Bill desRosiers
External Affairs Coordinator, Cabot Oil & Gas

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[Editor’s Note: Kenworth, the manufacturer of some the biggest, baddest vehicles out there, is helping the CDL training center at SCCTC!]

Companies in northeast Pennsylvania like Cabot have a growing need for certified CDL drivers. The CDL Training Center at the Susquehanna County Career & Technology Center (SCCTC) supports this need. Kenworth of PA recently joined the growing number of companies that have made significant contributions to the CDL Center.

Student drivers now have an opportunity to practice their driving skills with a 2016 Kenworth T680 with a sleeper cab. Like previous equipment donations to the school, the extended cab provides another level of training. This opens up other options for program graduates.

A sleeper cab is about three feet longer than a conventional day cab. Therefore, it 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 Kenworth truck is typical of one that has been driven for five years. “It’s barely broken in,” Dale remarked. Both instructors, have a combined 45 years of professional on- road experience between them. They were ecstatic about the cab’s condition. “It was super clean – just like new,” instructor Brian Eso noted. “Whoever drove it took perfect care of it.”

“It drives like a dream,” Dale added. “The air suspension keeps the cab nice and level,” said Brian. The new Kenworth 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,” Alice 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.”