Looking for good trucking school near Arlington TX

With the 2009 crime, it would be best to attend a private or community college CDL school, then you will be hirable. It's unlikely a trucking company CDL training program will hire you because of the 2009 crime. Ensure your blood pressure & sugar levels are within limits also, in order to pass the DOT physical.

 

DON'T GO TO A CDL MILL. Go to an actual *school*.

I had an interview with a very , very respectable LTL company not too long ago. They loved me, and I loved them. The potential to make 60k right out of school was waved in my face by the hiring manager who offered me the job, pending approval of HIS manager.

sadly, i went to a CDL mill, and this company usually only recruits out of an actual school. but they liked me. unfortunately, they knew that i was a graduate of 'CDL mill' instead of technical school, and the hiring manager denied my application. the reputation of the school i went to was very well-known--the CDL mill taught students just enough to kill everybody in their path

make sure the school you go to is well-respected. call up some terminals you want to work with, and say 'hey, what do you think of xyz school'

 

Forgive me newbie here. By CDL mill are you referring to a school like Sage/United States Truck Driving School or one of those company sponsored training schools like CR England?

 

He's referring to CR England; you can wager on it.

 

Well, I've already got them on the don't return call list Which by the way has already called me based on a generic app I filled out last night that was sent to multiple carriers.

So training by Prime or Central Refrig isn't frowned upon in the industry?

 

No its not. A lot of people spout off stuff about company training programs being "CDL mills" and "garbage" and whatnot. Everybody likes to give this awesome advice about going to state run schools but the problem is not everybody can afford that. If you are lucky to live in a state that has a generous budget for grants and TA for these schools then thats great but many do not. Texas will not give you grant money for the school unless you just about qualify for wellfare. In fact when I got out of the Army in 2011, I tried this route for a local state sponsored school. State denied it and said unless I was already on public assistance then they wouldn't even consider me. School cost $3500 cash, check, or credit card otherwise. I didn't have it so I went to what some of you will call a "cdl mill." I went through C1 (which BTW has a location in Benbrook within Fort Worth metro). No down payment, just be otherwise qualified to obtain a CDL. I did have to sign a 1 year contract for whatever carrier picked me up. I was hired by USA Truck and completed my contract last spring without problems.

Was the school top notch? No. Was it a waste of time? No. It taught me what I needed to safely operate a vehicle and obtain a CDL, which is why I went. Further, it offered guaranteed employment upon graduation, which I also needed. I don't care what anybody has to say about quality of schools. Even if you go to a state truck driving school, it won't teach you everything you need for your job. If you train on dry vans then show up to a logging company, do you really think the carrier will just throw some keys at you and tell you "git er done?" Regardless of where you obtain your CDL, you will still need followup on the job training from your carrier, at a bare minimum to learn the way things are done at that company. I don't even care if the school has dry van docking training. They still don't teach what to do with BOLs, how to deal with lumpers, and the myriad of other things that have to be done each day on your job.

Please don't assume that just because its carrier sponsored (or run) training that it equates to garbage. Carrier sponsored training might not be everybody's dream school but it does translate over to experience thats WAY more valuable than what your school certificate has written on it.

 

Also in your area is FFE/Lisa Motor Lines which does take trainees and they have an inhouse training program. You may want to try them. Schneider also has a terminal in Lancaster you may want to try and they have (or at least used to have) an industry wide recognition for quality training of newbies.

 

Well as in a CDL School You may want to try C1 it is in Ft. Worth went there my self and i am doing OK with the starter company i am with. Just be patient and learn that it takes time to get to where you want to be career wise.

 

Welcome to the forum mikemayo698