Comments By Johnny Boy

I just went through their program, sponsored by Covenant Transportation. I am very pleased with their program and the trainers. They also have a school in north Carolina and one in Tampa (the one in Tampa is "Tampa Truck Driving school")

They take anybody from out of state and will even house you in an apartment with washer, dryer, and a full kitchen. They even supply toilet paper and basic household supplies. You just have to get there and have a way to feed yourself while you are there.

The program cost me 4300 dollars in total for three weeks of training. If you don't have the cash you have other options. You can make a down payment and go with one of the companies they have that will payroll deduct 75 a week to pay off the loan (which is in house btw), or go with one of their 3 companies that will cover the upfront costs. (Covenant, Total Truck Driving, or Steven's Transportation, they all have you sign a 6 month promissory note, but do not pull you cdl if you move to another company). The school won't pull your cdl either, however they will not release your certificate to you until your paid off. I chose covenant for reasons that aren't pertinent to this post and they have tuition reimbursement which when combined with my 75 a week will pay off the school in 6 months.

They will help with job placement for life and even have a student support line for any question you might need to ask while you are getting started in trucking. All of the instructors are former drivers and one man in particular had 24 years of driving experience and a lot of interesting stories.

The equipment they have you driver in the yard for backing maneuvers is old and raggedy. This kind of put me off, but why have new trucks to teach students how to drive. Plus fighting those beasts into submission made me feel like I'm driving a cadilac once I got into Covenants truck.

3 weeks seems like a short time to learn what you need to pass the cdl exam, but if you give it 100% you can do it. The school doesn't give up if you fail either, they will work with you on what you need help with and make sure you pass.

Anyways, that's my summary of the school I went to. I can answer any questions if I have the answer to them.

I am in training with Covenant right now, but when I get out I want to set my truck up pretty well. I was wondering if I could get some advice on how to do so. I plan on using my laptop which had a 135w power supply, a small tv, thermal cooler, and a microwave if I can manage it. I can get the shop (required to have the companies shop do it actually, not do it myself) to install a power inverter up to 1000w. But I see a lot of reasonably 300w to 1000w inverters that can connect to a regular DC outlet like the ones in the truck. Anybody know what those outlets can handle?

Hello guys and gals, I am looking to snag some advice if it wouldn't bother any of you too much. I am trying to find a CDL training program with no money down. I would much rather not be locked in with a company out of school, but I can understand that I may have to accept that fate as I have no money to put down on a CDL program. I have found one through Tennessee Truck Driving school but I would have to work with one of three companies (Stevens Transport, Covenant, or Total Transportation) for six months to avoid paying $1,000 dollars down. So I suppose what I am asking if you guys know of any financed schools with no money down, preferably without being sponsored by a company.