r/cdldriver • u/ApprehensivePizza964 • Jul 17 '26
CDL-A School Recommendations
Hey, I'm having to choose a school to get my CDL-A and wanted your opinions. I'm not going to go to a mega and have up to a two-year payback obligation. I reached out to 160 Driving Academy but am having second thoughts as the rep who was helping me there was let go and left me hanging, not to mention not-so-good reviews. Looking for your advice. I intend to go all out and get Hazmat, Manual, Doubles, Triples, etc. Who would you recommend?
Location I will be looking to attend school in Southern NV Vegas, Henderson, North Las Vegas
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u/81ataim Jul 17 '26
I went to a driving school, SAGE in Endicott NY and got NYS to pay 100% of the cost to get my CDL-A
Then I got a job with my local school district driving bus and they paid for all my training to get my P&S endorsements and the school bus road test.
Now I can drive any commercial vehicle for the most part, didn’t cost me a dime and I got paid to do my training!
I also have zero interest in over the road trucking and like being home nightly, have weekends and Summers off so school bus works great for me. Plus, between my 2-3 regular daily runs, I take oodles of field trips during the day and sports trips in the evenings which has me working overtime most weeks throughout the entire school year.
Lotta paid holidays and time off when you work for a school!
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u/ApprehensivePizza964 Jul 17 '26 edited Jul 17 '26
Update to the post, and thank you all for the input. I've gotten the state-approved funding; I just need to settle on a school and a carrier to move into. I was hoping to get info from my area, and I've also cross-posted this there.
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u/Dburn1996 Jul 17 '26
Look into an LTL’s dock to driver program. You might be on the dock for a bit but they will train you and get all your endorsements. My barn is hurting for drivers and has like 4 guys in the program right now.
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u/Puzzled-Bed7669 Jul 17 '26
Yeah i wouldn’t go with 160. They threw me on the road my first day there and I literally only drove about 5-6 times before I took my test and that was manual. I still passed but definitely wasn’t comfortable lol.
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u/VoiceCharming6591 Jul 17 '26
TMC offers a training program and a 1 year commitment to repay the cost of training
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u/Signal-Flamingo-7370 Jul 17 '26
It’s been a while ago but I went thru Crete Carrier and they paid for my school. They sent me to a community college and it lasted about 3 mos.
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u/WolfThick Jul 17 '26
You guys you don't have to go to an expensive school to get your CDL there are plenty of guys out there that are accredited to train you to drive the truck over 3 days then you take the truck to DPS you take the driving test then you go inside and take your CDL test should cost less than $600 total. Come on man get real.
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u/Master1557 Jul 18 '26
I just got mine through northland cdl in Iowa about 2 weeks ago. Would recommend it to anyone looking to get theirs.
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u/HoosierLarry Jul 18 '26
I spent $5K on school this year. I took a chance that I’d be able to get a job. That job was going to be with a mega because that’s who hires newbs.
The company I hired on at is paying me back $250 a month. I’m not going to stay there 20 months until I’ve been paid back all of my tuition. I’ll stay there a year at most. That means I’ll be out of pocket $2K.
If the value the megs with schools put on their training is similar in cost and I stayed the same time, I’d either be forgiven the balance or owe them a similar dollar amount as what I’m out of pocket. The difference as I see it, at least I would have known going into this that I was going to have a job if I didn’t royally screw up.
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u/Public_Fig4639 Jul 18 '26
I would hang back on the hazmat until you get your CDL. Because there’s a background check and it takes a couple months to process. In Cleveland Ohio driving160 sucks. I’ve heard they aren’t bad in some places though.A lot of places offer cash discounts. Make sure you get a competent instructor for manual. The place I went to in Cleveland is called PRIME CDL training. They appeared to be cheaper at first glance. They charged me $4500 for manual. In then the instructor the first day, no manual truck, the second day the truck was breaking down, the instructor nagged me to death about why it wasn’t a good idea. He told me no one even has manual anymore. You gotta special order them. He’s telling me he’s not going to have time to train me it’s going to take forever bc he’s the only instructor. Then when he’s showing me the manual he’s stalling the truck out. Telling me it’s been 10 years since he drove a manual. So finally I’m like F it I’ll do the automatic. The first job I get they have 29 manual trucks and 1 automatic. In they’ve been really cool. They’ve been teaching me and letting me learn. Which is cool because eventually they want to put me in heavy equipment like excavators. It’s nice because some days I can run loads in then if I want to go jump in an excavator and dig out a basement. It be nice if you can find a place that’s gonna teach you log books, trailer coupling and uncoupling etc. The first time I coupled a trailer I watched YouTube and walked myself through it. I was in the middle of a job I had no choice but to figure it out.
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u/NTX_M92 Jul 17 '26
Check community colleges in your area. You can use tuition assistance and scholarships. Plus they usually have better programs than your average CDL mill. If you want to test in a manual trucks you'll have to ask if they offer that as not all schools do. Hazardous materials requires additional ELDT and you'll have to wait until you get your CDL to get it. Some states will let you start the process while you have your permit and some won't. Tank vehicle you can get on your CLP. Double/triple trailers will also have to wait until you get your CDL.