Wil-Trans CDL Training

Adam called me this morning. Small world. I'll be waiting for his call on Monday. I was so excited i wanted to jump up and down but i was very professional and waited til the conversation was over.

Adam called me this morning. Small world. I'll be waiting for his call on Monday. I was so excited i wanted to jump up and down but i was very professional and waited til the conversation was over.

I know that feeling all too well lol.

I've got my fingers crossed for ya!

Hello all

Well my C-Seat phase continues. Headed to my trainers hometown so he can have a couple of days with his family.

I'm looking forward to a few days in the hotel to stretch out, chillax, watch some TV & just generally relax. First time in about 6-8 weeks I won't be spending every moment of free time studying, practicing or worrying about passing the CDL....😁.

Hope everyone has a good week & remember to vote early & vote often

Dave

Congratulations. Please keep up the posts.

Hello all.

Sorry it's been awhile since I've checked in.

Well a lot has happened. Starting out, we left Virginia ( Trainers home state) and I got my first coast to coast run. Lynchburg VA to Redlands CA (near LA). Then it was off to Sin City, Viva Las Vegas Baby!! ;-). Then right back to LA area, Van Nuys CA. From there we went to San Francisco. Dead headed to Salinas CA. Now we are rolling to Yuma Az and St Louis MO.

Needless to say my C-seat portion is flying by!!!

I've now experienced a long 6% down grade. What a teaching experience. Had another truck fly by us only to over take him at the bottom & his brakes where smoking like a chimney. I got to drive in fog on a curvy 2 lane hilly road near San Fran. Speaking of San Fran, nothing quite like 28 miles of bumper to bumper rush hour traffic 4 lanes across, where I saw 8th gear (briefly) twice.

I have to say I'm not a big fan of sleeping in a moving truck. It's been a week now and I hope I get more acclimated to it.

This training is amazing. It's full speed ahead & lets you experience so much so fast. No boredom here lol.

Well I'm gonna try to get some more shut eye!!!

Be safe all

David

Glad to hear you are doing well. Thanks for the update. Keep us posted.

Glad to hear you're having a great experience. I am getting all my ducks in a row before I start calling and talking to some of the companies here in Springfield Mo. for my cdl training and Wil-Trans is #1 on my list. What was your deciding factor in choosing this company for training? I am also looking at Jim Palmer but have read on one of the comments in this forum that they can be picky sometimes. Do you think company paid CDL is the way to go? Are they giving you the miles they promised? How long do you stay out? Sorry for bombarding you with a ton of questions, I just want to make sure I can get with a good honest company. Look forward to your future post. Good luck on the road!

CDL:

Commercial Driver's License (CDL)

A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:

• Any combination of vehicles with a gross combined weight rating (GCWR) of 26,001 or more pounds, providing the gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of the vehicle being towed is in excess of 10,000 pounds.
• Any single vehicle with a GVWR of 26,001 or more pounds, or any such vehicle towing another not in excess of 10,000 pounds.
• Any vehicle, regardless of size, designed to transport 16 or more persons, including the driver.
• Any vehicle required by federal regulations to be placarded while transporting hazardous materials.

OOS:

When a violation by either a driver or company is confirmed, an out-of-service order removes either the driver or the vehicle from the roadway until the violation is corrected.

Wil-Trans:

Darrel Wilson bought his first tractor in 1980 at age 20, but, being too young to meet OTR age requirements, he leased the truck out and hired a driver.

Through growth and acquisition, Wil-Trans now employs over 200 drivers, and has a long-standing partnership with Prime, Inc. to haul their refrigerated freight. The family of businesses also includes Jim Palmer Trucking and O & S Trucking.

Glad to hear you're having a great experience. I am getting all my ducks in a row before I start calling and talking to some of the companies here in Springfield Mo. for my cdl training and Wil-Trans is #1 on my list. What was your deciding factor in choosing this company for training? I am also looking at Jim Palmer but have read on one of the comments in this forum that they can be picky sometimes. Do you think company paid CDL is the way to go? Are they giving you the miles they promised? How long do you stay out? Sorry for bombarding you with a ton of questions, I just want to make sure I can get with a good honest company. Look forward to your future post. Good luck on the road!

Hi

I have had nothing but good experiences here at Wil-Trans. FYI: Jim Palmer & Wil-Trans are one in the same. Both owned by Wilson Logistics. Essentially JP runs mostly western US & WT runs east. As far as I can see pay, training, benefits, equipment are all the same. Matter of fact the new black trucks have very similar paint/striping packages

I chose WT BC they have similar pay, training etc as working for Prime but it's a smaller company and I wanted the more personal experience. WT will usually have 4-6 students in their training classes. I was the only student the week I started.

As for miles? Yes! My training is almost over and it's literally flown by. I will be going solo pretty soon.

As for company paid vs CDL school? I think there are pro's & con's to both. While I will owe WT a year of service to pay off the training, the way I looked st it was that getting a job w/o experience is difficult at best. At the end of s year I can decide to stay or if I choose another path, I'll have a year of OTR to help me be more competitive.

Everyone I've dealt with at WT from recruiters, office staff, training staff, you name it, they have all been amazing & helpful.

Don't hesitate to ask if I can help or by all means give them a call. I'm sure you'll find them as helpful as I did.

Good luck :)

CDL:

Commercial Driver's License (CDL)

A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:

• Any combination of vehicles with a gross combined weight rating (GCWR) of 26,001 or more pounds, providing the gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of the vehicle being towed is in excess of 10,000 pounds.
• Any single vehicle with a GVWR of 26,001 or more pounds, or any such vehicle towing another not in excess of 10,000 pounds.
• Any vehicle, regardless of size, designed to transport 16 or more persons, including the driver.
• Any vehicle required by federal regulations to be placarded while transporting hazardous materials.

OTR:

Over The Road

OTR driving normally means you'll be hauling freight to various customers throughout your company's hauling region. It often entails being gone from home for two to three weeks at a time.

HOS:

Hours Of Service

HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.

OOS:

When a violation by either a driver or company is confirmed, an out-of-service order removes either the driver or the vehicle from the roadway until the violation is corrected.

Wil-Trans:

Darrel Wilson bought his first tractor in 1980 at age 20, but, being too young to meet OTR age requirements, he leased the truck out and hired a driver.

Through growth and acquisition, Wil-Trans now employs over 200 drivers, and has a long-standing partnership with Prime, Inc. to haul their refrigerated freight. The family of businesses also includes Jim Palmer Trucking and O & S Trucking.

Hello All

It's been a bit since I posted an update. A lot has been going on. I've been out on my training run since obtaining my CDL on 10/01.

I'm now well into my last 10,000 miles before going out on my Solo run. I can't wait.

Had a small glitch, I had to request to switch trainers (won't go into any details) It took me some time to finally come to the conclusion that I needed to ask. Once I did, those involved at Wil-Trans listened to me, my concerns & reasoning. I was put with a new trainer in a little over 24 hours. Not once did I receive any push back or negativity at all.

Since then we have been running hard. The new trainer is excellent. Very experienced at training and has been helping me polish my skills all while continueing to teach me many new things.

I have yet to regret, even once, the career change or the company I chose. Wil-Trans continues to be an exceptional company for a driver who is in training.

I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas & a Very Happy New Year

Dave

CDL:

Commercial Driver's License (CDL)

A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:

• Any combination of vehicles with a gross combined weight rating (GCWR) of 26,001 or more pounds, providing the gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of the vehicle being towed is in excess of 10,000 pounds.
• Any single vehicle with a GVWR of 26,001 or more pounds, or any such vehicle towing another not in excess of 10,000 pounds.
• Any vehicle, regardless of size, designed to transport 16 or more persons, including the driver.
• Any vehicle required by federal regulations to be placarded while transporting hazardous materials.

HOS:

Hours Of Service

HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.

Wil-Trans:

Darrel Wilson bought his first tractor in 1980 at age 20, but, being too young to meet OTR age requirements, he leased the truck out and hired a driver.

Through growth and acquisition, Wil-Trans now employs over 200 drivers, and has a long-standing partnership with Prime, Inc. to haul their refrigerated freight. The family of businesses also includes Jim Palmer Trucking and O & S Trucking.

Glad to hear you are doing well. Congratulations on your success so far. Good luck. Stay safe.