Texas based cdl schools

Prime is OK for training and then starting with decent pay. YRC does cdl training also. Outside of the company training there are technical schools that area better than being locked into a contract with a company. Where in TX are yall located. Stay away from Stevens they do those contracts I'm talking about

 

All of the starter companies will hire with no seat time. And some will say that it's the only way to gain experience. But if one will continue to look and or try companies that say they don't hire recent grads. You may come up with a better situation than OTR.

I'm not saying OTR is completely bad. But in my book more than 3 days in a truck is torture. If one can get a start with a beer or soda distribution company, food service, concrete (driving the powder cement or the flatbed block truck) then that is better than making $400 and spending $250 of that on food and other things per week

 

Try these company cdl schools:
Raider Express - Ft. Worth
FFE (Frozen Food Express) - Dallas(Lancaster)
Roehl Transport - Grand Prairie,TX (hair follicle drug test)
Western Dairy Transport - Abernathy,TX (www.wdtmilk.com)
Millis Transfer - Burelson,TX (need $500.00 for fees)

*Note - FFE has LTL division and Truckload division. LTL division has multiple stops on each load, which means you make more money because you get paid extra money for each stop.
Truckload division is self-explanatory; take full truck load from point A to point B, then unload and do it again. Not quite that simple, but you get the idea.

 

just make sure to avoid Swift in Corsicana TX you are just a herd they get a new herd every week and if you fail an eval you can only get one extra week for the 18day course... the road section knocks out alot of ppl you master parallel parking only to get three days of driving before eval and the test

 

Since Chinatown mentioned it and you don't usually see much information from it, I'll chime in and give some details on it.

Roehl Transportation in Grand Prairie. I just finished my 1st week of their Get Your CDL program at Grand Prairie.

-It takes about a month or more to go from application to start date. (I've heard there's a waiting list to get in the program as well)
-Roehl does an extensive pre-hire background check
-It's a 4 week program (go to one of several different DL offices mid to late 4th week).
-Classes are 3 students per class, starting every other week (my class started on the 3rd, the next class will start on the 17th).
-The Grand Prairie terminal only trains for the dry van division, if you want flatbed (which also does curtainside and specialized) or reefer, that's a change that can be made some time after training.
-Roehl will set up and pay for your DOT physical, to include a urine and hair follicle test. Make sure you have the original bottles for any prescription meds you are taking and records and/or note from the doctor if you have taken any narcotics as doing so will speed up the process.
-Once you get your DOT physical complete, you can go to the DL office and get your permit (you'll pay for it out of pocket, which is about $25 for the application fee and required tests here in TX). You are required to have your permit in hand before they will set you up with a training date (they may give you a tentative date beforehand).
-Depending on your situation, they may or may not provide you with transportation to Grand Prairie. They prefer that you bring your own vehicle, as you will be using it or carpooling to get to and from the terminal every day. You'll arrive at the hotel the Sunday prior to the start of your training.
-While in Grand Prairie, they'll put you up in a hotel which will provide breakfast every day (holidays the hotel puts the breakfast out after you leave, so you'll have to do something else for breakfast or miss it entirely if you're in training on a holiday). They'll also provide lunch for you during the week (sandwich, hamburger, or salad of your choice from a local restaurant...it will also include chips or fries and a drink). Dinner during the week and all meals on the weekends except breakfast are on you.
-They pay you $500 per week starting on the first day with the 1st payment reaching your account on or about the 3rd Thursday of training depending on your financial institution.
-First day you'll take a qualification physical. They will get a resting heart rate and blood pressure, then take you to do several tasks (ducking under a trailer, climbing in a trailer, lifting a weighted crate to eye level, squats, a push test, and a pull test). After each test they will check your heart rate to ensure it hasn't exceeded your maximum safe heart rate. The rest of the first day is paperwork, orientation, and classwork.
-You'll start driving some on day 2, which will mostly be shifting practice in a nearby empty warehouse parking lot (the terminal is pretty small). By the end of week 1, I've driven the truck on the freeway, access roads, 2 lane roads, and performed straight line and offset backs. A thorough pre and post trip inspection will be done on the truck (I'm training in a 2014 Freightliner) every day.
-The trainers here will work with you and they use positive reinforcement techniques...no berating beyond some playful razzing.
-Once you have your CDL and the 4th Thursday of class has passed, you will go home for anywhere from a few days to a week to wait for instructions on when, where, and how you will meet up with your trainer.
-You will be with a trainer for about 19 days (depending on your performance and when the trainer can get you back to a terminal to test out) at $90 per full day.
-Once you have tested out and received your truck, you will be assigned to a training fleet manager and make $0.33 per mile. There is a raise at 3 months solo to $0.34 per mile (if I recall correctly), then a raise to $0.36 per mile at 6 months solo. You may receive quarterly raises, which depend on a number of factors.
-You can sign up for benefits after 30 days (basically once you've complete your CDL school), which will become active after 60 days. Some benefits do require longer to kick in.
-If you drive for Roehl for 120,000 miles, the training is no additional cost to you. Otherwise it's $5,000.

 

@mydartswinger - that's an excellent post about Roehl Transport in Grand Prairie. Maybe, cut & past it as a seperate thread "Roehl Transport CDL School, Grand Prairie,TX"

 

I don't know of any private trucking school's around Dallas, but after the research we did on trucking company school's we chose to go to Lone Star College in Houston for our CDL training. I didn't want to be tied into any contract. Remember nothing in life is free.... there is always a cost some where. When looking at private schools, look at the hours you will be getting. A lot of companies wanted 160-180 hours to accept a private school CDL. Which is why we chose Lone Star over houston community College. The course at LSC is 240 hours and total cost (Dot Medical, CDL, classes) $3,800.
It includes 2 weeks of night training in a 6 week course. Hope this helps.