I had a really great experience here. Starting was easy and cheap !John is very welcoming, caring and has a lot of knowledge on trucking. He had many stories to tell about his days trucking and mistakes he made so we won't do the same. he also showed us many learning videos and even ones of mistakes, not to scare us but to ensure safety and show the real world of trucking. We practiced paper log books so we don't look like fools if we had to do one with a company. He also gives us many companies to apply to and showed us how to check companies backgrounds. John seemed proud of me passing my DMV test which shows how much he cares about his students. Kenny was my driving instructor and he is very patient, detailed, and genuinely cared about making sure I learned everything the right way. He didn't just rush me through the course he made sure I understood the skills and safety behind driving, however I am a quick learner and was at the range for 4 weekends ( Could have been 3 but he wanted to make sure I was 100% for my DMV test so he did a mock test with me the weekend before my actual test) . He had many tips and tricks to learning fast. He pays a lot of attention to every student and makes sure all our needs are met! I had lots of time on the road and practicing skills. I'd definitely recommend Kenny as a driving range instructor he's knowledgeable and cool to be around ! Mike was okay, I had him on my first day and didn't really learn much from him. We did the air brake test then he left me with another student who was great but it felt a bit awkward. Mike seems to get pretty frustrated easily which can make you feel more nervous/stupid. He talks a bit too much about things that aren't important for training. Adam took me to take my driving test at the DMV, that was my first day meeting him. He was very professional and kind. He was very proud of me for passing on my first try! I feel confident starting my career because of the training I got here. SHOW UP, STUDY AND PAY ATTENTION! Don't be the person who's there for many weeks overtime! Highly recommend!! read more

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I had a great experience with John Wheeler CDL school instructors. Both in class and range. They are friendly, they motivated and shared their work experience with me., which is a great addition to regular CDL school program. read more

Got my CDL from the first try. Friendly stuff, allowed me extra training time with no extra charge.

Huge waste of time straight up disrespectful. John/Yannis will say whatever you want to hear when it's time to sign up. Then you won't hear from him again and he's not at the school. 3 week program is not 3 weeks it's more like 6 weeks. In 5 weeks I've had around an hour of behind the road time which is ridiculous. For 3 weeks there was no manual truck to drive even though you pay $500 extra for manual. Instead of doing pre trip on one of the 10 broken down trucks they have, Mike does it on one of the 2 running trucks meaning you can't drive that one. So much time sitting around doing nothing. You have to be there for 8 hours to maybe get a chance to drive the truck and it's not 100%. 0 structure to the school so inefficient. Definitely try another school cause this shit made me go crazy. read more

Yes this place is much cheaper than the rest of the schools, but it shows. The instructors are not on the same page as one another and don't effectively communicate with the entire student body, just telling some people information and going about their day, leaving those who weren't told confused. PLEASE DO NOT pay extra for the class time it is seriously a waste of money. All you do is watch a few YouTube videos for the first 2 days and then you go to https://www.cristcdl.com and take practice tests while the instructor sits there. Easily you can do this at home and save 500 bucks or whatever they charge. Instructors: I like Kona the most. He is there to teach and seems like he cares about people learning good habits and a thorough pre trip inspection. Mike doesn't seem to give a fuck. You can ask him questions and he will tell you the answer but then you have to listen to his war stories about being in JSOC. Will also constantly interrupt people to tell stories when they are doing their pre trip inspections. Also shit talks the owner a bit. Adam is a nice guy and seems knowledgeable, but he is never there, always on the road with people, which is needed, but having different instructors do ride-a-longs gives new insight into what the driver should be doing. Yannis is cheap. He owns the company, doesn't buy fans for the range, no place to be cool. Biggest gripe is that instructors were getting to the range at 6:15 AM so if you got there early (supposed to start at 7 AM) you could do pre trip and start backing up earlier in the day. Yannis said that the instructors were getting too much OT that way and forced them to come at 7 instead. It's the middle of the summer. EVERYONE wants to be there early before it hits 110 degrees for the day. Everyone except for Yannis who just sits in his office all day. Never once saw him on the range. As a whole they need to hire another person so two people can be driving at a time, one can help with pre trip/air brakes test and the other can help with backing skills. They should also look at getting a different place to practice backing skills or build a shed for people to sit in. On the range: trucks are being worked on constantly, so you may have to wait 45 minutes between turns testing your backing skills. They didn't even have a real drive schedule until about my 4th week on the range (6th week in the program). I didn't even get to drive a truck until my 3rd week on the range (5th week in class). They promote that the class is 4 weeks, with 2 weeks in class and 2 weeks on the range. No one that I talked to the whole time I was there could test within that timeframe. I also saw at least 3 people have to reschedule their test for 2 weeks later as the truck batteries kept dying. I live in Peoria, so I drove 45 minutes to the range and half the days I wouldn't even get to drive the truck so it was a waste of time and gas. I remember reading a review that said it's just "a big empty lot" that they drive on. This is correct. If you are going to take this school in the Summer please be aware- There is no where to cool off other than your car. They have one tarp set up that gives a little bit of shade, but other than that you are standing in the sun for 8 hours if you decide to stay there all day. Pros: Cheap, a couple good instructors Cons: Program takes longer than they say, trucks have break downs (frequently), don't get consistent drive time, no place to stay cool, poor communication, not enough instructors. I am also convinced that some 5 star reviews are the instructors spouses. One review is just of Mike for some reason, although he did ask me specifically to give him a good review when I passed my CDL test, so maybe just a student that felt they needed to post that. I think the weekend class review was real, on the weekend it is an accelerated course, so while it takes longer because you only have Sat/Sun to work, you get to work with Kona, and you don't have to quit your weekly job. read more

The John Wheeler CDL School offers excellent weekend options, which aligned perfectly with my schedule. The first two days consisted of weekday classroom, but after that, the classes transitioned to weekends. The program lasted 8 weeks and was more affordable to other schools. The owner, John, was exceptional, and it was that he has a passion for teaching. Although they not have simulators yet, but they mentioned that they would be available soon. If you attend the weekend classes, I recommend the instructor Kona. He was patient, thorough, and knowledgeable.The weekend classes are small so they can do more one on ones if someone needs more help Some of the group had no prior experience pulling a trailer, let alone backing up or parallel a semi-truck. Kona addressed all our questions, no matter how basic, and explained the concepts in simple terms. Upon completing the course, Kona asked to hear about my test results. I passed on my first attempt. My first call was to my wife, and my second was to Kona. It was an outstanding experience. Additionally, sure to bring sunscreen and water for the range portion of the program. read more

Attended John Wheeler trucking School recently. My instructor was Mike Mollick. Great guy who has the knowledge , temperament, and right attitude for the job. Learned a lot from Mike and his experience of truck driving. Thank Mike read more

A waste of time, not what they say they are. If you visit the website it is loaded with pictures of beautiful trucks, driving simulators etc... Doesn't exist. I signed up in late April and they promised I would be done by end of May. Well... That 4 weeks course turned in to over 8 weeks. See the equipment they show is not what they have, they have three trucks, two 700K plus mile very used Peterbilt trucks and a day cab Penske leased/rental truck for the automatic students. Constantly broken or out of fuel there have been many times we just sat all day because of no trucks to drive. The "range" is an old Food City parking lot at Broadway and Country Club across from the Off Road Warehouse. Originally the instructors were not very good. My very first day I introduced myself to Instructor Mike who told me go do backing exercises. I said I don't know how to drive a truck. He said "I don't want any of your F'n excuses" NO, I paid for instruction. I switched to weekdays. The two guys there, Jeremy- Lead and Brian - Asst were no better. Just sat in the shade did nothing. They got let go. Let's say do your research before you buy. Hopefully they get better. They did get new better instructors. read more

John Wheeler CDL School - The instructors seen here just sat in the shade and talked bad about students. - Driving Schools Near Me - Mesa, Arizona

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Great place to learn and to get you ready to receive your CDL. Get you on the road for success . Highly recommended.