Celadon Training School Truth Or Lies?

Ok I start school at celadon soon and have seen all the back lash on other sites and have started to wonder about my choice.

I have been told we have to drive 120,000 miles to settle the contract by one recruiter and go to 3 weeks of class then you get paid 50.00 a week for 6 weeks and don't get into a truck to get paid till 4th week that being the first paid week, starting then to get the 200 hours of road driving. They provide a hotel 3 meals a day for the 3 weeks in class. after you get done training they pay us .36c each mile at forced dispatch. They offer .3c per mile every 17,000 mile a month if dispatched that many. I talked to a few guys that had worked for them and gave me a different story.

They say the pay is on a scale and they try not to give you the miles to get any thing extra. they also said that they had seen others that had been made to drive 240,000 miles before released. I have a letter telling me to be in class and it says new drivers sent out at 240,000 miles as a team driver.

Dose any one know the truth why all the different stories from people and what should I expect?

I also was ready to get my permits in my home state but was told not too because the rules and laws are different at the training schools home state? Is it easy to get a permit in that state or the cdl why not have my permit already?

My home state also says I may have to still come back and get take a cdl test their before I can transfer the out of state cdl? If I have to do this I have to have my own truck and trailer to test in. I stress the may in that statement the state troopers said if it's a paper copy not a hard copy or the test was not given by a department of motor vehicles instructor they do not except it. He said this is because in some states they allow you to drive with a trainer who is a Rep of the state or certified by that state and they just sign off and give you a cdl after you complete so many hours on the road and you aren't tested at the DMV.

So Dose any one know what the real deal is and am I going the long road to a dead end?

Wild O, Welcome to the forum!

I'm not sure I can answer all your questions, but let me take a stab at some of it. First off let me say that I know a lady that drove for Celadon for fifteen years - she told me it was the absolute best trucking company she ever worked for. Celadon's school is pretty new and anytime you start an ambitious program like they have there's gonna be some confusion, and some problems that have to be ironed out, and along with that comes changes and adjustments which sometimes don't always get back to the recruiting department until they've got it all worked out. Please don't make the mistake of making an assessment of the company based on the recruiters lack of, or misrepresentation of information. They're working hard to bring in new people, while the goals of management are being shifted and shuffled around to who knows what, without the recruiting department having clear objectives to guide them in their efforts. This happens at a lot of trucking companies, it's not just a problem at Celadon.

Secondly, you really have just got to ignore (and preferably don't even look at) all the crybaby drivel that's posted on the internet about trucking companies. I love this job, work hard at it, and make good money doing it, but I don't have the time nor the inclination to be posting cheer leading comments about how wonderful my employer is. The truth of the matter is that my employer is no different than any other trucking company, they're all trying to do the same thing with the same equipment on the same roadways - there is precious little that differentiates one trucking company from another. Here's where the difference lies: it's in the drivers response to the demands of the job, it's in the commitment of a driver to jump through what ever hoops he's faced with to "get er done" in a demanding environment. People who don't find satisfaction in being creative to overcome life's obstacles don't really make good truck drivers, but they're really good at sitting around the house in their boxers using their parents internet connection to see if they can boast a more outlandish tale than the last guy about how badly the trucking industry raped and pillaged them. It's a fools paradise in most of the internet forums, and a complete waste of time and effort. Most of the forums are demoralizing to anyone genuinely interested in the industry, and they only serve to discourage potentially good drivers with false perceptions of a completely honorable field of employment.

Look, if you want to go to Celadon's school you just jump right in there and go, but go with the understanding that you are going to have to work really hard and prove yourself as a valuable employee who has something worthwhile to offer. And if you haven't figured it out yet, it's not the fact that you have a CDL that means you have something worthwhile to offer. How you handle the things that you are faced with is what makes you an asset to a trucking company. If your miles are down one week, and you're gonna decide it's because the company is trying to keep you down so they don't have to pay you very much, then you should think twice before jumping in to this career. You are not going to get the same amount of pay each week, some folks just don't get that concept because they are not accustomed to getting paid for their performance, but rather enjoy getting paid for just being there whether they did anything productive or not.

Trucking companies get paid to move freight, it's ludicrous that they would purposely not be moving freight just to keep from having to pay their employees. The more they are paying me means the more money they are making. That's how performance based pay works, so don't you start believing all that trash talk you're hearing. I take home some really good pay checks, but it's because I don't back down from a challenge and I don't give in to being lazy when there is work to be done. A truck drivers job is, for the most part, completely unsupervised, he manages his own time and makes his own decisions about how and when he's going to be moving - the amount that is on his paycheck is more based on his actions than anyone else's in the whole organization.

Oh man, forgive me, sometimes I get so frustrated with the current trend of thought among drivers I get carried away with my responses. I'll try and settle down here and tell you that I think it a good idea to go ahead and get your permit before you go. It will take a lot of pressure off you for that first week, and may even get you in a truck faster. Every state has different rules about transferring the license but for the most part it only involves an exchange of money to get it done. I can't answer for your state specifically, but just want to say don't worry about it just do what they require when the time comes.

Oh man, forgive me, sometimes I get so frustrated with the current trend of thought among drivers I get carried away with my responses.

You didn't get carried away at all! I concur with everything you said 100%. It is indeed frustrating to know that so many websites like TheTruckersReport are allowing mountains of bad information and blatant lies all the time. It's frustrating to try to teach people the way things really are when you have a chorus of people screaming lies over top of you.

He said this is because in some states they allow you to drive with a trainer who is a Rep of the state or certified by that state and they just sign off and give you a cdl after you complete so many hours on the road and you aren't tested at the DMV.

I don't believe that's true at all. I've never heard of anything like that. Everyone is tested. That actually describes the system used decades ago with a "chauffeur's license". You didn't need to test to get a license. You just had to have a driver that already had the license sign off that they taught you how to drive. That was like in the 60's or something.

Celadon's school is brand new. It's a gigantic operation they're putting together and there's going to be a lot of confusion and policy changes. But like Old School said, trucking is performance based. It doesn't matter that much which company you work for. If you prove over a period of a few months that you work hard, you're safe & reliable, and you handle yourself like a professional, you're going to get a lot of miles and fair treatment. It's extremely difficult to find good drivers. Prove yourself to be one and you'll do really well in this industry regardless of where you work.

Whichever company you choose, dedicate yourself 100% to getting one year of safe driving in with that company no matter what. Don't try to judge what they're doing or how they're doing it. Rookies don't know enough about the industry to understand how things are done so you just have to roll with it long enough to learn it for yourself. That takes time. So just do what's asked of you, learn your trade, and prove your worth. You'll do great once you've accomplished those things.

Ok I start school at celadon soon and have seen all the back lash on other sites and have started to wonder about my choice.

I have been told we have to drive 120,000 miles to settle the contract by one recruiter and go to 3 weeks of class then you get paid 50.00 a week for 6 weeks and don't get into a truck to get paid till 4th week that being the first paid week, starting then to get the 200 hours of road driving. They provide a hotel 3 meals a day for the 3 weeks in class. after you get done training they pay us .36c each mile at forced dispatch. They offer .3c per mile every 17,000 mile a month if dispatched that many. I talked to a few guys that had worked for them and gave me a different story.

They say the pay is on a scale and they try not to give you the miles to get any thing extra. they also said that they had seen others that had been made to drive 240,000 miles before released. I have a letter telling me to be in class and it says new drivers sent out at 240,000 miles as a team driver.

Dose any one know the truth why all the different stories from people and what should I expect?

I also was ready to get my permits in my home state but was told not too because the rules and laws are different at the training schools home state? Is it easy to get a permit in that state or the cdl why not have my permit already?

My home state also says I may have to still come back and get take a cdl test their before I can transfer the out of state cdl? If I have to do this I have to have my own truck and trailer to test in. I stress the may in that statement the state troopers said if it's a paper copy not a hard copy or the test was not given by a department of motor vehicles instructor they do not except it. He said this is because in some states they allow you to drive with a trainer who is a Rep of the state or certified by that state and they just sign off and give you a cdl after you complete so many hours on the road and you aren't tested at the DMV.

So Dose any one know what the real deal is and am I going the long road to a dead end?

OK, let me see if I can clear up some information you are asking about.

First and foremost, don't listen to all the other forums you read. Most of them are full of people that all they want to do is complain. Talk to other students and truckers that work for the company you are interested in.

As of right now they are only recruiting team drivers. And the team has to put in 240,000 mile to complete their contract. As of right now, you don't have to find your own partner. They will choose one for you if you don't have one. And it doesn't have to be an experienced driver. It can be two students going to class together.

As far as the pay, this is only rumor, but I will tell you what I have been told. You make .36 cents per mile split between the two drivers. And you make only that till your "contract" is complete.

Training is "scheduled" for 3 weeks for Quality Driving school. However, with as many people that are here, unless you have a background in trucking or driving of some kind, it is doubtful you will get out in the 3 weeks.

Even if you do get your three weeks in and you get your CDLs, you go back to Celadon and train with them for about 2 weeks. Learning how to do a dock back and their orientation. Where you learn about the company itself and their rules and regulations.

You don't start making any kind of money till after all of that is done and you are out on the truck with a trainer.

While in school you are fed three meals a day and your hotel is provided. There are several hotels in the area that they use so it is hard to know till you actually get here where you will stay.

You get a $50.00 gift card for the weekends to get food with. No you can't cash it in for money. You can get gas, food, etc. with it, but no cash.

Once you get into the truck with a trainer, you will be there from 4 to 6 weeks. After that if he/she feels you are ready you go back to the head office and you will be assigned your own truck. Since you are team driving, if you finish before your team driver, you will have to wait till he is done with his training.

As far as the permits. Don't bother getting them before leaving home. When you get here, you will first have to get an IN driver's license then you will take your tests to get your IN permits. There have been no states that I have seen that they accept other than the IN ones. From what I understand, that is an IN rule, not a Celadon rule.

Some states require you, when you return to take all the test all over again. That you will have to check with your state. I know IL, NY, and CA require you to start from scratch to transfer your license back to their state.

If you need more help, keep up with my posts in the other forum on here.

Keep it safe out there. Joe S

t doesn't sound like you ever even got a hotel room and you left. So I don't think you have any actual experiences to share, just a bunch of complaints you've passed on from other people you met there.

He says he went to class and couldn't eat because he wasn't on the list, and that there where people in the class from previous training sessions. So I do think he or she did get a room and try to start training.

I'm a little surprised how quick people seem to be on him for relating what he experienced. Yes some of it was what he was told by other people, but some of it was also first hand experience. Strange thing is some of what he was told has also been expressed by another poster in a different thread in the training forum.

I'm not taking anyone's side, just merely pointing out its not the first time some of these things have been said about celadon on this site.

Am I missing something?

Yes you're missing the point.

As a current driver who went through what he *tried* to go through I can tell you he came in with the wrong perspective and attitude. Trucking is a world of complete and utter buIIshlt for the first few months. Things won't go your way. You won't agree on how the company runs their training program, you'll have problems. But it's how you respond to those problems that makes or breaks you. You have to have turtle-shell skin to thrive in this industry.

What his problem was is that he didnt give Celadon a chance before he called foul and quit. He arrived and spent 2 days tops. Listened to people complain and then left. If you're going to say that a company sucks then go through their roller coaster, go through their training, become a solo driver and then you have a real say if a company sucks or not. Usually it's the drivers fault, but did we ever hear the poster take blame for anything? Surely he didnt come in as a perfect student.

A while ago when I was just getting into my hotel. I almost got robbed, and I arrived at the hotel bed at 11pm and had to be up at 6am for hard training the next day. Did I complain? No, I sucked it up.

My schooling was way too fast paced. It was very stressful and I personally didnt agree with how they were running it. Did I complain? No, I sucked it up and took a seat on their roller coaster.

I completed their training program and I felt like I went to hell and back. Did I complain? A little, I vented. But I kept my attitude professional to my employers.

The fact is you can't just give up the second trucking tosses a curveball at you. Here's something that every successful driver on this forum says. I want you to go to our Training Diaries forum and look at some of the training journal. Every single persons experience was very negative at some point. There were extremely tough times for us. Times we felt we didnt belong of felt we just wanted to quit. But what did we say/how did we respond?

We responded by telling ourselves that we can do it. We responded by telling ourselves that we WILL do it. That its just an obstacle we have to overcome. That we are tougher than this and we were here to succeed not fail.

But what did the poster do? He quit and ran with his tail between his legs and then wrote an essay about what the company did wrong and never mentioned or even thought about what he could have done wrong.

There's probably a million people who will say that Central Ref is a terrible company to work for. Glassdoor and RipOff Report certainly do! But I'm thriving here. I drove 13000 miles in 30 days which is incredible. I get home on time. I get good loads.

The driver is what makes the company he works for a good or bad experience. If you're going to be trustworthy and dependable with a great attitude and always be professional you will succeed. If you're just going to quit without giving a company a chance and then blaming them when you have never even drove a truck then you're going to fail. You'll never be happy and you'll never find a good company because pretty soon every company in your book will suck.

I would like to know one simple question. Except for the hotel, what did you find out new from what I posted on here in several posts already?

A lot of what you ran into I talked about in my posts about Quality Driving and Celadon.

However. There are a few half truths. First of all. The DL. You don't turn in you DL from your home state till after you pass the IN DL test. That way you won't have 2 DLs. That is against the law.

You will find complainers no matter what. This is not easy. Nerves get frayed. Tempers get short. And who gets the blame every time? The school.

I finally passed my CDL test today. It has been three + hard weeks. Some nights of little sleep due to worry.

If your first experience here with Quality Driving has made you this mad, you might want to rethink your career choic.

It is far from a bed of roses.

Keep it safe out there. Joe S

The guy that went with us to Scotts office told us up front you have to give up your DL first off. We talked to a state patrol officer who stated we had to give up our DL to even take the test so we took his word sitting at a Pilot truck stop.

We went with the mind to do this and knowing their would be some stuff we didn't like. So Joe S Mad was from the whole deal we didn't care for any endorsements and told non required nothing about getting a DL. Both of those was a killer if we had know the truth about we wouldn't have went.

My co driver cant get hazmat any way he's a drug felon so it was stupid of them to let him come.

We cant get out of state DL's because Ga will cut off our food stamps heating and Medicaid and we would have to pay back this months benefits. To top off being thrown out of their apartments.

If we had even entered the training we would be unable to go to any other place. Swift and pam even as well as central told us we was damaged goods if we went to any testing for Celadon.

I may have placed this on the wrong section of forum but we didn't run with our tails between our legs as Daniel B claims. And by his statement no I'm not the perfect student I have held a CDL permit before and have worked for America trucking Scales trucking and Sargent's trucking and several others from driver in training to mechanic.

I know what to expect and to lay down and play the beaten dog in the corner is not needed other places don't need to lie to get you to the door. We had factors that we had to look at befor we went home. My co driver and my family the extra time before we had any money to pay bills and the fact co driver was a convicted drug felon and couldn't do the hazmat that alone was the send him home we ben told over and over he cant get them . We was happy they took 2 weeks to except him as a felon with drug conviction.

Said it was our EXP but good luck getting a trainer if you do their is a group with cdls at the quality inn on shadeland ave that has their cdls and would love to know who pushed you to the front of the pack to get one they are 6 to 12 weeks in and no trainers.

In motel waiting for Monday class at Central Ref in ATL seen the class and talked to the people their not the first lie been told yet. 1 week hear then to salt lake Utah and 1 week to get cdl and the rest of the 4 to 6 weeks is in a truck with trainer. 375 first 2 weeks after arrival and goes up to 475 around week 6. start pay is .38 with fuel idle and others making it around .44 if you get both.

Still trucking on my mind

There is one guy I know of that is in school with them now (Joe S.) you can read his accounts of whats going on at school in the train section of the forums. Now I am going to be starting with them October 7th as is another member on here. I have talked to my recruiter and asked the hard questions.

They have new rules for students, Yes they put you up in a hotel, yes they pay for your meals, every Friday you get a 50 dollar gift card. They tell you training is three weeks but Joe stated that some students have been there 9 or more do to the lack of trainers to students. Once you finish your time with a trainer 5 to 6 weeks, you must team drive for about one year (160,000 behind the wheel) at a rate of 18CPM. They let you pick your teammate so it can be a experienced driver or a newbie.

Now for the permit part, they will get you your Indiana DL and you will get an Indiana CDL , then you can transfer it to your home state. I was proactive and went and changed my address to IN and got my DL and permit there already. I know thats not an option for most people but was for me.

Wild O, Welcome to the forum!

I'm not sure I can answer all your questions, but let me take a stab at some of it. First off let me say that I know a lady that drove for Celadon for fifteen years - she told me it was the absolute best trucking company she ever worked for. Celadon's school is pretty new and anytime you start an ambitious program like they have there's gonna be some confusion, and some problems that have to be ironed out, and along with that comes changes and adjustments which sometimes don't always get back to the recruiting department until they've got it all worked out. Please don't make the mistake of making an assessment of the company based on the recruiters lack of, or misrepresentation of information. They're working hard to bring in new people, while the goals of management are being shifted and shuffled around to who knows what, without the recruiting department having clear objectives to guide them in their efforts. This happens at a lot of trucking companies, it's not just a problem at Celadon.

Secondly, you really have just got to ignore (and preferably don't even look at) all the crybaby drivel that's posted on the internet about trucking companies. I love this job, work hard at it, and make good money doing it, but I don't have the time nor the inclination to be posting cheer leading comments about how wonderful my employer is. The truth of the matter is that my employer is no different than any other trucking company, they're all trying to do the same thing with the same equipment on the same roadways - there is precious little that differentiates one trucking company from another. Here's where the difference lies: it's in the drivers response to the demands of the job, it's in the commitment of a driver to jump through what ever hoops he's faced with to "get er done" in a demanding environment. People who don't find satisfaction in being creative to overcome life's obstacles don't really make good truck drivers, but they're really good at sitting around the house in their boxers using their parents internet connection to see if they can boast a more outlandish tale than the last guy about how badly the trucking industry raped and pillaged them. It's a fools paradise in most of the internet forums, and a complete waste of time and effort. Most of the forums are demoralizing to anyone genuinely interested in the industry, and they only serve to discourage potentially good drivers with false perceptions of a completely honorable field of employment.

Look, if you want to go to Celadon's school you just jump right in there and go, but go with the understanding that you are going to have to work really hard and prove yourself as a valuable employee who has something worthwhile to offer. And if you haven't figured it out yet, it's not the fact that you have a CDL that means you have something worthwhile to offer. How you handle the things that you are faced with is what makes you an asset to a trucking company. If your miles are down one week, and you're gonna decide it's because the company is trying to keep you down so they don't have to pay you very much, then you should think twice before jumping in to this career. You are not going to get the same amount of pay each week, some folks just don't get that concept because they are not accustomed to getting paid for their performance, but rather enjoy getting paid for just being there whether they did anything productive or not.

Trucking companies get paid to move freight, it's ludicrous that they would purposely not be moving freight just to keep from having to pay their employees. The more they are paying me means the more money they are making. That's how performance based pay works, so don't you start believing all that trash talk you're hearing. I take home some really good pay checks, but it's because I don't back down from a challenge and I don't give in to being lazy when there is work to be done. A truck drivers job is, for the most part, completely unsupervised, he manages his own time and makes his own decisions about how and when he's going to be moving - the amount that is on his paycheck is more based on his actions than anyone else's in the whole organization.

Oh man, forgive me, sometimes I get so frustrated with the current trend of thought among drivers I get carried away with my responses. I'll try and settle down here and tell you that I think it a good idea to go ahead and get your permit before you go. It will take a lot of pressure off you for that first week, and may even get you in a truck faster. Every state has different rules about transferring the license but for the most part it only involves an exchange of money to get it done. I can't answer for your state specifically, but just want to say don't worry about it just do what they require when the time comes.

Oh man, forgive me, sometimes I get so frustrated with the current trend of thought among drivers I get carried away with my responses.

You didn't get carried away at all! I concur with everything you said 100%. It is indeed frustrating to know that so many websites like TheTruckersReport are allowing mountains of bad information and blatant lies all the time. It's frustrating to try to teach people the way things really are when you have a chorus of people screaming lies over top of you.

He said this is because in some states they allow you to drive with a trainer who is a Rep of the state or certified by that state and they just sign off and give you a cdl after you complete so many hours on the road and you aren't tested at the DMV.

I don't believe that's true at all. I've never heard of anything like that. Everyone is tested. That actually describes the system used decades ago with a "chauffeur's license". You didn't need to test to get a license. You just had to have a driver that already had the license sign off that they taught you how to drive. That was like in the 60's or something.

Celadon's school is brand new. It's a gigantic operation they're putting together and there's going to be a lot of confusion and policy changes. But like Old School said, trucking is performance based. It doesn't matter that much which company you work for. If you prove over a period of a few months that you work hard, you're safe & reliable, and you handle yourself like a professional, you're going to get a lot of miles and fair treatment. It's extremely difficult to find good drivers. Prove yourself to be one and you'll do really well in this industry regardless of where you work.

Whichever company you choose, dedicate yourself 100% to getting one year of safe driving in with that company no matter what. Don't try to judge what they're doing or how they're doing it. Rookies don't know enough about the industry to understand how things are done so you just have to roll with it long enough to learn it for yourself. That takes time. So just do what's asked of you, learn your trade, and prove your worth. You'll do great once you've accomplished those things.

Talked with my recruiter the deal on my paper work and saying 240,000 is in the way they train and then hire you. they do not let rookies have a truck alone like some places so they pair you with any Exp driver willing to team so you can get more Exp and they can move more faster.

I have a co driver in my class that's joining with me so we can get a truck after the trainer turns us loose. That's the only way a rookie can get a truck and not have to go with a Exp driver for 240,000.

We will still have to do the 240 but we get to go do it together as a team of rookies.

I had not heard about a 50.00 gift card, she said only at week 4 we would earn 50.00 a day with the trainer paid out in a pay check.

I don't think you was out of line hell I asked on this site because I wished to know things from others.

I will give it my all but as to getting my permit before I go she said I still got to get one their so why pay for it hear as well I'm broke as it is. I cant get a DL in that state or I can go to jail in my state I'm on state assistance if I do they cut my family off. I asked them today and the DMV hear will not allow me to keep my DL if I get it in another state.

The lady said only that I will get my cdl with them that's the reason I have to bring 2 bills with my address on it.

Thanks ill keep my progress posted

Best of luck to ya Wild O!

Work hard, be diligent, and most of all be serious about finishing what you started - Your family is counting on you. If you hit a snag we will always be here, hopefully with some helpful advice. Sometimes it's a hard struggle breaking in to this business, but the future rewards will make the present difficulties fade like a bad dream is gone in the morning. Don't allow a negative attitude to grow in you like a choking weed, and avoid those people at school who exhibit that kind of persona. If you're persistent in your pursuit of this you can do it. I look forward to hearing about your progress.

Thanks for the help I start Monday I'll keep a running update best I can on the day by day works as well to may be help any one else out with how it works.

I got the final on the 50.00 gift card as well its for the weekend gap in the 3 meals a day as they don't feed you on the weekends.

If I make it, their should be a day by day list of what is expected on hear starting Monday night that is if the motel has any wifi for this crap top I'm using.

I hope I can be of help to others this way if nothing else so they don't arrive without the full info they need.

Thanks for the help I start Monday I'll keep a running update best I can on the day by day works as well to may be help any one else out with how it works.

I got the final on the 50.00 gift card as well its for the weekend gap in the 3 meals a day as they don't feed you on the weekends.

If I make it, their should be a day by day list of what is expected on hear starting Monday night that is if the motel has any wifi for this crap top I'm using.

I hope I can be of help to others this way if nothing else so they don't arrive without the full info they need.

I will see you on the 7th so any advice and tips will help. I will actually be coming in on the 5th. Will spend the weekend studying and relaxing. I know they use a few different hotels from around the area but a list of restaurants in the area would be nice so I can pick up a few gift cards.

Ok I start school at celadon soon and have seen all the back lash on other sites and have started to wonder about my choice.

I have been told we have to drive 120,000 miles to settle the contract by one recruiter and go to 3 weeks of class then you get paid 50.00 a week for 6 weeks and don't get into a truck to get paid till 4th week that being the first paid week, starting then to get the 200 hours of road driving. They provide a hotel 3 meals a day for the 3 weeks in class. after you get done training they pay us .36c each mile at forced dispatch. They offer .3c per mile every 17,000 mile a month if dispatched that many. I talked to a few guys that had worked for them and gave me a different story.

They say the pay is on a scale and they try not to give you the miles to get any thing extra. they also said that they had seen others that had been made to drive 240,000 miles before released. I have a letter telling me to be in class and it says new drivers sent out at 240,000 miles as a team driver.

Dose any one know the truth why all the different stories from people and what should I expect?

I also was ready to get my permits in my home state but was told not too because the rules and laws are different at the training schools home state? Is it easy to get a permit in that state or the cdl why not have my permit already?

My home state also says I may have to still come back and get take a cdl test their before I can transfer the out of state cdl? If I have to do this I have to have my own truck and trailer to test in. I stress the may in that statement the state troopers said if it's a paper copy not a hard copy or the test was not given by a department of motor vehicles instructor they do not except it. He said this is because in some states they allow you to drive with a trainer who is a Rep of the state or certified by that state and they just sign off and give you a cdl after you complete so many hours on the road and you aren't tested at the DMV.

So Dose any one know what the real deal is and am I going the long road to a dead end?

OK, let me see if I can clear up some information you are asking about.

First and foremost, don't listen to all the other forums you read. Most of them are full of people that all they want to do is complain. Talk to other students and truckers that work for the company you are interested in.

As of right now they are only recruiting team drivers. And the team has to put in 240,000 mile to complete their contract. As of right now, you don't have to find your own partner. They will choose one for you if you don't have one. And it doesn't have to be an experienced driver. It can be two students going to class together.

As far as the pay, this is only rumor, but I will tell you what I have been told. You make .36 cents per mile split between the two drivers. And you make only that till your "contract" is complete.

Training is "scheduled" for 3 weeks for Quality Driving school. However, with as many people that are here, unless you have a background in trucking or driving of some kind, it is doubtful you will get out in the 3 weeks.

Even if you do get your three weeks in and you get your CDLs, you go back to Celadon and train with them for about 2 weeks. Learning how to do a dock back and their orientation. Where you learn about the company itself and their rules and regulations.

You don't start making any kind of money till after all of that is done and you are out on the truck with a trainer.

While in school you are fed three meals a day and your hotel is provided. There are several hotels in the area that they use so it is hard to know till you actually get here where you will stay.

You get a $50.00 gift card for the weekends to get food with. No you can't cash it in for money. You can get gas, food, etc. with it, but no cash.

Once you get into the truck with a trainer, you will be there from 4 to 6 weeks. After that if he/she feels you are ready you go back to the head office and you will be assigned your own truck. Since you are team driving, if you finish before your team driver, you will have to wait till he is done with his training.

As far as the permits. Don't bother getting them before leaving home. When you get here, you will first have to get an IN driver's license then you will take your tests to get your IN permits. There have been no states that I have seen that they accept other than the IN ones. From what I understand, that is an IN rule, not a Celadon rule.

Some states require you, when you return to take all the test all over again. That you will have to check with your state. I know IL, NY, and CA require you to start from scratch to transfer your license back to their state.

If you need more help, keep up with my posts in the other forum on here.

Keep it safe out there. Joe S

I will see you on the 7th so any advice and tips will help. I will actually be coming in on the 5th. Will spend the weekend studying and relaxing. I know they use a few different hotels from around the area but a list of restaurants in the area would be nice so I can pick up a few gift cards.

I looked at the la quinta inns because they said that would be our stay but I dident find many big name places near by. So take a look outside the main city is what another driver told me. every thing from red lobsters to waffle house just outside the expressway loop around the main city.