CR England Your Opinion Please

I'm doing some research into company sponsed CDL training, most notably CR England as they have a training facility near me. Has anyone gone through there training program? I have searched the internet high and low but am unable to find any helpful info. Is this a good company for an inexperienced driver? Any opinions would be much appreciated. Thanks Jered

PS I love this site. so much good information. Thanks Brett and all the others who have giving there time and insight.

I'm doing some research into company sponsed CDL training, most notably CR England as they have a training facility near me. Has anyone gone through there training program? I have searched the internet high and low but am unable to find any helpful info. Is this a good company for an inexperienced driver? Any opinions would be much appreciated. Thanks Jered

PS I love this site. so much good information. Thanks Brett and all the others who have giving there time and insight.

I never worked for CRE. However the below links may be helpful and spark other options for you.

Trucking Company Reviews

• Article Category: Finding The Right Truck Driving Job
• Trucker's Career Guide: Choosing Your First Truck Driving Job
• Forum Topics Tagged "Choosing A Trucking Company"

Another suggestion is to type "CR England in the search bar in the upper left hand corner, press enter and the site will return a list of threads about CR England. Let us know how else we can assist.

Good luck.

I started with England. Did the cdl course in salt lake city. The class and school are really good. That location has dorm style rooms with 8 bunks per room, but you wont do much more than sleep in the room. You'll do 160-180 hrs with a trainer, then upgrade test. Then team driving for up to six months starting at 12cpm, going up a penny a month. You may get lucky and get a dedicated account quickly. The contract for vets is 6mths, and 9 for non veterans. If you sign that contract and leave you will owe the remainder. Overall a good company, just low starting pay, but the first year shouldn't be all about the cash, moe so the experience. Hope this helps.

While I agree that the first year is essentially an internship, some guys like myself have families to provide for. I'm not bashing CR, but its something to consider. All really depends on your situation.

I just finished CDL school for CR England yesterday. They sent me to a private school they contracted with here in Washington that I loved! I can't say enough good things about them. I am currently on the Greyhound now on my way to orientation in Fontana,CA. I knew from the beginning that the pay was not the best but decided to go with them for other reasons that are important to me. Mainly, one of the shortest contracts needed to pay off the school. Good luck to you.

While I agree that the first year is essentially an internship, some guys like myself have families to provide for. I'm not bashing CR, but its something to consider. All really depends on your situation.

Certainly pay is a consideration but Nick is 100% right - that first year you shouldn't be focused on making as much money as possible. You should be focused on working hard, learning as much as possible, and not killing anyone. If you do those things well then you'll make decent money that first year and be in a great position to make a lot more as you move up the ladder. And by "up the ladder" that can mean higher pay scales and more prestigious accounts within the same company or better opportunities at other companies.

For instance, a ton of people go to Prime because they have the highest starting pay. But they also have the strictest hiring requirements, by far the longest training period, the least amount of room in their trucks if you get a lightweight truck, and the least amount of home time of any company I know of. In fact, it's not uncommon to be away from home for two months or more after leaving for training, even with a spouse and children waiting for you at home.

But people see that starting pay figure and jump on it. Hey, I'm not going to knock anyone for starting out with the best paying company. But realize that every decision is a compromise and there's a price to pay for everything. Shooting for the most money possible in your first year isn't necessarily the approach to take because you won't have the stamina to turn the big miles the veterans turn even if the company was willing to give a new driver those miles and your pay rate isn't nearly what it will be your second year out there.

So you're right C.T. - everyone has to look at their own situation and decide what they need and what they can live without. But rarely will you find anyone who will look back on their first year and say, "Thank God I focused on making the most money possible. That paid off in a big way." In fact, I've never heard anyone say that. But you'll find a long, long list of drivers that look back and say they made decisions based on the wrong criteria or they jumped ship early on in their career thinking the grass was greener when it wasn't. We hear that almost on a daily basis.

I agree Brett, year one will be an essential one for us rookies. As I said, pay shouldn't be the main focus but considered. My original plan was to go to prime my first year once I saw those numbers. However as you said, their home time didn't fit the needs of my situation. I know I won't get everything from that first company or any company. But I'm gonna keep my nose clean and work hard to support my family wherever I end up.