Illinois Archives - Become a Commercial Truck Driver

How to Find the Best CDL Training School near Wheeling Illinois

tractor truck in Wheeling IL Congratulations on your decision to become a trucker and enroll in a truck driving school near Wheeling IL. Perhaps it has always been your dream to hit the open road while driving a big ole tractor trailer. Or possibly you have conducted some research and have found that an occupation as a truck driver provides good income and flexible job prospects. No matter what your reason is, it’s important to obtain the appropriate training by enrolling in the right CDL school in your area. When reviewing your options, there are various variables that you’ll want to think about before making your final choice. Location will undoubtedly be important, especially if you need to commute from your Wheeling residence. The expense will also be of importance, but choosing a school based entirely on price is not the best means to make certain you’ll get the right training. Don’t forget, your objective is to master the skills and knowledge that will allow you to pass the CDL exams and become a qualified truck driver. So keeping that goal in mind, just how do you pick a truck driving school? That is what we are going to cover in the rest of this article. But first, we are going to review a little bit about which commercial driver’s license you will eventually need.

Which Commercial Drivers License Will You Require?

Wheeling IL long haul tractor trailer To operate commercial vehicles lawfully within the USA and Wheeling IL, an operator needs to get a CDL (Commercial Driver’s License). The 3 classes of licenses that a driver can apply for are Class A, Class B and Class C. Since the subject of this article is how to pick a truck driver school, we will address Class A and B licenses. What differentiates each class of CDL is the kind of vehicle that the driver can operate as well as the GVWR (Gross Vehicle Weight Rating) or GCWR (Gross Combination Weight Rating). Below are short explanations of the two classes.

Class A CDL. A Class A CDL is needed to drive any vehicle that has a GCWR of more than 26,000 lbs., including a towed vehicle of more than 10,000 lbs. Several of the vehicles that operators may be able to drive with Class A licenses are:

Interstate or Intrastate Tractor Trailers
Trucks with Double or Triple Trailers
Tanker Trucks
Livestock Carriers
Class B and Class C Vehicles

Class B CDL. A Class B Commercial Drivers License is required to drive single vehicles having a GVWR of more than 26,000 lbs., or a GCWR of greater than 26,000 lbs. including a towed vehicle weighing up to 10,000 lbs. Some of the vehicles that drivers may be qualified to operate with Class B licenses are:

Tractor Trailers
Dump Trucks
Cement Mixers
Large Buses
Class C Vehicles

Both Class A and Class B CDLs might also require endorsements to operate certain kinds of vehicles, including school or passenger buses. And a Class A license holder, with the appropriate required endorsements, may drive any vehicle that a Class B licensee is authorized to drive.

Click Here to Get Free Information on Truck Driving Schools Near You!

How to Evaluate a Trucking School

Wheeling IL truck driving school Once you have decided which Commercial Drivers License you want to obtain, you can begin the process of assessing the Wheeling IL truck driver schools that you are considering. As already discussed, location and cost will no doubt be your primary concerns. But it can’t be emphasized enough that they must not be your sole concerns. Other factors, including the reputations of the schools or the experience of the instructors are similarly or even more important. So following are several more things that you should research while conducting your due diligence before selecting, and especially paying for, your truck driver training.

Are the Schools Accredited or Certified ? Very few trucking schools in the Wheeling IL area are accredited because of the stringent process and cost to the schools. However, certification is more prevalent and is offered by the Professional Truck Driver Institute (PTDI). A school is not obligated to become certified, but there are certain advantages. Prospective students recognize that the training will be of the highest standard, and that they will receive an ample amount of driving time. For example, PTDI calls for 44 hours of actual driving time, not simulations or ride-alongs. So if a school’s program is certified (the program, not the school is certified), students know that the curriculum and training will meet the very high standards set by PTDI.

How Long in Operation? One clue to help evaluate the quality of a truck driving school is how long it has been in business. A negatively ranked or a fly by night school usually will not stay in business very long, so longevity is a plus. On the other hand, even the top Wheeling IL schools had to start from their opening day of training, so consider it as one of several qualifiers. You can also ask what the school’s history is concerning successful licensing and job placement of its graduates. If a school won’t supply those stats, look elsewhere. The schools should also have relationships with local and national trucking firms. Having numerous contacts not only points to an excellent reputation within the industry, but also boosts their job placement program for students. It also wouldn’t hurt to check with the Illinois licensing authority to make sure that the CDL trucker schools you are considering are in compliance.

How Effective is the Training? At a minimum, the schools must be licensed in Illinois and hire teachers that are experienced and trained. We will cover more about the instructors in the next section. Also, the student to instructor ratio should not be greater than 4 to 1. If it’s any higher, then students will not be receiving the personal attention they will need. This is especially true concerning the one-on-one instruction for behind the wheel training. And watch out for any school that professes it can teach you to be a truck driver in a comparatively short time frame. Learning to be a truck driver and to drive a tractor trailer skillfully requires time. Most Wheeling IL schools provide training programs that run from 3 weeks to as long as two months, depending on the class of license or kind of vehicle.

How Experienced are the Trainers? As already mentioned, it’s imperative that the teachers are trained to teach driving techniques and experienced as both instructors and drivers. Even though a number of states have minimum driving time prerequisites to qualify as an instructor, the more successful driving experience an instructor has the better. It’s also crucial that the teachers keep current with industry developments or any new laws or changes in regulations. Assessing teachers might be a bit more subjective than other criteria, and possibly the ideal method is to check out the school and talk to the teachers face to face. You can also speak with some of the students going through the training and find out if they are happy with the level of instruction and the teacher’s ability to train them.

Sufficient Driving Time? Most importantly, a great trucking school will furnish lots of driving time to its students. Besides, isn’t that what it’s all about? Driving time is the actual time spent behind the wheel driving a truck. Although the use of ride-a-longs with other students and simulators are essential training methods, they are no replacement for actual driving. The more instruction that a student receives behind the wheel, the better driver he or she will become. Although driving time differs between schools, a good benchmark is a minimum of 32 hours. If the school is PTDI certified, it will provide at least 44 hours of driving time. Check with the Wheeling IL schools you are considering and find out how much driving time they furnish.

Are they Captive or Independent ? You can get free or discounted training from some truck driving schools if you enter into an agreement to be a driver for a specific carrier for a defined period of time. This is referred to as contract training, and the schools that offer it are called captives. So instead of maintaining relationships with numerous trucking lines that they can place their graduates with, captives only work with one company. The benefit is receiving less expensive or even free training by surrendering the freedom to initially be a driver wherever you choose. Obviously contract training has the potential to limit your income prospects when beginning your new career. But for some it may be the only way to get affordable training. Just make sure to inquire if the Wheeling IL schools you are considering are independent or captive so that you can make an informed decision.

Offer CDL Testing Onsite? There are some states that will permit 3rd party CDL testing onsite of trucking schools for its students. If onsite testing is allowed in Illinois, find out if the schools you are looking at are DMV certified to provide it. One advantage is that it is more accommodating than battling with graduates of competing schools for test times at Illinois testing centers. It is also an indication that the DMV believes the authorized schools to be of a higher quality.

Are the Classes Flexible? As earlier mentioned, CDL training is only about one to two months in length. With such a brief term, it’s imperative that the Wheeling IL school you enroll in offers flexibility for both the scheduling of classes and the curriculum. For example, if you’re having a hard time learning a particular driving maneuver, then the instructor should be willing to commit more time with you until you are proficient. And if you’re still working while going to training, then the class scheduling must be flexible enough to accommodate working hours or other commitments.

Is Job Assistance Offered? As soon as you have obtained your commercial driver’s license after graduating from truck driving school, you will be anxious to start your new career. Verify that the schools you are contemplating have job assistance programs. Ask what their job placement rate is and what average salary their graduates start at. Also, find out which local and national trucking companies their graduates are referred to for employment. If a school has a low job placement rate or not many Wheeling IL employers recruiting their grads, it might be a sign to look elsewhere.

Is Financial Assistance Given? Truck driver schools are similar to colleges and other Wheeling IL area vocational or trade schools when it comes to loans and other forms of financial aid being offered. Ask if the schools you are examining have a financial assistance department, or at a minimum someone who can help you understand the options and forms that need to be submitted.

Best CDL Schools Wheeling Illinois

Wheeling IL long haul truck Choosing the right truck driving school is an essential first step to starting your new occupation as a local or long distance truck driver. The skill sets taught at school will be those that shape a new career behind the wheel. There are a number of options offered and understanding them is crucial if you are going to succeed as an operator. You originally came to our website because of your interest in Best CDL Schools and wanting information on the topic CDL Classes Near Me. However, you must obtain the proper training in order to operate a big commercial vehicle in a professional and safe manner. If you are short on cash or financing, you might want to look into a captive school. You will pay a lower or even no tuition by agreeing to drive for their contracted carrier. Or you can enroll in an independent trucking school and have the the freedom to drive for the trucking company of your choosing, or one of several affiliated with the school. It’s your choice. But regardless of how you get your training, you will in the near future be entering an industry that helps our country move as a professional truck driver in Wheeling IL.

Truck On in These Other Illinois Locations

CDL Training Requirements Willow Hill IL

Getting Your CDL Wasco IL

CDL Course Millington IL

School Truck Driver Byron IL

Cost For CDL Training Oakdale IL

Tractor Trailer Training School Sidell IL

Certified CDL Truck Driving Schools Cornell IL

How To Obtain A Class A CDL Galesburg IL

Professional Driver Training Knoxville IL

How To Obtain A Class A CDL Odell IL

The location could not be found.

Wheeling, Illinois

Wheeling is a village in Cook and Lake counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. A suburb of Chicago, it is primarily in Cook County, approximately 23 mi (37 km) northwest of downtown Chicago. The population was 37,648 at the 2010 census.[5] Wheeling is named for Wheeling, West Virginia.[6]

According to the 2010 census, the village has a total area of 8.74 square miles (22.6 km2), of which 8.74 square miles (22.6 km2) (or 97.26%) is land and 0.24 square miles (0.62 km2) (or 2.74%) is water.[7]

The climate in Wheeling can be classified as temperate. Winters are usually very cold and snowy. Summers are often hot and humid, but can be pleasantly warm as well. Precipitation is uniformly distributed throughout the year.