Phoenix Truck driving school is what you make of it. There are students there who are serious and those who aren't. The instructors are there to help but they're not going to get the CDL for you. I went in focused and although I wasn't perfect, I got my CDL in 5 weeks. Tips: Do not miss any days. Pay attention to your instructor and ask for help if you're not getting the maneuvers. Ask for your road time so you can practice driving and shifting on the road. Even if it's just the kiddie pool (driving around the back roads behind the building) Even if you feel overwhelmed just relax, you'll get it eventually. read more

Absolutely awful experience here. Ghetto area, completely disrespectful instructors, trucks that barely run. I waited three hours for five minutes of time in the truck. Absolutely unacceptable. read more

Great place to learn truck driving. in my opinion this is the best school in the whole valley of the sun for truck driving.

Overall a good school that's reasonably priced, quite accommodating to their students, and gets you quality training. Shayla helped me enroll, and was very patient and understanding while I was going through a grant process to obtain funds to get my CDL. Moving from weekend to weekday classes I I worked with Marvin, T, Brandy, and Will, Randy and J.R. The most. (Instructors) All knew their stuff and helped me more in depth, (breaking down maneuvers stage by stage, pre trip study tips, etc) anytime I asked. I've heard some people complain about stuff at this school, but they were also the same ones putting in zero effort always on their phone goofing off instead of watching and learning or studying. If you want your CDL and an accomating school that works with your schedule this is a good place to go. read more

Veteran abusing fraud school... not enough time driving to get the CDL and Ripoff company treating veterans shabby, stealing money, bait and switch...I'd give 0 stars if it was possible. NOT enough driving time given, and even after good communication by my son with them and them appearing as if they were making an accommodation to allow my veteran son to go to a part time schedule a week later dropped him. GARBAGE SCHOOL BEHAVIORS. they need to be shut down for treating veterans poorly, they also have bad Google reviews and and bad BBB reviews. Phoenix Truck Driving Institute definitely sucks. read more

They were hands on and thorough with their teachings Great instuctors Would have liked more road time but I was able to pass and venture into a new career with the knowledge I did obtain so I Am thankful read more

26 students 1 truck. 8 hour day but you lose 30 minutes to the constant need to do roll call. So down to 7.5 hours. 1.5 hours in the morning doing pretrips put us down to 6 hours of drive time. Lose 30 minutes to be interrupted by students needing the area to test, puts us down to 5.5 hours. That math works out to about 12 minutes per student per day of actual drive time. The rest of the time is spent sitting outside in the sun in the arizona summer. So in a 40 hour week you will be lucky to get 1 hour of actual drive time total. 4 week class, 1 week spent "in class" and 3 weeks spent "on the range". That equals $5000 for 3 hours of driving instruction. Reading old reviews the school seems to say 1 of 2 things, either we are working to make improvements (been using that one for a year) or we don't show that you were a student. When I toured the school it was mentioned there was 4 students per teacher. That is unequivocally false. There is a 1 week backlog to take your test. So calling this a 4 week course is again a false statement. The fastest anyone starting today (or the last few months) could possibly take their final test is 5 weeks. $5000 for 2, 6 minute opportunities to drive per day. For a total of only 3 hours of drive time. Spend your money elsewhere folks. read more

Love the instructors Tim Iesha Dan very good school would recommend them to anyone great job guys. I have my CDL and am working with a fantastic company. read more

To be fair. Will you get your certificate if you buckle down study and ask questions when you don't know something? Yes. Will you be overwhelmed for two months if it's your first time driving a manual semitruck? Yes. Are the instructors knowledgeable? Very my favorites were mexican Danny, Bre ,New jersey kenny , Air Force Tim though he is a bit rough around the edges at the beginning, Sargent Paul , big boss Steve and LaWanda in the office. Come in forgetting what you already know about driving manual and be a student & they won't let you fail point blank period! Timeframe Of completion expect 6.5 to 8.5 weeks just being honest. read more

No, no and no! Period. If you really are in the choosing of a new trucker career, trust me, this isn't the right place. They're always overcrowded. At least in the "weekend classes" they are. What do you expect: -More than 40 hours in front of a screen studying the ELDT. (They don't tell you what you can do it at home and save a lot of time! -Exhausting and stressful time of studying and testing the "pre trip" inspection. -Once you passed the two test I was told, then the super duper frustrating time behind the wheel, where instructors lose their head with the newer students and yelling a lot. -But don't expect too much time behind the wheel. (4-5 students per trip with almost nothing of real training). -After that, they assume you are a professional driver and is when is the time to take your final "over the road" test (with a lot of failures and frustration) -But, if you're good friend of an instructor, you could get better training. Do me a favor and don't waste your time and money and go away from this school. I'm not saying all the instructors are bad people but they always are overcrowded. read more

I had a good time at the Phoenix Truck Driving Institute I have learned a lot from all the instruction read more

Great instructors. Very flexible schedules. Very knowledgeable, they work with you until you get it.

If you're trying to earn your CDL in 4 weeks this is not the school for you it says you can earn it in 4 weeks but that's grandkid if the instructor likes you or your buddy buddy with the instructor you will not receive equal training and nowhere near 160 hours you're sitting around 100 of those hours... If you're looking to learn how to drive a commercial vehicle this is not the school.... There is no organization over who gets to drive or pre-trip the trucks it's all to the trainers... No groups no turns just who the trainer picks out. They just get your money and pile you in and hopefully you will quit so they don't have to train you.. read more

I just graduated with my Class A CDL in 24 days. Each instructor has something different to offer if you just listen to them. If there was down time I studied my Pre Trip or watched other students practicing, I learned a lot from that. The staff is great and they all want you to succeed. Great school. FYI, I am not a paid review and can prove it. I chose the school from three others and I enjoyed going there. read more

The instructors are great, but there is hardly any one on one time, and the school is very over crowded, so there is a lot of sitting around and waiting to get maneuvers in. Plus you have to make sure you are constantly asking for road time. read more

Amazing staff and instructors, first day I was overwhelmed Alex said to me if u don't quit on me I will not give up on u,that man stuck by me and he was man of his word, briat ,Rob ,Aeshah and JoJo stood by me on the range for my parking practice gave me all the information I needed to learn how to park.i am glad I picked this school to get my CDL. Advice for people is to LISTEN to all the instructors they know what they r doing,and the bad reviews for this school comes from people who dont pay attention to the instructors and fail.i passed my test the first time because I was given all the information that was needed. Amazing amazing amazing.thank you for the amazing experience read more

Like anything in life it has good and bad. But Tim, Iesha and Richard really put their hearts in it and made sure the lesson is learned. Thank you all so very much. I'm living my best life right now. read more

After choosing between a few different truck driving schools I chose Phoenix Truck Driving Institute because they were very informative and honest about the program. They were also able to get me started right away. I like the staff and instructors because they are there to help you graduate. I graduated in 5 weeks due to a backup in test dates but that gave me adequate time to perfect my skills so I passed the 1st time i took the test. They also have programs to help find you a job right after graduating. read more

See what had happened was.. where do I begin?! Just like any review you're going to have pros and cons. Did I learn anything from being at Phoenix truck driving institute yes, would I have loved to learn more, absolutely! All staff, instructors and supervisors for the most part were very helpful and push you to always do better and to never give up. Steven aka George Lopez and Tyler were my two favorite. Steven skilled me on my driving and made the learning experience fun. Tyler skilled me on my maneuvers because for the life of me I couldn't get the parallel parking but he drilled it in my head. I took everyone's professional advice and it helped me pass my test. One recommendation for the school is that they need to stop excepting students weekly and over crowd the yard, it really puts a toll on the students. I did meet amazing people that I continue to keep in touch with and some instructors as well. Now I'm a CDL holder and I thank Phoenix Truck Driving Institute for great experience. read more

Large class size and only a handful of instructors and trucks but u get in what u put out. Don't sit around on ur phone when not ur turn on the range. Watch others. Stay close to instructors and soak in as much as u can. CDL schools are to teach you to pass the test. That's it. The basics to pass the test if u wanna learn more ASK QUESTIONS. Didn't have anyone not answer a question or show us something. Instructors all had good experience. U get out what you put in. Manual only so no restrictions on license. Get ur permit by ur self before hand. Saves you 600 bucks and a week with them. If u can't get ur permit on your own don't waste ur time. Ur not gunna make it as a truck driver. Ur literally alone all day. read more

I can tell you already this company and United truck driving school in Riverside and San Diego is setting its students for failure! They are JOKE to the trucking school industry and rob students of a fair opportunity!!!! First there's not enough trucks on the lot in Riverside, let alone the only two trucks have the engine light on! There is no organization among the instructors on the dirt lot, Wayne gives u two pointers and then leaves early. FAILING past students keep coming back on the lot bc they didn't have the resources and the right information to pass the test in the first place, which cuts back on the drive time even more on the current students!!! When they send you to Phoenix you got Tim (tool of an examiner) trying to micromanage the new instructors and cuts the training time for us by a whole hour! "Don" never gives a pass as an examiner so you know his reputation precedes him. The lot in Phoenix is incredibly small, with seven trucks on the lot you would think they'd have one functional, nope! They don't pass an air brake inspection test either during training! I haven't tested yet and I've already heard enough about this facility in Phoenix to know it's not efficient or working to put their students on the road to succeed! So please explain to me how are we suppose to pass the CDL when you don't provide the right working tools for your PAYING students!!???!?!? read more

Hello to all out there!! If you are looking to getting into the truck driving industry I would highly recommend you checking into this company this school will see that to make your dream come true. Such excellent staff to help you achieve that cdl without the high costs like the others that are out there they will go above and beyond to see that you achieve that cdl. Like I did 4weeks and you can be driving I highly recommend this school check them out before you sign up else this is also a manual driving school not a automatic so you won't get the hit on your cdl by learning in a manual that will allow you to drive both not just a automatic check them out people you will thank me later!!! read more

Received my CDL here as the coronavirus has shut down California's DMV testing. Thank God for third party private enterprise!

It had its up and downs for the most part the instructors are really dedicated they weren't always on the same page but they got it together. they need to shorten the classes to prevent overcrowding but most students were on their phone and not paying attention. overall it was worth it and I met some great people and learned what I needed to get otr. read more

Great school! The staff and instructors are amazing and they helped me get through my nerve wracking cdl test.

Randy is a top notch professional manager. He understands the meaning of leadership. He understands the students. Randy is a top decision maker. He understands correct choices and stands by making the right choice. Randy is what makes Phoenix Trucking Institute. It was such a pleasure to meet such a great man! He is outstanding in his knowledge, expertise and service to Phoenix Trucking Institue and their students. I am an Elementary School Educator that attended the Phoenix Truck Driving Institute. Randy was supportive and highly qualified in his field. Your fortunate to have such a highly acclaimed man working for your. company. I am sure all the other trucking schools are envious and.would appreciate your gold mine that you have in Randy. read more

I'm currently nomadic with a disability (brain injury, but not something that would prevent me from driving) and a family military history (only relevant because I'm trying to get help with school to get back on my feet). I'm not broke, just nomadic at the moment. I had a 2pm appointment with Christy--she started this off by arriving more than 40 minutes late. Then, she could barely give me the times of day... My appointment lasted just a couple of minutes; she quickly ran down the school "features", gave me a packet of information, and sent me on my way. No tour of the facility. No discussion of anything else. I went there today to sign up and get back to work, not just discuss the school. So much for that. Fortunately, they're not the only school in town. read more

I didn't like the teaching style. The first 3 days we literally sat in a classroom for 8 hours highlighting the answers that were on the permit test. By the way, they dont tell you that when you're taking the test, there are questions that were not found in the study material. To find those answers, you have to go other websites that help you get ready for the test. I saw there is a lot of favoritism between the instructors and students. Females got a lot of the male instructors attention and there were also teachers pets. They would get special treatment. But if you weren't liked, you were treated badly and talked about not only by the students, but also the instructors. There is no structure. Its all shooting from the hip and here is an example. One instructor said that he takes the first 4 students available to drive on the road. I was in school for 3 weeks before I took a truck on the road but there were students who were in week one and they got to drive because they arrived earlier than others. There were days we only had one instructor watching over 2-3 trucks that students were using. By the way, the trucks are garbage. The transmissions are so worn out that they dont shift properly. There should be more instructors keeping students safe and instructing them. The instructors told us that they are not allowed to instruct us, only make sure we are safe. Each instructor teaches their own way, there is no one way that the school teaches. You'll learn with one instructor and the next day you are with another and he tells you that you are wrong. There is no standard that every instructor will teach. I thought this was ridiculous what I will tell you next. The first two hours of school (5:30-7:30 am) we were not allowed to drive the trucks because it was too dark. I have actually learned more from students than the instructors. After weeks, I felt like I didn't know anything. I was so confused. I signed up to learn how to drive a truck, not just pass a test. I felt the school was disorganized and had no real curriculum. I saw a student be alienated because this student was struggling. This student was struggling because of the disorganized training. Don't waste your time or money coming here. VETERANS BEWARE! DON'T WASTE UNCLE SAM'S MONEY HERE! As you can see, the previous 3 reviews have similar experiences. read more

Special thanks to CDL tester, Daniel Glaze. The California DMVs were shut down due to the Corona Virus, so we tested in Phoenix at the Phoenix Truck Driving Institute. Mr.Glaze was thorough in explaining their process for testing, patient and incredibly professional. I passed all the tests, I appreciate all the schools help in obtaining my CDL Class A. read more

First of all I attended this school with the understanding that I would be done in 2weeks considering I was going 7days a week. The course was supposed to be 120hrs. I did 3weeks almost 200hrs. This school has no structure for the instructors or the students I was given a packet to learn my pre-trip inspection and air brakes. No guidance from the instructors that are new to teaching them selves. Towards the end of my stay I did notice some changes but seem to be short lived. The only lie they don't tell you is that you will get your cdl whether they cheat you through it or you actually pass because of another student took time to help you and teach you. This school is not one to go to. Do your homework before you commit to a school that will not commit to you. read more

I came in with my permit and attempted to gain the license through 1:1 training on backing and road test. My trainer was great, but I was pushed to do the testing at 3am. Being a newbie, I didn't know this was a set up to drain my pockets. Sometimes it will cost you to know when you've been made a fool of. read more

This place is not worth your money, buyer beware. There is no structure whatsoever. Do not give them any money because you will be extremely disappointed. I walked away after 12 hours of my life being wasted that wish I could get back. They may have good instructors, but you need to find one first. I could not believe they do not even introduce themselves. The students did not have a clue because they were given no instruction. The director (who no longer works there that sold me on this turd of a school) begged for me to give them a couple more weeks to get things straightened out. I wish I would of walked out of their open house and never looked back, but I didn't. Shame on me, but now that I know, I will never say anything good about Phoenix Truck Driving Institute. read more

Great operation,speaking with other drivers that trained elsewhere versus my experience I'm so glad I made the choice to go here.it's a family feel,the instructors are top knotch.you'll be satisfied with the choice. read more

Recently graduated from this school. My experience was one that was expected from the staff and instructor's. Jay the lead instructor was amazing, calm and hands down the best at explaining and being patient with new drivers. Driving a tractor isnt as simple as alot of personnel believe. Jay was excellent at insuring students were well prepared and successful when it came time to test. The school is ultimately a student friendly atmosphere with a lot of help and knowledge from the instructors and students around you. Would highly reccomend to anyone looking to get their CDL to go check out Phoenix Truck Driving Institute for all CDL needs!! read more

This school hands you papers on air brakes and incab and you have to learn it by yourself there's no instructors to help you or show you what each part is is not a good school I wouldn't waste my money or the government's money on it read more

The teachers here are awful and simply don't care. They sit around and smoke all day. They assign one truck to eight students so there is usually at least an hour wait to drive the trucks. Then when it is finally time to drive the trucks you get yelled and cussed at by the instructors. Not allowed to be on your phone for the entire hour that you have to wait to drive the trucks that barely run (they have over a million miles on them). But then the teachers can be on their phone but not you. Not worth thousands of dollars by far. read more

Overall it was an ok experience. I had to put a lot of effort on my part to get through the school. It is not as easy as you think unless you have a 5th wheel driving experience and/or standard transmission driving experience. If you have both, this will be a breeze. The instructors were great for the most part. Nothing is perfect, and there's always room for improvement. My only gripe is that I was informed of my State's skills exam the same day I took it, despite being told previously that I'll have a 48 hrs heads up notice. Unprepared physically and mentally, do I need to say I didn't pass the first time? However, they were very accommodating and I had my 2nd try 72 hrs later and I passed. Considering what I have heard from others about their school's experiences, this one fairs much better. Just put up and persevere and LISTEN to the instructors AND WATCH the mistakes of other students, ATTENTIVELY and WITH FOCUS and you'll make it. Good job overall PTDI !! I'm proudly wearing your hat to work as a newly recruited 18 Wheeler Driver. :) read more