High Road CDL Training vs CargoSkills: After the Licence
High Road Training helps you pass the CDL written tests. Here is what to study once the licence is in your hand and the first real load is waiting.
High Road Training vs CargoSkills is not really a contest, because they do different jobs at different times. High Road helps you prepare for the CDL tests. CargoSkills starts where the tests end: the first week with a real truck, a real load and a shipper who is in a hurry. Many drivers use one before the other, and this page shows where the line between them sits.
What High Road Training is and who it is for
High Road Training was built by the founder of TruckingTruth.com, and the original program ran on that site. It is a study program that prepares you for the CDL permit and endorsement tests.
From its own site, here is what it offers:
- Step-by-step lessons.
- Short quizzes with hints and explanations.
- Review sessions that target your weak areas.
- Coverage of general knowledge, vehicle inspection, driving safety and combination vehicles.
- Endorsement material: air brakes, hazmat, tankers, doubles and triples, passenger and school bus.
- Practical trucking knowledge such as logbook rules, weight and balance, and cargo securement.
- A free start, so you can try a few pages first.
If you have never driven a truck and you must pass a written test next month, this is a sensible place to study. The material is built for exactly that goal. Its site says the aim is to help students prepare and gain confidence.
Where test prep stops
A written test asks what you know. A shift asks what you do at 5 a.m. in a cold yard with a load that someone else loaded.
Here is the gap, with load securement as the example. A test can ask you a question about tie-downs. It can check that you know straps and chains exist and that a load must not move. It cannot put a stack of lumber in front of you and ask how many tie-downs it needs, which straps you would choose, where the edges will cut the webbing, or when you will stop to check them.
That kind of knowledge comes from doing the work, or from a coach who has done it. Other things a licence test only touches lightly:
- The first miles. A load settles. A strap that was tight in the yard is loose after the first bumps. The habit of stopping to recheck is not a test answer, but it saves loads.
- The paper. What to check on a bill of lading before you sign, and what to write when the count is wrong.
- The customer. How to talk to a dock supervisor who says you can leave the strap off "just this once".
- The decision to say no. A defect, a bad load or a task you are not trained for.
None of this is a fault in test prep. It is simply outside the job that test prep does.
What CargoSkills does instead
CargoSkills teaches the work in lessons of about five minutes each. You can do one in a truck stop, at the dock while you wait, or in the sleeper before you sleep. Each lesson has one situation from the road, yard or dispatch desk, and the exact checks and steps to take.
Take the track named Tie-Down Fundamentals. Its lessons are:
- Why cargo moves: the forces on a load when you brake, turn and bounce.
- Choosing between straps, chains and binders for a given load.
- Calculating how many tie-downs a load needs.
- Using edge protectors, blocking and bracing correctly.
- Rechecking securement in the first miles and at every stop.
Say you are hauling a stack of lumber on a flatbed for the first time. The test taught you the words. These lessons teach you the sequence: think about how the load wants to move, pick the right tie-down, count with a margin, protect the edges, and then stop and look again after a few miles. For the full picture, read our load securement guide for truck drivers, and for counting in detail see how many tie-downs a load needs.
CargoSkills uses plain English, short sentences and terms explained in the lessons, because many drivers learn in a second language. It does not copy any one country's rules. It teaches good practice, and it tells you to follow your employer's procedure and the rules where you work.
Side by side
| High Road Training | CargoSkills | |
|---|---|---|
| Main goal | Pass the written permit and endorsement tests | Do the job well after the licence |
| Format | Lessons, quizzes and review of weak areas | Five-minute lessons built on one real situation each |
| Best moment to use it | Before the test | After the licence, and for refreshers any time |
| Topics | Permit and endorsement preparation | Inspections, securement, rest, paperwork, docks, dispatch, the road |
| Who it serves | Future drivers | Drivers, dispatchers, dock crews and fleet managers |
| Price model | Free to start | Per learner or team seats |
Who should pick which
Pick High Road Training if you are still studying for the permit or an endorsement test. It was made for that.
Pick CargoSkills if you already hold the licence, have started driving, or work around trucks as a dispatcher or dock worker. It is also useful if you passed the test but still feel unsure at the shipper's gate.
Use both if you are close to the end of your studies. Finish the test material first. Then, while you wait for your first assignment, work through a track such as Tie-Down Fundamentals so you arrive with a method and not only with answers.
Questions people ask
Is High Road Training enough to be a good driver?
It is built to prepare you for the written tests. Being a good driver also needs hours behind the wheel, a mentor, and practical habits you build on the job. Short lessons on real situations can speed that up.
Can I use CargoSkills to pass the CDL test?
CargoSkills is not test prep, and it does not follow any one state's manual. Use a study program for the test. Use CargoSkills for the work that comes after.
Does it matter which one I start with?
Start with the one that matches your next step. If your next step is a test, start with test prep. If it is your first week on a truck, start with the job lessons.
Do I need a company to use CargoSkills?
No. A driver can learn alone. Fleets can also give lessons to a whole team.
Learn this in five minutes
The track Tie-Down Fundamentals gives you short lessons on why cargo moves, how to choose and count tie-downs, how to protect edges, and how to recheck a load in the first miles. Do one lesson before your next flatbed load and see the difference in how you walk around the truck.