Schooling Expereince At CR England

Hey guys and gals

So, I've decided that I am going to go with CR England for their CDL schooling and job afterwards, provided I don't screw up somehow during the school. I'm here to ask if any of you have been to their school within the last six months. I'd like to know how it went for you. I understand the school is 17 days, so it's rather short. The pace is probably going to be 'grueling', and I fully expect it as well as long hours. I have to take a greyhound out there, so I won't have transportation. I am going to have the bare minimum of $ available, so cabs are out.

If you could take a moment to describe your experience in the schooling phase at the very lease, I would greatly appreciate it more than you can imagine.

Jerry, I hadn't narrowed down the company for which I wanted to work myself until recently (I am still waffling between 2 of them, FFE and Stevens Transport) but I highly recommend that you find a good sized truck stop near you and just hang out there for a few hours. I did that last weekend and spoke to as many truckers from companies I was considering as I could. It was a VERY educational experience, and really helped me narrow down what I was doing. I did see several CR England trucks there, and I can only assume you would see the same. You might get some good insight that way into the training, I saw a couple of trainers with their students and that really helped me get a feel for it. Yes, it takes some weeding through the complaints and company-bashing, but it is well worth it.

I've actually reviewed the information located here (again): https://www.truckingtruth.com/free_truck_driving_schools/crengland/crengland-chart.html

I must say that it seems quite outdated or the recruiter that I've spoken to has absolutely no clue what her company has to offer.

Should I provide the information that she gave me, or is it possible for that chart as well as the schooling information to be updated ?

The information changes constantly. Most trucking companies will change their policies and pay grade several times a year at least. Some of them shoot me updates, most don't. So it's certainly possible that some of that stuff has changed. It's also possible that your recruiter isn't 100% right about everything - that's known to happen also.

I was just there-will give you an unbiased assessment of what it was like-I got kicked out for having 20-50 vision in one eye-the chart they recommended to test your eyes was not very accurate. Was only there for not even a day as a result of that-but can tell you my impression of it the short time I was there and let you be the judge. You get there to Gary IN-the place is a slum-at the bus station-they load you on a shuttle bus-they want you at the school as soon as you arrive-the bus will take you to the school and you will immediately be asked to start your physical-before your arrival at the room-be prepared for that-did not get to my room till close to midnight-next morning have to be up to catch shuttle back to school-it is a good half hour from motel to school-not much around motel in terms of places to eat-most are more than a mile away. You will not be given an opportunity to eat anything before you go-be prepared for that-have some snacks handy. School begins at 630am sharp-whatever you do dont miss the shuttle in the morning and be late-it left at 5 am. I can only tell you about the first morning-make sure you have all the required documents with you-make sure you are ready for the written exams before you arrive as you will likely be too wiped out to study for it there. A lot of paperwork involved. Make sure your vision is up to par as well as blood pressure or you will immediately be sent home. The inprocessing instructor was on the ball. I did get my vision corrected that very day at a mall 10 miles away-but decided not to return. I am telling to you like it is-this is what I genuinely experienced a mere 2 days ago. I spent the night at a motel and got a bus ticket to another school which is likely going to accept me with my corrected vision. That was done at my own expense as well as getting the eye exam and glasses. That brings me to my next point-make sure you have enough funds because they will not cover your food expenses and like what happened to me unexpected things could come up. I hope I dont sound like I am bashing it-I just want to share with you what my impression was of it. I wouldnt go back there.

Yet, I do not want to discourage you either-your experience may be different than mine-just a heads up for you on what you may be faced with when you arrive there.

I was just there-will give you an unbiased assessment of what it was like-I got kicked out for having 20-50 vision in one eye-the chart they recommended to test your eyes was not very accurate. Was only there for not even a day as a result of that-but can tell you my impression of it the short time I was there and let you be the judge. You get there to Gary IN-the place is a slum-at the bus station-they load you on a shuttle bus-they want you at the school as soon as you arrive-the bus will take you to the school and you will immediately be asked to start your physical-before your arrival at the room-be prepared for that-did not get to my room till close to midnight-next morning have to be up to catch shuttle back to school-it is a good half hour from motel to school-not much around motel in terms of places to eat-most are more than a mile away. You will not be given an opportunity to eat anything before you go-be prepared for that-have some snacks handy. School begins at 630am sharp-whatever you do dont miss the shuttle in the morning and be late-it left at 5 am. I can only tell you about the first morning-make sure you have all the required documents with you-make sure you are ready for the written exams before you arrive as you will likely be too wiped out to study for it there. A lot of paperwork involved. Make sure your vision is up to par as well as blood pressure or you will immediately be sent home. The inprocessing instructor was on the ball. I did get my vision corrected that very day at a mall 10 miles away-but decided not to return. I am telling to you like it is-this is what I genuinely experienced a mere 2 days ago. I spent the night at a motel and got a bus ticket to another school which is likely going to accept me with my corrected vision. That was done at my own expense as well as getting the eye exam and glasses. That brings me to my next point-make sure you have enough funds because they will not cover your food expenses and like what happened to me unexpected things could come up. I hope I dont sound like I am bashing it-I just want to share with you what my impression was of it. I wouldnt go back there.

God I hope my experience with them is better. They are sending me to Cedar hill TX. I have talked to quite a few companies and unfortunately coming off ssdi after 2 years for psychological reasons everyone else seems to be afraid to take me. On top of that i have my CDL but haven't driven in 16 years. SO Simply put I am the mutt nobody wants to take! They are the ONLY takers... hope I dont regret going with them...

Ok So apprently these guys are not a good company, i have a PM going with a driver who has has a run in with them and they try to push u into OO saying they have no trucks available AFTER you have completed their course and signed the contract. OUCH

I just realized I spelled 'experience' wrong in my thread title. Oops!

So, after reading this experience posted by Anthony R., I will be looking at other schools when I wake up in the morning and trying to find out where else will accept me. This misdemeanor from July 09 has ruined my chances with Central Refrigerated, I have to wait 5 years form the date of the occurrence. I've completely botched my chances with Roehl at this time due to myself and every cosigner I attempted to use having a 'credit rating insufficient' for their freaking financing. I am still completely disinterested in a company who is 'forced team driving' after my training, but it appears my options become severely limited after that because I DO NOT have upfront cash for any amount of tuition. I had to beg family for a $350 loan just to be able to go get my eye exam and corrective lenses as well as food and the CDL permit fee at CR England, but if it's still nightmare-ish for people now (just like what I've read [yes... I've seen bad reports and honestly nothing good] about CR England's program, I am now turned off by no one single person's doing).

Not sure where to turn now.... #stumped #screwed...

Anthony R

I jumped out of bed when I remembered to ask you this question:

What school/company did you choose to go with after this CR England mess?