SCCTC CDL Training Center instructors Brian Eso (above, left) and Dale Fisher (right) flank current student drivers (from left) Josh Harris of Tunkhannock, Corey Miller of Laceyville, and Cody Quick and Mike Noldy of Lawton in front of the new truck donated to the school by Kenworth of PA.
The CDL Training Center at the Susquehanna County Career & Technology Center (SCCTC) was established with the support of companies in northeast Pennsylvania that have a growing need for certified CDL drivers. Kenworth of PA recently joined the growing number of companies that have made significant contributions to the CDL Training Center at the Susquehanna County Career & Technology Center (SCCTC).
Student drivers now have an opportunity to practice their driving skills with a 2016 Kenworth T680, which has a sleeper cab. Like previous equipment donations to the school, the extended cab provides another level of training that addresses another option for program graduates.
A sleeper cab is about three feet longer than a conventional day cab and therefore has a slightly different feel as it moves down the road. It’s simply more truck to maneuver. “If they can drive that, they can drive a day cab,” instructor Dale Fisher said of the new apparatus.
“If they want to do long-hauling rather than driving water tankers, this will help prepare them for that,” said SCCTC executive director Alice Davis. “You’re getting used to moving something bigger than a dump truck.”
At 560,000 miles, the mileage on the donated truck is typical of one that has been driven for five years. “It’s barely broken in,” Fisher remarked. Both instructors, with a combined 45 years of professional on-road experience between them, were thrilled with the condition of the cab when it arrived.
“It was super clean – just like new,” instructor Brian Eso noted. “Whoever drove it took perfect care of it.”
“It drives like a dream,” Fisher added.
“The air suspension keeps the cab nice and level,” said Eso.
The new truck, in addition to a trailer donated by Eastern Freight at the end of 2020, extends the fleet of apparatus available to the students.
“We have enough vehicles now to give them ample time to practice so they feel comfortable when it comes time for testing,” Davis related. “And of course it was a great financial boost to the program. It’s one less piece of equipment that we will have to purchase. I know we wouldn’t have been able to purchase one like that for quite a while.”