Trucking Jobs Training Bellingham WA - Become a Commercial Truck Driver

How to Find the Right Trucker School near Bellingham Washington

tractor truck in Bellingham WA Congratulations on your decision to become a trucker and enroll in a truck driving school near Bellingham WA. Maybe it has always been your fantasy to hit the open road while operating a huge tractor trailer. Or maybe you have done some analysis and have found that an occupation as a truck driver provides excellent income and flexible job opportunities. No matter what your reason is, it’s essential to receive the proper training by picking the right CDL school in your area. When evaluating your options, there are a number of variables that you’ll need to think about prior to making your final selection. Location will undoubtedly be an issue, especially if you need to commute from your Bellingham home. The expense will also be of importance, but choosing a school based only on price is not the ideal method to make certain you’ll get the proper education. Just remember, your objective is to learn the knowledge and skills that will enable you to pass the CDL examinations and become a qualified truck driver. So keeping that goal in mind, just how do you pick a truck driving school? The answer to that question is what we are going to discuss in the balance of this article. But first, we are going to review a little bit about which CDL license you will ultimately need.

Which CDL Will You Require?

Bellingham WA long haul tractor trailer To operate commercial vehicles lawfully within the USA and Bellingham WA, an operator needs to attain a CDL (Commercial Driver’s License). The three classes of licenses that one 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 highlight Class A and B licenses. What distinguishes each class of CDL is the type of vehicle that the driver can operate in addition to 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 Commercial Drivers License is needed to drive any vehicle that has a GCWR of more than 26,000 lbs., including a towed vehicle of greater than 10,000 lbs. Some of the vehicles that drivers may be able to operate 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 CDL is required to operate single vehicles having a GVWR of more than 26,000 lbs., or a GCWR of more than 26,000 lbs. including a towed vehicle weighing up to 10,000 lbs. A few 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 Commercial Drivers Licenses might also require endorsements to operate specific types of vehicles, such as school or passenger buses. And a Class A license holder, with the proper required endorsements, may drive any vehicle that a Class B licensee is qualified to operate.

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How to Evaluate a Truck Driving School

Bellingham WA truck driving school As soon as you have determined which CDL you want to pursue, you can begin the process of evaluating the Bellingham WA trucking schools that you are considering. As earlier mentioned, cost and location will no doubt be your initial considerations. But it can’t be emphasized enough that they should not be your sole concerns. Other issues, for example the experience of the instructors or the reputations of the schools are similarly or even more important. So below are some additional things that you should research while conducting your due diligence prior to choosing, and especially paying for, your truck driver training.

Are the Schools Certified or Accredited ? Not many truck driver schools in the Bellingham WA area are accredited due to the rigorous process and expense to the schools. However, certification is more common and is offered by the Professional Truck Driver Institute (PTDI). A school is not required to become certified, but there are several advantages. Interested students recognize that the training will be of the highest quality, and that they will receive lots of driving time. As an example, PTDI requires 44 hours of real driving time, not ride-alongs or simulations. So if a school’s program is certified (the program, not the school is certified), students know that the curriculum and training will fulfill the very high standards set by PTDI.

How Long in Business? One clue to help assess the quality of a truck driver school is how long it has been in operation. A negatively ranked or a fly by night school normally will not stay in business very long, so longevity is a plus. Having said that, even the best of Bellingham WA schools had to start from their first day of training, so consider it as one of multiple qualifiers. You can also learn what the school’s track record is regarding successful licensing and employment of its graduating students. If a school won’t supply those numbers, look elsewhere. The schools should additionally maintain relationships with regional and national trucking companies. Having a large number of contacts not only points to a quality reputation within the industry, but also bolsters their job placement program for students. It also wouldn’t be a bad idea to check with the Washington licensing department to confirm that the CDL trucker schools you are reviewing are in good standing.

How Good is the Training? As a minimum requirement, the schools should be licensed in Washington and employ teachers that are trained and experienced. We will discuss more about the teachers in the next section. Also, the student to instructor proportion should be no greater than 4 to 1. If it’s any greater, then students will not be obtaining the personalized instruction they will need. This is particularly true concerning the one-on-one instruction for behind the wheel training. And be critical of any school that insists it can train you to drive trucks in a comparatively short time frame. Training to be an operator and to drive a tractor trailer skillfully takes time. The majority of Bellingham WA schools provide training programs that range from 3 weeks to as long as two months, based on the class of license or type of vehicle.

How Good are the Trainers? As previously mentioned, it’s imperative that the instructors are trained to teach driving techniques and experienced as both instructors and drivers. Even though several states have minimum driving time criteria to be certified as a teacher, the more professional driving experience a teacher has the better. It’s also important that the teachers keep up to date with industry developments or any new regulations or changes in existing laws. Evaluating teachers may be a little more subjective than other criteria, and perhaps the best method is to visit the school and speak with the instructors 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.

Enough Driving Time? Most importantly, a great trucking school will furnish ample driving time to its students. After all, 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 simulators and ride-a-longs with other students are necessary training methods, they are no alternative for actual driving. The more training that a student receives behind the wheel, the better driver she or he will be. And even though driving time differs between schools, a reasonable benchmark is a minimum of 32 hours. If the school is PTDI certified, it will furnish at least 44 hours of driving time. Contact the Bellingham WA schools you are looking at and find out how much driving time they furnish.

Are they Independent or Captive ? You can get discounted or even free training from some truck driving schools if you enter into an agreement to be a driver for a particular carrier for a defined amount of time. This is what’s known as contract training, and the schools that offer it are called captives. So instead of having affiliations with many different trucking lines that they can refer their students to, captives only work with one company. The tradeoff is receiving less expensive or even free training by giving up the freedom to initially be a driver wherever you choose. Naturally contract training has the potential to restrict your income opportunities when starting out. But for many it may be the ideal way to obtain affordable training. Just remember to ask if the Bellingham WA schools you are looking at are captive or independent so that you can make an informed decision.

Provide Onsite CDL Testing? There are a number of states that will allow 3rd party CDL testing onsite of trucking schools for its students. If onsite testing is permitted in Washington, ask if the schools you are looking at are DMV certified to offer it. One advantage is that it is more convenient than contending with graduates of other schools for test times at Washington testing locations. It is moreover an indication that the DMV deems the approved schools to be of a higher quality.

Are the Classes Accessible? As earlier noted, truck driver training is only about 1 to 2 months long. With such a brief term, it’s important that the Bellingham WA school you select provides flexibility for both the curriculum and the scheduling of classes. As an example, if you’re having difficulty learning a certain 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 attending training, then the class scheduling must be flexible enough to accommodate working hours or other responsibilities.

Is Job Assistance Provided? As soon as you have obtained your commercial driver’s license after graduating from trucking school, you will be keen to begin your new profession. Make sure that the schools you are looking at have job assistance programs. Ask what their job placement percentage is and what average salary their graduates start at. Also, find out which national and local trucking firms their graduates are referred to for employment. If a school has a poor job placement rate or few Bellingham WA employers recruiting their graduates, it may be a clue to search elsewhere.

Is Financial Aid Available? Truck driving schools are much like colleges and other Bellingham WA area vocational or trade schools when it comes to loans and other forms of financial aid being available. Find out if the schools you are evaluating have a financial assistance department, or at least someone who can help you understand the options and forms that need to be completed.

Trucking Jobs Training Bellingham Washington

Bellingham WA long haul truck Selecting the right truck driver school is an important first step to launching your new vocation as a local or long distance truck driver. The skill sets taught at school will be those that mold a new career behind the wheel. There are a number of options offered and understanding them is critical if you are going to succeed as an operator. You originally came to our website because of your interest in Trucking Jobs Training and wanting information on the topic Class B CDL Training. However, you must receive the appropriate training in order to drive a large commercial vehicle in a professional and safe fashion. If you are short on cash or financing, you might want to consider a captive school. You will pay a lower or in some cases no tuition by agreeing to drive for their contracted carrier. Or you can choose an independent trucking school and have the the freedom to drive for the trucking company of your choice, or one of several associated with the school. It’s your choice. But regardless of how you get your training, you will in the near future be part of a profession that helps America move as a professional trucker in Bellingham WA.

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Bellingham, Washington

Bellingham (/ˈbɛlɪŋhæm/ BEL-ing-ham) is the county seat and most populous city of Whatcom County in the U.S. state of Washington.[6] Located 52 miles (84 km) southwest of Vancouver, 90 miles (145 km) north of Seattle, and 21 miles (33 km) south of the Canada-US border, Bellingham is in between two major metropolitan areas, Seattle and Vancouver, British Columbia. The city’s population was 80,885 at the 2010 United States Census.[7] With an April 1, 2018 population estimate of 88,500 per the Washington State Office of Financial Management,[8] Bellingham is the twelfth-most populous city in the state of Washington.[9]

The city of Bellingham was incorporated in 1903 through the consolidation of Fairhaven, Whatcom, Sehome and Bellingham: four historic towns that settled beside Bellingham Bay.[10] The bay, where the present-day city and the former town of the same name derive their names from, was named Bellingham Bay by George Vancouver upon arriving to it in June 1792. Its namesake, Sir William Bellingham, was the Controller of Storekeeper Accounts of the Royal Navy during the Vancouver Expedition.[11]

Today, Bellingham is the northernmost city with a population of more than 50,000 people in the contiguous United States.[12] The city is a popular tourist destination known for its easy access to outdoor recreation in the San Juan Islands and North Cascades[13]. Bellingham is undergoing redevelopment on more than 100 acres of former industrial land in its Waterfront District[14] with a hotel, conference center, condos, retirement living, retail and commercial development planned for the site.[15]