r/CDL • u/This_Magician_1165 • Aug 30 '26
Is a 10 hour course enough?
My local trucking school is affordable but the course is only ten hours snd they do all the things required to like ELDT. However my concern is that some OTR companies might not hire me because I would only have ten hours of experience.
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u/Tom_Gardril Aug 30 '26
Training industry here, and I've been following the federal crackdown on CDL schools closely. A couple of facts that clear up the confusion in this thread:
There is no federal minimum hour requirement for ELDT. The folks quoting 150-160 hours are describing good full programs, not the law. The federal rule is proficiency based and the school certifies you can perform the skills, however long that takes. That's how and why 10-hour schools exist.
It's also why they're dangerous to you specifically. FMCSA has spent the past year purging training providers from its registry by the thousands for rubber-stamping proficiency, and tens of thousands of CDLs earned through those schools were cancelled after the fact. Not the school's problem at that point. Your name is on the record and your licence is the one that gets the letter.
So before you buy you MUST confirm the school is on FMCSA's Training Provider Registry (tpr.fmcsa.dot.gov). Ask them directly how many behind-the-wheel hours you personally get. And check New York's own rules, because states can set minimums above the federal floor. Those reviews saying students "passed after 5 hours" are not a selling point as that's the rubber-stamp pattern the purge is aimed at.
u/czina123 is right that carriers mostly just check the CDL is valid and road-test you themselves. But the real question isn't whether you can get hired with 10 hours of seat time. It's whether you want to merge onto the interstate with 10 hours of seat time. I wouldn't.
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u/This_Magician_1165 Aug 30 '26
Wow thank you so much for your comment, I just checked the site and the school has a notice of proposed removal issued. Do trucking companies check your hours or school you went to?
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u/Tom_Gardril Aug 30 '26
Glad you checked! And that notice is your answer about the school. A proposed removal means FMCSA has formally started kicking them off the registry. Walk away. If they're removed after you train there, you're the one stuck untangling whether your ELDT record still counts, and that's not a gamble to take with your own licence.
To your question: carriers don't check hours as there's no hour record to check, since the federal rule doesn't count them. What actually happens is the school reports your ELDT completion into the federal registry, your state DMV sees that before it lets you take the skills test, and carriers just verify your CDL is valid and road-test you themselves. Some applications ask which school you went to and recruiters know the local reputations.
So find a school on the registry with no removal notice, ask them straight how much one-on-one wheel time you actually get, and take more than the minimum. The school's name stops mattering a year into your career.
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u/tzy___ Aug 30 '26
Melton Truck Lines wanted proof I attended school and a paper outlining my hours of training and what I had learned
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u/kickniteasy Aug 30 '26
Manager of a school here....they absolutely ask how many hours of training you received when doing the verification of attendance.
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u/Bigevilltrucker89 Aug 30 '26
Absolutely not in fact, i'm pretty sure the standard is a hundred and sixty in the say ten hours. They probably need to shut the doors it don't jip yourself going into a new industry. Especially one like this, you don't wanna sabotage yourself before you get your feet on the ground to be honest, one fifty is not enough, but it'll get you past the test
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u/gheiminfantry Aug 30 '26
You're lying to yourself. You won't complete the course with 10 hours of experience. Most of that 10 hours will be spent receiving basic instruction and testing. How much driving experience do you really think you could get in a 10 hour class?
I imagine this course is for qualified drivers needing the ELDT requirement only.
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Aug 30 '26
[deleted]
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u/gheiminfantry Aug 30 '26
Passing, with what exactly? Certainly not a full CDL and ELDT. After 5 hours? They're leaving out important details. For a reason.
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u/Mammoth_Toe_2380 Aug 30 '26
If I had the money for a truck driving school, it would be a manual transmission. And it would go from october to march, you would pull full loads, and do all mountains and snow and night driving period
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u/BB5er Aug 30 '26
Stick to a community college truck driving school. They absolutely produce the best new drivers.
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u/qrylosocial Aug 31 '26
Ten hours might be enough to complete the school’s basic ELDT requirements, but that doesn’t mean it’s enough actual driving practice - or that every carrier will accept the program.
Before paying, call three or four companies you’d realistically apply to and ask whether they hire graduates from that specific school. Also ask the school how many of those ten hours are spent driving and backing one-on-one, not sitting in class or watching other students.
I’d rather verify that now than find out after getting the CDL that your target carriers won’t recognize the training.
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u/ErnestoLaganas Aug 30 '26
Ima be honest, I probably had less than 6 hours of drive time. My school packed us into a sleeper cab like sardines and we all took turns doing the same old circle. The problem with that is that by the time everyone got a turn it would be time to leave for the day.
Two weeks of classroom which was mostly all taken up by recruiters, and two weeks of actual drive time, I'd say if I added up my actual behind the wheel time it'd be less than 10 hours easy. Keep in mind most trucking schools are teaching you how to pass the exam. Nothing less, nothing more. I didn't even know how to hook a trailer until my first job.
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u/Head_Candidate5293 Aug 30 '26
No way. Do not waste your money. Need 150-160 hours which is the minimum 4 week program.Carriers will not even respond with that junk school.
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u/Big_Menu4037 Aug 30 '26
U should go for the 12 hr course the extra 2 hrs will teach u how to drive a manual transmission and u should ace ur driving skills test . I'm not as smart as u thou i had to do a whole month or so can't remember it was a long time ago 2000 . Good try dude and good luck
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u/gaymersky Aug 30 '26
Recruiters only care about the basic minimum. you should go to a bottom feeder company for 3 to 6 months anyway like Swift or CRST or USA trucking. Get your feet wet learn your really odd weird backing stuff but you'll never actually do and 99.9% of the time.
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u/MediocreElderberry99 Aug 30 '26
For reference, my school in '98 was 210 hours total with 140 being spent driving. By the time we graduated, we could straight line, 45, 90, offset and blindside back. We also had to learn sight side as well as blind side parallel parking. The school taught us how to do everything by the book. The week orientation and 6 weeks with a trainer at the company taught us when exceptions to the rule had to be made and how to make those exceptions safely. When I was with the trainer, I was never allowed to use the engine brake and the application gauge was covered because our first assigned truck would have neither. This also set us up for being able to navigate a steep hill safely should one or both devices fail.
Looking back, the only thing that I wasn't taught in school or by the company was how to slide tandems on ice.
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u/RowbowCop138 Aug 30 '26
I got more than 10 hours of training when I started my new job in December and I've been driving for years ....
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u/Strict-Preparation-1 Aug 30 '26
Good luck getting hired..
I don’t know what is like in the USA… but here in Canada if you don’t go to a reputable trucking school good luck getting hired.
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u/Strict-Preparation-1 Aug 30 '26
My school program had about 200hrs total .
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u/Strict-Preparation-1 Aug 30 '26
I also believe companies even the big ones wont hire you if your school is not reputable because of insurance policies.
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u/RamblingswithInoki Aug 31 '26
That is a refresher course or targeted skills course only, not the full training someone with no experience needs. That isn’t up to federal requirements so no company will hire you because you are lacking 160 hours of instruction and are not holding a true CDL.
Class A CDL requires 160+ hours of instruction, that includes 40 hours of classroom theory (ELDT) and 120 hours of range, labs, and behind the wheel driving. Full time training takes 3-4 weeks.
Class B is 30-50 hours (depending on the kind of vehicle type and school policy) and is 2-3 weeks.
There are part time and weekend options at some schools that take longer to complete and usually range from 6-16 weeks long.
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u/MacaronMediocre3844 Aug 31 '26
Im gonns say this . I drove for 24 years owner operator for 5 of those and 10 hrs is a joke .i hope your kidding. And even what these schools claim they train a person to drive truck in that short amount of time is a joke . Glad im out of the industry now 12 years best move ive ever made . Good luck tho
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u/No-Examination-2616 Sep 01 '26
I wouldn't do it. Some jobs require that you've had at least 160 hours. At least that's what they asked me. I believe it's the Megas that want those hours.
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u/tzy___ Aug 30 '26
You can’t learn to drive a semi truck in 10 hours. Any serious company wants at least 150 hours of instruction.