Females experience at Roadmaster Driving school, Dunn, NC~ AVOID AT ALL COSTS

Hi everyone. I thought I would post my review so far on this CDL Mill. Little background on myself. I served in the Marines and I am using my benefits to pay for this school. If I had to have actually paid using my own money I would want to jump off a cliff. The VA paid almost $7,000 and what a rip off this has been! The class is four days a week, ten hours a day for four weeks. I assumed that included ample driving/instruction time, especially after the cost of the school. I live almost two hours away so I am staying in a hotel Monday-Thursday, The hotel is out of my own pocket. I should of known by the unorganized nature of the sign up process that this school was going to be one step away from a boiler room operation. I have learned more about how to drive a truck from watching Smokey and the Bandit, and that is no lie. Unfortunately this school is the only CDL training school within two hours of my home. I need to state that I already have employment and I am only wanting to upgrade my license to be able to drive a few more vehicles that we use on movie productions. I am NEVER going to be driving a Semi truck. The largest vehicle will be a Stakebed, small shuttle buses and Shorty forties (14 foot 5 ton cargo production vehicles.) All of these require a Class *A/B* license. The company wants everyone to have at least a *B* license with a passenger endorsement.

I enter week three on Monday and so far have had a grand total of two hours of driving time. That should be three hours of driving time but due to a *adminstrative matter* (total and complete goat rope) I was *grounded* to the field for NINE HOURS and I could not drive any of the backing trucks, I could only teach myself the pre trip. I probably could of done better by hanging around a truck stop talking to truckers on how to succesfully navigate a tractor trailer. Mathmatical computations of the school are 16 days of school, 12 hours, YEP 12 driving time and the rest of the time is basically wasted on standing around for two hours waiting to get to drive the backing truck for 10 minutes. I would like to state I am a very self motivated person. I am always looking for a way to be doing something productive such as practicing the pre-trip ect. Instead our time is wasted with being forced to listen to the recruiters even though I DO NOT NEED and I AM NOT LOOKING for job placement. The website advertises a top notch CDL school with top quality trucks, spacious classrooms and fantastic instructors. The only truth to that advertisment is that three out of the five of the instructors are great. Oh yes the school is horribly understaffed. They have more people working in the office ripping people off then they do instructors. On my sixth day of school one of the instructors had his last day....they still have not filled his position and the staff shortage shows big time!

WEEK ONE: I would like to say I had not seen the school. I had done everything over the phone and by email. They want you to come up and take a *tour* but other commitments kept me from going. The tour really wouldnt of swayed my decision as I really have no other CDL schools in the area. As I made my way to school that first day in the dark early morning fog, I thought I might of accidently parked at some sort of Jail/rehabilitation/halfway house facility. The students that had gathered reminded me of a ghetto hot mess from hell! Think of a delapitated, ramshakled old *converted* outbuilding as your *school*. I didnt expect the Taj Mahal but I did expect the roof not to be caving in and at least some technology advacements like computers that are not from 1988. The first day of class three of the computers (including mine) would not boot up. I contribute that factor to the large amount of dirt/dust accumalation on the hard drives. So me and the only other female in my class and one other guy had to go to a seperate room down the hall for the entire first week. I cannot tell you how many times we missed important word that had been passed. The director of training is unfriendly and unapproachable. He has said maybe four things to me and one of them was *Why you walkin so fast, you must of been in the military*. That entire first week is spent with NO INSTRUCTION except for a few hours Thursday afternoon and that is spent on how to fill out a log book, which I already know how to do since we use them at work. They basically stick you in front of the babysitter (computer) making you watch mindless videos. They have two pages of these that you are suppose to complete in 15 days, problem is you only sit in the classroom for four days and that leaves everyone with a bunch of these videos to still watch and now I have found out to be tested on. We had to do a lot of studying on our own to take the written exam at the DMV on Thursday. I passed the CDL written test the first time. While we were at the DMV the instructors took the class out to show us Pre Trip. Me and three other students missed the entire thing since we were at the DMV and no additional instructions on the pre trip have been given since that day.

WEEK TWO: We finally head over to the field. They have a whopping total of two field trucks for our class of 14 and the other two classes ahead of us. Trucks are disgusting and have super jacked up transmissions and are super hard to shift. No instruction is given on basic functions like where the seat adjustments maybe located or how to shift. I have driven a stick before so all is not lost..at least not yet. Day one we got to do straight line backing....I still cannot do it. I am getting no instruction on WHY I need to turn the tractor this way or that way. The instructors simply walk along the side of me and yell out *turn right or left* Each instructor has told me a different way to hold the steering wheel and what to look at in the mirror. I believe I am over steering but the instructors are on the ground and cannot see what I am doing wrong. I am very frusterated that I cannot master this, BUT in five hours I got to try backing up two times. I am not getting enough time behind the wheel to be successful. I am happy for all the guys in my class that have mastered it. With only eight school days left (the last week being test week) I do not see myself succesfully passing any of the field tests. The bad part is the instructors waste a lot of time smoking and shooting the bull with the other students who have passed the field test but they are hanging out on the field because they still have to put in their *hours*. This school is a total joke. We have been taken off the field for hours at a time to only be forced to listen to recruiters from the different companies that *sponsor* the school. I have repeatadly asked can I PLEASE go outside with an instructor and practice backing since I DO NOT NEED JOB PLACEMENT! I get a sympathetic pat on the back from the instructors and told NO every single time. They also like to pull you away from *training* to go look at peoples trucks that have graduated from this overpriced nightmare. I have no interest in standing around listening to someone talk about their experience working for so and so company. The second day we were split into groups of four and taken to the abandoned Walmart parking lot with the Bobtail. This was everyones first real driving experience. I have never double clutched in my life and my leg got a workout. The sad part is you get one hour of driving then three hours of sitting and watching the other students drive. The school counts this as *road time* but to me we are being cheated on driving.

Seems like a huge chunk of this post was *eaten* after I posted it. Long story short, Thursday afternoon was a paperwork snafu and on Monday morning they still had not *fixed it* so I did not get to drive on Monday. Tuesday I was thrown in a 10 speed even though we drove the Bobtail 9 speed. I was petrified I was going to put us in a ditch and mow down a bunch of pedestrians with the trailer. I have never driven with a 52 foot trailer and I was NOT comfortable at all!! The instructor was belittling me and making me feel stupid because I could not hit seventh gear for the life of me. He also made me do some crazy turns and then had me driving through town which all my other classmates got to go out on a country road and practice just driving slow with the trailer.

I can handle the ghetto chatter and swearing all day long. I do not expect to be treated different, I just want to be TAUGHT how to drive and backup so I can pass the test. With eight days left I do not see it happening. If anyone can tell me some pointers on backing I would appreciate it. No one else is going to teach me at this school!! God help 90% of the students who financed this golden dream at 20% interest for 60 months...in the end that will turn into $12,000-$14,000. My *C* license is looking better and better.

 

Yes I did do my research. I read all the reviews, asked lots of questions when I signed up ect. I cant help if I was lied to by the school. The only other CDL school in my area was down in Wilmington at the college. Where are all these other schools you speak of? Google must be lying to me! They offer very few classes and the next one they had available was going to run into the time I am filming again. I also pay taxes and paid into this. I did not receive a special free grant. I plan on passing this up through the chain along with a few others in the class who are ex military. I am sure it will be on the high priority list of things to do.

 

Thanks for the school names. When I called CFCC they seem to only have one day class available. I have already told myself if I fail at this stupid school then I am going to go to CFCC. That is the closest one to my house. So far everyone I have ever met who went to CFCC enjoyed it AND got to drive a lot! Thanks again!

 

You just told me more about backing then anyone at the school. I would of appreciated knowing the reaction time of the trailer and now that makes a lot more sense as I have been steering to quick and way to much. Thanks!