Comments By Cowboy

Sat, 14 Dec, 2019

Well, as with most things in life, things change rapidly. Wilson Logistics could not put me in their program because I could not verify my two years of self-employment as a hay-farmer (did cash only business and didn't file taxes as a business). So, I could only show the last two years of verifiable employment. No biggie and I respect Wilson Logistics for their standards. Anyway, I'm back to my original plan of going with Roehl.

My Roehl recruiter, Ryan, is really good and patient. I just happened to have a vacation day on Friday so after a lengthy phone interview with Roehl on Thursday, I drove an hour to Kansas City and got my DOT Med Card and did a urine and hair follicle drug test. I then drove back to Warrensburg, MO and passed all three of my test for the CLP. The permit costs $42.50 in Missouri, so I'll have to wait till next Friday (Payday) to go pay and get my permit. Everything else is done and I am tentatively scheduled to start the GYCDL in Marshfield, WI on Jan 13.

I will be assigned to the National Fleet (Dry-van) OTR, which is what I wanted. The cool thing is Ryan had me upload my DDForm 214 (Military Documents) so that my assigned truck (assuming I pass and do well with my training) once I go Solo will have a nice Honors Program decal on the sides for veterans. Nice touch.

FYI: Information on TT and other places is a little outdated, as the starting mileage pay for GYCDL solo drivers is now 36.5 CPM; 42 CPM for flatbed.

So, now I'm spending some quality time with my wife this weekend without having to study for those written tests (first weekend in a month). I'll be giving my two-week notice next Friday (a little early because my supervisor's going on vacation and I don't want him to be blind-sided when he comes back after the New year). My wife is excited as well---she's my best cheerleader and really lets me know how supportive and proud of me she is. Can't ask for more.

One last word about how things don't always work out as planned, but somehow work out better: With Roehl, I will be a paid employee on day one of training and I will run National Fleet, out 11-14 days (under normal circumstances) and home for three days. Wilson Logistics would have me out 21 days and home for 3-4 days. I believe Roehl will be a better fit for my wife and I after all.

That's it for now. Stay safe.

Thanks Army.

Just looked at Wil-Trans site and over the past 24 hours it now redirects you to their new site, as does Jim Palmer, it is now wilsonlogisitics.com. On that site it now states that you have to acquire your CLP from homestate and a DOT Physical prior to showing up for day one of training. No biggie to me, but apparently Jim Palmer and Wil-Trans are now, together called Wilson Logistics, as one trucking company. It also states that their starting mileage pay is .44 CPM

Well, my current employer has just forced me to move up my plans. We had our end of year financial meeting yesterday. As of Jan 1st every hourly employee, which includes me, will get a .50 cent/hour raise (WooHoo). Then they turned around and said that as of Jan 1st through the end of March, nobody will be allowed to work more than 32 hours per week, and you can't use vacation time to make up the difference. Well, that computes to a $330/month CUT in my take home pay for the first quarter of 2020. My family can't live on that, even with my wife's income included. My wife and I discussed it at length last night. Her opinion is to quit talking about it and just do it.

I'm applying with Wilson Logistics this Friday and pray that I can get accepted into their training program in January. Fingers crossed.

Check with Millis and Roehl to be sure you're in their hiring areas. They claim lower 48, but furthest west I went with either was Texas and Minnesota. Things may be different now, though.

Thanks for the info PackRat. I will keep that in mind. As of right now, my first choice is Wilson Logistics (Jim Palmer or Wil-Trans). I like their training itinerary, their trucks, their size and their pay.

Hey Army,

Thanks for your service! I wished I had stayed in the Air Force until retirement, but oh well. I have three companies I'm pretty keen on: JP/Wil-Trans, Roehl, and Millis Transfer. I just hope JP/Wil-Trans will accept that I was a self-employed farmer from 2014-17 before having my current job. I couldn't make enough money hay-farming to make a go of it so I went back to work where I am now. They say they need 3 yrs verifiable employment. We'll see. Best of luck to you and your son.

Tue, Dec 10, 2019

Since I have a vacation day this coming Friday, I've decided to go ahead and contact the recruiters at Wilson Logistics (Jim Palmer/Wil-Trans). I'd prefer to drive reefer for Jim Palmer west of Ohio, but would rather take my training in Springfield, MO. I've decided since both JP and Wil-Trans are really two different divisions of the same company, I'd be content to drive for either one. I'd definitely take my training in Springfield if I go with Wil-Trans. The training and pay are virtually the same. The trucks are the same except for the name on the side of the door, and they both haul Prime reefer freight. The only difference is one covers the west and the other the Midwest and East Coast. Either is fine with me.

We'll see what the recruiter has to say on Friday. In the meantime, I'm progressing through the High Road Training on here, following the training diaries of others on here, working my present job as a Receiving Manager, getting ready for Christmas, and slowly accumulating the supplies I'll need for CDL training and trucking (storage clipboard, log book, flashlight, notebook, calculator, duffel bag, travel shaving kit, laminated Commercial Carrier's Atlas, etc). My plan, written in pencil, is to start CDL school in late March, early April (need that time to save some money to cover transition and be ready to take CLP tests when I arrive at school).

Hope everyone is happy and safe today.

Sun, Dec 8, 2019

Watching Fox News and reading a bunch of Training Diaries, and going through the High Road Training. All of it really is helpful. I wish I could change the title of this diary to Preparing for a Career with Jim Palmer (Wilson Logistics). After more research and reading more diaries, I've come to the conclusion that Jim Palmer is the company I should go with (Just for my personal preferences). It's a little early still to contact the recruiter, but I'm wondering if they will let me do my CDL training in Springfield, MO (since it's 90 miles south of me and in my home state) or if they'll make me go to Missola, MT. I'll do whatever they ask, but it would be nice if my wife could just drop me off in Springfield rather than having to ride a bus to Montana, but we'll see.

In the meantime, lots of studying to do and waiting to get through Christmas so I can start saving money from my wife's and my paychecks. We're trying to move up my projected start time to April instead of June. Our plan is, since we're an empty-nest couple of 50yrs old, for my wife to join me on the road once I've completed my training and my SAFE solo probationary period. Honestly, we won't care about home-time like a lot of truckers have to. We want to run OTR and will be just fine with getting home just once per month. Our kids are grown and our grandkids live too far away for us to see them very often. We're an adventurous couple who like seeing, doing, and learning new things. We've lived a challenging life juggling finances and raising a family...we know all about how plans must be written in pencil and then give God the eraser, cuz it will change at the snap of a finger.

Being a combat veteran (first Gulf War, Operation Desert Storm), I learned long ago that much of what we deal with here are First-World problems and that surviving combat and getting home safely to your loved ones makes everything else gravy. My wife and I could write books about how to adapt, improvise and overcome (with a good, positive attitude). We've been doing it all our lives. We look forward to the next chapter of our lives and have been dreaming of this adventure for a few years now. It'll be work, no doubt, but my daddy (rest his soul), who was a truck driver, always told me to not try to love what you do but to find something love and do that. So here I am, getting ready to learn how to do what I've loved and dreamed about for a long time.

Sorry for the ramblings. I hope it'll get more interesting when I'm actually in the game and "doing" it. Keep the left door shut and wheels between the lines. :)

Great job, man, and great diary. I too want to go with Jim Palmer and have learned, I believe, from your posts that I can train in Springfield, MO for Jim Palmer instead of going to MT. (I live 90 miles north of Springfield). Do you happen to know if all test-takers get to test in a manual? I do not want the restriction.

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?

Sounds good, Wild-Bill. The best thing about training and testing on a manual is that you won't have that dreaded "Automatic Restriction" on your CDL. I'm still researching hard. Right now I'm comparing/contrasting Roehl and Jim Palmer Trucking to see which one might fit best with what I want to do in my career.

Sounds like you're doing just fine. Keep up the hard work and keep posting.