Well, if I want to get back into trucking I need to go to school again. I was originaly trained at SNI about 7 years ago. Got out of trucking soon after and now may be heading back. All indications are I will need to re-take the CDL training.

Natch I prefer this time to do an independant school. The ONLY one I am aware of in my area is Fox Valley Tech. I was wondering if anyone else had either used them or seen what their students can and can not do.

I do feel like I would have a bit of a leg up as I have diven a truck before and the occasional dump truck here and there in the last 7 years to help out a friend. So long story short - the truck isn't new to me and I feel comfortable round the truck with a wagon....

Any input on FVT?

 

I went to Sun Prairie in '78 and at the Time it was one of the best in the Country-I don't know about now but they did have a very good reputation.
You also have NWTS down your way.
Maybe if you went with Roehl you'd only have to get a refresher-Not sure.

 

I remember Sun Prairie (I think - was that the one where we were supposed to "Call Terry...")

 

Run, don't walk, away from Sun Prairie. They are nothing more than a 2 week CDL mill now. That's where I went back in 1997, and they are about as low on the totem pole as you can get.

FVTC is your best bet. A good school, all around. Lots of other schools send their students there to use the skid pad.

 

wow-That's surprising and Sad-Back when I went to it was one of the Best.
Skid Pad is the one of the very best things a driver can go to if possible-I went to it after driving close to 20 yrs. You CAN teach a driver new tricks :P
Went to the one near La Crosse(or Eau Claire). Forget exactly where it is now :P

 

What I heard when I went there, was that the owner of Diesel Driving School lived out in Vegas, and had all the profits from the school sent there. They were using old SNI cabovers back then, but have switched to conventionals, I believe.

I got my CDL from them with a grand total of about 10 miles of actual on-the-road driving under my belt. The rest was spent doing straight line and dock backing in the yard.

 

I'll second that! I was an instructor in a school in Green Bay until 1999, I was training a guy from NC who's brother was in Sun Prairie at the same time. The first time this guy made a left turn was on the CDL test! LOL. I'm sure he was exagerating a tad, but the guy was honestly upset when his borther and he would compare training days. The last I heard, Sun Prairie is now a Swift primary school.

 

We ran quite a few miles back then and they were very thorough and the Instructors were pretty tough.

Back in '78 there weren't Many Conventionals Existing so yeah we had COE's. :P

 

I forgot to mention: None of the COE's had heat - and it was mid-January. :sad:

 

I am a graduate of Chippewa Valley Technical College truck driving program in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. Both CVTC and Fox Valley have outstanding driving programs. My first 3 months on the road was tough but I had excellent training from CVTC that carried me through those months. I highly recommend either technical college for your CDL training.

Soladad