Profile For Dave S (formerly known as KnowItAll)

Just went through Birmingham this morning! It was dark still.

Holy cow, I-65 between I-20 and I-459 is stupid rough!!

Pilot TS in Birmingham, AL

Back on January 12th. I-90 somewhere near Saltese Montana (between rest area and weigh station).

Both Springfield and Missoula have certified CDL test examiners now for onsite testing. Trust me, I know these folks and they are tougher the the state examiners...

How does the CDL road test go? Is it through a local DMV office or is it given directly by the company?

Great part, you see it first hand. And, you get to pick your own sound track!!

This is so cool to read how each of you feels this "call to the road" thing ..... for me, this taps into some great YouTube videos of OTR scenic road footage set to music. I'm not out there yet; I know that is one tiny piece in a big trucking picture but apparently it's powerful, persuasive by these little testimonies of y'all ... love it!

When I got sidelined with AFib in Dec, I was anxious about getting back to work quickly. ..... Then I got worse, had my heart shocked and for some strange reason got scared about going back on the road....... Getting ready to head out to get my load in the morning :-D

Laura

Laura, wishing you the best as you continue easing back into routines. Confidence will surely build with activation of all your considerable strengths and resources once again.

If I'm setting at home more than a few days I get board and antsy!! Gotta scratch that itch and feed the monkey on my back!

Things to remember, independent of who you drive for, drive safe, be courteous, don't hit anything, be on time and don't be a butthead.

That was classic! It encourages me greatly. I love seeing people who "get it."

Thank you for the compliment Old School! Means a lot!

Sorry about not replying sooner Cowboy. Things have changed since my training in Missoula. All advanced fleet training is taking place in Springfield. Only regional (western 10) train in Missoula now. The main difference between being on the Jim Palmer side versus the Wil-Trans side is truck numbering. JP drivers will run west mainly and Wil-Trans will run east. However, that doesn't mean you won't see a Wil-Trans drive in Cali and a Palmer drive in Florida. Also, 2020 and newer trucks have Wilson Logistics branding.

The main difference I've observed is, what appears to be, family atmosphere. Prime is a huge company and Wilson Logistics is smaller. At any point you could find yourself having a chat with one of the Wilsons. Another thing is you get all the benefits of a MEGA carrier without the extra hassle.

If you make the decision to come train and drive with Wilson Logistics I don't feel that you'll regret it. Things to remember, independent of who you drive for, drive safe, be courteous, don't hit anything, be on time and don't be a butthead.

Really enjoy your thread Dave S. I am strongly considering JP (Advanced Prime Fleet). I want to run reefer OTR. Do you have anymore info on how things are different running the Prime loads with JP? Also, I live just over 90 miles from Springfield, does JP allow you to take their truck home with you for your hometime or do you have to park it on their yard?

True story...

The day before testing, I completed all 3 backing maneuvers in an amazingly short period of time. On test day, got 3 points because of pull ups.

There are still days where I can't hit the broad side of a barn. While there are days where I can make the hardest of backs look easy. Some time ya got the mojo and others ya don't.

That's an excellent first week!

Was on us54 Wednesday and Thursday. Had to shutdown for a bit in Liberal KS Early Thursday morning. Roads got a tick too snotty for my liking.

Williams AZ Loves Friday November 28th 2019. Took 4 hours to get from Winslow to Williams after ADOT reopened I40. They closed it again about 4PM because of a wreck at mm 113.

Saturday morning trying to leave Williams AZ Loves. What a mess that was! I40 was still a mess because of wrecks. Took Route 66 from mm 123 (Seligman AZ) to Kingman. First 20 or so miles were a little sketchy but opened up to dry pavement all the way.

CA 58 near Mojave California. So cool seeing snowy mountains in the deserts of California.

My first and only time so far was in the first section. With all the employee's 4wheelers around made it challenging.

Holy Smokes!

Congratulations!!!!

Thanks Brett. I couldn't have said it better.

With the contract, it may seem like a trap but it's not. It is a commitment between you and the company. You agree to give them a year and they agree to give you the training, knowledge and tools to be a successful driver.

I've come across several new drivers in the past year that went through abbreviated training programs. Those folks struggled. Struggled with backing, trip planning and time management. Needless to say, they were very unhappy. With less than a year of experience, they felt trapped by a company that doesn't really have any skin in the game. With less than a year of experience, it becomes very difficult to find another job.

Forgot to mention that you'll be getting paid! You get a guaranteed $600 minimum while doing your C-Seat training and $700 minimum while doing B-Seat.

I-90 Ellensberg WA. Perkins next to the loves. I-90 again, this time a Shari's next to Ernie's fuel stop in Moses Lake WA.

I-80 Morris Illinois, R Place at the T/A.

PackRat approved! I'm humbled.

Outstanding!

Sure PackRat. The term "seat" is in reference to the phase of training. D-Seat is the permit phase and is 10,000 miles (although, this can very greatly depending on circumstances). Next is C-Seat. This is the first 10,000 miles after getting your CDL. Next is B2-Seat and is the second 10,000 miles. Third is B1-Seat and is the final 10,000 miles. The solo week miles (about 2500) are included in the B1-Seat total miles.

D-Seat is used to prepare someone to take the CDL pretrip, backing and driving test with some OJT thrown in. C, B2 and B1 seats are where the real magic happens. A person learns not only how to drive but how to be come a Driver. They also learn how to to the job. Like dealing with shippers and receivers, scaling a load, backing into weird places, navigation, dealing with weather and so much more. In theory, one should have a handle on things by the time they get to the solo week.

Hope that was a good explanation.

On the subject of Wilson Logistics I can give ya some insight on the training there. Coming in with a CDL you will skip the D seat training and go directly to C seat training for 20k miles. Then you'll do another 20k (10k B2 & 10k B1 which includes your solo week). May seem like a lot but it will be dispatched team miles.

Those miles are ballpark, your mileage may vary by a few thousand either way. My training mileage was closer to 45k. 6k D seat, 34k C and B seat and 5k solo week (2 weeks LOL). The reason for the extended C and B seat before doing my solo week was because there wasn't a truck for me. My trainer and I burned through the miles to quickly and they weren't ready for me.

Dave--explain the different "seat" terms, please.

On the subject of Wilson Logistics I can give ya some insight on the training there. Coming in with a CDL you will skip the D seat training and go directly to C seat training for 20k miles. Then you'll do another 20k (10k B2 & 10k B1 which includes your solo week). May seem like a lot but it will be dispatched team miles.

Those miles are ballpark, your mileage may vary by a few thousand either way. My training mileage was closer to 45k. 6k D seat, 34k C and B seat and 5k solo week (2 weeks LOL). The reason for the extended C and B seat before doing my solo week was because there wasn't a truck for me. My trainer and I burned through the miles to quickly and they weren't ready for me.

Sadly no. Altgough, I'm 500 miles west of ya. 15:00 appointment at Walmart DC.

Was at PRISLC Saturday night Sunday morning.

That's an area I'll avoid at all cost. Especially US60 west out of Paducah Kentucky.

Sounds about right. I have some video of my cave adventure. One of these days I'll up it to YouTube so I share it with y'all.