Trans American Tech Institute

"I was here for 6 weeks to get my CDL A. Has some pros and cons. It is the only CDL school I have ever attended so I have nothing to compare it to. Course was 240 hours total. Classroom hours were extremely boring. Not much of any instruction in classroom just a lot of independent studying. Simulators are old and do not work. Not even hooked up to electricity. Yard trucks used for practice backing up are automatic transmission and practice area is not paved. You must pass backing skills portion of test in a manual transmission on pavement which is a very different situation. Road trucks are manual trans and well maintained so that is a plus. Usually on road trips there is 3 students per truck and each one takes an hour turn. I was told before I enrolled I would get at least 44 hours of behind the wheel time. I kept track and I actually got about 30 hours behind the wheel time. I discussed this with the owner and he told me they count observation time as behind the wheel time which I strongly disagree with. It seems as though management wants the trucks used as little as possible (probably to reduce maintenance costs). Good things about the school are it is pretty laid back. You can miss a day or 2 if you have to (you will have to make up missed time). Instructors are very good people. The 2 that took us out on the road trips were really laid back while still being engaged and supportive. I failed my test and they let me come in for extra practice which was awesome. The instructors even took me out for an extra road trip right before my second road test. Overall I'm glad I went here. I got my CDL which is what I set out to do. I know CDL schools have sketchy reputations and despite the cons I think this is a decent school."