm a student at Trans Tech dba Charlotte Diesel Driving School in Charlotte. Overall it's a good school with knowledgable drivers who all have a lot of OTR experience. The trucks are old and crappy, but with a privately owned school I didn't expect much. They are mostly 10 speeds with one 9 speed to keep you on your toes.

The first week is all classroom and after lunch on your first Friday you go to the DMV to get your permit.

The second week is all backing in the yard. It's straight backing and then at a 45, you also start doing pre-trips every day starting on week 2.

I just completed my third week which was all road driving. One of the benefits of their location is you gain exposure to several types of roads and traffic conditions. Mornings are usually pretty calm, but the traffic really picks up right after lunch as they're in the heart of Charlotte. They're out by the airport so there are fairly empty service roads with varying sizes of intersections, immediate access to both I-77 and I-85, plus the smaller highways and side streets.

The last week is more road driving and testing. They usually reserve testing for Thurs and Fri but our class is ahead so we'll start testing tomorrow, Monday, and hope we continue to do well. Pre trip is first, which I feel pretty good about as well as my backing. On the road I'm worried about my down shifting but the instructors have been good about giving me reps and different techniques.

We graduate on Friday, if any of us fail to graduate you keep coming back until you pass as long as you keep working on it. Tuition is around 3k and covers about everything, mine was covered through Vocational Rehabilitation so I have only my fuel to pay for.

I would recommend this school to anyone. I know they train a lot of guys out of Ft Bragg. Classes are full with just 4 guys so you never feel like you get lost in the shuffle and they do offer a weekend course though I don't know much about it. It is 8 weeks as it's a 160 hour course. I passed all my DMV tests the first time and felt I was adequately prepared. They also have a couple of different recruiters, who only tell the truth lol, come in per week.

If you have any questions I'd be happy to answer them and hopefully I'll bust out of this joint on Friday.