Need Advice

I got my CDL last month. Now I want you to help me making a good decision. Between Schneider, Abilene, Wilson Logistics which one is better for a training position?

Pierre, welcome to our forum!

How did you settle on those three companies? Have any of those three indicated their willingness to hire you?

Schneider would be the shortest time period for training, maybe two weeks. Wilson would be much longer, probably several months. I'm surprised if Abilene even hires rookies, but maybe they do now since they are under the Knight/Swift umbrella.

How did you obtain your CDL?

Where are you located? It appears you are in South Florida. That location is going to limit your choices considerably.

Thank you Old School ! You’re right I’m living in South Florida. I was at Metropolitain trucking Institute in West Palm Beach. When I finished I applied for many companies but all required experienced driver. But actually these 3 companies are ready for me they are Waiting for me to tell them when I’m ready to come to the orientation. Only one thing Abilene and Wilson Logistics offer more money per week during orientation time. My concern is which one is better because at this step I’m not really thinking about money but the best company to have the perfect training. So please let me what will be the best choice

Well, if you are simply basing your decision on the training process, I would recommend you go with Wil-Trans (Wilson Logistics) They will spend a lot more time with you. In fact you may feel weary fom being with your trainer so long. Their training is extensive and hands on while actually running real loads. I like the concept. It will also involve some team driving, so be prepared for that.

Good luck Pierre, and we'd love for you to stick around and participate in our forum. Here's a couple of links to training diaries from our members who went through Wil-Trans training. You may like reading them.

Starting with Wil-Trans

My Journey with Wilson Logistics

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.

Pierre, remember that training is seldom what people expect it to be. Oftentimes these trucking companies are looking for you to really step up and show some desire and grit. We've seen countless reports from people who expected to have their hands held in this process. They will make claims like, "I was showing improvement, but they still let me go."

The training process is more than just training. It is like one very lengthy interview. Be prepared for it to be grueling with very long hours involved each day. Be prepared to be challenged to your limits. It's not a walk in the park, and the reason it's like this is because trucking is no walk in the park. One thing they want to see is your willingness to give it your all while under different levels of stress.

Here's a couple of resources for you to familiarize yourself with the demands of truck driver training. The first one is an excellent podcast you can listen to, and the second is an article you can read.

The Boot Camp Approach To Trucking

What Should I Expect To Learn From My Trainer?

Thank you again Old School! I will definitely stick around and participate in the forum. Thanks for your good advice and I really appreciate it. I’m going to open the links and be prepared for the training.

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.

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.

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.

Outstanding!