Driving School Lodging: Roadmaster

Hey guys,

I just received my Roadmaster starter pack via e-mail and printed it out. It notes that DL, endorsements, physical, permit, drug test are out of pocket expenses and then it says that lodging is also an out of pocket expense. 26 nights in a hotel for a sizable sum.

So, is this usually not included in the financed part or "paid by the company you drive for" part?

Would you drive two hours each way to avoid the extra cost?

I'd be leaving at 4:30 am and returning home about 9:00 pm. Not too bad.

Anyway, let me know.

Personally I'd check out the class and see if there were a fellow student with whom to partner up and share a room and expenses with at least for a portion of the period to avoid any possible performance consequences secondary to the added time required by the drive. I would imagine being as well rested as possible is important. I suppose it goes on to be a cost/ benefit analysis, looking at how much you will spend in fuel versus a portion of a modest hotel room. I, as I'm sure all here do, wish you the best of luck.

Personally I'd check out the class and see if there were a fellow student with whom to partner up and share a room and expenses with at least for a portion of the period to avoid any possible performance consequences secondary to the added time required by the drive. I would imagine being as well rested as possible is important. I suppose it goes on to be a cost/ benefit analysis, looking at how much you will spend in fuel versus a portion of a modest hotel room. I, as I'm sure all here do, wish you the best of luck.

Thanks Slim. I think I need the hotel room if for nothing else- to study hard.

It will be next to impossible to study at home with my daughter trying to play for me.

Plus the cost of gas. The hotel is where I need to be.

thanks

Two hours each way = four hours of your life, daily. Not counting the "energy" needed for the drive. Yes, driving is your potential career, but commuting is a bit different.

AirBNB might help you find an inexpensive place to say?

Which Roadmasters are you looking at going to? I went to the one in Tampa, FL. Yes those things were out of pocket, but the permit test was free if you went to the dmv or 7.25 if you went to the tax collectors. I know things vary from state to state. As to the travel time, I drove an hour each way. The way I figured it, if I couldn't handle driving an hour or two to school I had no business becoming a professional driver. But hey, that's just me.

FYI - I read a Roadmaster school just opened up in Bethlehem, PA.

Would you drive two hours each way to avoid the extra cost?

depends on where i live.... is that 2 hours total or two hours each way and is that 2 hours sitting in stop n go rush hour traffic or just 2 hours cruising down the freeway. It also depends on if the gas to drive is cheaper than lodging. depending on your vehicle it might. look at extended stay hotels (both that brand name and the concept... so extended stay, studio 6, etc). if you drive one of those giant pick ups getting barely 20 mpg a hotel nearby might be cheaper at an extended stay rate. I lived in a studio 6 for about 6 months at one point... once I became tax exempt (from staying for 2+ weeks... it's a texas thing) my rate was $214 a week all utilities covered, just had to pay for food and hotel. say you're looking at a 3 weeks that's $642 for lodging. Since you said it's 2 hours driving each way I'm going to assume about 100 miles (that's to account for slower than 60 mph speed limits, heck you might be driving 75 in 60mph zones i don't know), depending on fuel economy that could be 10 gallons a day in gas. In TX that'll run you about $25. so now that makes 150 in gas per week (6 days a week is what it seems most schools are) so that's $450 for the 3 weeks. so you can spend $450 in gas or $642 for lodging. but you also need to account for the fact you gotta get up earlier than everyone else and you'll get home later. can you handle waking up super early?

I would rather spend the extra $192 and just live nearby the school if I could afford it, but that's just me. waking up 3 hours earlier to save a couple hundred doesn't appeal to me because with that earlier wake up you have to factor in your attention span, you're not going to get 8 hours of sleep, probably not even 6, 5 if you're lucky and pick up fast food for dinner on the way home.

yeah i'm pretty decent at crunching numbers for things like this.

Would you drive two hours each way to avoid the extra cost?

depends on where i live.... is that 2 hours total or two hours each way and is that 2 hours sitting in stop n go rush hour traffic or just 2 hours cruising down the freeway. It also depends on if the gas to drive is cheaper than lodging. depending on your vehicle it might. look at extended stay hotels (both that brand name and the concept... so extended stay, studio 6, etc). if you drive one of those giant pick ups getting barely 20 mpg a hotel nearby might be cheaper at an extended stay rate. I lived in a studio 6 for about 6 months at one point... once I became tax exempt (from staying for 2+ weeks... it's a texas thing) my rate was $214 a week all utilities covered, just had to pay for food and hotel. say you're looking at a 3 weeks that's $642 for lodging. Since you said it's 2 hours driving each way I'm going to assume about 100 miles (that's to account for slower than 60 mph speed limits, heck you might be driving 75 in 60mph zones i don't know), depending on fuel economy that could be 10 gallons a day in gas. In TX that'll run you about $25. so now that makes 150 in gas per week (6 days a week is what it seems most schools are) so that's $450 for the 3 weeks. so you can spend $450 in gas or $642 for lodging. but you also need to account for the fact you gotta get up earlier than everyone else and you'll get home later. can you handle waking up super early?

I would rather spend the extra $192 and just live nearby the school if I could afford it, but that's just me. waking up 3 hours earlier to save a couple hundred doesn't appeal to me because with that earlier wake up you have to factor in your attention span, you're not going to get 8 hours of sleep, probably not even 6, 5 if you're lucky and pick up fast food for dinner on the way home.

yeah i'm pretty decent at crunching numbers for things like this.

I crunch numbers the same way and staying at the hotel for $40/ night is the better choice.

I crunch numbers the same way and staying at the hotel for $40/ night is the better choice.

yeah after I posted it I thought about the serious lack of sleep and thought to myself... it could be $80 a night and it would still be better. I just can't imagine trying to learn CDL stuff and driving a truck on 4 hours, maybe 5 max. There's a reason why DOT makes you take a 10 hour break... that's actually more than I would need, I sleep on avg 6-7 hours a night and that's enough for me to be up all day no problem, I go to college on that little of sleep.