Thinking about starting a career in trucking but are overwhelmed by the choices? Discover the ins and outs of CDL schools with me, Walker Gatlin, in this episode of Rollin' 18 Podcast. Drawing from my 40 years on the road, I’ll break down the essential differences between private CDL schools, community college programs, and the paid training big trucking companies offer. Learn how to navigate the myriad of options and costs to find the best fit for your training needs. I'll share personal anecdotes and practical advice to help you make informed decisions.
Take a trip back in time with my journey into truck driving, contrasting it with today's structured training programs. Hear how old-school drivers like myself learned the ropes without formal education, relying on road veterans to pass down essential skills and unwritten rules. We cover everything from mastering truck stop etiquette to the do's and don'ts of city versus highway driving. Plus, a special shoutout to Dave from Smart Trucking, a fellow seasoned driver who creates invaluable safety and operating videos. Grab your coffee, settle in, and hit the road with us on this enlightening episode!
Thinking about starting a career in trucking but are overwhelmed by the choices? Discover the ins and outs of CDL schools with me, Walker Gatlin, in this episode of Rollin' 18 Podcast. Drawing from my 40 years on the road, I’ll break down the essential differences between private CDL schools, community college programs, and the paid training big trucking companies offer. Learn how to navigate the myriad of options and costs to find the best fit for your training needs. I'll share personal anecdotes and practical advice to help you make informed decisions.
Take a trip back in time with my journey into truck driving, contrasting it with today's structured training programs. Hear how old-school drivers like myself learned the ropes without formal education, relying on road veterans to pass down essential skills and unwritten rules. We cover everything from mastering truck stop etiquette to the do's and don'ts of city versus highway driving. Plus, a special shoutout to Dave from Smart Trucking, a fellow seasoned driver who creates invaluable safety and operating videos. Grab your coffee, settle in, and hit the road with us on this enlightening episode!
Text me anytime with news, suggestions, and stories at (641) 990-5641. God bless, be safe, and keep it between the lines drivers.
Speaker 1:
Welcome to Rollin' 18 Podcast. This 40-year veteran is here for anyone wanting to stay up to date with the trucking world. Grab your coffee, hop on board and let's get on down the road with Walker Gatlin.
Speaker 3:
Well, hello drivers, welcome to Rollin' 18 Podcast. I appreciate you folks out there driving the big roads up and down all across America, canada, mexico, all the way around the world. We are the largest industry in the world and I think we should start acting like it. Today's story is about CDL Schools. Now, if you've never been to Smart Trucking, check out smart-truckingcom. This guy also does videos. He is an experienced driver like myself, does great videos about safety, about operating a truck, about the do's and don'ts of the big road, the old school stuff, the new school stuff. Good guy. He put out a story called CDL Schools Recommended CDL Training Schools in the US. Now, take everything you hear from me or anybody else with a grain of salt, but a lot of guys that do this, especially the older drivers, they will do their absolute best to research this stuff so that you don't get any bad information. Now it says here private CDL schools and community college truck drivers training programs are plentiful in the US. These private CDL training schools are typically slower packed and longer than the paid CDL training options available with the big trucking companies. Their goal is to provide more one-on-one attention and training to the trainee to the trainee. Now it says here. With so many to choose from and such a wide range of costs for the programs, it becomes difficult for someone looking to become a truck driver to know which of the schools will give them the best training experience.
Speaker 3:
I, like many other drivers, including this smart trucking guy I believe his name is Dave he probably didn't have to go through all this. Basically, we went down, took a written test, got our chauffeur's license, backed in between two cones that were about three blocks apart and they said here you go, driver, and we get out on the big road with no experience except for what we had in the military. I was at Fort Knox, kentucky, so I had some experience with some large trucks that you know, not tractor trailers, but big military trucks and A1 Abrams tanks. You know we didn't have any training. Our training came from the older guys out in the road that taught us the do's and don'ts and some of that stuff they taught us. You don't want to do today at all, but we learned. We learned the do's and don'ts in a truck stop. We learned the do's and don'ts out in the road. We learned the do's and don'ts out in the road. We learned the do's and don'ts out in the city.
Speaker 3:
And believe me, there is a big difference. I always say you want to hammer down, do it out in the big road, don't do it in the city. Stay in the right lane, cruise like you don't have to be anywhere at all. And when you get into a truck, stop, put that sucker in first gear and just let it roll idle One, two, three miles an hour. Turn your headlights off so you don't blind other people, and back into that hole like you've never even seen it coming. And that's exactly how we did it and we did good. We did really good. Everybody got along, everybody loved it.
Speaker 3:
You sped in a parking lot too fast, like they do today. Three or four guys would have got out of their trucks and as soon as you stopped they would have yanked your door open and beat you to a pulp. Yes, that's the way it was. We didn't call it gangsta, we called it truck driving and we called it normalcy. And they didn't like that stuff.
Speaker 3:
Today you get to do whatever you want because nobody's going to jump out of their truck and risk going to prison. Back in the day, a cop showed up and, let's say, a guy sped through the parking lot and three guys beat him to a pulp. The cop would show up and say what happened and we'd say, look, he drove through the parking lot dangerously. So we beat him to a pulp. And the cop would say, good, because I'm taking him to jail as well. No charges for the beating, just charges for the stupidity of the driver driving in the truck stop too fast. That's the way it was, ladies and gentlemen. It'll never be again, but that's the way. People need respect and I don't know how we're going to get that respect back because people are not held accountable for their actions. But I'm not going to get off the subject, okay, dave wrote.
Speaker 3:
We've gathered together recommendations from recent graduates from both private CDL schools and community colleges with focused CDL training programs. We can't guarantee these are the best CDL truck driving schools, but it may help you narrow your list of schools when investing your hard-earned money in a truck driving training school. Look, we all know the trucking industry is a multi-billion dollar operation. Now the government gets involved in a lot of ways and I can appreciate the fact. They try and help the normal, everyday, hard-working citizen, but every time they put their grubby hands into something it ends up costing hundreds of millions, if not a billion dollars and hardly anything gets done. Government fails constantly. That being said, it is your responsibility as a responsible American to pay whatever they give you back. If you don't, you're making the rest of us pay for it. The government doesn't own a business. They don't. You're making the rest of us pay for it. The government doesn't own a business. They don't own anything. They get their money from us and we pay the bills.
Speaker 3:
Now it says here, fort Scott Truck Driving School, you got six weeks of training. This school has connections with trucking companies for job placement and it's affordable. Okay, now over in Maine, it says NMCC, located in Presque Island, maine. Instructor's known to be competent and thorough. Training goes beyond the basics to prepare the new truck driver for the road. I don't know if I agree with six weeks. I don't know if six weeks is enough, but I do understand this is for your CDL only. This is not to provide you with experience out on the road that comes with the responsible truck company that hires you and puts you with the trainer, hopefully for a very long time, and not just a trainer that's been a truck driver for six months, hopefully somebody with a lot of experience. Maryland CFI Truck Driving School locations in Baltimore and Elkton, maryland and Tampa, florida. A small company with some one-on-one training and it says here we've had several reports of good experiences with this CDL school. Now it says YRC Freight CDL Training Academy no charge training four-week program. But it's got it lined out so I'm not going to read that one.
Speaker 3:
Michigan Midwest Truck Driving School. A small school located in Escanaba, a fully accredited private school with experienced trainers yes, more than three months CDL experience Reports from graduates. The program goes the extra mile for the student. Take the graduates' information with a grain of salt because, like I said, they're just now getting their CDL. They may not know what they're congratulating or what they're commenting on. You got to take all that with a grain of salt. So do all your due diligence to study everything online. Look at their ratings, find out for yourself. Minnesota Lake Superior College, located in Duluth, 11-week program. I like that one. Preparation for the CLP is completed by the student online. New Hampshire Commercial Driving School LLC. Reports from graduates indicate this training facility is quite thorough with their training. The best way to get any information from a new recruit is after they've been out on the road to be able to utilize the stuff that they were trained to do and find out if what they were trained to do worked out for them. That's the only way you're going to do it.
Speaker 3:
New York National Tractor Trailer School, ntts Locations in Buffalo, new York, liverpool, new York, partnership program for placement with some trucking companies. Few options for program length. Good reputation for preparing students for being on the road solo that's nice. We got Sage Truck Driving School, rome, new York, which is lined out, so I'm not going to read that one either.
Speaker 3:
North Carolina Caldwell Community College, tech School, hudson, north Carolina and Boone, north Carolina $1,877 for tuition, plus fees, plus the usual cost for DOT, physical, drug screen, permit license endorsements etc. Count on another $300 approximately. There's an enclosed lot for training students. Local trucking companies like to hire the grads from the school. No guaranteed job upon completion, but a high percentage, high rate before completion. At least you'll have your CDL and if worse comes to worse, you can go to your local town. There's always a truck company somewhere. They might be willing to let you start with them, even if it's a dump truck. Let's get her done. Transtech is lined out in North Carolina, so I'm not going to read that one.
Speaker 3:
Commercial Education and Safety in North Dakota, located in West Fargo, north Dakota Instructors, knowledgeable and patient, uses manual trucks. So no restrictions on CDL. They include chaining, proper way to drop and trailer and much more than the pre-trip driving and backing is what they said. Ohio Much more than the pre-trip driving and backing is what they said. Ohio Butler Tech comes highly recommended by several drivers we've spoken with. $5,500 for tuition, books and fees.
Speaker 3:
Hamrick School we received multiple good reports about this CDL training school located in Medina, ohio. They are noted to have good instructors and strive to turn out excellent drivers. Now I'm going to put this link down at the bottom of this podcast on buzzsproutcom Just look up Roland18podcast. I'm also going to put it on rumblecom Just look up Roland18podcast and these links will be down below. That way you don't have to write anything down where you're driving. Okay, copy that driver brake one.
Speaker 3:
Nine come on Oklahoma Central Tech. It says Drumrite, oklahoma. An all-in-one price of $4,800 includes CLP training plus CDL, cost, housing, dot, physical, drug test, miscellaneous supplies, books, manuals and tuition fees. That doesn't seem bad, but still I think you guys paying thousands of dollars for your CDL. I understand they got to work to do it and I understand it's a school, but I just wish the government had to put their hands in so much in people's pockets. Tulsa Technology Center Good instructors with practical experience and give practical, useful advice. Fleet of well-maintained trucks. Course is long five months. I like that. Some students say they had to secure a job before finishing their training. Good learning environment.
Speaker 3:
Tennessee Miller Mott Technical College, located in Chattanooga, tennessee. All locations in Augusta, georgia, fayetteville, jacksonville, raleigh, north Carolina and Conway, south Carolina. Highly qualified trainers, strict but well-organized program. Train on a 10-speed transmission truck includes training on mountain driving. That sounds like a keeper right there. Utah, thule Tech lined out not going to read it. Wisconsin. Fox Valley Technical College, appleton, wisconsin, $2,400, eight-week course Hmm, doesn't give out any other information. Chippewa Valley Technical College, Eau Claire, wisconsin, approximately 16-week program $2,590. And the list goes on and on.
Speaker 3:
So if you really want your CDL, there's plenty of places to go to get one. I would check your local area first and then check the reviews online. Make sure there's enough people commenting so that you can get to the best school that fits your needs. That way you're happy when you spend all that kind of money and you're also happy with the fact that you got your CDL and then you can go out and get a job. I can tell you what driving is complicated, okay, and going to school makes things even more complicated.
Speaker 3:
They're going to feed you with a lot of information, but unfortunately, a lot of that information you're not going to be able to utilize unless you're out on the road. So for you to visualize it without actually being on the road it's going to be tough. So make sure you keep all your notes and when you hit the road and that situation comes up, you're going to know exactly what happened. Now, today's song choice for you guys to download and listen to while you're driving down the road. I'm going to come up with a name for this, but I think I'm going to call it Classic Trucker Song Choice, and that sounds good to me. But today's song choice is going to be Girl on the Billboard by Del Reeves.
Speaker 2:
To me, it's a recommended song for you guys to play while you're driving down the road who is a girl wearing nothing but a smile and a towel and a picture on the billboard in the field? Rolling down the highway in my jimmy holland to St Louis Lord, I see her every day. A double-clutching weasel like me Can hardly ever get a girl to look at him that way, Like the girl wearing nothing but a smile and a towel In the picture on the billboard in the field near the big old highway.
Speaker 3:
Now that's Del Reeves and it's called Girl on the Billboard. I think you guys are going to enjoy it. It is a fun song and I like fun songs. To me, most country songs are going to be trucker songs because that's who started it. Big corporations, mgm and all them recording labels out there, out west and out east, said hey, we want you guys to record some trucker songs, and this was back in the 60s and 70s. They put out a bunch of cool trucking songs and I'm going to introduce them to the new generation because I think they're awesome. I appreciate you drivers listening to my podcast. You can also watch a visual on rumble. I will put the links down below. As always god bless, be safe and keep it between the lines. Driver.
Speaker 1:
Thank you for listening to Roland 18 Podcast. Please visit my website at mediaiowacom or the podcast page at roland18podcastcom.